Marc R. Bryant, Esq. |
With copies to: |
Secretary and Chief Legal Officer |
Joseph R. Fleming, Esq. |
245 Summer Street |
Dechert LLP |
Boston, Massachusetts 02210 |
200 Clarendon Street, 27th Floor |
(Name and Address of Agent for Service) |
Boston, MA 02116-5021 |
Fund /Ticker
Strategic Advisers ® Emerging Markets Fund /FSAMX
Offered exclusively to certain clients of Strategic Advisers, Inc. - not available for sale to the general public
Prospectus
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
Fund Summary |
Strategic Advisers ® Emerging Markets Fund |
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Fund Basics |
Investment Details |
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Valuing Shares |
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Shareholder Information |
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares |
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Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions |
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Tax Consequences |
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Fund Services |
Fund Management |
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Fund Distribution |
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Appendix |
Financial Highlights |
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Additional Information about the Index |
Prospectus
Fund:
Strategic Advisers
®
Emerging Markets Fund
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy and hold shares of the fund.
Shareholder fees
|
None |
Annual fund operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
<R> Management fee (fluctuates based on the fund's allocation among underlying funds and sub-advisers) B,C |
0.33% </R> |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees |
None |
<R> Other expenses C |
0.11% </R> |
<R> Acquired fund fees and expenses (fees and expenses of underlying funds) C |
1.01% </R> |
<R> Total annual fund operating expenses A |
1.45% </R> |
Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement B |
0.25% |
<R> Total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement A |
1.20% </R> |
A Differs from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the Financial Highlights section of the prospectus because of acquired fund fees and expenses.
<R> B Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) has contractually agreed that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.20% of the fund's average daily net assets. In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets. This arrangement will remain in effect through September 30, 2015. Strategic Advisers may not terminate this arrangement without the approval of the Board of Trustees. </R>
<R> C Based on historical expenses, adjusted to reflect current fees. </R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
<R> 1 year |
$ 122 </R> |
<R> 3 years |
$ 392 </R> |
<R> 5 years |
$ 728 </R> |
<R> 10 years |
$ 1,677 </R> |
<R>The fund will not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of affiliated funds but may incur transaction costs when buying or selling non-affiliated funds and other types of securities (including non-affiliated exchange traded funds) directly (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 26% of the average value of its portfolio.</R>
Prospectus
<R> Pursuant to an exemptive order granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) is permitted, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees, to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement. </R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
<R>The following information is intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the fund. The information illustrates the changes in the performance of the fund's shares from year to year and compares the performance of the fund's shares to the performance of a securities market index over various periods of time. The index description appears in the Additional Information about the Index section of the prospectus. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future performance.</R>
Visit www.fidelity.com for updated return information.
Prospectus
<R> Calendar Years |
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2011 |
2012 </R> |
<R> |
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-18.06% |
20.11% </R> |
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
<R> During the periods shown in the chart: |
Returns |
Quarter ended </R> |
<R> Highest Quarter Return |
14.35% |
March 31, 2012 </R> |
Lowest Quarter Return |
-21.76% |
September 30, 2011 |
<R> Year-to-Date Return |
-0.30% |
March 31, 2013 </R> |
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, but do not reflect the impact of state or local taxes. Actual after-tax returns may differ depending on your individual circumstances. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your shares in a retirement account or in another tax-deferred arrangement. Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares may be higher than other returns for the same period due to a tax benefit of realizing a capital loss upon the sale of fund shares.
<R>
For the periods ended
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Past 1
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Life of
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Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund |
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<R> Return Before Taxes |
20.11% |
2.09% </R> |
<R> Return After Taxes on Distributions |
19.91% |
1.85% </R> |
<R> Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
13.74% |
1.89% </R> |
<R>
MSCI
®
Emerging Markets Index
|
18.63% |
1.85% </R> |
A From September 30, 2010.
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
<R>Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. Acadian Asset Management LLC (Acadian) and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis) have been retained to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. Pyramis has not currently been allocated a portion of the fund's assets to manage.</R>
Wilfred Chilangwa (portfolio manager) has managed the fund since September 2010.
<R>John R. Chisholm, CFA, (portfolio manager) has managed Acadian's portion of the fund's assets since September 2012.</R>
The fund is not available for sale to the general public.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its net asset value per share (NAV). Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV. Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
The fund has no minimum investment requirement.
Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state or local taxes, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account (in which case you may be taxed later, upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).
The fund, Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Investment Objective
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
Principal Investment Strategies
The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of issuers in emerging markets and other investments that are tied economically to emerging markets and in shares of other emerging markets equity funds. Emerging markets include countries that have an emerging stock market as defined by MSCI, countries or markets with low- to middle-income economies as classified by the World Bank, and other countries or markets with similar emerging characteristics. Emerging markets tend to have relatively low gross national product per capita compared to the world's major economies and may have the potential for rapid economic growth. The fund normally invests primarily in common stocks.
The fund allocates investments across different emerging market countries.
The fund implements its investment strategies by investing directly in securities through one or more sub-advisers or indirectly in securities through one or more underlying funds, which in turn invest directly in securities.
Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of underlying funds or sub-advisers at any time.
Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds and sub-advisers to attempt to diversify the fund's portfolio in terms of market capitalization, investment style, and geographic region.
Strategic Advisers pursues a disciplined, benchmark-driven approach to portfolio construction, and monitors and adjusts allocations to underlying funds and sub-advisers as necessary to favor those underlying funds and sub-advisers that Strategic Advisers believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the fund's investment objective.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among underlying funds, Strategic Advisers relies on proprietary fundamental and quantitative fund research in its fund selection process. Factors considered when investing in underlying funds include fund performance, a fund manager's experience and investment style, fund company infrastructure, and fund characteristics such as expense ratio, asset size, and portfolio turnover.
<R>The fund may invest in affiliated emerging markets funds ( i.e., Fidelity funds) and non-affiliated emerging markets funds that typically participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork ® , non-affiliated ETFs, and closed-end funds. Underlying funds include both funds managed by FMR (an affiliated company that, together with Strategic Advisers, is part of Fidelity Investments) or an affiliate and funds managed by investment advisers other than Fidelity. Fidelity may receive service fees that typically are at an annual rate of up to 0.40% of a non-affiliated underlying fund's average daily net assets attributable to purchases through Fidelity's FundsNetwork, though such fees may be higher or lower, or may be charged as transaction and/or account fees. In situations where a fund or strategy is not available for purchase through Fidelity's FundsNetwork, the fund may elect to purchase such fund through other means. In addition, the fund may invest in ETFs in transactions not occurring through Fidelity's FundsNetwork.</R>
Prospectus
Strategic Advisers generally identifies emerging markets funds by reference to a fund's name, policies, or classification by a third-party ranking or ratings organization. Whether an underlying fund is an emerging markets fund is determined at the time of investment. Investments in funds whose names, policies or classifications change after purchase continue to be considered investments in emerging markets funds for purposes of the 80% policy.
<R>Strategic Advisers may actively adjust the allocation of the fund's assets at any time. For current information on fund holdings, please call 1-800-544-3455 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com. For information on the underlying funds, see the underlying funds' prospectuses. A copy of any underlying Fidelity fund's prospectus is available at www.fidelity.com or www.advisor.fidelity.com. For a copy of any other underlying fund's prospectus, visit the web site of the company that manages or sponsors that underlying fund.</R>
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers considers a variety of factors including, but not limited to, a sub-adviser's investment approach, the characteristics of a sub-adviser's typical investment portfolio, and a sub-adviser's performance patterns in different market environments.
Common types of investment approaches that a sub-adviser may use in selecting investments for a fund include, but are not limited to, quantitative analysis, fundamental analysis, or a combination of both approaches. Quantitative analysis refers to programmatic models that analyze such factors as growth potential, valuation, liquidity, and investment risk based on data inputs. Fundamental analysis involves a bottom-up assessment of a company's potential for success in light of factors including its financial condition, earnings outlook, strategy, management, industry position, and economic and market conditions.
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
In addition, the fund may have indirect exposure to derivatives through its investments in underlying funds.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Description of Principal Security Types
In addition to investing in underlying funds, the fund may invest directly in the following principal security types:
Equity securities represent an ownership interest, or the right to acquire an ownership interest, in an issuer. Different types of equity securities provide different voting and dividend rights and priority in the event of the bankruptcy of the issuer. Equity securities include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, and warrants.
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on the performance of the underlying funds and securities in which it invests and on changes in market conditions and interest rates and in response to other economic, political, or financial developments. The fund's reaction to these developments will be affected by the types of underlying funds and securities in which the fund invests, the financial condition, industry and economic sector, and geographic location of an issuer, and the fund's level of investment in the securities of that underlying fund or issuer.
<R>If Strategic Advisers' or a sub-adviser's allocation strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective. The portfolio managers' evaluations and assumptions in selecting underlying funds or individual securities may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.</R>
When your shares are sold they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
Investing in Other Funds. Regulatory restrictions may limit the amount that one fund can invest in another, and in certain cases further limit investments to the extent a fund's shares are already held by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The fund bears all risks of investment strategies employed by the underlying funds. The fund does not control the investments of the underlying funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the fund would not engage in directly. Aggregation of underlying fund holdings may result in indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase volatility.
Stock Market Volatility. The value of equity securities fluctuates in response to issuer, political, market, and economic developments. Fluctuations can be dramatic over the short as well as long term, and different parts of the market and different types of equity securities can react differently to these developments. For example, large cap stocks can react differently from small cap stocks, "growth" stocks can react differently from "value" stocks, and stocks selected using quantitative or technical analysis can react differently than stocks selected using fundamental analysis. Issuer, political, or economic developments can affect a single issuer, issuers within an industry or economic sector or geographic region, or the market as a whole. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact the market as a whole. Terrorism and related geo-political risks have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
Prospectus
<R> Foreign and Emerging Market Risk. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; withholding or other taxes; trading, settlement, custodial, and other operational risks; and the less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets. All of these factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and potentially less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can perform differently from the U.S. market.</R>
Investing in emerging markets can involve risks in addition to and greater than those generally associated with investing in more developed foreign markets. The extent of economic development; political stability; market depth, infrastructure, and capitalization; and regulatory oversight can be less than in more developed markets. Emerging market economies can be subject to greater social, economic, regulatory, and political uncertainties. All of these factors can make emerging market securities more volatile and potentially less liquid than securities issued in more developed markets.
<R>Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers or providers in, or foreign exchange rates with, a different country or region.</R>
<R> Geographic Exposure. Social, political, and economic conditions and changes in regulatory, tax, or economic policy in a country or region could significantly affect the market in that country or region. From time to time, a small number of companies and industries may represent a large portion of the market in a particular country or region, and these companies and industries can be sensitive to adverse social, political, economic, currency, or regulatory developments. Similarly, from time to time, an underlying fund may invest a large portion of its assets in the securities of issuers located in a single country or a limited number of countries. If an underlying fund invests in this manner, there is a higher risk that social, political, economic, tax (such as a tax on foreign investments or financial transactions), currency, or regulatory developments in those countries may have a significant impact on the underlying fund's investment performance.</R>
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Industry Exposure. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry or a group of related industries, and the securities of companies in that industry or group of industries could react similarly to these or other developments. In addition, from time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry or a group of related industries as a whole, and these companies can be sensitive to adverse economic, regulatory, or financial developments.
Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's value. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers.
Investing in ETFs and Closed-End Funds. ETFs and closed-end funds may trade in the secondary market (e.g., on a stock exchange) at prices below the value of their underlying portfolios and may not be liquid. An ETF that is not actively managed cannot sell poorly performing stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in its index or other benchmark. ETFs that track an index are subject to tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to its index or other benchmark).
Quantitative Investing. The value of securities selected using quantitative analysis can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis. The factors used in quantitative analysis and the weight placed on those factors may not be predictive of a security's value. In addition, factors that affect a security's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model.
<R>In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser, if any, may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
The following policy is fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The following policy is subject to change only upon 60 days' prior notice to shareholders:
Prospectus
The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of issuers in emerging markets and other investments that are tied economically to emerging markets and in shares of other emerging markets equity funds.
A number of factors are considered in determining whether an investment is tied economically to a particular country or region, including: the source of government guarantees (if any); the primary trading market; the issuer's domicile, sources of revenue, and location of assets; whether the investment is included in an index representative of a particular country or region; and whether the investment is exposed to the economic fortunes and risks of a particular country or region.
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates the fund's NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing the fund's NAV.
NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the SEC.
To the extent that the fund's assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some of the fund's assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs and closed-end funds) are valued at their respective NAVs. For an explanation of the circumstances under which the underlying funds will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the underlying funds' prospectuses and statements of additional information (SAIs). The fund's NAV is calculated using the values of the underlying funds in which it invests. Other assets (including securities issued by ETFs and closed-end funds) are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations or official closing prices. Certain short-term securities are valued on the basis of amortized cost. If market quotations or official closing prices are not readily available or, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, are deemed unreliable for a security, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before the fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Arbitrage opportunities may exist when trading in a portfolio security or securities is halted and does not resume before a fund calculates its NAV. These arbitrage opportunities may enable short-term traders to dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Securities trading in overseas markets present time zone arbitrage opportunities when events affecting portfolio security values occur after the close of the overseas markets but prior to the close of the U.S. market. Fair valuation of a fund's portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that fair value pricing policies will prevent dilution of a fund's NAV by short-term traders.
Fair value pricing is based on subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value of a security may differ materially from the value that would be realized if the security were sold.
Prospectus
THE FUND IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
Shares of the fund can be purchased only through certain discretionary investment programs offered by Strategic Advisers. If you are not currently a Strategic Advisers client, please call 1-800-544-3455 (9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday) for more information. Strategic Advisers charges fees for its discretionary investment programs. For more information on these fees, please refer to the "Buying and Selling Information" section of the SAI.
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase orders.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
Because investments in the fund can be made only by Strategic Advisers on behalf of its clients, the potential for excessive or short-term disruptive purchases and sales is reduced. Accordingly, the Board of Trustees has not adopted policies and procedures designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares and the fund accommodates frequent trading.
The fund has no exchange privilege with any other fund. The fund does not place a limit on purchases or sales of fund shares by Strategic Advisers. The fund reserves the right, but does not have the obligation, to reject any purchase transaction at any time. In addition, the fund reserves the right to impose restrictions on disruptive, excessive, or short-term trading.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its NAV. The fund's shares are sold without a sales charge.
Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
Provided the fund receives an order to buy shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to buy shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV.
Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Provided the fund receives an order to sell shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to sell shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.
Redemptions may be suspended or payment dates postponed when the NYSE is closed (other than weekends or holidays), when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as permitted by the SEC.
Redemption proceeds may be paid in underlying fund shares, securities, or other property rather than in cash if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund.
When you terminate your relationship with Strategic Advisers, your shares may be sold at the NAV next calculated, in which case Strategic Advisers would send the redemption proceeds to you.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, redemption requests may be suspended, restricted, canceled, or processed and the proceeds may be withheld.
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
The fund normally pays dividends and capital gain distributions in April and December.
Dividends and capital gain distributions may be reinvested in additional shares of the fund or paid in cash.
As with any investment, your investment in the fund could have tax consequences for you. If you are not investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account, you should consider these tax consequences.
Taxes on distributions. Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes.
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including dividends and distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable to you as ordinary income, while certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of long-term capital gains, are taxable to you generally as capital gains. A percentage of certain distributions of dividends may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
If Strategic Advisers buys shares on your behalf when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.
Prospectus
Any taxable distributions you receive from the fund will normally be taxable to you when you receive them, regardless of your distribution option.
Taxes on transactions. Your redemptions may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on your investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of your shares and the price you receive when you sell them.
Prospectus
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
The fund employs a multi-manager and a fund of funds investment structure. Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of sub-advisers or underlying funds.
<R> Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. The address of Strategic Advisers and its affiliates, unless otherwise indicated below, is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R>As of December 31, 2012, Strategic Advisers had approximately $320.7 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
As the manager, Strategic Advisers has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
<R> Acadian , at 260 Franklin Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, Acadian had approximately $55.6 billion in discretionary assets under management. Acadian provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Pyramis , at 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. Pyramis is an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. As of December 31, 2012, Pyramis had approximately $31.7 billion in discretionary assets under management. Pyramis has not currently been allocated a portion of the fund's assets to manage.</R>
<R> Strategic Advisers </R>
Wilfred Chilangwa is portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since September 2010. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1997, Mr. Chilangwa has worked as a senior fund analyst, an international strategist, and a portfolio manager.
<R>John R. Chisholm, CFA, serves as a portfolio manager for Acadian's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since September 2012. Mr. Chisholm joined Acadian in July 1987 and presently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer and oversees Acadian's investment process and investment team.</R>
<R>The SAI provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by the portfolio managers.</R>
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.
Prospectus
The fund pays a management fee to Strategic Advisers. The management fee is calculated and paid to Strategic Advisers every month.
The fund's management fee is calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets. Because the fund's management fee rate may fluctuate, the fund's management fee may be higher or lower in the future. The fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.20% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets through September 30, 2015.</R>
<R>For the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid a management fee of 0.04% of the fund's average net assets, after waiver and/or reimbursement.</R>
In return for the services of the fund's sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers will pay each of the fund's sub-advisers the fee (as described above) payable to that sub-adviser.
<R>The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract and sub-advisory agreements for the fund is available in the fund's annual report for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013.</R>
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, agree to reimburse the fund for, or waive, management fees and other expenses above a specified limit. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid by the fund if expenses fall below the specified limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Reimbursement or waiver arrangements can decrease expenses and boost performance.
FDC distributes the fund's shares.
The fund has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) with respect to its shares that recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, service-providers, and administrators, that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Affiliates of Strategic Advisers may receive service fees or distribution fees or both with respect to underlying funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork.
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
If payments made by Strategic Advisers to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of the fund's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
Prospectus
The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the financial history of the fund's shares for the period of the fund's operations. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of the fund. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in shares of the fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial highlights and financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report. A free copy of the annual report is available upon request.
<R></R>
<R> Years ended February 28, |
2013 |
2012 E |
2011 F </R> |
<R> Selected Per-Share Data |
|
|
</R> |
<R> Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 9.84 |
$ 10.06 |
$ 10.00 </R> |
<R> Income from Investment Operations |
|
|
</R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) D |
.12 |
.16 |
.11 </R> |
<R> Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
.23 |
(.18 ) |
.07 </R> |
<R> Total from investment operations |
.35 |
(.02 ) |
.18 </R> |
<R> Distributions from net investment income |
(.12) |
(.15) |
(.09) </R> |
<R> Distributions from net realized gain |
(.09 ) |
(.05 ) |
(.03 ) </R> |
<R> Total distributions |
(.21 ) |
(.20 ) |
(.12 ) </R> |
<R> Net asset value, end of period |
$ 9.98 |
$ 9.84 |
$ 10.06 </R> |
<R> Total Return B,C |
3.63% |
.11% |
1.70% </R> |
<R> Ratios to Average Net Assets G |
|
|
</R> |
<R> Expenses before reductions |
.36% |
.28% |
.35% A </R> |
<R> Expenses net of fee waivers, if any |
.11% |
.03% |
.10% A </R> |
<R> Expenses net of all reductions |
.10% |
.02% |
.10% A </R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) |
1.27% |
1.65% |
2.51% A </R> |
<R> Supplemental Data |
|
|
</R> |
<R> Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$ 1,898,102 |
$ 1,905,091 |
$ 1,617,552 </R> |
<R> Portfolio turnover rate H |
26% I |
11% |
18% </R> |
A Annualized
B Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.
C Total returns would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reduced during the applicable periods shown.
D Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.
<R></R>
<R> E For the year ended February 29. </R>
F For the period September 30, 2010 (commencement of operations) to February 28, 2011.
G Expense ratios reflect operating expenses of the Fund. Expenses before reductions do not reflect amounts reimbursed by the investment adviser or reductions from brokerage service arrangements or reductions from other expense offset arrangements and do not represent the amount paid by the Fund during periods when reimbursements or reductions occur. Expense ratios before reductions for start-up periods may not be representative of longer term operating periods. Expenses net of fee waivers reflect expenses after reimbursement by the investment adviser but prior to reductions from brokerage service arrangements or other expense offset arrangements. Expenses net of all reductions represent the net expenses paid by the Fund. Fees and expenses of the Underlying Funds are not included in the Fund's annualized ratios. The Fund indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the Underlying Funds.
H Amounts do not include the portfolio activity of any Underlying Funds.
<R> I Portfolio turnover rate excludes securities received or delivered in-kind. </R>
Prospectus
Appendix - continued
MSCI Emerging Markets Index is a market capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the investable equity market performance for global investors in emerging markets.
Prospectus
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account. For individual investors opening an account: When you open an account, you will be asked for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow Fidelity to identify you. You may also be asked to provide documents that may help to establish your identity, such as your driver's license. For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account such as name, residential address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity. |
You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.
For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call 1-800-544-3455. In addition, you may visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number, 811-21991 |
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design, and FundsNetwork are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R>1.918364.103 SAE-PRO-0413</R>
Strategic Advisers ® Emerging Markets Fund (FSAMX)
A Fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
Offered exclusively to certain clients of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) - not available for sale to the general public .
This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. Portions of the fund's annual report are incorporated herein. The annual report is supplied with this SAI.
<R>To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated April 29, 2013, or an annual report, please call Fidelity at 1-800-544-3455 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com.</R>
<R>SAE-PTB-0413
1.918365.104</R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
|
PAGE |
Investment Policies and Limitations |
|
<R>Special Geographic Considerations |
|
<R>Portfolio Transactions |
|
<R>Valuation |
|
<R>Buying and Selling Information |
|
<R>Distributions and Taxes |
|
<R>Trustees and Officers |
|
<R>Control of Investment Advisers |
|
<R>Management Contract |
|
<R>Proxy Voting Guidelines |
|
<R>Distribution Services |
|
<R>Transfer and Service Agent Agreements |
|
<R>Description of the Trust |
|
<R>Fund Holdings Information |
|
<R>Financial Statements |
61</R> |
<R>Appendix |
61 </R> |
<R> |
</R> |
<R> |
</R> |
<R> |
</R> |
<R> |
</R> |
<R> |
</R> |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not with respect to 75% of the fund's total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except in connection with the insurance program established by the fund pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission or as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry.
<R>For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities, Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) looks through to the U.S. Government securities.</R>
For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, Strategic Advisers or an affiliate may analyze the characteristics of a particular issuer and security and assign an industry or sector classification consistent with those characteristics in the event that the third-party classification provider used by Strategic Advisers does not assign a classification.
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, and provided that transactions in futures contracts and options are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 15% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
<R>To the extent that the fund acquires the shares of an underlying fund in accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, the underlying fund is not obligated to redeem its shares in an amount exceeding 1% of its shares outstanding during any period of less than 30 days. Those underlying fund shares will not be treated as illiquid securities for purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation described above to the extent that the fund is able to dispose of such securities by distributing them in kind to redeeming shareholders. (See "Securities of Other Investment Companies" on page 25 .)</R>
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to lend assets other than securities to other parties, except by (a) lending money (up to 15% of the fund's net assets) to a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) assuming any unfunded commitments in connection with the acquisition of loans, loan participations, or other forms of debt instruments. (This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities, to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.)
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
For the fund's limitations on futures and options transactions, see the section entitled "Futures, Options, and Swaps" on page 21 .
Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitations, the underlying funds in which the fund may invest have adopted certain investment limitations that may be more or less restrictive than those listed above, thereby permitting the fund to engage indirectly in investment strategies that are prohibited under the investment limitations listed above. The investment limitations of each underlying fund are set forth in its registration statement.
In accordance with its investment program as set forth in the prospectus, the fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in any one underlying Fidelity fund. Although the fund does not intend to concentrate its investments in a particular industry, the fund may indirectly concentrate in a particular industry or group of industries through its investments in one or more underlying funds.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
Strategic Advisers ® Emerging Markets Fund may have exposure to instruments, techniques, and risks either directly or indirectly through an investment in an underlying fund. An underlying fund may invest in the same or other types of instruments and its adviser may employ the same or other types of techniques. Strategic Advisers ® Emerging Markets Fund's performance will be affected by the instruments, techniques, and risks associated with an underlying fund, in proportion to the amount of assets that the fund allocates to that underlying fund.
On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "a fund" or "the fund" may relate to Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund or an underlying fund, and references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to Strategic Advisers (or its affiliates) or a sub-adviser of Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, or an adviser of an underlying fund.
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of short-term bond or money market funds, including (for Fidelity funds and other advisory clients only) shares of Fidelity central funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.
<R> Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Notice of Exclusion. The trust, on behalf of the Fidelity fund to which this SAI relates, has filed with the National Futures Association a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the CFTC promulgated thereunder, with respect to the fund's operation. Accordingly, neither the fund nor its adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or a CPO. However, the CFTC has adopted certain rule amendments that significantly affect the continued availability of this exclusion, and may subject advisers to funds to regulation by the CFTC. As of the date of this SAI, the adviser does not expect to register as a CPO of the fund. However, there is no certainty that a fund or its adviser will be able to rely on an exclusion in the future as the fund's investments change over time. A fund may determine not to use investment strategies that trigger additional CFTC regulation or may determine to operate subject to CFTC regulation, if applicable. If a fund or its adviser operates subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.</R>
Common Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock, although related proceedings can take time to resolve and results can be unpredictable.
Convertible Securities are bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption or conversion, the fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
<R> Countries and Markets Considered Emerging. For purposes of a Fidelity fund's 80% investment policy relating to emerging markets, emerging markets include countries that have an emerging stock market as defined by MSCI ® , countries or markets with low- to middle-income economies as classified by the World Bank, and other countries or markets with similar emerging characteristics. For example, as of February 28, 2013, countries in the MSCI ® Emerging Markets Index, Greece, Hong Kong, Israel, and Singapore are considered to be emerging.</R>
Country or Geographic Region. Various factors may be considered in determining whether an investment is tied economically to a particular country or region, including: whether the investment is issued or guaranteed by a particular government or any of its agencies, political subdivisions, or instrumentalities; whether the investment has its primary trading market in a particular country or region; whether the issuer is organized under the laws of, derives at least 50% of its revenues from, or has at least 50% of its assets in a particular country or region; whether the investment is included in an index representative of a particular country or region; and whether the investment is exposed to the economic fortunes and risks of a particular country or region.
Debt Securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay interest but are sold at a deep discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, and mortgage and other asset-backed securities.
<R> Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments. An ETF may seek to replicate the performance of a specified index or may be actively managed.</R>
Typically, ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks (typically, 50,000 shares) often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.
Some of the risks of investing in an ETF that tracks an index are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
<R> ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their intraday indicative value. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater.</R>
Exposure to Foreign and Emerging Markets. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Foreign investments involve risks relating to local political, economic, regulatory, or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments, and may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Such actions may include expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. Additionally, governmental issuers of foreign debt securities may be unwilling to pay interest and repay principal when due and may require that the conditions for payment be renegotiated. There is no assurance that a fund's adviser will be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies and of dividends and interest paid with respect to such securities will fluctuate based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar. From time to time, a fund may invest a large portion of its assets in the securities of issuers located in a single country or a limited number of countries. If a fund invests in this manner, there is a higher risk that social, political, economic, tax (such as a tax on foreign investments), or regulatory developments in those countries may have a significant impact on the fund's investment performance.
It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for foreign securities will be on an exchange or in over-the-counter (OTC) markets located outside of the United States. Foreign stock markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign security trading, settlement and custodial practices (including those involving securities settlement where fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment) are often less developed than those in U.S. markets, and may result in increased investment or valuation risk or substantial delays in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of, or breach of duty by, a foreign broker-dealer, securities depository, or foreign subcustodian. In addition, the costs associated with foreign investments, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions, and custodial costs, are generally higher than with U.S. investments.
Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors than U.S. markets. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Adequate public information on foreign issuers may not be available, and it may be difficult to secure dividends and information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. OTC markets tend to be less regulated than stock exchange markets and, in certain countries, may be totally unregulated. Regulatory enforcement may be influenced by economic or political concerns, and investors may have difficulty enforcing their legal rights in foreign countries.
Some foreign securities impose restrictions on transfer within the United States or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than foreign securities of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks include foreign exchange risk as well as the political and economic risks of the underlying issuer's country.
The risks of foreign investing may be magnified for investments in emerging markets. Security prices in emerging markets can be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
Foreign Currency Transactions. A fund may conduct foreign currency transactions on a spot ( i.e., cash) or forward basis ( i.e., by entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies). Although foreign exchange dealers generally do not charge a fee for such conversions, they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the counterparty desire to resell that currency to the dealer. Forward contracts are customized transactions that require a specific amount of a currency to be delivered at a specific exchange rate on a specific date or range of dates in the future. Forward contracts are generally traded in an interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The parties to a forward contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated currency exchange.
The following discussion summarizes the principal currency management strategies involving forward contracts that could be used by a fund. A fund may also use swap agreements, indexed securities, and options and futures contracts relating to foreign currencies for the same purposes. Forward contracts not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying currency. All of these instruments and transactions are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default.
<R>A "settlement hedge" or "transaction hedge" is designed to protect a fund against an adverse change in foreign currency values between the date a security denominated in a foreign currency is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in an underlying security transaction for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars "locks in" the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used to protect a fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected.</R>
<R>A fund may also use forward contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in a foreign currency. For example, if a fund owned securities denominated in pounds sterling, it could enter into a forward contract to sell pounds sterling in return for U.S. dollars to hedge against possible declines in the pound's value. Such a hedge, sometimes referred to as a "position hedge," would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. A fund could also attempt to hedge the position by selling another currency expected to perform similarly to the pound sterling. This type of hedge, sometimes referred to as a "proxy hedge," could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield, or efficiency, but generally would not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a direct hedge into U.S. dollars. Proxy hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated.</R>
A fund may enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a "cross-hedge," will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if a fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. A fund may cross-hedge its U.S. dollar exposure in order to achieve a representative weighted mix of the major currencies in its benchmark index and/or to cover an underweight country or region exposure in its portfolio. Cross-hedges protect against losses resulting from a decline in the hedged currency, but will cause a fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases.
<R>Successful use of currency management strategies will depend on an adviser's skill in analyzing currency values. Currency management strategies may substantially change a fund's investment exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and could result in losses to a fund if currencies do not perform as an adviser anticipates. For example, if a currency's value rose at a time when a fund had hedged its position by selling that currency in exchange for dollars, the fund would not participate in the currency's appreciation. If a fund hedges currency exposure through proxy hedges, the fund could realize currency losses from both the hedge and the security position if the two currencies do not move in tandem. Similarly, if a fund increases its exposure to a foreign currency and that currency's value declines, the fund will realize a loss. Foreign currency transactions involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that a fund's hedging strategies will be ineffective. Moreover, it is impossible to precisely forecast the market value of portfolio securities at the expiration of a foreign currency forward contract. Accordingly, a fund may be required to buy or sell additional currency on the spot market (and bear the expenses of such transaction), if an adviser's predictions regarding the movement of foreign currency or securities markets prove inaccurate.</R>
<R>A fund may be required to limit its hedging transactions in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options in order to maintain its classification as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Hedging transactions could result in the application of the mark-to-market provisions of the Code, which may cause an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a fund and could affect whether dividends paid by a fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. A fund will cover its exposure to foreign currency transactions with liquid assets in compliance with applicable requirements. There is no assurance that an adviser's use of currency management strategies will be advantageous to a fund or that it will employ currency management strategies at appropriate times.</R>
Options and Futures Relating to Foreign Currencies. Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges (and have margin requirements) and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The underlying instrument of a currency option may be a foreign currency, which generally is purchased or delivered in exchange for U.S. dollars, or may be a futures contract. The purchaser of a currency call obtains the right to purchase the underlying currency, and the purchaser of a currency put obtains the right to sell the underlying currency.
<R>The uses and risks of currency options and futures are similar to options and futures relating to securities or indexes, as discussed below. A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and may purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. Currency options may also be purchased or written in conjunction with each other or with currency futures or forward contracts. Currency futures and options values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates, but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated security from a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of a fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the fund's investments exactly over time.</R>
<R>Currency options traded on U.S. or other exchanges may be subject to position limits which may limit the ability of the fund to reduce foreign currency risk using such options.</R>
Foreign Repurchase Agreements. Foreign repurchase agreements involve an agreement to purchase a foreign security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price in either U.S. dollars or foreign currency. Unlike typical U.S. repurchase agreements, foreign repurchase agreements may not be fully collateralized at all times. The value of a security purchased by a fund may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to repurchase the security. In the event of default by the counterparty, a fund may suffer a loss if the value of the security purchased is less than the agreed-upon repurchase price, or if the fund is unable to successfully assert a claim to the collateral under foreign laws. As a result, foreign repurchase agreements may involve higher credit risks than repurchase agreements in U.S. markets, as well as risks associated with currency fluctuations. In addition, as with other emerging market investments, repurchase agreements with counterparties located in emerging markets or relating to emerging markets may involve issuers or counterparties with lower credit ratings than typical U.S. repurchase agreements.
Fund's Rights as an Investor. Fidelity funds do not intend to direct or administer the day-to-day operations of any company. A fund may, however, exercise its rights as a shareholder or lender and may communicate its views on important matters of policy to a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders, and holders of a company's other securities when such matters could have a significant effect on the value of the fund's investment in the company. The activities in which a fund may engage, either individually or in conjunction with others, may include, among others, supporting or opposing proposed changes in a company's corporate structure or business activities; seeking changes in a company's directors or management; seeking changes in a company's direction or policies; seeking the sale or reorganization of the company or a portion of its assets; supporting or opposing third-party takeover efforts; supporting the filing of a bankruptcy petition; or foreclosing on collateral securing a security. This area of corporate activity is increasingly prone to litigation and it is possible that a fund could be involved in lawsuits related to such activities. Such activities will be monitored with a view to mitigating, to the extent possible, the risk of litigation against a fund and the risk of actual liability if a fund is involved in litigation. No guarantee can be made, however, that litigation against a fund will not be undertaken or liabilities incurred. The fund's proxy voting guidelines are included in this SAI.
<R> Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. If a fund invests a significant portion of its assets in derivatives, its investment exposure could far exceed the value of its portfolio securities and its investment performance could be primarily dependent upon securities it does not own.</R>
Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.
The limitations on the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps, and the fund's policies regarding futures contracts, options, and swaps may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts.
<R> Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts and the price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities or baskets of securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indexes (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indexes of securities prices (including foreign indexes for funds that seek foreign exposure). Futures on indexes and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out by offsetting purchases or sales of futures contracts before then if a liquid market is available. A fund may realize a gain or loss by closing out its futures contracts.</R>
<R>The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the underlying instrument. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.</R>
<R>The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by a fund, but is instead a settlement between a fund and the FCM of the amount one would owe the other if the fund's contract expired. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is also required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.</R>
<R>Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement, and margin procedures that are different from those for U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may not involve a clearing mechanism or related guarantees and may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to a fund. Because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuation.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.</R>
<R>If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
<R>Futures contracts on U.S. Government securities historically have reacted to an increase or decrease in interest rates in a manner similar to the manner in which the underlying U.S. Government securities reacted. To the extent, however, that a fund enters into such futures contracts, the value of these futures contracts will not vary in direct proportion to the value of the fund's holdings of U.S. Government securities. Thus, the anticipated spread between the price of the futures contract and the hedged security may be distorted due to differences in the nature of the markets. The spread also may be distorted by differences in initial and variation margin requirements, the liquidity of such markets and the participation of speculators in such markets.</R>
<R> Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, baskets of assets or securities, indexes of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). Options may be traded on an exchange or OTC. The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. Depending on the terms of the contract, upon exercise, an option may require physical delivery of the underlying instrument or may be settled through cash payments. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.</R>
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
<R>The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right (but not the obligation) to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.</R>
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
<R>Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer should mitigate the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.</R>
<R>Where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price to close out the put or call option on the secondary market may move more or less than the price of the related security.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for exchange-traded options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.</R>
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
<R>A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps (swaptions), which are generally options on interest rate swaps. An option on a swap gives a party the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, a fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes (sells) an option on a swap than it will incur when it purchases an option on a swap. When a fund purchases an option on a swap, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when a fund writes an option on a swap, upon exercise of the option the fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement. A fund that writes an option on a swap receives the premium and bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the preset rate on the underlying interest rate swap. Whether a fund's use of options on swaps will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend on the adviser's ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Options on swaps may involve risks similar to those discussed below in "Swap Agreements."</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
<R> Swap Agreements. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term. Most swap agreements are currently traded over-the-counter. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange one or more payments based, for example, on the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, indexes, or other financial or economic interests). The gross payments to be exchanged between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.</R>
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness.
<R>A fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. In order to cover its outstanding obligations to a swap counterparty, a fund would generally be required to provide margin or collateral for the benefit of that counterparty. If a counterparty to a swap transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited temporarily or permanently in exercising its right to the return of related fund assets designated as margin or collateral in an action against the counterparty.</R>
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<R>Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that an adviser will not accurately forecast market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other economic factors in establishing swap positions for a fund. If an adviser attempts to use a swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, a fund may be exposed to the risk that the swap will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment, which could cause substantial losses for a fund. While hedging strategies involving swap instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Swaps are complex and often valued subjectively.</R>
Illiquid Securities cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity fund's adviser determines the liquidity of the fund's investments and, through reports from the fund's adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid securities.
Various factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments, including (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
Increasing Government Debt. The total public debt of the United States and other countries around the globe as a percent of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented.
A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt cost higher and cause a country to sell additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In the worst case, unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns.
On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States one level to "AA+" from "AAA." While Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the United States' short-term sovereign credit rating as "A-1+," there is no guarantee that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services will not decide to lower this rating in the future. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services stated that its decision was prompted by its view on the rising public debt burden and its perception of greater policymaking uncertainty. The market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government may be adversely affected by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services decisions to downgrade the long-term sovereign credit rating of the United States.
<R> Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indexes, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.</R>
<R>Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indexes. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.</R>
Indexed securities may have principal payments as well as coupon payments that depend on the performance of one or more interest rates. Their coupon rates or principal payments may change by several percentage points for every 1% interest rate change.
Mortgage-indexed securities, for example, could be structured to replicate the performance of mortgage securities and the characteristics of direct ownership.
Inflation-protected securities, for example, can be indexed to a measure of inflation, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
<R>Commodity-indexed securities, for example, can be indexed to a commodities index such as the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return SM .</R>
Gold-indexed securities typically provide for a maturity value that depends on the price of gold, resulting in a security whose price tends to rise and fall together with gold prices.
Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Insolvency of Issuers, Counterparties, and Intermediaries. Issuers of fund portfolio securities or counterparties to fund transactions that become insolvent or declare bankruptcy can pose special investment risks. In each circumstance, risk of loss, valuation uncertainty, increased illiquidity, and other unpredictable occurrences may negatively impact an investment. Each of these risks may be amplified in foreign markets, where security trading, settlement, and custodial practices can be less developed than those in the U.S. markets, and bankruptcy laws differ from those of the U.S.
As a general matter, if the issuer of a fund portfolio security is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock have priority over the claims of common stock owners. These events can negatively impact the value of the issuer's securities and the results of related proceedings can be unpredictable.
If a counterparty to a fund transaction, such as a swap transaction, a short sale, a borrowing, or other complex transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise rights to obtain the return of related fund assets or in exercising other rights against the counterparty. In addition, insolvency and liquidation proceedings take time to resolve, which can limit or preclude a fund's ability to terminate a transaction or obtain related assets or collateral in a timely fashion. Uncertainty may also arise upon the insolvency of a securities or commodities intermediary such as a broker-dealer or futures commission merchant with which a fund has pending transactions. If an intermediary becomes insolvent, while securities positions and other holdings may be protected by U.S. or foreign laws, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these protections are available to specific trades based on the circumstances. Receiving the benefit of these protections can also take time to resolve, which may result in illiquid positions.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a Fidelity fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) or its affiliates. A Fidelity fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. A Fidelity fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
<R> Investments by Large Shareholders. A fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by large shareholders. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a fund's portfolio. In addition, when investors own a substantial portion of a fund's shares, a large redemption could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the fund's shares. When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful. A high volume of redemption requests can impact a fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments.</R>
Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. Direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve a risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a fund supply additional cash to a borrower on demand. A fund may acquire loans by buying an assignment of all or a portion of the loan from a lender or by purchasing a loan participation from a lender or other purchaser of a participation.
Lenders and purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of foreign countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.
Direct lending and investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the lender/purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary.
A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest.
Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate lenders/purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a lender/purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
For a Fidelity fund that limits the amount of total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry, the fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require a fund, in appropriate circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for these purposes. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
Because the risk of default is higher for lower-quality debt securities, research and credit analysis are an especially important part of managing securities of this type. Such analysis may focus on relative values based on factors such as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earnings prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer, in an attempt to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved, or is expected to improve in the future.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Precious Metals. Precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, at times have been subject to substantial price fluctuations over short periods of time and may be affected by unpredictable monetary and political policies such as currency devaluations or revaluations, economic and social conditions within a country, trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries. The prices of gold and other precious metals, however, are less subject to local and company-specific factors than securities of individual companies. As a result, precious metals may be more or less volatile in price than securities of companies engaged in precious metals-related businesses. Investments in precious metals can present concerns such as delivery, storage and maintenance, possible illiquidity, and the unavailability of accurate market valuations. Although precious metals can be purchased in any form, including bullion and coins, a Fidelity fund intends to purchase only those forms of precious metals that are readily marketable and that can be stored in accordance with custody regulations applicable to mutual funds. A fund may incur higher custody and transaction costs for precious metals than for securities. Also, precious metals investments do not pay income.
For a fund to qualify as a regulated investment company under current federal tax law, gains from selling precious metals may not exceed 10% of the fund's gross income for its taxable year. This tax requirement could cause a fund to hold or sell precious metals or securities when it would not otherwise do so.
Preferred Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Equity real estate investment trusts own real estate properties, while mortgage real estate investment trusts make construction, development, and long-term mortgage loans. Their value may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property of the trusts, the creditworthiness of the issuer, property taxes, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements, such as those relating to the environment. Both types of trusts are dependent upon management skill, are not diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers, self-liquidation, and the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
<R> Reforms and Government Intervention in the Financial Markets. Economic downturns can trigger various economic, legal, budgetary, tax, and regulatory reforms across the globe. Instability in the financial markets in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn led the U.S. Government and other governments to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility, and in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Reforms are ongoing and their effects are uncertain. Federal, state, local, foreign, and other governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which a fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Reforms may also change the way in which a fund is regulated and could limit or preclude a fund's ability to achieve its investment objective or engage in certain strategies. Also, while reforms generally are intended to strengthen markets, systems, and public finances, they could affect fund expenses and the value of fund investments.</R>
The value of a fund's holdings is also generally subject to the risk of future local, national, or global economic disturbances based on unknown weaknesses in the markets in which a fund invests. In the event of such a disturbance, the issuers of securities held by a fund may experience significant declines in the value of their assets and even cease operations, or may receive government assistance accompanied by increased restrictions on their business operations or other government intervention. In addition, it is not certain that the U.S. Government or foreign governments will intervene in response to a future market disturbance and the effect of any such future intervention cannot be predicted.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its right to liquidate assets related to a repurchase agreement with an insolvent counterparty. A Fidelity fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities Lending. Securities lending allows a fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The fund seeks to maintain the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased.
Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies (which include business development companies (BDCs)), unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. For certain investment companies, such as BDCs, these expenses may be significant. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.
The securities of closed-end funds may be leveraged. As a result, a fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. An investment in securities of closed-end funds that use leverage may expose a fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the fund's long-term returns on such securities will be diminished.
The extent to which a fund can invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws.
Short Sales. Short sales involve the market sale of a security a fund has borrowed from a prime broker with which it has a contractual relationship, with the expectation that the security will underperform either the market or the securities that the fund holds long. A fund closes a short sale by purchasing the same security at the current market price and delivering it to the prime broker.
Until a fund closes out a short position, the fund is obligated to pay the prime broker (from which it borrowed the security sold short) interest as well as any dividends that accrue during the period of the loan. While a short position is outstanding, a fund must also pledge a portion of its assets to the prime broker as collateral for the borrowed security. The collateral will be marked to market daily.
Short positions create a risk that a fund will be required to cover them by buying the security at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the fund. A short position in a security poses more risk than holding the same security long. Because a short position loses value as the security's price increases, the loss on a short sale is theoretically unlimited. The loss on a long position is limited to what a fund originally paid for the security together with any transaction costs. A fund may not always be able to borrow a security the fund seeks to sell short at a particular time or at an acceptable price. As a result, a fund may be unable to fully implement its investment strategy due to a lack of available stocks or for other reasons. It is possible that the market value of the securities a fund holds in long positions will decline at the same time that the market value of the securities the fund has sold short increases, thereby increasing the fund's potential volatility. Because a fund may be required to pay dividends, interest, premiums and other expenses in connection with a short sale, any benefit for the fund resulting from the short sale will be decreased, and the amount of any ultimate gain will be decreased or of any loss will be increased, by the amount of such expenses.
A fund may also enter into short sales against the box. Short sales "against the box" are short sales of securities that a fund owns or has the right to obtain (equivalent in kind or amount to the securities sold short). If a fund enters into a short sale against the box, it will be required to set aside securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short (or securities convertible or exchangeable into such securities) and will be required to hold such securities while the short sale is outstanding. A fund will incur transaction costs, including interest expenses, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales against the box.
Sources of Liquidity or Credit Support. Issuers may employ various forms of credit and liquidity enhancements, including letters of credit, guarantees, swaps, puts, and demand features, and insurance provided by domestic or foreign entities such as banks and other financial institutions. An adviser and its affiliates may rely on their evaluation of the credit of the issuer or the credit of the liquidity or credit enhancement provider in determining whether to purchase or hold a security supported by such enhancement. In evaluating the credit of a foreign bank or other foreign entities, factors considered may include whether adequate public information about the entity is available and whether the entity may be subject to unfavorable political or economic developments, currency controls, or other government restrictions that might affect its ability to honor its commitment. Changes in the credit quality of the issuer and/or entity providing the enhancement could affect the value of the security or a fund's share price.
Sovereign Debt Obligations are issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies, including debt of Latin American nations or other developing countries. Sovereign debt may be in the form of conventional securities or other types of debt instruments such as loans or loan participations. Sovereign debt of developing countries may involve a high degree of risk, and may be in default or present the risk of default. Governmental entities responsible for repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal and pay interest when due, and may require renegotiation or rescheduling of debt payments. In addition, prospects for repayment of principal and payment of interest may depend on political as well as economic factors. Although some sovereign debt, such as Brady Bonds, is collateralized by U.S. Government securities, repayment of principal and payment of interest is not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument ( e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
<R> Temporary Defensive Policies. </R>
<R> In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, a fund may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If a fund does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund reserves the right to invest without limitation in preferred stocks and investment-grade debt instruments for temporary, defensive purposes.
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments which entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss.
Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
<R> SPECIAL GEOGRAPHIC CONSIDERATIONS</R>
<R> Emerging Markets. Investing in companies domiciled in emerging market countries may be subject to potentially higher risks than investments in developed countries. These risks include: (i) less social, political, and economic stability; (ii) greater illiquidity and price volatility due to smaller or limited local capital markets for such securities, or low or non-existent trading volumes; (iii) foreign exchanges and broker-dealers may be subject to less scrutiny and regulation by local authorities; (iv) local governments may decide to seize or confiscate securities held by foreign investors and/or local governments may decide to suspend or limit an issuer's ability to make dividend or interest payments; (v) local governments may limit or entirely restrict repatriation of invested capital, profits, and dividends; (vi) capital gains may be subject to local taxation, including on a retroactive basis; (vii) issuers facing restrictions on dollar or euro payments imposed by local governments may attempt to make dividend or interest payments to foreign investors in the local currency; (viii) investors may experience difficulty in enforcing legal claims related to the securities and/or local judges may favor the interests of the issuer over those of foreign investors; (ix) bankruptcy judgments may only be permitted to be paid in the local currency; (x) limited public information regarding the issuer may result in greater difficulty in determining market valuations of the securities, and (xi) infrequent financial reporting, substandard disclosure, and differences in accounting standards may make it difficult to ascertain the financial health of an issuer. In addition, unlike developed countries, many emerging countries' economic growth highly depends on exports and inflows of external capital, making them more vulnerable to the downturns of the world economy. The recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for their exports and tightened international credit supplies and, as a result, many emerging countries faced significant economic difficulties and some countries fell into recession.</R>
<R>Many emerging market countries suffer from uncertainty and corruption in their legal frameworks. Legislation may be difficult to interpret and laws may be too new to provide any precedential value. Laws regarding foreign investment and private property may be weak or non-existent. Sudden changes in governments may result in policies that are less favorable to investors such as policies designed to expropriate or nationalize "sovereign" assets. Certain emerging market countries in the past have expropriated large amounts of private property, in many cases with little or no compensation, and there can be no assurance that such expropriation will not occur in the future.</R>
<R>Many emerging market countries in which a fund may invest lack the social, political, and economic stability characteristic of the U.S. Political instability among emerging market countries can be common and may be caused by an uneven distribution of wealth, social unrest, labor strikes, civil wars, and religious oppression. Economic instability in emerging market countries may take the form of: (i) high interest rates; (ii) high levels of inflation, including hyperinflation; (iii) high levels of unemployment or underemployment; (iv) changes in government economic and tax policies, including confiscatory taxation (or taxes on foreign investments); and (v) imposition of trade barriers.</R>
<R>Currencies of emerging market countries are subject to significantly greater risks than currencies of developed countries. Some emerging market currencies may not be internationally traded or may be subject to strict controls by local governments, resulting in undervalued or overvalued currencies. Some emerging market countries have experienced balance of payment deficits and shortages in foreign exchange reserves. As a result, some governments have responded by restricting currency conversions. Future restrictive exchange controls could prevent or restrict a company's ability to make dividend or interest payments in the original currency of the obligation (usually U.S. dollars). In addition, even though the currencies of some emerging market countries may be convertible into U.S. dollars, the conversion rates may be artificial to their actual market values.</R>
<R>Governments of many emerging market countries have become overly reliant on the international capital markets and other forms of foreign credit to finance large public spending programs which cause huge budget deficits. Often, interest payments have become too overwhelming for these governments to meet, as these payments may represent a large percentage of a country's total GDP. Accordingly, these foreign obligations have become the subject of political debate and served as fuel for political parties of the opposition, which pressure governments not to make payments to foreign creditors, but instead to use these funds for social programs. Either due to an inability to pay or submission to political pressure, the governments have been forced to seek a restructuring of their loan and/or bond obligations, have declared a temporary suspension of interest payments, or have defaulted on their outstanding debt obligations. These events have adversely affected the values of securities issued by the governments and corporations domiciled in these emerging market countries and have negatively affected not only their cost of borrowing, but their ability to borrow in the future as well.</R>
<R>In addition to their over-reliance on international capital markets, many emerging economies are also highly dependent on international trade and exports, including exports of oil and other commodities. As a result, these economies are particularly vulnerable to downturns of the world economy. The recent global financial crisis tightened international credit supplies and weakened global demand for their exports and, as a result, certain of these economies faced significant difficulties and some economies fell into recession. Although certain economies in emerging market countries have recently shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. The reduced demand for exports and lack of available capital for investment resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy may limit recovery by emerging market countries.</R>
<R> </R>
<R> Canada. </R>
<R> Political. Canada's parliamentary system of government is, in general, stable. Quebec does have a "separatist" opposition party whose objective is to achieve sovereignty and increased self-governing legal and financial powers for the province. To date, referendums on Quebec sovereignty have been defeated. If a referendum about the independence of Quebec were successful, the Canadian federal government may be obliged to negotiate with Quebec.</R>
<R> Economic. Canada is a major producer of commodities such as forest products, metals, agricultural products, and energy related products like oil, gas, and hydroelectricity. Accordingly, changes in the supply and demand of base commodity resources and industrial and precious metals and materials, both domestically and internationally, can have a significant effect on Canadian market performance.</R>
<R>The U.S. is Canada's largest trading partner and developments in economic policy and U.S. market conditions have a significant impact on the Canadian economy. The expanding economic and financial integration of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico through the North American Free Trade Agreement may make the Canadian economy and securities market more sensitive to North American trade patterns. However, growth in developing countries overseas, particularly China, may change the composition of Canada's trade and foreign investment composition in the near future.</R>
<R>In recent years, economic growth slowed down in certain sectors of the Canadian economy. The Canadian economy suffered from a recession due, in part, to the recent global financial crisis. The weaker economy resulted in lower tax collections and increased support being provided to Canadians through government programs, which increased the Canadian budget deficit. While the Canadian economy has shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. Growth forecasts remain modest due to ongoing fiscal consolidation, the effects of the economic slowdown in the U.S., and weakened demand for Canadian exports and investment as a result of the European crisis. Furthermore, the strength of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar may negatively affect Canada's ability to export, which could limit Canada's economic recovery.</R>
<R> Europe. The European Union (EU) is an intergovernmental and supranational union of most Western European countries and a growing number of Eastern European countries, each known as a member state. One of the key activities of the EU is the establishment and administration of a common single market, consisting of, among other things, a common trade policy. In order to pursue this goal, member states established, among other things, the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), which sets out different stages and commitments that member states need to follow to achieve greater economic policy coordination and monetary cooperation, including the adoption of a single currency, the euro. While all EU member states participate in the economic union, only certain EU member states have adopted the euro as their currency. When a member state adopts the euro as its currency, the member state no longer controls its own monetary policies. Instead, the authority to direct monetary policy is exercised by the European Central Bank.</R>
<R>While economic and monetary convergence in the EU may offer new opportunities for those investing in the region, investors should be aware that the success of the EU is not wholly assured. European countries can be significantly affected by the tight fiscal and monetary controls that the EMU imposes on its members or with which candidates for EMU membership are required to comply. Europe must grapple with a number of challenges, any one of which could threaten the survival of this monumental undertaking. The countries adopting the euro must adjust to a unified monetary system, the absence of exchange rate flexibility, and the loss of economic sovereignty. Europe's economies are diverse, its governments are decentralized, and its cultures differ widely. Unemployment in some European countries has historically been higher than in the U.S. and could pose political risk. Many EU nations are susceptible to high economic risks associated with high levels of debt, notably due to investments in sovereign debts of European countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the Republic of Ireland. One or more member states might exit the EU, placing its currency and banking system in jeopardy. The EU currently faces major issues involving its membership, structure, procedures and policies; including the adoption, abandonment or adjustment of the new constitutional treaty, the EU's enlargement to the south and east, and resolution of the EU's problematic fiscal and democratic accountability. Efforts of the member states to continue to unify their economic and monetary policies may increase the potential for similarities in the movements of European markets and reduce the benefit of diversification within the region.</R>
<R> Political. The EU has been extending its influence to the east. It has accepted several Eastern European countries as new members, and has plans to accept several more in the medium-term. It is hoped that membership for these states will help cement economic and political stability in the region. For these countries, membership serves as a strong political impetus to employ tight fiscal and monetary policies. Nevertheless, new member states that were former Soviet satellites remain burdened to various extents by the inherited inefficiencies of centrally planned economies similar to what existed under the former Soviet Union. Further expansion of the EU has long-term economic benefits, but certain European countries are not viewed as currently suitable for membership, especially the troubled economies of countries further east. Also, as the EU continues to enlarge, the candidate countries' accessions may grow more controversial. Some member states may repudiate certain candidate countries joining the EU upon concerns about the possible economic, immigration, and cultural implications that may result from such enlargement. The current and future status of the EU therefore continues to be the subject of political controversy, with widely differing views both within and between member states. Also, Russia may be opposed to the expansion of the EU to members of the former Soviet bloc and may, at times, take actions that could negatively impact EU economic activity.</R>
It is possible that the gap between rich and poor within the EU's member countries, and particularly among new members that have not met the requirements for joining the EMU may increase, and that realigning traditional alliances could alter trading relationships and potentially provoke divisive socioeconomic splits.
<R>In the transition to the single economic system, significant political decisions will be made that may affect the market regulation, subsidization, and privatization across all industries, from agricultural products to telecommunications.</R>
<R> Economic. As economic conditions across member states may vary widely, there is continued concern about national-level support for the euro and the accompanying coordination of fiscal and wage policy among EMU member countries. Member countries must maintain tight control over inflation, public debt, and budget deficits in order to qualify for participation in the euro. These requirements severely limit EMU member countries' ability to implement monetary policy to address regional economic conditions.</R>
<R>The recent global financial crisis brought several small economies in Europe to the brink of bankruptcy and many other economies into recession and weakened the banking and financial sectors of many European countries. As a result, the governments of many European countries are now facing a serious economic crisis as high levels of public debt and substantial budget deficits hinder economic growth in the region and threaten the continued viability of the EMU. Due to these large public deficits, some European issuers have had difficulty accessing capital and may be dependent on emergency assistance from European governments and institutions to avoid defaulting on their outstanding debt obligations. The availability of such assistance, however, may be contingent on an issuer's implementation of certain reforms or reaching a required level of performance, which may increase the possibility of default. Such prospects have injected significant volatility into European markets, which may reduce the liquidity or value of a fund's investments in the region. Likewise, the high levels of public debt raise the possibility that certain European issuers may be forced to restructure their debt obligations, which could cause a fund to lose the value of its investments in any such issuer.</R>
<R>As European policy makers take unprecedented steps to respond to the ongoing economic crisis in the region, there is an increased risk that regulatory uncertainty could have a negative effect on the value of a fund's investments in the region. For example, the French parliament recently adopted a financial transactions tax that imposes a tax on, among other transactions, acquisitions of equities in listed companies that have their registered offices in France and that exceed a specified market capitalization. The European Commission has proposed plans for an EU-wide financial transactions tax to take effect in 2014, although it remains unclear whether such a tax will be agreed upon by EU member countries. Moreover, governments across the EMU are facing increasing opposition to certain crisis response measures. For example, efforts to reduce public spending in certain countries have been countered by large-scale protests. As a result, many governments in the region have collapsed or been voted out of office. Leaders in some of these countries have openly questioned the sustainability of the EMU, which raises the risk that certain member states will abandon the euro or that the euro may cease to exist as a single currency in its current form. Any such occurrence would likely have wide-ranging effects on global markets that are difficult to predict. However, these effects would likely have a negative impact on a fund's investments in the region.</R>
<R>Furthermore, the ongoing economic crisis has limited the prospect of short-term growth and economic recovery in the region, which raises the risk that Europe will fall into another recession. Economic challenges facing the region include high levels of public debt, significant rates of unemployment, aging populations, over-regulation of non-financial businesses, persistent trade deficits, rigid labor markets, and inability to access credit. Although certain of these challenges may weigh more heavily on some European economies than others, the economic integration of the region increases the likelihood that recession in one country may spread to others. Should Europe fall into another recession, the value of a fund's investments in the region may be affected.</R>
<R> Currency. Investing in euro-denominated (or other European currencies-denominated) securities entails risk of being exposed to a currency that may not fully reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the disparate European economies. In addition, many European countries rely heavily upon export-dependent businesses and any strength in the exchange rate between the euro and the U.S. dollar can have either a positive or a negative effect upon corporate profits and the performance of EU investments. Currencies have become more volatile, subjecting a fund's foreign investments to additional risks.</R>
<R> Nordic Countries. The Nordic countries relate to European integration in different ways. Norway and Iceland are outside the EU, although they are members of the European Economic Area. Denmark, Finland, and Sweden are all EU members, but only Finland has adopted the euro as its currency. Faced with stronger global competition, the Nordic countries - Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden - have had to scale down their historically generous welfare programs, resulting in drops in domestic demand and increased unemployment. Major industries in the region, such as forestry, agriculture, and oil, are heavily resource-dependent and face pressure as a result of high labor costs. Economic growth in many Nordic countries continues to be constrained by tight labor markets and adverse European and global economic conditions. Although certain Nordic countries have recently exhibited signs of economic growth, any such growth may be limited by the European crisis and the weakened global economy.</R>
Eastern Europe. Investing in the securities of Eastern European issuers is highly speculative and involves risks not usually associated with investing in the more developed markets of Western Europe. Political and economic reforms are too recent to establish a definite trend away from centrally planned economies and state-owned industries. Investments in Eastern European countries may involve risks of nationalization, expropriation, and confiscatory taxation.
<R>Many Eastern European countries continue to move towards market economies at different paces with appropriately different characteristics. Most Eastern European markets suffer from thin trading activity, dubious investor protections, and often a dearth of reliable corporate information. Information and transaction costs, differential taxes, and sometimes political or transfer risk give a comparative advantage to the domestic investor rather than the foreign investor. In addition, these markets are particularly sensitive to social, political, economic, and currency events in Western Europe and Russia and may suffer heavy losses as a result of their trading and investment links to these economies and currencies. Additionally, Russia may attempt to assert its influence in the region through economic or even military measures, as it did with Georgia in the summer of 2008.</R>
In some of the countries of Eastern Europe, there is no stock exchange or formal market for securities. Such countries may also have government exchange controls, currencies with no recognizable market value relative to the established currencies of Western market economies, little or no experience in trading in securities, no accounting or financial reporting standards, a lack of banking and securities infrastructure to handle such trading and a legal tradition that does not recognize rights in private property. Credit and debt issues and other economic difficulties affecting Western Europe and its financial institutions can negatively affect Eastern European countries.
<R>Eastern European economies may also be particularly susceptible to the international credit market due to their reliance on bank related inflows of foreign capital. The recent global financial crisis restricted international credit supplies and several Eastern European economies faced significant credit and economic crises. Although some Eastern European economies are expanding again, major challenges are still present as a result of their continued dependence on the Western European zone for credit and trade. Accordingly, the European crisis may present serious risks for Eastern European economies, which may have a negative effect on a fund's investments in the region.</R>
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<R> Japan. Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, emphasis on education, and a comparatively small defense allocation have helped Japan advance with extraordinary speed to become one of the largest economic powers along with the U.S. and the EU. Despite its impressive history, investors face special risks when investing in Japan.</R>
<R> Economic. For three decades from the 1960s through the 1980s, Japan's overall real economic growth had been spectacular. However, growth slowed markedly in the 1990s and Japan's economy fell into a long recession. After a few years of mild recovery in the mid-2000s, the Japanese economy fell into another recession as a result of the recent global financial crisis.</R>
<R>While Japan experienced an increase in exports relative to recent years, the rate of export growth has since slowed and the rapid appreciation in the value of the yen has negatively impacted Japan's exports. This economic recession was likely compounded by Japan's massive government debt, the aging and shrinking of the population, an unstable financial sector, low domestic consumption, and certain corporate structural weaknesses, which remain some of the major long-term problems of the Japanese economy.</R>
<R>Overseas trade is important to Japan's economy and Japan's economic growth is significantly driven by its exports. Japan has few natural resources and must export to pay for its imports of these basic requirements. Meanwhile, Japan's aging and shrinking population increases the cost of the country's pension and public welfare system and lowers domestic demand, making Japan more dependent on exports to sustain its economy. Therefore, any developments that negatively affect Japan's exports could present risks to a fund's investments in Japan. For example, domestic or foreign trade sanctions or other protectionist measures could harm Japan's economy. Likewise, any escalation of tensions with China or South Korea over disputed territorial claims may adversely impact Japan's trading relationship with two of its largest trading partners. Furthermore, reduced demand for Japan's exports resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy could present additional risks to a fund's investments in Japan.</R>
<R>Japan's recovery from the recession has been affected by economic distress resulting from the earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck northeastern Japan in March 2011 causing major damage along the coast, including damage to nuclear power plants in the region. Following the earthquake, Japan's financial markets fluctuated dramatically. The government injected capital into the economy and proposed plans for massive spending on reconstruction efforts in disaster-affected areas in order to stimulate economic growth. The full extent of the natural disaster's impact on Japan's economy and foreign investment in Japan is difficult to estimate. The risks of natural disasters of varying degrees, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, and the resulting damage, continue to exist.</R>
<R>A pressing need to sustain Japan's economic recovery and improve its economic growth is the task of overhauling the nation's financial institutions. Banks, in particular, may have to reform themselves to become more competitive. Successful financial sector reform would contribute to Japan's economic recovery at home and would benefit other economies in Asia. Internal conflict over the proper way to reform the banking system continues to exist. Currently, Japanese banks are facing difficulties generating profits. Currency fluctuations may also significantly affect Japan's economy.</R>
<R> Asia Pacific Region (ex Japan). Many countries in the region have historically faced political uncertainty, corruption, military intervention, and social unrest. Examples include military threats on the Korean peninsula and along the Taiwan Strait, the ethnic, sectarian, and separatist violence found in Indonesia, and the nuclear arms threats between India and Pakistan. To the extent that such events continue in the future, they can be expected to have a negative effect on economic and securities market conditions in the region. In addition, the Asia Pacific geographic region has historically been prone to natural disasters. The occurrence of a natural disaster in the region could negatively impact the economy of any country in the region.</R>
<R> Economic. The economies of many countries in the region are heavily dependent on international trade and are accordingly affected by protective trade barriers and the economic conditions of their trading partners, principally, the U.S., Japan, China, and the European Union. The countries in this region are also heavily dependent on exports and are thus particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. High food, fuel and other commodities' prices, as well as volatile capital inflows, may pose challenges to countries in this region in the near future. The recent global financial crisis spread to the region, significantly lowering its exports and foreign investments in the region, which are driving forces of its economic growth. In addition, the economic crisis also significantly affected consumer confidence and local stock markets. Although the economies of many countries in the region have recently shown signs of recovery from the crisis, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. Furthermore, any such recovery may be limited or hindered by the reduced demand for exports and lack of available capital for investment resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy.</R>
<R> The Republic of Korea (South Korea). Investors should be aware that investing in South Korea involves risks not typically associated with investing in the U.S. securities markets. Although relations between North Korea and South Korea had begun to improve in the past few years, recent developments are troubling. As a result, these relations still remain tense and the possibility of military action between the two countries still exists.</R>
<R> Corporate and financial sector restructuring initiated by the Korean government, in conjunction with the IMF, after the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis can be expected to continue, but its full impact cannot be predicted yet. The Korean economy's reliance on international trade makes it highly sensitive to fluctuations in international commodity prices, currency exchange rates and government regulation, and vulnerable to downturns of the world economy. For example, the recent global financial crisis led to large capital outflows from South Korea, which caused the deterioration of the country's currency, domestic asset markets, and credit conditions. The South Korean economy began showing signs of recovery from this downturn in 2009. Although South Korea's initial recovery was faster than many other developed nations, South Korea's growth has since slowed and any continued recovery may be gradual as the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for South Korean exports. The South Korean economy's long-term challenges include a rapidly aging population, inflexible labor market, and overdependence on exports to drive economic growth.</R>
<R> China Region. As with all transition economies, China's ability to develop and sustain a credible legal, regulatory, monetary, and socioeconomic system could influence the course of outside investment. Hong Kong is closely tied to China, economically and through China's 1997 acquisition of the country as a Special Autonomous Region (SAR).</R>
<R> Hong Kong's success depends, in large part, on its ability to retain the legal, financial, and monetary systems that it currently has in place, which allows economic freedom and market expansion. Although many Taiwanese companies heavily invest in China, a state of hostility continues to exist between China and Taiwan, which Beijing has long deemed a part of China and has made a nationalist cause of recovering it. Taiwan's political stability and ability to sustain its economic growth could be significantly affected by its political and economic relationship with China.</R>
<R>The recent global financial crisis caused a marked slowdown in economic growth in the region, leading local governments, especially the Chinese government, to take unprecedented steps to shore up economic growth and prevent widespread unemployment. Although China has experienced economic growth in recent years, recent economic data shows that growth is slowing. Demand for Chinese exports by Western countries, including the U.S. and Europe, may weaken due to the effects of relatively limited economic growth in those countries resulting from the financial crisis in the United States and the crisis in Europe. However, the Chinese government continues to maintain certain of these measures and may introduce more in the future, including measures intended to increase growth and to contain social unrest, which is an increasing risk.</R>
In addition to the risks inherent in investing in the emerging markets, the risks of investing in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan merit special consideration.
People's Republic of China. The government of the People's Republic of China is dominated by the one-party rule of the Chinese Communist Party.
China's economy has transitioned from a rigidly central-planned state-run economy to one that has been only partially reformed by more market-oriented policies. Although the Chinese government has implemented economic reform measures, reduced state ownership of companies and established better corporate governance practices, a substantial portion of productive assets in China are still owned by the Chinese government. The government continues to exercise significant control over regulating industrial development and, ultimately, control over China's economic growth through the allocation of resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies.
<R>At times, China's economy has been subject to the risks of overheating, which leads to the government's attempt to slow down the pace of growth through administrative measures. The recent global financial crisis, however, changed this course for some time, as China's economic growth slowed, due, in part, to weakened demand for its exports and reduced foreign investments in the country. The Chinese economy then showed strong signs of recovery from this slowed growth, but a recovery of China's trading partners may also be necessary to sustain China's continued growth and measures to control growth may be adopted again. In the short term, China's economy faces problems of inflation and local government debt, which swelled in recent years as a result of certain economic stimulus policies. Furthermore, the economy faces the prospect of prolonged weakness in demand for Chinese exports as its major trading partners, such as the United States, Japan, and Europe, continue to experience economic uncertainty stemming from the global financial crisis and European crisis, among other things. Over the long term, China's aging infrastructure, worsening environmental conditions and rapidly widening urban and rural income gap, which all carry political and economic implications, are among the country's major challenges. In addition, tensions resulting from China's territorial claims in the region may present risks to diplomatic and trade relations with certain of China's regional trade partners. Any escalation of these tensions could further reduce international demand for Chinese goods and services, which could have a negative effect on a fund's investments in the securities of Chinese issuers.</R>
As with all transition economies, China's ability to develop and sustain a credible legal, regulatory, monetary, and socioeconomic system could influence the course of outside investment. The Chinese legal system, in particular, constitutes a significant risk factor for investors. The Chinese legal system is based on statutes. Since the late 1970s, Chinese legislative bodies have promulgated laws and regulations dealing with various economic matters such as foreign investment, corporate organization and governance, commerce, taxation, and trade. However, these laws are relatively new and published court decisions based on these laws are limited and non-binding. The interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations are uncertain.
<R>China continues to limit direct foreign investments generally in industries deemed important to national interests. Foreign investment in domestic securities are also subject to substantial restrictions. Some believe that China's currency is undervalued. Currency fluctuations could significantly affect China and its trading partners. China continues to exercise control over the value of its currency, rather than allowing the value of the currency to be determined by market forces. This type of currency regime may experience sudden and significant currency adjustments, which may adversely impact investment returns.</R>
<R> Hong Kong. In 1997, Great Britain handed over control of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China. Since that time, Hong Kong has been governed by a semi-constitution known as the Basic Law, which guarantees a high degree of autonomy in certain matters until 2047, while defense and foreign affairs are the responsibility of the central government in Beijing. The chief executive of Hong Kong is appointed by the Chinese government. However, Hong Kong is able to participate in international organizations and agreements and it continues to function as an international financial center, with no exchange controls, free convertibility of the Hong Kong dollar and free inward and outward movement of capital. The Basic Law also guarantees existing freedoms, including the freedom of speech, assembly, press, and religion, as well as the right to strike and travel. Business ownership, private property, the right of inheritance and foreign investment are also protected by law. By treaty, China has committed to preserve Hong Kong's autonomy until 2047. Nevertheless, if China were to exert its authority so as to alter the economic, political, or legal structures or the existing social policy of Hong Kong, investor and business confidence in Hong Kong could be negatively affected, which in turn could negatively affect markets and business performance.</R>
<R>The global financial crisis forced Hong Kong's economy into a recession. Recently, however, Hong Kong's economy has shown signs of recovery from this recession. This recovery can be attributed, in large part, to the combined efforts of both China and Hong Kong to shore up domestic economic growth. As these measures continue to take effect, their long-term impact on the growth of Hong Kong's economy is unpredictable. However, Hong Kong's recovery has raised concerns about possible overheating in certain sectors of its economy, such as its real estate market, which could limit Hong Kong's future growth. In addition, because of Hong Kong's heavy reliance on international trade and global financial markets, Hong Kong remains exposed to significant risks as a result of the European crisis and weakened global economy. The negative effects of the European downturn on the global economy could push Hong Kong into another recession. Likewise, due to Hong Kong's close political and economic ties with China, any economic stagnation on the mainland could have a negative impact on Hong Kong's economy.</R>
<R> Taiwan. For decades, a state of hostility has existed between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China. Beijing has long deemed Taiwan a part of the "one China" and has made a nationalist cause of recovering it. In the past, China has staged frequent military provocations off the coast of Taiwan and made threats of full-scale military action. Foreign trade has been the engine of rapid growth in Taiwan and has transformed the island into one of Asia's great exporting nations. As an export-oriented economy, Taiwan depends on an open world trade regime and remains vulnerable to downturns in the world economy. Taiwanese companies continue to compete mostly on price, producing generic products or branded merchandise on behalf of multinational companies. Accordingly, these businesses can be particularly vulnerable to currency volatility and increasing competition from neighboring lower-cost countries. Moreover, many Taiwanese companies are heavily invested in mainland China and other countries throughout Southeast Asia, making them susceptible to political events and economic crises in these parts of the region. Significantly, Taiwan and China recently entered into agreements covering banking, securities, and insurance. Closer economic links with the mainland may bring greater opportunities for the Taiwanese economy, but also poses new challenges. For example, foreign direct investment in China has resulted in Chinese import substitution away from Taiwan's exports and a restriction of potential job creation in Taiwan. As a result of the recent global financial crisis, the demand for exports decreased and Taiwan entered into a recession. Although Taiwan's economy has recently shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. In addition, the effects of the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for Taiwan's exports, which could force its economy into another recession.</R>
<R> India. The value of a fund's investments in Indian securities may be affected by, among other things, political developments, rapid changes in government regulation, state intervention in private enterprise, nationalization or expropriation of foreign assets, legal uncertainty, high rates of inflation or interest rates, currency volatility, and civil unrest. In addition, any escalation of tensions with Pakistan may have a negative impact on a fund's investments in India. Likewise, political, social and economic disruptions caused by domestic sectarian violence or terrorist attacks may also present risks to a fund's investments in India.</R>
<R>The Indian economy is heavily dependent on exports and is vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. Recently, the Indian economy began showing signs of recovery from the effects of the global financial crisis. However, this recovery may be limited by the European crisis and weakened global economy. In the event that India's economic recovery slows, a fund's investments in Indian securities may be harmed.</R>
<R>Furthermore, restrictions or controls applicable to foreign investment in the securities of issuers in India may also adversely affect a fund's investments within the country. The availability of financial instruments with exposure to Indian financial markets may be substantially limited by restrictions on foreign investors. Foreign investors are required to observe certain investment restrictions, including limits on shareholdings, which may impede a fund's ability to invest in certain issuers or to fully pursue its investment objective. These restrictions may also have the effect of reducing demand for, or limiting the liquidity of, such investments. There can be no assurance that the Indian government will not impose restrictions on foreign capital remittances abroad or otherwise modify the exchange control regime applicable to foreign investors in such a way that may adversely affect the ability of a fund to repatriate their income and capital.</R>
<R>Shares of many Indian issuers are held by a limited number of persons and financial institutions, which may limit the number of shares available for investment. In addition, further issuances of securities by Indian issuers in which a fund has invested could dilute the investments of existing shareholders and could adversely affect the market price of such securities. Sales of securities by such issuer's major shareholders may also significantly and adversely affect other shareholders. Moreover, a limited number of issuers represent a disproportionately large percentage of market capitalization and trading value in India.</R>
<R> Indonesia. Indonesia has restored financial stability and pursued sober fiscal policies since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, but many economic development problems remain, including high unemployment, a fragile banking sector, endemic corruption, inadequate infrastructure, a poor investment climate, inflationary pressures and unequal resource distribution among regions. These problems may limit the country's ability to contain the severe and negative impact of the recent global financial crisis on its economy. In addition, Indonesia continues to be at risk of ethnic, sectarian, and separatist violence. Furthermore, slow budgetary disbursements have created challenges for government programs related to infrastructure, secondary education, and certain social policies. Rises in global commodity prices may also present risks to Indonesia's growth potential. Keys to future growth remain internal reform, peaceful resolution of internal conflicts, bolstering the confidence of international and domestic investors, and strong global economic growth.</R>
<R> Thailand. Thailand has a well-developed infrastructure and a free-enterprise economy, which is welcoming to certain foreign investment. Increased consumption and investment spending and strong export industries continue to sustain economic growth. Moreover, Bangkok has pursued preferential trade agreements with a variety of partners in an effort to boost exports and maintain high growth, and in 2004 began negotiations on a free trade agreement with the U.S. However, weakening fiscal discipline, separatist violence in the south, the intervention by the military in civilian spheres, and continued political instability may cause additional risks for investments in Thailand. In addition, natural disasters may affect economic growth in the country. For example, in late 2011, historic floods devastated industrial areas north of Bangkok, which severely harmed Thailand's manufacturing sector and reduced the country's economic growth. Although the Thai economy may already be showing signs of recovery from this disaster, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as demand for Thai goods and services could decline due to the effects of the European sovereign debt crisis and weakened global economy.</R>
<R> Philippines. Because of its relatively low dependence on exports and high domestic rates of consumption, as well as substantial remittances received from large overseas populations, the Philippines was one of the few countries in Asia to navigate the recent global financial crisis without falling into recession. Although the economy of the Philippines has shown signs of growth in recent years, there can be no assurances that such growth will continue. Reduced demand for exports from the Philippines as a result of the European crisis and weakened global economy, as well as lower remittances from Filipino immigrants abroad, may negatively impact economic growth in the Philippines. Furthermore, certain weaknesses in the economy, such as inadequate infrastructure, high poverty rates, uneven wealth distribution, low fiscal revenues, endemic corruption, inconsistent regulation, unpredictable taxation, unreliable judicial processes, and the appropriation of foreign assets may present risks to a fund's investments in the Philippines. In addition, investments in the Philippines are subject to risks arising from political or social unrest, including threats from military coups, terrorist groups and separatist movements. Likewise, the Philippines is prone to natural disasters such as typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes and flooding, which may also present risks to a fund's investments in the Philippines.</R>
<R> </R>
<R> Latin America. As an emerging market, Latin America historically suffered from social, political, and economic instability. For investors, this has meant additional risk caused by periods of regional conflict, political corruption, totalitarianism, protectionist measures, nationalization, hyperinflation, debt crises, sudden and large currency devaluation, and intervention by the military in civilian and economic spheres. For example, at times the government of Brazil has imposed a tax on foreign investment in Brazilian stocks and bonds, which may affect the value of a fund's investments in the securities of Brazilian issuers. However, in some Latin American countries, a move to sustainable democracy and a more mature and accountable political environment is under way. Domestic economies have been deregulated, privatization of state-owned companies is almost completed and foreign trade restrictions have been relaxed.</R>
<R> Nonetheless, to the extent that events such as those listed above continue in the future, they could reverse favorable trends toward market and economic reform, privatization, and removal of trade barriers, and result in significant disruption in securities markets in the region. In addition, recent favorable economic performance in much of the region has led to a concern regarding government overspending in certain Latin American countries. Investors in the region continue to face a number of potential risks. Certain Latin American countries depend heavily on exports to the U.S. and investments from a small number of countries. Accordingly, these countries may be sensitive to fluctuations in demand, exchange rates and changes in market conditions associated with those countries. The economic growth of most Latin American countries is highly dependent on commodity exports and the economies of certain Latin American countries, particularly Mexico and Venezuela, are highly dependent on oil exports. As a result, these economies are particularly susceptible to fluctuations in the price of oil and other commodities and currency fluctuations. The recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for oil and other commodities and, as a result, Latin American countries faced significant economic difficulties that led certain countries into recession. If global economic conditions worsen, prices for Latin American commodities may experience increased volatility and demand may continue to decrease. Although certain of these countries have recently shown signs of recovery, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. In addition, prolonged economic difficulties may have negative effects on the transition to a more stable democracy in some Latin American countries. In certain countries, political risk, including nationalization risk, is high.</R>
<R>A number of Latin American countries are among the largest debtors of developing countries and have a long history of reliance on foreign debt and default. The majority of the region's economies have become highly dependent upon foreign credit and loans from external sources to fuel their state-sponsored economic plans. Historically, government profligacy and ill-conceived plans for modernization have exhausted these resources with little benefit accruing to the economy. Most countries have been forced to restructure their loans or risk default on their debt obligations. In addition, interest on the debt is subject to market conditions and may reach levels that would impair economic activity and create a difficult and costly environment for borrowers. Accordingly, these governments may be forced to reschedule or freeze their debt repayment, which could negatively affect local markets. Because of their dependence on foreign credit and loans, a number of Latin American economies faced significant economic difficulties and some economies fell into recession as the recent global financial crisis tightened international credit supplies. While the region has recently shown signs of economic improvement, recovery from past economic downturns in Latin America has historically been slow, and any such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. The European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for exports from Latin America and limit the availability of foreign credit for some countries in the region. As a result, a fund's investments in Latin American securities could be harmed if economic recovery in the region is limited.</R>
<R> </R>
<R> Russia. Investing in Russian securities is highly speculative and involves significant risks and special considerations not typically associated with investing in the securities markets of the U.S. and most other developed countries.</R>
Political. Over the past century, Russia has experienced political and economic turbulence and has endured decades of communist rule under which tens of millions of its citizens were collectivized into state agricultural and industrial enterprises. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's government has been faced with the daunting task of stabilizing its domestic economy, while transforming it into a modern and efficient structure able to compete in international markets and respond to the needs of its citizens. However, to date, many of the country's economic reform initiatives have floundered as the proceeds of IMF and other economic assistance have been squandered or stolen. In this environment, there is always the risk that the nation's government will abandon the current program of economic and political reform and replace it with radically different political and economic policies that would be detrimental to the interests of foreign and private investors.
In the last few years, as significant income from oil and commodity exports has boosted Russia's economy, Russia's government has begun to make bolder steps to re-assert its regional geopolitical influence (including military steps). Such steps may increase tensions between Russia and its neighbors and Western countries and may negatively affect economic growth.
Economic. Many of Russia's businesses have failed to mobilize the available factors of production because the country's privatization program virtually ensured the predominance of the old management teams that are largely non-market-oriented in their management approach. Poor accounting standards, inept management, pervasive corruption, insider trading and crime, and inadequate regulatory protection for the rights of investors all pose a significant risk, particularly to foreign investors. In addition, there is the risk that the Russian tax system will not be reformed to prevent inconsistent, retroactive, and/or exorbitant taxation, or, in the alternative, the risk that a reformed tax system may result in the inconsistent and unpredictable enforcement of the new tax laws.
Compared to most national stock markets, the Russian securities market suffers from a variety of problems not encountered in more developed markets. There is little long-term historical data on the Russian securities market because it is relatively new and a substantial proportion of securities transactions in Russia are privately negotiated outside of stock exchanges. The inexperience of the Russian securities market and the limited volume of trading in securities in the market may make obtaining accurate prices on portfolio securities from independent sources more difficult than in more developed markets. Additionally, there is little solid corporate information available to investors. As a result, it may be difficult to assess the value or prospects of an investment in Russian companies.
<R>Because of the recent formation of the Russian securities market as well as the underdeveloped state of the banking and telecommunications systems, settlement, clearing and registration of securities transactions are subject to significant risks. Ownership of shares (except where shares are held through depositories that meet the requirements of the 1940 Act) is defined according to entries in the company's share register and normally evidenced by extracts from the register or by formal share certificates. However, these services are carried out by the companies themselves or by registrars located throughout Russia. These registrars are not necessarily subject to effective state supervision nor are they licensed with any governmental entity and it is possible for a fund to lose its registration through fraud, negligence, or even mere oversight. While a fund will endeavor to ensure that its interest continues to be appropriately recorded either itself or through a custodian or other agent inspecting the share register and by obtaining extracts of share registers through regular confirmations, these extracts have no legal enforceability and it is possible that subsequent illegal amendment or other fraudulent act may deprive a fund of its ownership rights or improperly dilute its interests. In addition, while applicable Russian regulations impose liability on registrars for losses resulting from their errors, it may be difficult for a fund to enforce any rights it may have against the registrar or issuer of the securities in the event of loss of share registration. Furthermore, significant delays or problems may occur in registering the transfer of securities, which could cause a fund to incur losses due to a counterparty's failure to pay for securities the fund has delivered or the fund's inability to complete its contractual obligations because of theft or other reasons. A recently enacted law authorizes the establishment of a centralized securities depository (CSD), which, in effect, will become the exclusive settlement organization for publicly traded Russian companies and investment funds in Russia. Once the CSD is fully functional, it should enhance the efficiency and transparency of the Russian securities market.</R>
<R>The Russian economy is heavily dependent upon the export of a range of commodities including most industrial metals, forestry products, oil, and gas. Accordingly, it is strongly affected by international commodity prices and is particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. As the recent global financial crisis caused price volatility in commodities, especially oil, many sectors in the Russian economy fell into turmoil, pushing the whole economy into recession. In addition, prior to the global financial crisis, Russia's economic policy encouraged excessive foreign currency borrowing as high oil prices increased investor appetite for Russian financial assets. As a result of this credit boom, Russia reached alarming debt levels and suffered from the effects of tight credit markets. Although the country is still plagued by high debt levels, the Russian economy has recently shown signs of recovery from the recession. However, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as Russia continues to face significant economic challenges. In the near term, the fallout from the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for Russian exports such as oil and gas, which could limit Russia's economic recovery. Over the long-term, Russia faces challenges including a shrinking workforce, a high level of corruption, and difficulty in accessing capital for smaller, non-energy companies and poor infrastructure in need of large investments.</R>
<R> Currency. Foreign investors also face a high degree of currency risk when investing in Russian securities and a lack of available currency hedging instruments. In a surprise move in August 1998, Russia devalued the ruble, defaulted on short-term domestic bonds, and imposed a moratorium on the repayment of its international debt and the restructuring of the repayment terms. These actions have negatively affected Russian borrowers' ability to access international capital markets and have had a damaging impact on the Russian economy. In light of these and other government actions, foreign investors could face the possibility of further devaluations. In addition, there is the risk that the government may impose capital controls on foreign portfolio investments in the event of extreme financial or political crisis. Such capital controls could prevent the sale of a portfolio of foreign assets and the repatriation of investment income and capital. Such risks have led to heightened scrutiny of Russian liquidity conditions, which in turn creates a heightened risk of the repatriation of ruble assets by nervous foreign investors. The recent economic turmoil in Russia caused the Russian ruble to depreciate as unemployment levels increased and global demand for oil exports decreased. As the global economy faces another economic crisis, the Russian central bank may need to manage bank liquidity carefully to avoid undue pressures on Russia's banks and other financial institutions and the ruble.</R>
<R> </R>
<R> The Middle East and Africa. Investing in Middle Eastern and African securities is highly speculative and involves significant risks and special considerations not typically associated with investing in the securities markets of the U.S. and most other developed countries.</R>
<R> Political. Many Middle Eastern and African countries historically have suffered from political instability. Despite a growing trend towards democratization, especially in Africa, significant political risks continue to affect some Middle Eastern and African countries. These risks may include substantial government control over the private sector, corrupt leaders, civil unrest, suppression of opposition parties that can lead to further dissidence and militancy, fixed elections, terrorism, coups, and war. Recently, several countries in the Middle East and North Africa have experienced pro-democracy movements that resulted in swift regime changes. In some cases, these movements have led to armed conflict involving local factions, regional allies or international forces. These changes, in the short term, have affected the status and speed of economic reforms in the region. Because many Middle East and African nations have a history of dictatorship, military intervention, and corruption, there can be no guarantee that recent movements toward a more democratic process will continue. Therefore, the long-term effects of the ongoing regime changes are largely unpredictable. In addition, there is an increasing risk that historical animosities, border disputes, or defense concerns may lead to further armed conflict in the region. In all regions, if such developments were to occur, it could have a negative effect on economic growth and reverse favorable trends toward economic and market reform, privatization, and the removal of trade barriers. Such developments could also result in significant disruptions in securities markets, which may have wider consequences for the global economy.</R>
<R> Economic. Middle Eastern and African countries historically have suffered from economic instability. Underdeveloped infrastructure, high unemployment rates, a comparatively unskilled labor force, and inconsistent access to capital have contributed to economic instability in the region. Furthermore, certain Middle Eastern and African markets may face a higher concentration of market capitalization, greater illiquidity and greater price volatility than that found in more developed markets of Western Europe or the U.S. Additionally, certain countries in the region have a history of nationalizing or expropriating foreign assets, which could cause a fund to lose the value of its investments in those countries. Despite a growing trend towards economic diversification, many Middle Eastern and African economies remain heavily dependent upon a limited range of commodities. These include gold, silver, copper, cocoa, diamonds, natural gas and petroleum. These economies are greatly affected by international commodity prices and are particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. As the recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for oil, gas, and other commodities, some countries in the region faced significant economic difficulties and many countries have been forced to scale down their infrastructure development and the size of their public welfare systems, which could have long-term economic, social, and political implications. Although certain economies in Africa and the Middle East have recently shown signs of recovery from the recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for exports from the region.</R>
<R></R>
<R>The largest economy in Africa is South Africa. The country has a two-tiered, developing economy with one tier similar to that of a developed country and the second tier having only the most basic infrastructure. High interest rates, power shortages, and weakening commodities prices, along with the recent economic crisis, caused South Africa to enter a recession in 2009 for the first time in 18 years. The South African Government, both before and during the recession, implemented policies designed to reduce trade and investment restrictions and privatize certain industries. However, ethnic and civil conflicts, the HIV health crisis, uncertainty surrounding government policy, and political instability have led to uneven wealth distribution within the country and may cause additional risks for investments in South Africa. These problems likely compounded the economic difficulties that South Africa faced as the negative effects of the global financial crisis spread to the country. Although the South African economy has recently shown signs of recovery, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as political, social, and labor unrest could affect the South African economy. In addition, reduced demand for South African exports due to the European crisis and weakened global economy may limit any such recovery.</R>
Currency. Certain Middle Eastern and African countries have currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar or euro, rather than at levels determined by market forces. This type of currency regime may experience sudden and significant currency adjustments, which may adversely impact investment returns.
To the extent that Strategic Advisers grants investment management authority over an allocated portion of the fund's assets to a sub-adviser (see the section entitled "Management Contract"), that sub-adviser is authorized to provide the services described in the respective sub-advisory agreement, and in accordance with the policies described in this section.
Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities are placed on behalf of the fund by Strategic Advisers (either directly or through its affiliates) or a sub-adviser, pursuant to authority contained in the management contract and the respective sub-advisory agreement.
Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
<R>The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in affiliated funds, but it may incur such costs when it invests in non-affiliated funds and when it invests directly in other types of securities, including ETFs.</R>
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review Strategic Advisers' and its affiliates' and each sub-adviser's performance of their respective responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
<R> Strategic Advisers. </R>
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Strategic Advisers, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Strategic Advisers or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.</R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Strategic Advisers or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services Strategic Advisers or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Strategic Advisers' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Strategic Advisers or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.</R>
Research Contracts. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Strategic Advisers or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) who have entered into arrangements with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
<R>Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), with whom they are under common control, provided Strategic Advisers or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade-execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.</R>
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Strategic Advisers to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
<R> Acadian Asset Management LLC (Acadian). </R>
<R> The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers </R>
<R>Acadian generally has authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Acadian considers the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Acadian's overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Acadian may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Acadian; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.</R>
<R>The trading desks through which Acadian may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.</R>
<R>In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Acadian may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Acadian also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Acadian may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.</R>
<R> The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services </R>
<R>Brokers that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Acadian.</R>
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Acadian may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Acadian's own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.</R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
<R> Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Acadian does not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in Acadian's investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Acadian will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").</R>
<R> Benefit to Acadian. Acadian's expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which Acadian may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services Acadian receives are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Acadian or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Acadian may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.</R>
<R> Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Acadian makes a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Acadian, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Acadian's overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Acadian has investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Acadian may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Acadian nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Acadian in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Acadian has investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Acadian.</R>
<R> Research Contracts. Acadian has arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Acadian effects fund trades, whereby Acadian may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Acadian may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Acadian, or that may be available from another broker. Acadian views hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. Acadian's determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Acadian's part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.</R>
<R> Commission Recapture </R>
<R>Acadian's commission rates are extremely competitive, leaving little or no room for clients to recapture commissions. Acadian does not typically participate in recapture programs.</R>
<R> Affiliated Transactions </R>
<R>Acadian does not utilize the services of any affiliated firms to trade for the accounts of any firm client. Acadian will also abide by any restrictions imposed by a client regarding the use of any specific broker including those that may be an affiliate of the client.</R>
<R> Non-U.S. Transactions </R>
<R>To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Acadian may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.</R>
<R> Trade Allocation </R>
<R>Acadian manages multiple portfolios that frequently will purchase or sell the same securities. In such instances, Acadian typically aggregates or "bunches" orders for the purchase or sale of the security on behalf of all clients transacting that day and awards the trade program to a broker that has demonstrated an ability to achieve best execution in the market in which the stock trades. Acadian instructs the broker regarding allocation of executed shares among participating accounts and relies upon the broker to make the allocation in accordance with those instructions. Acadian confirms that the instructions were properly followed. Securities purchased or proceeds of securities sold through aggregated orders are typically allocated to each participating client account at the average execution price. Exceptions to this policy occur for trades executed in "ID" markets (rules for certain markets in which Acadian trades prohibit brokers from averaging execution price across participating accounts), trades in the same security that are released to a broker at different times on the same day, and differences in terms of trade instructions as directed by a client (e.g., settlement date or trading instructions).</R>
<R>If the aggregated order is incomplete, purchased securities or proceeds shall generally be allocated pro rata among the participating portfolios in proportion to their planned participation in the aggregated orders. Exceptions may be made to this process. For example, if only a small portion of an order is filled at the end of a trading day, it may not result in a meaningful distribution of shares. Therefore, allocations may be made to a small number of accounts.</R>
Commissions Paid
A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
<R>For the fiscal periods ended February 28, 2013 and February 29, 2012, the fund's portfolio turnover rates were 26% and 11%, respectively. Variations in turnover rate may be due to a fluctuating volume of shareholder purchase and redemption orders, market conditions, and/or changes in Strategic Advisers' investment outlook.</R>
<R>The following table shows the total amount of brokerage commissions paid by the fund, comprising commissions paid on securities and/or futures transactions, as applicable, for the fiscal years ended February 28, 2013, February 29, 2012, and February 28, 2011. The total amount of brokerage commissions paid is stated as a dollar amount and a percentage of the fund's average net assets.</R>
Fiscal Year
|
|
Dollar
|
Percentage of
|
<R>2013 |
|
$ 347,057 |
0.02%</R> |
2012 + |
|
$ 183,105 |
0.01% |
2011 A |
|
$ 106,847 |
0.01% |
+ Fiscal year ended February 29.
A From September 30, 2010 (commencement of operations).
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid no brokerage commissions to firms for providing research or brokerage services.</R>
The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. The NAV of the fund is computed by adding the value of the fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting its liabilities, and dividing the result by the number of shares outstanding.
The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for pricing, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers has established the Strategic Advisers Fair Value Committee (Strategic Advisers Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities. The Strategic Advisers Committee may rely on information and recommendations provided by affiliates of Strategic Advisers in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, including the fair valuation of securities.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs and closed-end funds) held by the fund are valued at their respective NAVs. If an underlying fund's NAV is unavailable, shares of that underlying fund will be fair valued in good faith by the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by the fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity non-money market fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities (including securities issued by ETFs and closed-end funds) are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
<R>Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques.</R>
Short-term securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less for which market quotations and information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates current value.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
<R>Prices described above are obtained from pricing services that have been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available and the funds may use more than one of these services. The funds may also discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time. Strategic Advisers engages in oversight activities with respect to the fund's pricing services, which includes, among other things, testing the prices provided by pricing services prior to calculation of a fund's NAV, conducting periodic due diligence meetings, and periodically reviewing the methodologies and inputs used by these services.</R>
<R>Foreign securities and instruments are valued in their local currency following the methodologies described above. Foreign securities, instruments and currencies are translated to U.S. dollars, based on foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by a pricing service as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which uses a proprietary model to determine the exchange rate. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at an interpolated rate based on days to maturity between the closest preceding and subsequent settlement period reported by the third party pricing service.</R>
The Board of Trustees of the underlying Fidelity funds has ultimate responsibility for pricing portfolio securities and assets held by those funds, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee and the Strategic Advisers Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and ADRs, market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. This technique involves initially valuing an instrument at its cost as adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount rather than its current market value. The amortized cost value of an instrument may be higher or lower than the price a money market fund would receive if it sold the instrument.
At such intervals as they deem appropriate, the Trustees of an underlying Fidelity money market fund consider the extent to which NAV calculated using market valuations would deviate from the $1.00 per share calculated using amortized cost valuation. If the Trustees believe that a deviation from a money market fund's amortized cost per share may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Trustees have agreed to take such corrective action, if any, as they deem appropriate to eliminate or reduce, to the extent reasonably practicable, the dilution or unfair results. Such corrective action could include selling portfolio instruments prior to maturity to realize capital gains or losses or to shorten average portfolio maturity; withholding dividends; redeeming shares in kind; establishing NAV by using available market quotations; and such other measures as the Trustees may deem appropriate.
BUYING AND SELLING INFORMATION
Shares of the fund are offered only to certain clients of Strategic Advisers that have granted Strategic Advisers discretionary investment authority. If you are not currently a Strategic Advisers client, please call 1-800-544-3455 for more information.
Investors participating in a Strategic Advisers discretionary investment program are charged an annual advisory fee based on a percentage of the average market value of assets in their account. The stated fee is then reduced by a credit reflecting the amount of fees, if any, received by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates from mutual funds for investment management or certain other services.
The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the fund's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
<R> Dividends. Because the fund may invest significantly in foreign securities and/or in underlying funds that invest significantly in foreign securities, corporate shareholders should not expect fund dividends to qualify for the dividends-received deduction. However, a portion of the fund's dividends, when distributed to individual shareholders, may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met). Short-term capital gains are taxable at ordinary income tax rates.</R>
Capital Gain Distributions. The fund's long-term capital gain distributions, including amounts attributable to an underlying fund's long-term capital gain distributions, are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the fund had an aggregate capital loss carryforward of approximately $27,589,349. This loss carryforward, none of which will expire, is available to offset future capital gains. Under provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and related regulations, a fund's ability to utilize its capital loss carryforwards in a given year or in total may be limited.</R>
Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.
Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. As a general matter, if, at the close of its fiscal year, more than 50% of the fund's total assets is invested in securities of foreign issuers, the fund may elect to pass through eligible foreign taxes paid and thereby allow shareholders to take a deduction or, if they meet certain holding period requirements with respect to fund shares, a credit on their individual tax returns. In addition, if at the close of each quarter of its fiscal year at least 50% of the fund's total assets is represented by interests in other regulated investment companies, the same rules will apply to any foreign tax credits that underlying funds pass through to the fund. The amount of foreign taxes paid by the fund will be reduced to the extent that the fund lends securities over the dividend record date. Special rules may apply to the credit for individuals who receive dividends qualifying for the long-term capital gains tax rate.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
<R>The Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and executive officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. If the interests of the fund and an underlying Fidelity fund were to diverge, a conflict of interest could arise and affect how the Trustees and Member of the Advisory Board fulfill their fiduciary duties to the affected funds. Strategic Advisers has structured the fund to avoid these potential conflicts, although there may be situations where a conflict of interest is unavoidable. In such instances, Strategic Advisers, the Trustees, and Member of the Advisory Board would take reasonable steps to minimize and, if possible, eliminate the conflict. Except for Mary C. Farrell, each of the Trustees oversees 26 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. Ms. Farrell oversees 20 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.</R>
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. The executive officers and Advisory Board Member hold office without limit in time, except that any officer and Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
<R>Each Trustee who is not an interested person of the trust and the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) is referred to herein as an Independent Trustee.</R>
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Fund's Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also engage professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates with experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. Additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, may be considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. Roger T. Servison is an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) and currently serves as Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Ralph F. Cox serves as the lead Independent Trustee and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
<R>Fidelity funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees asset allocation funds as well as the Fidelity enhanced index funds. Other boards oversee Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds and Fidelity's equity and high income funds. The fund may invest in Fidelity funds overseen by such other Boards. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues.</R>
The Trustees primarily operate as a full Board, but also operate in committees, to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board has charged Strategic Advisers and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through Strategic Advisers, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. Board oversight of different aspects of the fund's activities is exercised primarily through the full Board, but also through the Audit and Compliance Committee. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees."
Interested Trustees *:
<R>Correspondence intended for each Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
|
<R>Roger T. Servison (1945)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Servison is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Servison serves as President of Strategic New Business Development for Fidelity Investments and serves as a Director of Strategic Advisers. Previously, Mr. Servison oversaw Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company (2005-2006) and Strategic Advisers (2005-2007). Mr. Servison also served as President and a Director of Fidelity Brokerage Services (Japan), LLC (1994-2004). |
<R>Derek L. Young (1964)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Mr. Young is Vice President of Fidelity's Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present), President and a Director of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2011-present), President of Fidelity Global Asset Allocation (GAA) (2011-present), and Vice Chairman of Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2011-present). Previously, Mr. Young served as Chief Investment Officer of GAA (2009-2011) and as a portfolio manager. |
<R>* Trustees have been determined to be "Interested Trustees" by virtue of, among other things, their affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with Strategic Advisers.</R>
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees :
Correspondence intended for each Independent Trustee (that is, the Trustees other than the Interested Trustees) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
|
<R>Peter C. Aldrich (1944)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Aldrich is a Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Director of the funds of BlackRock Realty Group (2006-present). Previously, Mr. Aldrich served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010), a Managing Member of Poseidon, LLC (foreign private investment, 1998-2004), and Chairman and Managing Member of AEGIS, LLC (foreign private investment, 1997-2004). Mr. Aldrich also served as Faculty Chairman of The Research Council on Global Investment of The Conference Board (business and professional education non-profit, 1999-2004). Mr. Aldrich is a Member of the Boards of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and an Overseer of the Longy School of Music. |
<R>Amy Butte Liebowitz (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011</R> Ms. Butte Liebowitz was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of TILE Financial (financial internet service, 2008-2012). Previously, Ms. Butte Liebowitz served as the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of MF Global (broker-dealer, 2006-2008), and Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange (2004-2006). Ms. Butte Liebowitz is a member of the Boards of Directors of Accion International and the New York Women's Forum, as well as an alumna of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader program. |
<R>Ralph F. Cox (1932)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Cox is President of RABAR Enterprises (management consulting for the petroleum industry). Mr. Cox is a Director of Abraxas Petroleum (exploration and production). Mr. Cox is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Business and Engineering Schools of Texas A&M University and the Engineering School of University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Mr. Cox served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010) and as an Advisory Director of CH2M Hill Companies (engineering, 1981-2011). Mr. Ralph F. Cox and Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. are not related. |
<R>Mary C. Farrell (1949)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2013</R> Ms. Farrell is a Director of the W.R. Berkley Corporation (insurance provider) and President (2009-present) and Director (2006-present) of the Howard Gilman Foundation (charitable organization). Previously, Ms. Farrell was Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at UBS Wealth Management USA and Co-Head of UBS Wealth Management Investment Strategy & Research Group (2003-2005). Ms. Farrell also served as Investment Strategist at PaineWebber (1982-2000) and UBS PaineWebber (2000-2002). Ms. Farrell also serves as Trustee on the Board of Overseers of the New York University Stern School of Business, the Board of Trustees of Yale-New Haven Hospital and is a member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II. |
<R>Karen Kaplan (1960)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Ms. Kaplan is President of Hill Holliday (advertising and specialized marketing, 2007-present). Ms. Kaplan is a Director of DSM (dba Delta Dental and DentaQuest) (2004-present), Director of Vera Bradley (2012-present), Member of the Board of Governors of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston (2010-present), Member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference for Women (2008-present), Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (2006-present), Board of Directors of Jobs for Massachusetts (2012-present), National Association of Corporate Directors Chapter (2012-present), and Board of Directors of the Post Office Square Trust (2012-present). She is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, an action oriented community of the most effective CEOs, heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, and non-governmental leaders in the world. Previously, Ms. Kaplan served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010), President of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2008-2010), Treasurer of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2002-2006), Vice Chair of the Board of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2003-2010), Director of United Way of Massachusetts Bay (2004-2006), Director of ADVO (direct mail marketing, 2003-2007), and Director of Tweeter Home Entertainment Group (2006-2007). |
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Member and Executive Officers :
<R>Correspondence intended for each executive officer and Howard E. Cox, Jr. may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupation</R> |
|
<R>Howard E. Cox, Jr. (1944)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II. Mr. Cox is a Member of the Advisory Board of Devonshire Investors (2009-present). Mr. Cox serves as an Advisory Partner of Greylock (venture capital) and a Director of Stryker Corporation (medical products and services). Previously, Mr. Cox served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010) and a Member of the Secretary of Defense's Business Board of Directors (2008-2010). Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. and Mr. Ralph F. Cox are not related. |
<R>Kenneth B. Robins (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 President and Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Robins also serves as President and Treasurer of other Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds (2008-present) and Assistant Treasurer of other Fidelity Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present). Mr. Robins is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Robins served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2005-2008) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2006-2008). |
<R>Marc Bryant (1966)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of the fund. Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Fidelity Investments. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Mr. Bryant served as a Senior Vice President and the Head of Global Retail Legal for AllianceBernstein L.P. (2006-2010), and as the General Counsel for ProFund Advisors LLC (2001-2006). |
<R>Elizabeth Paige Baumann (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer of the fund. Ms. Baumann also serves as AML Officer of the Fidelity funds (2012-present) and The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2012-present), Chief AML Officer of FMR LLC (2012-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Baumann served as Vice President and Deputy Anti-Money Laundering Officer (2007-2012). |
<R>Nicholas E. Steck (1964)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the fund. Mr. Steck serves as Senior Vice President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. During the period 2002 to 2009, Mr. Steck served as a Compliance Officer of FMR, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc., FMR LLC, Fidelity Research & Analysis (U.K.) Inc., Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. |
<R>Laura M. Doherty (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Compliance Officer of the fund. Ms. Doherty also serves as Senior Vice President of the Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Doherty served as a Vice President in Fidelity's Corporate Audit department (1998-2008). |
<R>Adrien E. Deberghes (1967)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Deberghes also serves as Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) and Deputy Treasurer (2008-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Deberghes served as Senior Vice President of Mutual Fund Administration at State Street Corporation (2007-2008), Senior Director of Mutual Fund Administration at Investors Bank & Trust (2005-2007), and Director of Finance for Dunkin' Brands (2000-2005). |
<R>Stephanie J. Dorsey (1969)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Ms. Dorsey also serves as President and Treasurer (2013-present) and Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Dorsey served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2008-2013), Treasurer (2004-2008) of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds and Vice President (2004-2008) of JPMorgan Chase Bank. |
<R>Jonathan Davis (1968)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Davis is also Assistant Treasurer of certain Fidelity funds. Mr. Davis is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2003-2010). |
<R>Margaret A. Carey (1973)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 </R> Assistant Secretary of the fund. Ms. Carey also serves as Assistant Secretary of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present), Vice President, Associate General Counsel (2007-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). |
Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established two committees to supplement the work of the Board as a whole. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
<R>The Audit and Compliance Committee is composed of Ms. Butte Liebowitz (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, Mr. Ralph Cox, and Mses. Farrell and Kaplan. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The committee determines whether at least one member of the committee is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined in rules promulgated by the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The committee normally meets in conjunction with in person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee meets separately periodically with the fund's Treasurer, the fund's Chief Financial Officer, the fund's CCO, personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and the fund's outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the fund for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the fund and the fund's service providers, (ii) the financial reporting processes of the fund, (iii) the independence, objectivity and qualification of the auditors to the fund, (iv) the annual audits of the fund's financial statements, and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the fund. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations (Auditor Independence Regulations) of the SEC. In furtherance of the foregoing, the committee has adopted (and may from time to time amend or supplement) and provides oversight of policies and procedures for non-audit engagements by outside auditors of the fund. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the fund and for resolving disagreements between the fund and any outside auditor regarding the fund's financial reporting, and has sole authority to hire and fire any auditor. Auditors of the fund report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the fund and any service providers consistent with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Ethics and Independence Rule 3526, Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence. The committee will discuss with the outside auditors any such disclosed relationships and their impact on the auditor's independence and objectivity. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the Auditor Independence Regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the fund's service providers' internal controls and reviews with management, internal auditors, and outside auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of the fund's and service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the fund's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the fund's or service provider's internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will review with counsel any legal matters that may have a material impact on the fund's financial statements and any material reports or inquiries received from regulators or governmental agencies. The committee reviews at least annually a report from the outside auditor describing (i) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control review, peer review, or PCAOB examination of the auditing firm and (ii) any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm since the most recent report and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the fund's financial reporting process and will receive reports from an outside auditor relating to (i) critical accounting policies and practices used by the fund, (ii) alternative accounting treatments that the auditor has discussed with Strategic Advisers, and (iii) other material written communications between the auditor and Strategic Advisers (as determined by the auditor). The committee will discuss with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the fund. The committee will review with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC (to the extent relevant) the results of audits of the fund's financial statements. The committee will review periodically the fund's major internal controls exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. The committee also oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the fund and its service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee of the Board of Trustees or reserved to the Board itself. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the fund. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO and, if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports on significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the fund's compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1 and quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of Mr. Ralph Cox (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, and Mses. Butte Liebowitz, Farrell, and Kaplan. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the code of ethics and any supplemental policies regarding personal securities transactions applicable to the Independent Trustees. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the fund's or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the fund's expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the fund, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012 (or as of March 31, 2013 for Ms. Farrell, Trustee as of March 5, 2013).</R>
Interested Trustees |
||
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Roger T. Servison |
Derek L. Young |
Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
none |
none |
<R></R>
<R>Independent Trustees</R> |
|||||
<R>
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Peter C. Aldrich |
Mary C. Farrell |
Amy Butte Liebowitz |
Ralph F. Cox |
Karen Kaplan</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund |
$10,001 - $50,000 |
none |
none |
$50,001 - $100,000 |
none</R> |
<R>
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
over $100,000 |
none |
none |
over $100,000 |
none</R> |
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board for his or her services for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, or calendar year ended December 31, 2012, as applicable.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Compensation Table 1</R> |
||||||
<R>
AGGREGATE
|
Peter C.
|
Mary C.
|
Amy
|
Ralph F.
|
Karen
|
</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund |
$ 4,080 |
$ 0 |
$ 4,080 |
$ 4,080 |
$ 4,080 |
</R> |
<R>
TOTAL COMPENSATION
|
$ 137,500 |
$ 0 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
</R> |
1 Roger T. Servison, Howard E. Cox, Jr., and Derek L. Young are interested persons and are compensated by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate (including FMR).
<R> 2 Effective March 5, 2013, Ms. Farrell serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II.</R>
<R> A Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, for 26 funds of two trusts.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and officers of the fund owned, in the aggregate, less than 1% of the fund's total outstanding shares.</R>
CONTROL OF INVESTMENT ADVISERS
<R>FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of Strategic Advisers and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis). The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Abigail P. Johnson family, directly or through trusts, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.</R>
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
<R>Acadian, a registered investment adviser. Acadian is a subsidiary of Old Mutual Asset Managers (US) LLC (OMAM), which is an indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary of Old Mutual plc, a London-based financial services firm. Old Mutual Asset Managers (US) LLC owns 100% of the Class A (voting) interest of Acadian. Ownership of the Class B interest, which provides financial participation in the profitability of the firm, is divided, with just over 71% owned by Old Mutual and the remainder owned by an Acadian Key Employee Limited Partnership (Acadian KELP) comprised of approximately 50 senior staff.</R>
Pyramis is a registered investment adviser. FMR LLC is the ultimate parent company of Pyramis. Information regarding the ownership of FMR LLC is disclosed above.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Acadian, Pyramis (the Investment Advisers), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and the fund have adopted codes of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that set forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establish procedures for personal investing, and restrict certain transactions. Employees subject to the codes of ethics, including the Investment Advisers' investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.</R>
The fund has entered into a management contract with Strategic Advisers, pursuant to which Strategic Advisers furnishes investment advisory and other services.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
<R>Strategic Advisers has retained Acadian and Pyramis to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. The sub-advisers do not sponsor the fund.</R>
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
Management and Sub-Advisory Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, Strategic Advisers acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, directs the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. Strategic Advisers is authorized, in its discretion, to allocate the fund's assets pursuant to its investment strategy. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates provide the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensate all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of Strategic Advisers, and compensate all personnel of the fund or Strategic Advisers performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
Under its respective sub-advisory agreement, and subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, each sub-adviser directs the investment of its allocated portion of the fund's assets in accordance with the fund's investment objective, policies and limitations.
Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to Strategic Advisers and the fees payable to the transfer agent and pricing and bookkeeping agent, the fund pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by those parties. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders; however, under the terms of the fund's transfer agent agreement, the transfer agent bears these costs. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.
Management Fees. For the services of Strategic Advisers under the management contract, the fund pays Strategic Advisers a monthly management fee calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets; provided, however, that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.20% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the fund until September 30, 2015. The fee waiver by Strategic Advisers will increase the fund's returns.</R>
<R>The following table shows the amount of management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers for the past three fiscal years and the amount of waivers reducing management fees for the fund.</R>
+ Fiscal year ended February 29.
A Fund commenced operations on September 30, 2010.
B Annualized.
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of the fund's operating expenses. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Expense reimbursements by Strategic Advisers will increase the fund's returns, and repayment of the reimbursement by the fund will decrease its returns.
<R> Sub-Adviser - Acadian. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Acadian pursuant to which Acadian may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Acadian fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Acadian pursuant to a separately negotiated investment mandate (a "Strategy"). The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Acadian under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Acadian pursuant to that Strategy.</R>
Sub-Adviser - Pyramis. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Pyramis pursuant to which Pyramis may provide investment advisory services for the fund.
<R>Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Pyramis fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Pyramis pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Pyramis under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Pyramis pursuant to that Strategy.</R>
Pyramis has not currently been allocated a portion of the fund's assets to manage.
<R>The following table shows the aggregate amount of sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to an unaffiliated sub-adviser for the past three fiscal years.</R>
<R>Differences between the amount of the management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers and the aggregate amount of the sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to an unaffiliated sub-adviser may be due to expense estimates, which are accrued in the period to which they relate and adjusted when actual amounts are known.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Strategic Advisers. </R>
Wilfred Chilangwa is an employee of Strategic Advisers, a subsidiary of FMR LLC and an affiliate of FMR. Strategic Advisers is the adviser to the fund.
<R>Mr. Chilangwa is the portfolio manager of the fund and receives compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Strategic Advisers or at the election of the portfolio manager. </R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of a broad range of Strategic Advisers funds and accounts, including the fund. Accounts may include model portfolios designed for asset allocation, retirement planning, or tax-sensitive goals. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s), and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with the portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and peer group. A subjective component of the bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Strategic Advisers. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of his fund is based on the fund's pre-tax investment performance measured against the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund within the Morningstar ® Diversified Emerging Markets Category. The portfolio manager may be compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Strategic Advisers' parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.</R>
<R></R>
<R>The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics. </R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Chilangwa as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
5 |
184 |
none</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 16,438 |
$ 16,673 |
none</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund ($1,897 (in millions) assets managed). The amount of assets managed of the fund reflects trades and other assets as of the close of the business day prior to the fund's fiscal year-end.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Chilangwa was$10,001 - $50,000.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Acadian. </R>
<R>Compensation structure varies among professionals, although the basic package involves a generous base salary, strong bonus potential, profit sharing potential, various fringe benefits, and, among the majority of senior investment professionals and certain other key employees, equity ownership in the firm as part of the Acadian Key Employee Limited Partnership (KELP).</R>
<R>Compensation is highly incentive-driven, with Acadian paying up to and sometimes in excess of 100% of base pay for performance bonuses. Bonuses are tied directly to the individual's contribution and performance during the year, with members of the investment team evaluated on such factors as their contributions to the investment process, account retention, portfolio performance, asset growth, and overall firm performance. Since portfolio management is a team approach, investment team members' compensation is not linked to the performance of specific accounts but rather to the individual's overall contribution to the success of the team and the firm's profitability.</R>
<R>A conflict of interest may arise as a result of a portfolio manager being responsible for multiple accounts, including the subject Fund, which may have different investment guidelines and objectives. In addition to the subject Fund, these accounts may include other mutual funds managed on an advisory or sub-advisory basis, separate accounts and collective trust accounts. An investment opportunity may be suitable for the subject Fund as well as for any of the other managed accounts. However, the investment may not be available in sufficient quantity for all of the accounts to participate fully. In addition, there may be limited opportunity to sell an investment held by the subject Fund and the Other Accounts. The Other Accounts may have similar investment objectives or strategies as the subject Fund, may track the same benchmarks or indexes as the subject Fund tracks, and may sell securities that are eligible to be held, sold or purchased by the subject Fund. A portfolio manager may be responsible for accounts that have different advisory fee schedules, which may create the incentive for the portfolio manager to favor one account over another in terms of access to investment opportunities. A portfolio manager may also manage accounts whose investment objectives and policies differ from those of the subject Fund, which may cause the portfolio manager to effect trading in one account that may have an adverse affect on the value of the holdings within another account, including the subject Fund.</R>
<R>To address and manage these potential conflicts of interest, Acadian has adopted compliance policies and procedures to allocate investment opportunities and to ensure that each of their clients is treated on a fair and equitable basis. Such policies and procedures include, but are not limited to, trade allocation and trade aggregation policies, portfolio manager assignment practices and oversight by investment management and the Compliance team.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Chisholm as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R> 1 Mr. Chisholm is part of a core equity team of 19 portfolio managers who are not segregated along product lines or by client type. The portfolio manager listed above worked on all products and the data shown for this manager reflects firm-level numbers of accounts and assets under management, segregated by investment vehicle type.</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund ($274 (in millions) assets managed.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Chisholm was none.</R>
<R> Proxy Voting - Strategic Advisers. </R>
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of the fund, after consultation with Strategic Advisers. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Strategic Advisers and its affiliates and by the Independent Trustees of the fund, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. The funds in the trust generally intend to vote shares of underlying funds using echo voting procedures (that is, in the same proportion as the holders of all other shares of the particular underlying fund).
B. Any proposals not covered by paragraph A above or other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate Strategic Advisers analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review and approval by the General Counsel or Compliance Officer of FMR or the General Counsel of FMR LLC.
<R> Sub-Adviser: </R>
<R>Proxy voting policies and procedures are used by the sub-adviser to determine how to vote proxies relating to the securities held by its allocated portion of the fund's assets. The proxy voting policies and procedures used by the sub-adviser are described below.</R>
<R> Proxy Voting - Acadian. </R>
<R> Policy: </R>
<R>Acadian will accept the fiduciary responsibility to vote proxies if directed by a client. Acadian has adopted a proxy voting policy reasonably designed to ensure that it votes proxies in the best interest of clients. Acadian utilizes the services of an unaffiliated proxy firm to help manage the proxy voting process and to research and vote proxies on behalf of Acadian's clients. Unless a client provides a client specific voting criteria to be followed when voting proxies on behalf of holdings in their portfolio, each vote is made according to predetermined guidelines agreed to between the proxy firm and Acadian. Acadian believes that utilizing this proxy service firm helps Acadian vote in the best interest of clients and insulates Acadian's voting decisions from any potential conflicts of interest.</R>
<R>When voting proxies on behalf of our clients, Acadian assumes a fiduciary responsibility to vote in our clients' best interests. In addition, with respect to benefit plans under the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act (ERISA), Acadian acknowledges its responsibility as a fiduciary to vote proxies prudently and solely in the best interest of plan participants and beneficiaries. So that it may fulfill these fiduciary responsibilities to clients, Acadian has adopted and implemented these written policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure that it votes proxies in the best interest of clients.</R>
<R> Procedures: </R>
<R> Proxy Voting Guidelines </R>
<R>Acadian acknowledges it has a duty of care to its clients that requires it to monitor corporate events and vote client proxies. To assist in this effort, Acadian has retained Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") to research and vote its proxies. ISS provides proxy-voting analysis and votes proxies in accordance with predetermined guidelines. Relying on ISS to vote proxies ensures that Acadian votes in the best interest of its clients and insulates Acadian's voting decisions from any potential conflicts of interest. Acadian will also accept specific written proxy voting instructions from a client and communicate those instructions to ISS to implement when voting proxies involving that client's portfolio.</R>
<R>There may be occasions when Acadian determines that not voting a proxy may be in the best interests of clients; for example, when the cost of voting the proxy exceeds the expected benefit to the client or in share blocking markets.</R>
<R>Unless contrary instructions are received from a client, Acadian has instructed ISS to not vote proxies in so-called "share blocking" markets. Share-blocking markets are markets where proxy voters have their securities blocked from trading during the period of the annual meeting. The period of blocking typically lasts anywhere from a few days to two weeks. During the period, any portfolio holdings in these markets cannot be sold without a formal recall. The recall process can take time, and in some cases, cannot be accomplished at all. This makes a client's portfolio vulnerable to a scenario where a stock is dropping in attractiveness but cannot be sold because it has been blocked. Shareholders who do not vote are not subject to the blocking procedure.</R>
<R>Acadian also reserves the right to override ISS vote recommendations under certain circumstances. Acadian will only do so if they believe that voting contrary to the ISS recommendation is in the best interest of clients. All overrides will be approved by an Officer of Acadian and will be documented with the reasons for voting against the ISS recommendation.</R>
<R> Conflicts of Interest </R>
<R>Occasions may arise during the voting process in which the best interest of clients conflicts with Acadian's interests. In these situations ISS will continue to follow the same predetermined guidelines as formally agreed upon between Acadian and ISS before such conflict of interest existed. Conflicts of interest generally include (i) business relationships where Acadian has a substantial business relationship with, or is actively soliciting business from, a company soliciting proxies, or (ii) personal or family relationships whereby an employee of Acadian has a family member or other personal relationship that is affiliated with a company soliciting proxies, such as a spouse who serves as a director of a public company. A conflict could also exist if a substantial business relationship exists with a proponent or opponent of a particular initiative.</R>
<R>If Acadian learns that a conflict of interest exists, the Proxy Coordinator will prepare a report to the Compliance Committee that identifies (i) the details of the conflict of interest, (ii) whether or not the conflict is material, and (iii) procedures to ensure that Acadian makes proxy voting decisions based on the best interests of clients. If Acadian determines that a material conflict exists, it will defer to ISS to vote the proxy in accordance with the predetermined voting policy.</R>
<R> Voting Policies </R>
<R>Acadian has adopted the proxy voting policies developed by ISS, summaries of which can be found at http://www.issgovernance.com/policy and which are deemed to be incorporated herein. The policies have been developed based on ISS' independent, objective analysis of leading corporate governance practices and their support of long-term shareholder value. Acadian may change its proxy voting policy from time to time without providing notice of changes to clients.</R>
<R> Voting Process </R>
<R>Acadian has appointed the head of Operations to act as Proxy Coordinator. The Proxy Coordinator acts as coordinator with ISS including ensuring proxies Acadian is responsible to vote are forwarded to ISS, overseeing that ISS is voting assigned client accounts and maintaining appropriate authorization and voting records.</R>
<R>After ISS is notified by the custodian of a proxy that requires voting and/or after ISS cross references their database with a routine download of Acadian holdings and determines a proxy requires voting, ISS will review the proxy and make a voting proposal based on the recommendations provided by their research group. Any electronic proxy votes will be communicated to the proxy solicitor by ISS Global Proxy Distribution Service and Broadridge's Proxy Edge Distribution Service, while non-electronic ballots, or paper ballots, will be faxed, telephoned or sent via Internet. ISS assumes responsibility for the proxies to be transmitted for voting in a timely fashion and maintains a record of the vote, which is provided to Acadian on a monthly basis. Proxy voting records are available to all clients upon request.</R>
<R> Proxy Voting Record </R>
<R>Acadian's Proxy Coordinator will maintain a record containing the following information regarding the voting of proxies: (i) the name of the issuer, (ii) the exchange ticker symbol, (iii) the CUSIP number, (iv) the shareholder meeting date, (v) a brief description of the matter brought to vote; (vi) whether the proposal was submitted by management or a shareholder, (vii) how Acadian/ ISS voted the proxy (for, against, abstained) and (viii) whether the proxy was voted for or against management.</R>
<R> Obtaining a Voting Proxy Record </R>
<R>Clients may request a copy of this policy, any ISS policies and procedures referenced and adopted herein, and/or a report on how their individual securities were voted by contacting Amy Conklin in Acadian's Client Communications Group at 1-800-946-0166 or aconklin@acadian-asset.com.</R>
<R> All documents must be retained in accordance with Acadian's Record Retention Policy. </R>
To view a fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, visit www.fidelity.com/proxyvotingresults or visit the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.
<R>The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. The principal business address of FDC is 100 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by Strategic Advisers.</R>
The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan with respect to shares of the fund (the Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a mutual fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows the fund and Strategic Advisers to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.
Under the Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to Strategic Advisers is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Plan. The Plan specifically recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Plan provides that Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers or FDC), that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Prior to approving the Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Plan will benefit the fund and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Plan does not authorize payments by the fund other than those made to Strategic Advisers under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Plan gives Strategic Advisers and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of shares of the fund, additional sales of shares of the fund or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
<R>The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (FIIOC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers, which is located at 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services for the fund.</R>
For providing transfer agency services, FIIOC receives an account fee and an asset-based fee with respect to assets managed by one or more sub-advisers and assets invested in non-affiliated ETFs. For retail accounts, these fees are based on fund type. For certain institutional accounts, these fees are based on size of position and fund type. For institutional retirement accounts, these fees are based on account type and fund type. The account fee is billed monthly on a pro rata basis at one-twelfth of the applicable annual rate as of the end of each calendar month. The asset-based fee is calculated and paid monthly on the basis of average daily net assets. For assets invested in underlying Fidelity funds, each underlying Fidelity fund pays its respective transfer agent (either FIIOC or an affiliate of FIIOC) fees based, in part, on the number of positions in and assets of the fund invested in such underlying Fidelity fund.
FIIOC also may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
<R>The fund has entered into a service agent agreement with Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers (or an agent, including an affiliate). Under the terms of the agreement, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for the fund and maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records.</R>
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
The annual rates for pricing and bookkeeping services for the fund are 0.0104% of the first $500 million of average net assets, 0.0062% of average net assets between $500 million and $3.5 billion, 0.0041% of average net assets between $3.5 billion and $25 billion, and 0.0019% of average net assets in excess of $25 billion, plus a 20% surcharge.
<R>Pricing and bookkeeping fees paid by the fund to FSC for the past three fiscal years are shown in the following table.</R>
<R></R>
<R> Fund |
2013 |
2012 |
2011</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund |
$ 426,736 |
$ 154,247 |
$ 49,514*</R> |
<R>* From September 30, 2010.</R>
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
<R> Trust Organization. Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund is a fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, an open-end management investment company created under an initial trust instrument dated March 8, 2006. Currently, there are 20 funds offered in the trust: Strategic Advisers Core Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.</R>
The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds.
Shareholder Liability. The trust is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that, except to the extent otherwise provided in the Trust Instrument, shareholders shall be entitled to the same limitations of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit organized under the general corporation law of Delaware. The courts of some states, however, may decline to apply Delaware law on this point. The Trust Instrument contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust. The Trust Instrument provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Trust Instrument further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of each fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Trust Instrument also provides that each fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which Delaware law does not apply, no contractual limitation of liability was in effect, and a fund is unable to meet its obligations. Strategic Advisers believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is extremely remote.
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. As a shareholder, you are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value you own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
<R></R>
The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodians. State Street Bank and Trust Company, 1776 Heritage Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as special purpose custodians of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions.
Strategic Advisers, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Member of the Advisory Board, and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by Strategic Advisers. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of Strategic Advisers, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 125 High Street, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit, tax, and related services.
<R> </R>
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized Strategic Advisers, in consultation with FMR, to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
Other registered investment companies that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be subject to different portfolio holdings disclosure policies, and neither Strategic Advisers nor the Board exercises control over such policies or disclosure. In addition, separate account clients of Strategic Advisers and the sub-advisers have access to their portfolio holdings and are not subject to the fund's portfolio holdings disclosure policies. Some of the funds that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser and some of the separate accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser have investment objectives and strategies that are substantially similar or identical to the fund's and, therefore, potentially substantially similar, and in certain cases nearly identical, portfolio holdings as the fund.
The fund will provide a full list of holdings monthly on www.fidelity.com 30 days after the month-end (excluding high income security holdings, which generally will be presented collectively monthly and included in a list of full holdings 60 days after its fiscal quarter-end).
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations.
<R> The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the activities associated with managing Fidelity funds to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons Strategic Advisers believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include, but are not limited to: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics (including portfolio managers of affiliated funds of funds); contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.</R>
<R> Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, (ii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iii) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. Strategic Advisers relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.</R>
<R>At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day) and DocuLynx Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day).</R>
Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, Strategic Advisers desired to make such an arrangement, it would seek prior Board approval and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
<R>The fund's financial statements and financial highlights for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, and report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the fund's annual report and are incorporated herein by reference. Total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table may differ from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the financial highlights because total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table include any acquired fund fees and expenses, whereas the ratios of expenses in the financial highlights do not, except to the extent any acquired fund fees and expenses relate to an entity, such as a wholly-owned subsidiary, with which a fund's financial statements are consolidated. Acquired funds include other investment companies in which the fund has invested, if and to the extent it is permitted to do so. Total annual operating expenses in the prospectus fee table and the financial highlights do not include any expenses associated with investments in certain structured or synthetic products that may rely on the exception from the definition of "investment company" provided by section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
Fund /Ticker
Strategic Advisers ® International Fund /FILFX
Offered exclusively to certain clients of Strategic Advisers, Inc. - not available for sale to the general public
Prospectus
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
Fund Summary |
Strategic Advisers ® International Fund |
|
Fund Basics |
Investment Details |
|
<R> |
Valuing Shares </R> |
|
Shareholder Information |
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares |
|
|
Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions |
|
|
Tax Consequences |
|
Fund Services |
Fund Management |
|
|
Fund Distribution |
|
<R> Appendix |
Financial Highlights </R> |
|
<R> |
Additional Information about the Index </R> |
Prospectus
Fund:
Strategic Advisers
®
International Fund
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy and hold shares of the fund.
Shareholder fees
|
None |
Annual fund operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
<R> Management fee (fluctuates based on the fund's allocation among underlying funds and sub-advisers) B |
0.35% </R> |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees |
None |
<R> Other expenses |
0.08% </R> |
<R> Acquired fund fees and expenses (fees and expenses of underlying funds) |
0.79% </R> |
<R> Total annual fund operating expenses A |
1.22% </R> |
Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement B |
0.25% |
<R> Total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement A |
0.97% </R> |
A Differs from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the Financial Highlights section of the prospectus because of acquired fund fees and expenses.
<R> B Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) has contractually agreed that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.00% of the fund's average daily net assets. In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets. This arrangement will remain in effect through September 30, 2015. Strategic Advisers may not terminate this arrangement without the approval of the Board of Trustees. </R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
<R> 1 year |
$ 99 </R> |
<R> 3 years |
$ 320 </R> |
<R> 5 years |
$ 605 </R> |
<R> 10 years |
$ 1,417 </R> |
<R>The fund will not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of affiliated funds but may incur transaction costs when buying or selling non-affiliated funds and other types of securities (including non-affiliated exchange traded funds) directly (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 25% of the average value of its portfolio.</R>
Prospectus
<R> Pursuant to an exemptive order granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) is permitted, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees, to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement. </R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following information is intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the fund. The information illustrates the changes in the performance of the fund's shares from year to year and compares the performance of the fund's shares to the performance of a securities market index over various periods of time. The index description appears in the Additional Information about the Index section of the prospectus. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future performance.
Visit www.fidelity.com for updated return information.
<R> Calendar Years |
|
|
|
|
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 </R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
12.10% |
-41.94% |
31.66% |
11.78% |
-12.43% |
20.01% </R> |
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
Prospectus
During the periods shown in the chart: |
Returns |
Quarter ended |
Highest Quarter Return |
24.28% |
June 30, 2009 |
Lowest Quarter Return |
-20.07% |
December 31, 2008 |
<R> Year-to-Date Return |
4.93% |
March31, 2013 </R> |
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, but do not reflect the impact of state or local taxes. Actual after-tax returns may differ depending on your individual circumstances. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your shares in a retirement account or in another tax-deferred arrangement. Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares may be higher than other returns for the same period due to a tax benefit of realizing a capital loss upon the sale of fund shares.
<R>
For the periods ended
|
Past 1
|
Past 5
|
Life of
|
Strategic Advisers International Fund |
|
|
|
<R> Return Before Taxes |
20.01% |
-2.13% |
2.39% </R> |
<R> Return After Taxes on Distributions |
19.73% |
-2.65% |
1.70% </R> |
<R> Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
13.60% |
-1.90% |
1.95% </R> |
<R>
MSCI
®
EAFE
®
Index
|
17.48% |
-3.54% |
1.27% </R> |
A From March 23, 2006.
Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. Causeway Capital Management LLC (Causeway), Massachusetts Financial Services Company (MFS), Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis), and William Blair & Company, LLC (William Blair) have been retained to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. Pyramis has not currently been allocated a portion of the fund's assets to manage.
Wilfred Chilangwa (lead portfolio manager) has managed the fund since March 2006.
<R>Sarah H. Ketterer, Harry W. Hartford, James A. Doyle, Jonathan P. Eng, Kevin Durkin, and Conor Muldoon (portfolio managers) have co-managed Causeway's portion of the fund's assets since December 2010. Foster Corwith and Alessandro Valentini (portfolio managers) have co-managed Causeway's portion of the fund's assets since April 2013.</R>
Benjamin Stone, Barnaby Wiener, Jose Luis Garcia, and Thomas Melendez (portfolio managers) have co-managed MFS' portion of the fund's assets since May 2011.
W. George Greig (portfolio manager) has managed William Blair's portion of the fund's assets since May 2011.
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
The fund is not available for sale to the general public.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its net asset value per share (NAV). Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV. Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
The fund has no minimum investment requirement.
Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state or local taxes, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account (in which case you may be taxed later, upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).
The fund, Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Investment Objective
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
Principal Investment Strategies
The fund normally invests primarily in non-U.S. securities, including securities of issuers located in emerging markets. The fund normally invests primarily in common stocks.
The fund allocates investments across different countries and regions.
The fund implements its investment strategies by investing directly in securities through one or more sub-advisers or indirectly in securities through one or more underlying funds, which in turn invest directly in securities.
Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of underlying funds or sub-advisers at any time.
Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds and sub-advisers to attempt to diversify the fund's portfolio in terms of market capitalization, investment style, and geographic region.
Strategic Advisers pursues a disciplined, benchmark-driven approach to portfolio construction, and monitors and adjusts allocations to underlying funds and sub-advisers as necessary to favor those underlying funds and sub-advisers that Strategic Advisers believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the fund's investment objective.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among underlying funds, Strategic Advisers relies on proprietary fundamental and quantitative fund research in its fund selection process. Factors considered when investing in underlying funds include fund performance, a fund manager's experience and investment style, fund company infrastructure, and fund characteristics such as expense ratio, asset size, and portfolio turnover.
<R>The fund may invest in affiliated international funds ( i.e., Fidelity funds) and non-affiliated international funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork ® and in non-affiliated ETFs. Underlying funds include both funds managed by FMR (an affiliated company that, together with Strategic Advisers, is part of Fidelity Investments) or an affiliate and funds managed by investment advisers other than Fidelity. Fidelity may receive service fees that typically are at an annual rate of up to 0.40% of a non-affiliated underlying fund's average daily net assets attributable to purchases through Fidelity's FundsNetwork, though such fees may be higher or lower, or may be charged as transaction and/or account fees. In addition, the fund may invest in ETFs in transactions not occurring through Fidelity's FundsNetwork.</R>
Strategic Advisers generally identifies international funds by reference to a fund's name, policies, or classification by a third-party ranking or ratings organization.
<R>Strategic Advisers may actively adjust the allocation of the fund's assets at any time. For current information on fund holdings, please call 1-800-544-3455 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com. For information on the underlying funds, see the underlying funds' prospectuses. A copy of any underlying Fidelity fund's prospectus is available at www.fidelity.com or www.advisor.fidelity.com. For a copy of any other underlying fund's prospectus, visit the web site of the company that manages or sponsors that underlying fund.</R>
Prospectus
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers considers a variety of factors including, but not limited to, a sub-adviser's investment approach, the characteristics of a sub-adviser's typical investment portfolio, and a sub-adviser's performance patterns in different market environments.
Common types of investment approaches that a sub-adviser may use in selecting investments for a fund include, but are not limited to, quantitative analysis, fundamental analysis, or a combination of both approaches. Quantitative analysis refers to programmatic models that analyze such factors as growth potential, valuation, liquidity, and investment risk based on data inputs. Fundamental analysis involves a bottom-up assessment of a company's potential for success in light of factors including its financial condition, earnings outlook, strategy, management, industry position, and economic and market conditions.
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
The fund may also use various techniques, such as buying and selling futures contracts, to increase or decrease its exposure to changing security prices or other factors that affect security values. The fund may also enter into foreign currency forward and options contracts for hedging purposes. In addition, the fund may have indirect exposure to derivatives through its investments in underlying funds.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Description of Principal Security Types
In addition to investing in underlying funds, the fund may invest directly in the following principal security types:
Equity securities represent an ownership interest, or the right to acquire an ownership interest, in an issuer. Different types of equity securities provide different voting and dividend rights and priority in the event of the bankruptcy of the issuer. Equity securities include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, and warrants.
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on the performance of the underlying funds and securities in which it invests and on changes in market conditions and interest rates and in response to other economic, political, or financial developments. The fund's reaction to these developments will be affected by the types of underlying funds and securities in which the fund invests, the financial condition, industry and economic sector, and geographic location of an issuer, and the fund's level of investment in the securities of that underlying fund or issuer.
If Strategic Advisers' or a sub-adviser's allocation strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective. The portfolio managers' evaluations and assumptions in selecting underlying funds or individual securities may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.
When your shares are sold they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
<R> Multiple Sub-Adviser Risk. Because each sub-adviser manages its allocated portion, if any, independently from another sub-adviser, it is possible that the sub-advisers' security selection processes may not complement one another. As a result, the fund's aggregate exposure to a particular industry or group of industries, or to a single issuer, could unintentionally be larger or smaller than intended. Because each sub-adviser directs the trading for its own portion, if any, of the fund, and does not aggregate its transactions with those of the other sub-advisers, the fund may incur higher brokerage costs than would be the case if a single sub-adviser were managing the entire fund.</R>
Investing in Other Funds. Regulatory restrictions may limit the amount that one fund can invest in another, and in certain cases further limit investments to the extent a fund's shares are already held by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The fund bears all risks of investment strategies employed by the underlying funds. The fund does not control the investments of the underlying funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the fund would not engage in directly. Aggregation of underlying fund holdings may result in indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase volatility.
Prospectus
Stock Market Volatility. The value of equity securities fluctuates in response to issuer, political, market, and economic developments. Fluctuations can be dramatic over the short as well as long term, and different parts of the market and different types of equity securities can react differently to these developments. For example, large cap stocks can react differently from small cap stocks, "growth" stocks can react differently from "value" stocks, and stocks selected using quantitative or technical analysis can react differently than stocks selected using fundamental analysis. Issuer, political, or economic developments can affect a single issuer, issuers within an industry or economic sector or geographic region, or the market as a whole. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact the market as a whole. Terrorism and related geo-political risks have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
<R> Foreign Exposure. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; withholding or other taxes; trading, settlement, custodial, and other operational risks; and the less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets. All of these factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and potentially less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can perform differently from the U.S. market.</R>
Investing in emerging markets can involve risks in addition to and greater than those generally associated with investing in more developed foreign markets. The extent of economic development; political stability; market depth, infrastructure, and capitalization; and regulatory oversight can be less than in more developed markets. Emerging market economies can be subject to greater social, economic, regulatory, and political uncertainties. All of these factors can make emerging market securities more volatile and potentially less liquid than securities issued in more developed markets.
<R>Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers or providers in, or foreign exchange rates with, a different country or region.</R>
<R> Geographic Exposure. Social, political, and economic conditions and changes in regulatory, tax, or economic policy in a country or region could significantly affect the market in that country or region. From time to time, a small number of companies and industries may represent a large portion of the market in a particular country or region, and these companies and industries can be sensitive to adverse social, political, economic, currency, or regulatory developments. Similarly, from time to time, an underlying fund may invest a large portion of its assets in the securities of issuers located in a single country or a limited number of countries. If an underlying fund invests in this manner, there is a higher risk that social, political, economic, tax (such as a tax on foreign investments or financial transactions), currency, or regulatory developments in those countries may have a significant impact on the underlying fund's investment performance.</R>
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Industry Exposure. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry or a group of related industries, and the securities of companies in that industry or group of industries could react similarly to these or other developments. In addition, from time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry or a group of related industries as a whole, and these companies can be sensitive to adverse economic, regulatory, or financial developments.
Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's value. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers. Smaller issuers can have more limited product lines, markets, or financial resources.
<R> Investing in ETFs. ETFs may trade in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) at prices below the value of their underlying portfolios and may not be liquid. An ETF that is not actively managed cannot sell poorly performing stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in its index or other benchmark. ETFs that track an index are subject to tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to its index or other benchmark).</R>
Quantitative Investing. The value of securities selected using quantitative analysis can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis. The factors used in quantitative analysis and the weight placed on those factors may not be predictive of a security's value. In addition, factors that affect a security's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model.
<R>In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser, if any, may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Prospectus
The following policy is fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates the fund's NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing the fund's NAV.
NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the SEC.
To the extent that the fund's assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some of the fund's assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) are valued at their respective NAVs. For an explanation of the circumstances under which the underlying funds will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the underlying funds' prospectuses and statements of additional information (SAIs). The fund's NAV is calculated using the values of the underlying funds in which it invests. Other assets (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations or official closing prices. Certain short-term securities are valued on the basis of amortized cost. If market quotations or official closing prices are not readily available or, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, are deemed unreliable for a security, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before the fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Arbitrage opportunities may exist when trading in a portfolio security or securities is halted and does not resume before a fund calculates its NAV. These arbitrage opportunities may enable short-term traders to dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Securities trading in overseas markets present time zone arbitrage opportunities when events affecting portfolio security values occur after the close of the overseas markets but prior to the close of the U.S. market. Fair valuation of a fund's portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that fair value pricing policies will prevent dilution of a fund's NAV by short-term traders.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Fair value pricing is based on subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value of a security may differ materially from the value that would be realized if the security were sold.
Prospectus
THE FUND IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
Shares of the fund can be purchased only through certain discretionary investment programs offered by Strategic Advisers. If you are not currently a Strategic Advisers client, please call 1-800-544-3455 (9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday) for more information. Strategic Advisers charges fees for its discretionary investment programs. For more information on these fees, please refer to the "Buying and Selling Information" section of the SAI.
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase orders.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
Because investments in the fund can be made only by Strategic Advisers on behalf of its clients, the potential for excessive or short-term disruptive purchases and sales is reduced. Accordingly, the Board of Trustees has not adopted policies and procedures designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares and the fund accommodates frequent trading.
The fund has no exchange privilege with any other fund. The fund does not place a limit on purchases or sales of fund shares by Strategic Advisers. The fund reserves the right, but does not have the obligation, to reject any purchase transaction at any time. In addition, the fund reserves the right to impose restrictions on disruptive, excessive, or short-term trading.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its NAV. The fund's shares are sold without a sales charge.
Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
Provided the fund receives an order to buy shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to buy shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV.
Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Provided the fund receives an order to sell shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to sell shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.
Redemptions may be suspended or payment dates postponed when the NYSE is closed (other than weekends or holidays), when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as permitted by the SEC.
Redemption proceeds may be paid in underlying fund shares, securities, or other property rather than in cash if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund.
When you terminate your relationship with Strategic Advisers, your shares may be sold at the NAV next calculated, in which case Strategic Advisers would send the redemption proceeds to you.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, redemption requests may be suspended, restricted, canceled, or processed and the proceeds may be withheld.
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
The fund normally pays dividends and capital gain distributions in April and December.
Dividends and capital gain distributions may be reinvested in additional shares of the fund or paid in cash.
As with any investment, your investment in the fund could have tax consequences for you. If you are not investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account, you should consider these tax consequences.
Taxes on distributions. Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes.
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including dividends and distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable to you as ordinary income, while certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of long-term capital gains, are taxable to you generally as capital gains. A percentage of certain distributions of dividends may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
If Strategic Advisers buys shares on your behalf when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.
Prospectus
Any taxable distributions you receive from the fund will normally be taxable to you when you receive them, regardless of your distribution option.
Taxes on transactions. Your redemptions may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on your investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of your shares and the price you receive when you sell them.
Prospectus
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
The fund employs a multi-manager and a fund of funds investment structure. Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of sub-advisers or underlying funds.
<R> Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. The address of Strategic Advisers and its affiliates, unless otherwise indicated below, is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R>As of December 31, 2012, Strategic Advisers had approximately $320.7 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
As the manager, Strategic Advisers has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
<R> Causeway, at 11111 Santa Monica Boulevard, 15th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90025, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, Causeway had approximately $17.0 billion in assets under management. Causeway provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> MFS, at 111 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02199, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, MFS had approximately $339.0 billion in assets under management. MFS provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Pyramis, at 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. Pyramis is an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. As of December 31, 2012, Pyramis had approximately $31.7 billion in discretionary assets under management. Pyramis has not currently been allocated a portion of the fund's assets to manage.</R>
<R> William Blair, at 222 W. Adams St., Chicago, IL 60606, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, William Blair had approximately $52.1 billion in assets under management. William Blair provides investment advisory services for the fund. </R>
Strategic Advisers
Wilfred Chilangwa is lead portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since March 2006. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1997, Mr. Chilangwa has worked as a senior fund analyst, an international strategist, and a portfolio manager.
Causeway
<R>The portion of the fund managed by Causeway is managed by a team of portfolio managers comprised of Sarah H. Ketterer, Harry W. Hartford, James A. Doyle, Jonathan P. Eng, Kevin Durkin, Conor Muldoon, Foster Corwith, and Alessandro Valentini.</R>
Sarah H. Ketterer is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which she has managed since December 2010. Ms. Ketterer is the chief executive officer of Causeway. Ms. Ketterer co-founded Causeway in June 2001. Prior to that, she was with the Hotchkis and Wiley division of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, L.P. (HW-MLIM) since 1996, where she was a managing director and co-head of the International and Global Value Equity Team in Los Angeles.
Prospectus
Harry W. Hartford is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2010. Mr. Hartford is the president of Causeway. Mr. Hartford co-founded Causeway in June 2001. Prior to that, he was with HW-MLIM since 1996, where he was a managing director and co-head of the International and Global Value Equity Team in Los Angeles.
James A. Doyle is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2010. Mr. Doyle is a director of Causeway. Mr. Doyle joined the firm in June 2001. Previously, Mr. Doyle was with HW-MLIM since 1997, where he was a vice president and the head of investment research for the International and Global Value Equity Team in Los Angeles.
Jonathan P. Eng is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2010. Mr. Eng is a director of Causeway. Mr. Eng joined the firm in July 2001. From 1997 to July 2001, Mr. Eng was with HW-MLIM in Los Angeles and London, where he was an equity research associate for the International and Global Value Equity Team.
Kevin Durkin is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2010. Mr. Durkin is a director of Causeway. Mr. Durkin joined the firm in June 2001. From 1999 to June 2001, Mr. Durkin was with HW-MLIM in Los Angeles, where he was an equity research associate for the International and Global Value Equity Team.
Conor Muldoon is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2010. Mr. Muldoon is a director of Causeway. Mr. Muldoon joined the firm in June 2003. From 1995 to June 2003, Mr. Muldoon was an investment consultant for Fidelity Investments where he served as a liaison between institutional clients and investment managers within Fidelity.
<R>Foster Corwith is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since April 2013. Mr. Corwith is a director of Causeway. Mr. Corwith joined the firm in July 2006. During the summer of 2005, Mr. Corwith was a research associate at Deutsche Asset Management, where he was responsible for researching consumer staples companies. From 2003 to 2004, Mr. Corwith was a project manager in the Corporate Services group of The Bank of New York, where he oversaw the integration of trading platforms for 200 broker-dealer clients acquired during the firm's merger with Mellon Financial. From 2001-2003, Mr. Corwith was an analyst in Credit Suisse First Boston's prime brokerage unit, where he worked as a liaison between the group's security lending, technology, and account management groups. From 2000-2001, Mr. Corwith was a management trainee at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, working with the equity research team. </R>
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
<R>Alessandro Valentini is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since April 2013. Mr. Valentini is a director of Causeway. Mr. Valentini joined the firm in July 2006. During the summer of 2005, Mr. Valentini worked as a research analyst at Thornburg Investment Management, where he conducted fundamental research for the International Value Fund and the Value Fund, focusing on the European telecommunication and Canadian oil sectors. From 2000 to 2004, Mr. Valentini worked as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs in the European Equities Research-Sales division in New York. </R>
MFS
The portion of the fund managed by MFS in the International Value strategy is managed by portfolio managers Benjamin Stone and Barnaby Wiener. The portfolio managers of the portion of the fund managed by MFS in the Research International strategy are Jose Luis Garcia and Thomas Melendez, with Messrs. Garcia and Melendez providing general oversight of a team of investment professionals responsible for security selection.
Benjamin Stone is co-manager of MFS' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2011. Mr. Stone is an Investment Officer of MFS and has been employed in the investment area of MFS since 2005.
Barnaby Wiener is co-manager of MFS' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2011. Mr. Wiener is an Investment Officer of MFS and has been employed in the investment area of MFS since 1998.
Jose Luis Garcia and Thomas Melendez are each co-managers of MFS' portion of the fund's assets, which they have managed since May 2011. Messrs. Garcia and Melendez are each Investment Officers of MFS and have been employed in the investment area of MFS since 2002.
William Blair
<R>W. George Greig, a partner of William Blair, serves as a portfolio manager for William Blair's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2011. He currently serves as the global strategist for William Blair's Investment Management Department and has headed William Blair's international investment management team since 1996. </R>
The SAI provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by the portfolio managers.
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.
Prospectus
The fund pays a management fee to Strategic Advisers. The management fee is calculated and paid to Strategic Advisers every month.
The fund's management fee is calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets. Because the fund's management fee rate may fluctuate, the fund's management fee may be higher or lower in the future. The fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.00% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets through September 30, 2015.</R>
<R>For the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid a management fee of 0.10% of the fund's average net assets, after waiver and/or reimbursement.</R>
In return for the services of the fund's sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers will pay each of the fund's sub-advisers the fee (as described above) payable to that sub-adviser.
<R>The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract and sub-advisory agreements for the fund is available in the fund's annual report for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013.</R>
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, agree to reimburse the fund for, or waive, management fees and other expenses above a specified limit. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid by the fund if expenses fall below the specified limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Reimbursement or waiver arrangements can decrease expenses and boost performance.
FDC distributes the fund's shares.
The fund has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) with respect to its shares that recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, service-providers, and administrators, that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Affiliates of Strategic Advisers may receive service fees or distribution fees or both with respect to underlying funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork.
If payments made by Strategic Advisers to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of the fund's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
Prospectus
The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the financial history of the fund's shares for the past 5 years. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of the fund. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in shares of the fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial highlights and financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report. A free copy of the annual report is available upon request.
<R> Years ended February 28, |
2013 |
2012 F |
2011 |
2010 |
2009 </R> |
Selected Per-Share Data |
|
|
|
|
|
<R> Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 8.52 |
$ 9.40 |
$ 7.84 |
$ 5.16 |
$ 10.74 </R> |
Income from Investment Operations |
|
|
|
|
|
<R> Net investment income (loss) B |
.16 |
.15 |
.15 |
.18 |
.19 </R> |
<R> Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
.74 |
(.74 ) |
1.54 |
2.67 |
(5.14 ) </R> |
<R> Total from investment operations |
.90 |
(.59 ) |
1.69 |
2.85 |
(4.95 ) </R> |
<R> Distributions from net investment income |
(.17) |
(.13) |
(.12) |
(.12) |
(.14) </R> |
<R> Distributions from net realized gain |
(.02 ) |
(.16 ) |
(.02 ) |
(.06 ) |
(.49 ) </R> |
<R> Total distributions |
(.19 ) |
(.29 ) |
(.13 ) H |
(.17 ) G |
(.63 ) </R> |
<R> Net asset value, end of period |
$ 9.23 |
$ 8.52 |
$ 9.40 |
$ 7.84 |
$ 5.16 </R> |
<R> Total Return A |
10.65% |
(6.00)% |
21.66% |
55.24% |
(48.57)% </R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> Ratios to Average Net Assets C |
|
|
|
</R> |
|
<R> Expenses before reductions |
.43% |
.39% |
.28% |
.25% |
.25% </R> |
<R> Expenses net of fee waivers, if any |
.18% |
.14% |
.03% |
.00% |
.00% </R> |
<R> Expenses net of all reductions |
.17% |
.14% |
.03% |
.00% |
.00% </R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) |
1.94% |
1.71% |
1.72% |
2.32% |
2.44% </R> |
Supplemental Data |
|
|
|
|
|
<R> Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$ 13,664,047 |
$ 12,153,172 |
$ 11,328,792 |
$ 4,333,999 |
$ 695,499 </R> |
<R> Portfolio turnover rate D |
25% |
18% E |
15% E |
9% |
18% </R> |
A Total returns would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reduced during the applicable periods shown.
B Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.
C Expense ratios reflect operating expenses of the Fund. Expenses before reductions do not reflect amounts reimbursed by the investment adviser or reductions from brokerage service arrangements or reductions from other expense offset arrangements and do not represent the amount paid by the Fund during periods when reimbursements or reductions occur. Expenses net of fee waivers reflect expenses after reimbursement by the investment adviser but prior to reductions from brokerage service arrangements or other expense offset arrangements. Expenses net of all reductions represent the net expenses paid by the Fund. Fees and expenses of the Underlying Funds are not included in the Fund's annualized ratios. The Fund indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the Underlying Funds.
Prospectus
Appendix - continued
D Amounts do not include the portfolio activity of any Underlying Funds.
E Portfolio turnover rate excludes securities received or delivered in-kind.
F For the year ended February 29.
G Total distributions of $.17 per share is comprised of distributions from net investment income of $.115 and distributions from net realized gain of $.055 per share.
H Total distributions of $.13 per share is comprised of distributions from net investment income of $.115 and distributions from net realized gain of $.017 per share.
<R> MSCI ® EAFE ® Index is a market capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the investable equity market performance for global investors of developed markets, excluding the U.S. & Canada. Index returns are adjusted for tax withholding rates applicable to U.S. based mutual funds organized as Massachusetts business trusts.</R>
Prospectus
Notes
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account. For individual investors opening an account: When you open an account, you will be asked for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow Fidelity to identify you. You may also be asked to provide documents that may help to establish your identity, such as your driver's license. For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account such as name, residential address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity. |
You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.
For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call 1-800-544-3455. In addition, you may visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number, 811-21991 |
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design, and FundsNetwork are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R>1.912871.103 SIT-PRO-0413</R>
Strategic Advisers ® International Fund (FILFX)
A Fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
Offered exclusively to certain clients of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) - not available for sale to the general public.
This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. Portions of the fund's annual report are incorporated herein. The annual report is supplied with this SAI.
<R>To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated April 29, 2013, or an annual report, please call Fidelity at 1-800-544-3455 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com.</R>
<R>SIT-PTB-0413
1.912872.106</R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
|
PAGE |
Investment Policies and Limitations |
|
<R>Special Geographic Considerations |
93</R> |
<R>Portfolio Transactions |
101 </R> |
<R>Valuation |
108 </R> |
<R>Buying and Selling Information |
109 </R> |
<R>Distributions and Taxes |
109 </R> |
<R>Trustees and Officers |
110 </R> |
<R>Control of Investment Advisers |
116 </R> |
<R>Management Contract |
117 </R> |
<R>Proxy Voting Guidelines |
125 </R> |
<R>Distribution Services |
129 </R> |
<R>Transfer and Service Agent Agreements |
130 </R> |
<R>Description of the Trust |
130 </R> |
<R>Fund Holdings Information |
131 </R> |
<R>Financial Statements |
131 </R> |
<R>Appendix |
133 </R> |
<R> |
</R> |
<R> |
</R> |
<R> |
</R> |
<R> |
</R> |
<R> |
</R> |
<R> |
</R> |
<R> |
</R> |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not with respect to 75% of the fund's total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except in connection with the insurance program established by the fund pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission or as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry (provided that investments in other investment companies shall not be considered an investment in any particular industry for purposes of this investment limitation).
<R>For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities, Strategic Advisers looks through to the U.S. Government securities.</R>
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The acquisitions of loans and loan participations excluded from the fund's lending limitation discussed above are only those loans and loan participations considered securities within the meaning of the 1940 Act.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, and provided that transactions in futures contracts and options are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 15% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
<R>To the extent that the fund acquires the shares of an underlying fund in accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, the underlying fund is not obligated to redeem its shares in an amount exceeding 1% of its shares outstanding during any period of less than 30 days. Those underlying fund shares will not be treated as illiquid securities for purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation described above to the extent that the fund is able to dispose of such securities by distributing them in kind to redeeming shareholders. (See "Securities of Other Investment Companies" on page 90 .)</R>
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to lend assets other than securities to other parties, except by (a) lending money (up to 15% of the fund's net assets) to a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) assuming any unfunded commitments in connection with the acquisition of loans, loan participations, or other forms of debt instruments. (This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities, to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.)
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
<R>For the fund's limitations on futures and options transactions, see the section entitled "Futures, Options, and Swaps" on page 82 .</R>
Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitations, the underlying funds in which the fund may invest have adopted certain investment limitations that may be more or less restrictive than those listed above, thereby permitting the fund to engage indirectly in investment strategies that are prohibited under the investment limitations listed above. The investment limitations of each underlying fund are set forth in its registration statement.
In accordance with its investment program as set forth in the prospectus, the fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in any one underlying Fidelity fund. Although the fund does not intend to concentrate its investments in a particular industry, the fund may indirectly concentrate in a particular industry or group of industries through its investments in one or more underlying funds.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
Strategic Advisers ® International Fund may have exposure to instruments, techniques, and risks either directly or indirectly through an investment in an underlying fund. An underlying fund may invest in the same or other types of instruments and its adviser may employ the same or other types of techniques. Strategic Advisers ® International Fund's performance will be affected by the instruments, techniques, and risks associated with an underlying fund, in proportion to the amount of assets that the fund allocates to that underlying fund.
On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "a fund" or "the fund" may relate to Strategic Advisers International Fund or an underlying fund, and references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to Strategic Advisers (or its affiliates) or a sub-adviser of Strategic Advisers International Fund, or an adviser of an underlying fund.
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of short-term bond or money market funds, including (for Fidelity funds and other advisory clients only) shares of Fidelity central funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.
<R> Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Notice of Exclusion. The trust, on behalf of the Fidelity fund to which this SAI relates, has filed with the National Futures Association a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the CFTC promulgated thereunder, with respect to the fund's operation. Accordingly, neither the fund nor its adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or a CPO. However, the CFTC has adopted certain rule amendments that significantly affect the continued availability of this exclusion, and may subject advisers to funds to regulation by the CFTC. As of the date of this SAI, the adviser does not expect to register as a CPO of the fund. However, there is no certainty that a fund or its adviser will be able to rely on an exclusion in the future as the fund's investments change over time. A fund may determine not to use investment strategies that trigger additional CFTC regulation or may determine to operate subject to CFTC regulation, if applicable. If a fund or its adviser operates subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.</R>
Common Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock, although related proceedings can take time to resolve and results can be unpredictable.
Convertible Securities are bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption or conversion, the fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
Country or Geographic Region. Various factors may be considered in determining whether an investment is tied economically to a particular country or region, including: whether the investment is issued or guaranteed by a particular government or any of its agencies, political subdivisions, or instrumentalities; whether the investment has its primary trading market in a particular country or region; whether the issuer is organized under the laws of, derives at least 50% of its revenues from, or has at least 50% of its assets in a particular country or region; whether the investment is included in an index representative of a particular country or region; and whether the investment is exposed to the economic fortunes and risks of a particular country or region.
Debt Securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay interest but are sold at a deep discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, and mortgage and other asset-backed securities.
<R> Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments. An ETF may seek to replicate the performance of a specified index or may be actively managed.</R>
Typically, ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks (typically, 50,000 shares) often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.
Some of the risks of investing in an ETF that tracks an index are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
<R> ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their intraday indicative value. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater.</R>
Exposure to Foreign and Emerging Markets. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Foreign investments involve risks relating to local political, economic, regulatory, or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments, and may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Such actions may include expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. Additionally, governmental issuers of foreign debt securities may be unwilling to pay interest and repay principal when due and may require that the conditions for payment be renegotiated. There is no assurance that a fund's adviser will be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies and of dividends and interest paid with respect to such securities will fluctuate based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar. From time to time, a fund may invest a large portion of its assets in the securities of issuers located in a single country or a limited number of countries. If a fund invests in this manner, there is a higher risk that social, political, economic, tax (such as a tax on foreign investments), or regulatory developments in those countries may have a significant impact on the fund's investment performance.
It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for foreign securities will be on an exchange or in over-the-counter (OTC) markets located outside of the United States. Foreign stock markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign security trading, settlement and custodial practices (including those involving securities settlement where fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment) are often less developed than those in U.S. markets, and may result in increased investment or valuation risk or substantial delays in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of, or breach of duty by, a foreign broker-dealer, securities depository, or foreign subcustodian. In addition, the costs associated with foreign investments, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions, and custodial costs, are generally higher than with U.S. investments.
Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors than U.S. markets. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Adequate public information on foreign issuers may not be available, and it may be difficult to secure dividends and information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. OTC markets tend to be less regulated than stock exchange markets and, in certain countries, may be totally unregulated. Regulatory enforcement may be influenced by economic or political concerns, and investors may have difficulty enforcing their legal rights in foreign countries.
Some foreign securities impose restrictions on transfer within the United States or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than foreign securities of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks include foreign exchange risk as well as the political and economic risks of the underlying issuer's country.
The risks of foreign investing may be magnified for investments in emerging markets. Security prices in emerging markets can be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
Foreign Currency Transactions. A fund may conduct foreign currency transactions on a spot ( i.e., cash) or forward basis ( i.e., by entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies). Although foreign exchange dealers generally do not charge a fee for such conversions, they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the counterparty desire to resell that currency to the dealer. Forward contracts are customized transactions that require a specific amount of a currency to be delivered at a specific exchange rate on a specific date or range of dates in the future. Forward contracts are generally traded in an interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The parties to a forward contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated currency exchange.
The following discussion summarizes the principal currency management strategies involving forward contracts that could be used by a fund. A fund may also use swap agreements, indexed securities, and options and futures contracts relating to foreign currencies for the same purposes. Forward contracts not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying currency. All of these instruments and transactions are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default.
<R>A "settlement hedge" or "transaction hedge" is designed to protect a fund against an adverse change in foreign currency values between the date a security denominated in a foreign currency is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in an underlying security transaction for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars "locks in" the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used to protect a fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected.</R>
<R>A fund may also use forward contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in a foreign currency. For example, if a fund owned securities denominated in pounds sterling, it could enter into a forward contract to sell pounds sterling in return for U.S. dollars to hedge against possible declines in the pound's value. Such a hedge, sometimes referred to as a "position hedge," would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. A fund could also attempt to hedge the position by selling another currency expected to perform similarly to the pound sterling. This type of hedge, sometimes referred to as a "proxy hedge," could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield, or efficiency, but generally would not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a direct hedge into U.S. dollars. Proxy hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated.</R>
A fund may enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a "cross-hedge," will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if a fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. A fund may cross-hedge its U.S. dollar exposure in order to achieve a representative weighted mix of the major currencies in its benchmark index and/or to cover an underweight country or region exposure in its portfolio. Cross-hedges protect against losses resulting from a decline in the hedged currency, but will cause a fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases.
<R>Successful use of currency management strategies will depend on an adviser's skill in analyzing currency values. Currency management strategies may substantially change a fund's investment exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and could result in losses to a fund if currencies do not perform as an adviser anticipates. For example, if a currency's value rose at a time when a fund had hedged its position by selling that currency in exchange for dollars, the fund would not participate in the currency's appreciation. If a fund hedges currency exposure through proxy hedges, the fund could realize currency losses from both the hedge and the security position if the two currencies do not move in tandem. Similarly, if a fund increases its exposure to a foreign currency and that currency's value declines, the fund will realize a loss. Foreign currency transactions involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that a fund's hedging strategies will be ineffective. Moreover, it is impossible to precisely forecast the market value of portfolio securities at the expiration of a foreign currency forward contract. Accordingly, a fund may be required to buy or sell additional currency on the spot market (and bear the expenses of such transaction), if an adviser's predictions regarding the movement of foreign currency or securities markets prove inaccurate.</R>
<R>A fund may be required to limit its hedging transactions in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options in order to maintain its classification as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Hedging transactions could result in the application of the mark-to-market provisions of the Code, which may cause an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a fund and could affect whether dividends paid by a fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. A fund will cover its exposure to foreign currency transactions with liquid assets in compliance with applicable requirements. There is no assurance that an adviser's use of currency management strategies will be advantageous to a fund or that it will employ currency management strategies at appropriate times.</R>
Options and Futures Relating to Foreign Currencies. Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges (and have margin requirements) and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The underlying instrument of a currency option may be a foreign currency, which generally is purchased or delivered in exchange for U.S. dollars, or may be a futures contract. The purchaser of a currency call obtains the right to purchase the underlying currency, and the purchaser of a currency put obtains the right to sell the underlying currency.
<R>The uses and risks of currency options and futures are similar to options and futures relating to securities or indexes, as discussed below. A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and may purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. Currency options may also be purchased or written in conjunction with each other or with currency futures or forward contracts. Currency futures and options values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates, but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated security from a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of a fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the fund's investments exactly over time.</R>
<R>Currency options traded on U.S. or other exchanges may be subject to position limits which may limit the ability of the fund to reduce foreign currency risk using such options.</R>
Foreign Repurchase Agreements. Foreign repurchase agreements involve an agreement to purchase a foreign security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price in either U.S. dollars or foreign currency. Unlike typical U.S. repurchase agreements, foreign repurchase agreements may not be fully collateralized at all times. The value of a security purchased by a fund may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to repurchase the security. In the event of default by the counterparty, a fund may suffer a loss if the value of the security purchased is less than the agreed-upon repurchase price, or if the fund is unable to successfully assert a claim to the collateral under foreign laws. As a result, foreign repurchase agreements may involve higher credit risks than repurchase agreements in U.S. markets, as well as risks associated with currency fluctuations. In addition, as with other emerging market investments, repurchase agreements with counterparties located in emerging markets or relating to emerging markets may involve issuers or counterparties with lower credit ratings than typical U.S. repurchase agreements.
Fund's Rights as an Investor. Fidelity funds do not intend to direct or administer the day-to-day operations of any company. A fund may, however, exercise its rights as a shareholder or lender and may communicate its views on important matters of policy to a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders, and holders of a company's other securities when such matters could have a significant effect on the value of the fund's investment in the company. The activities in which a fund may engage, either individually or in conjunction with others, may include, among others, supporting or opposing proposed changes in a company's corporate structure or business activities; seeking changes in a company's directors or management; seeking changes in a company's direction or policies; seeking the sale or reorganization of the company or a portion of its assets; supporting or opposing third-party takeover efforts; supporting the filing of a bankruptcy petition; or foreclosing on collateral securing a security. This area of corporate activity is increasingly prone to litigation and it is possible that a fund could be involved in lawsuits related to such activities. Such activities will be monitored with a view to mitigating, to the extent possible, the risk of litigation against a fund and the risk of actual liability if a fund is involved in litigation. No guarantee can be made, however, that litigation against a fund will not be undertaken or liabilities incurred. The fund's proxy voting guidelines are included in this SAI.
<R> Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. If a fund invests a significant portion of its assets in derivatives, its investment exposure could far exceed the value of its portfolio securities and its investment performance could be primarily dependent upon securities it does not own.</R>
Strategic Advisers International Fund will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.
The limitations on the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps, and the fund's policies regarding futures contracts, options, and swaps may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts.
<R> Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts and the price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities or baskets of securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indexes (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indexes of securities prices (including foreign indexes for funds that seek foreign exposure). Futures on indexes and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out by offsetting purchases or sales of futures contracts before then if a liquid market is available. A fund may realize a gain or loss by closing out its futures contracts.</R>
<R>The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the underlying instrument. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.</R>
<R>The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by a fund, but is instead a settlement between a fund and the FCM of the amount one would owe the other if the fund's contract expired. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is also required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.</R>
<R>Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement, and margin procedures that are different from those for U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may not involve a clearing mechanism or related guarantees and may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to a fund. Because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuation.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.</R>
<R>If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
<R>Futures contracts on U.S. Government securities historically have reacted to an increase or decrease in interest rates in a manner similar to the manner in which the underlying U.S. Government securities reacted. To the extent, however, that a fund enters into such futures contracts, the value of these futures contracts will not vary in direct proportion to the value of the fund's holdings of U.S. Government securities. Thus, the anticipated spread between the price of the futures contract and the hedged security may be distorted due to differences in the nature of the markets. The spread also may be distorted by differences in initial and variation margin requirements, the liquidity of such markets and the participation of speculators in such markets.</R>
<R> Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, baskets of assets or securities, indexes of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). Options may be traded on an exchange or OTC. The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. Depending on the terms of the contract, upon exercise, an option may require physical delivery of the underlying instrument or may be settled through cash payments. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.</R>
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
<R>The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right (but not the obligation) to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.</R>
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
<R>Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer should mitigate the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.</R>
<R>Where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price to close out the put or call option on the secondary market may move more or less than the price of the related security.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for exchange-traded options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.</R>
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
<R>A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps (swaptions), which are generally options on interest rate swaps. An option on a swap gives a party the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, a fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes (sells) an option on a swap than it will incur when it purchases an option on a swap. When a fund purchases an option on a swap, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when a fund writes an option on a swap, upon exercise of the option the fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement. A fund that writes an option on a swap receives the premium and bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the preset rate on the underlying interest rate swap. Whether a fund's use of options on swaps will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend on the adviser's ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Options on swaps may involve risks similar to those discussed below in "Swap Agreements."</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
<R> Swap Agreements. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term. Most swap agreements are currently traded over-the-counter. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange one or more payments based, for example, on the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, indexes, or other financial or economic interests). The gross payments to be exchanged between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.</R>
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness.
<R>A fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. In order to cover its outstanding obligations to a swap counterparty, a fund would generally be required to provide margin or collateral for the benefit of that counterparty. If a counterparty to a swap transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited temporarily or permanently in exercising its right to the return of related fund assets designated as margin or collateral in an action against the counterparty.</R>
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<R>Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that an adviser will not accurately forecast market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other economic factors in establishing swap positions for a fund. If an adviser attempts to use a swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, a fund may be exposed to the risk that the swap will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment, which could cause substantial losses for a fund. While hedging strategies involving swap instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Swaps are complex and often valued subjectively.</R>
Illiquid Securities cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity fund's adviser determines the liquidity of the fund's investments and, through reports from the fund's adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid securities.
Various factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments, including (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
Increasing Government Debt. The total public debt of the United States and other countries around the globe as a percent of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented.
A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt cost higher and cause a country to sell additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In the worst case, unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns.
On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States one level to "AA+" from "AAA." While Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the United States' short-term sovereign credit rating as "A-1+," there is no guarantee that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services will not decide to lower this rating in the future. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services stated that its decision was prompted by its view on the rising public debt burden and its perception of greater policymaking uncertainty. The market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government may be adversely affected by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services decisions to downgrade the long-term sovereign credit rating of the United States.
<R> Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indexes, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.</R>
<R>Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indexes. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.</R>
Indexed securities may have principal payments as well as coupon payments that depend on the performance of one or more interest rates. Their coupon rates or principal payments may change by several percentage points for every 1% interest rate change.
Mortgage-indexed securities, for example, could be structured to replicate the performance of mortgage securities and the characteristics of direct ownership.
Inflation-protected securities, for example, can be indexed to a measure of inflation, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Commodity-indexed securities, for example, can be indexed to a commodities index such as the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return SM .
Gold-indexed securities typically provide for a maturity value that depends on the price of gold, resulting in a security whose price tends to rise and fall together with gold prices.
Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Insolvency of Issuers, Counterparties, and Intermediaries. Issuers of fund portfolio securities or counterparties to fund transactions that become insolvent or declare bankruptcy can pose special investment risks. In each circumstance, risk of loss, valuation uncertainty, increased illiquidity, and other unpredictable occurrences may negatively impact an investment. Each of these risks may be amplified in foreign markets, where security trading, settlement, and custodial practices can be less developed than those in the U.S. markets, and bankruptcy laws differ from those of the U.S.
As a general matter, if the issuer of a fund portfolio security is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock have priority over the claims of common stock owners. These events can negatively impact the value of the issuer's securities and the results of related proceedings can be unpredictable.
If a counterparty to a fund transaction, such as a swap transaction, a short sale, a borrowing, or other complex transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise rights to obtain the return of related fund assets or in exercising other rights against the counterparty. In addition, insolvency and liquidation proceedings take time to resolve, which can limit or preclude a fund's ability to terminate a transaction or obtain related assets or collateral in a timely fashion. Uncertainty may also arise upon the insolvency of a securities or commodities intermediary such as a broker-dealer or futures commission merchant with which a fund has pending transactions. If an intermediary becomes insolvent, while securities positions and other holdings may be protected by U.S. or foreign laws, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these protections are available to specific trades based on the circumstances. Receiving the benefit of these protections can also take time to resolve, which may result in illiquid positions.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a Fidelity fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) or its affiliates. A Fidelity fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. A Fidelity fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
<R> Investments by Large Shareholders. A fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by large shareholders. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a fund's portfolio. In addition, when investors own a substantial portion of a fund's shares, a large redemption could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the fund's shares. When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful. A high volume of redemption requests can impact a fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments.</R>
Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. Direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve a risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a fund supply additional cash to a borrower on demand. A fund may acquire loans by buying an assignment of all or a portion of the loan from a lender or by purchasing a loan participation from a lender or other purchaser of a participation.
Lenders and purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of foreign countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.
Direct lending and investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the lender/purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary.
A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest.
Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate lenders/purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a lender/purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
For a Fidelity fund that limits the amount of total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry, the fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require a fund, in appropriate circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for these purposes. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
Because the risk of default is higher for lower-quality debt securities, research and credit analysis are an especially important part of managing securities of this type. Such analysis may focus on relative values based on factors such as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earnings prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer, in an attempt to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved, or is expected to improve in the future.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Precious Metals. Precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, at times have been subject to substantial price fluctuations over short periods of time and may be affected by unpredictable monetary and political policies such as currency devaluations or revaluations, economic and social conditions within a country, trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries. The prices of gold and other precious metals, however, are less subject to local and company-specific factors than securities of individual companies. As a result, precious metals may be more or less volatile in price than securities of companies engaged in precious metals-related businesses. Investments in precious metals can present concerns such as delivery, storage and maintenance, possible illiquidity, and the unavailability of accurate market valuations. Although precious metals can be purchased in any form, including bullion and coins, a Fidelity fund intends to purchase only those forms of precious metals that are readily marketable and that can be stored in accordance with custody regulations applicable to mutual funds. A fund may incur higher custody and transaction costs for precious metals than for securities. Also, precious metals investments do not pay income.
For a fund to qualify as a regulated investment company under current federal tax law, gains from selling precious metals may not exceed 10% of the fund's gross income for its taxable year. This tax requirement could cause a fund to hold or sell precious metals or securities when it would not otherwise do so.
Preferred Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Equity real estate investment trusts own real estate properties, while mortgage real estate investment trusts make construction, development, and long-term mortgage loans. Their value may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property of the trusts, the creditworthiness of the issuer, property taxes, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements, such as those relating to the environment. Both types of trusts are dependent upon management skill, are not diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers, self-liquidation, and the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
<R> Reforms and Government Intervention in the Financial Markets. Economic downturns can trigger various economic, legal, budgetary, tax, and regulatory reforms across the globe. Instability in the financial markets in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn led the U.S. Government and other governments to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility, and in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Reforms are ongoing and their effects are uncertain. Federal, state, local, foreign, and other governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which a fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Reforms may also change the way in which a fund is regulated and could limit or preclude a fund's ability to achieve its investment objective or engage in certain strategies. Also, while reforms generally are intended to strengthen markets, systems, and public finances, they could affect fund expenses and the value of fund investments.</R>
The value of a fund's holdings is also generally subject to the risk of future local, national, or global economic disturbances based on unknown weaknesses in the markets in which a fund invests. In the event of such a disturbance, the issuers of securities held by a fund may experience significant declines in the value of their assets and even cease operations, or may receive government assistance accompanied by increased restrictions on their business operations or other government intervention. In addition, it is not certain that the U.S. Government or foreign governments will intervene in response to a future market disturbance and the effect of any such future intervention cannot be predicted.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its right to liquidate assets related to a repurchase agreement with an insolvent counterparty. A Fidelity fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities Lending. Securities lending allows a fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The fund seeks to maintain the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased.
Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies (which include business development companies (BDCs)), unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. For certain investment companies, such as BDCs, these expenses may be significant. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.
The securities of closed-end funds may be leveraged. As a result, a fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. An investment in securities of closed-end funds that use leverage may expose a fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the fund's long-term returns on such securities will be diminished.
The extent to which a fund can invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws.
Short Sales. Short sales involve the market sale of a security a fund has borrowed from a prime broker with which it has a contractual relationship, with the expectation that the security will underperform either the market or the securities that the fund holds long. A fund closes a short sale by purchasing the same security at the current market price and delivering it to the prime broker.
Until a fund closes out a short position, the fund is obligated to pay the prime broker (from which it borrowed the security sold short) interest as well as any dividends that accrue during the period of the loan. While a short position is outstanding, a fund must also pledge a portion of its assets to the prime broker as collateral for the borrowed security. The collateral will be marked to market daily.
Short positions create a risk that a fund will be required to cover them by buying the security at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the fund. A short position in a security poses more risk than holding the same security long. Because a short position loses value as the security's price increases, the loss on a short sale is theoretically unlimited. The loss on a long position is limited to what a fund originally paid for the security together with any transaction costs. A fund may not always be able to borrow a security the fund seeks to sell short at a particular time or at an acceptable price. As a result, a fund may be unable to fully implement its investment strategy due to a lack of available stocks or for other reasons. It is possible that the market value of the securities a fund holds in long positions will decline at the same time that the market value of the securities the fund has sold short increases, thereby increasing the fund's potential volatility. Because a fund may be required to pay dividends, interest, premiums and other expenses in connection with a short sale, any benefit for the fund resulting from the short sale will be decreased, and the amount of any ultimate gain will be decreased or of any loss will be increased, by the amount of such expenses.
A fund may also enter into short sales against the box. Short sales "against the box" are short sales of securities that a fund owns or has the right to obtain (equivalent in kind or amount to the securities sold short). If a fund enters into a short sale against the box, it will be required to set aside securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short (or securities convertible or exchangeable into such securities) and will be required to hold such securities while the short sale is outstanding. A fund will incur transaction costs, including interest expenses, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales against the box.
Sources of Liquidity or Credit Support. Issuers may employ various forms of credit and liquidity enhancements, including letters of credit, guarantees, swaps, puts, and demand features, and insurance provided by domestic or foreign entities such as banks and other financial institutions. An adviser and its affiliates may rely on their evaluation of the credit of the issuer or the credit of the liquidity or credit enhancement provider in determining whether to purchase or hold a security supported by such enhancement. In evaluating the credit of a foreign bank or other foreign entities, factors considered may include whether adequate public information about the entity is available and whether the entity may be subject to unfavorable political or economic developments, currency controls, or other government restrictions that might affect its ability to honor its commitment. Changes in the credit quality of the issuer and/or entity providing the enhancement could affect the value of the security or a fund's share price.
Sovereign Debt Obligations are issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies, including debt of Latin American nations or other developing countries. Sovereign debt may be in the form of conventional securities or other types of debt instruments such as loans or loan participations. Sovereign debt of developing countries may involve a high degree of risk, and may be in default or present the risk of default. Governmental entities responsible for repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal and pay interest when due, and may require renegotiation or rescheduling of debt payments. In addition, prospects for repayment of principal and payment of interest may depend on political as well as economic factors. Although some sovereign debt, such as Brady Bonds, is collateralized by U.S. Government securities, repayment of principal and payment of interest is not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument ( e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
<R> Temporary Defensive Policies. </R>
<R> In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, a fund may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If a fund does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Strategic Advisers International Fund reserves the right to invest without limitation in preferred stocks and investment-grade debt instruments for temporary, defensive purposes.
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments which entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss.
Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
<R> SPECIAL GEOGRAPHIC CONSIDERATIONS </R>
<R> Emerging Markets. Investing in companies domiciled in emerging market countries may be subject to potentially higher risks than investments in developed countries. These risks include: (i) less social, political, and economic stability; (ii) greater illiquidity and price volatility due to smaller or limited local capital markets for such securities, or low or non-existent trading volumes; (iii) foreign exchanges and broker-dealers may be subject to less scrutiny and regulation by local authorities; (iv) local governments may decide to seize or confiscate securities held by foreign investors and/or local governments may decide to suspend or limit an issuer's ability to make dividend or interest payments; (v) local governments may limit or entirely restrict repatriation of invested capital, profits, and dividends; (vi) capital gains may be subject to local taxation, including on a retroactive basis; (vii) issuers facing restrictions on dollar or euro payments imposed by local governments may attempt to make dividend or interest payments to foreign investors in the local currency; (viii) investors may experience difficulty in enforcing legal claims related to the securities and/or local judges may favor the interests of the issuer over those of foreign investors; (ix) bankruptcy judgments may only be permitted to be paid in the local currency; (x) limited public information regarding the issuer may result in greater difficulty in determining market valuations of the securities, and (xi) infrequent financial reporting, substandard disclosure, and differences in accounting standards may make it difficult to ascertain the financial health of an issuer. In addition, unlike developed countries, many emerging countries' economic growth highly depends on exports and inflows of external capital, making them more vulnerable to the downturns of the world economy. The recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for their exports and tightened international credit supplies and, as a result, many emerging countries faced significant economic difficulties and some countries fell into recession.</R>
<R>Many emerging market countries suffer from uncertainty and corruption in their legal frameworks. Legislation may be difficult to interpret and laws may be too new to provide any precedential value. Laws regarding foreign investment and private property may be weak or non-existent. Sudden changes in governments may result in policies that are less favorable to investors such as policies designed to expropriate or nationalize "sovereign" assets. Certain emerging market countries in the past have expropriated large amounts of private property, in many cases with little or no compensation, and there can be no assurance that such expropriation will not occur in the future.</R>
<R>Many emerging market countries in which a fund may invest lack the social, political, and economic stability characteristic of the U.S. Political instability among emerging market countries can be common and may be caused by an uneven distribution of wealth, social unrest, labor strikes, civil wars, and religious oppression. Economic instability in emerging market countries may take the form of: (i) high interest rates; (ii) high levels of inflation, including hyperinflation; (iii) high levels of unemployment or underemployment; (iv) changes in government economic and tax policies, including confiscatory taxation (or taxes on foreign investments); and (v) imposition of trade barriers.</R>
<R>Currencies of emerging market countries are subject to significantly greater risks than currencies of developed countries. Some emerging market currencies may not be internationally traded or may be subject to strict controls by local governments, resulting in undervalued or overvalued currencies. Some emerging market countries have experienced balance of payment deficits and shortages in foreign exchange reserves. As a result, some governments have responded by restricting currency conversions. Future restrictive exchange controls could prevent or restrict a company's ability to make dividend or interest payments in the original currency of the obligation (usually U.S. dollars). In addition, even though the currencies of some emerging market countries may be convertible into U.S. dollars, the conversion rates may be artificial to their actual market values.</R>
<R>Governments of many emerging market countries have become overly reliant on the international capital markets and other forms of foreign credit to finance large public spending programs which cause huge budget deficits. Often, interest payments have become too overwhelming for these governments to meet, as these payments may represent a large percentage of a country's total GDP. Accordingly, these foreign obligations have become the subject of political debate and served as fuel for political parties of the opposition, which pressure governments not to make payments to foreign creditors, but instead to use these funds for social programs. Either due to an inability to pay or submission to political pressure, the governments have been forced to seek a restructuring of their loan and/or bond obligations, have declared a temporary suspension of interest payments, or have defaulted on their outstanding debt obligations. These events have adversely affected the values of securities issued by the governments and corporations domiciled in these emerging market countries and have negatively affected not only their cost of borrowing, but their ability to borrow in the future as well.</R>
<R>In addition to their over-reliance on international capital markets, many emerging economies are also highly dependent on international trade and exports, including exports of oil and other commodities. As a result, these economies are particularly vulnerable to downturns of the world economy. The recent global financial crisis tightened international credit supplies and weakened global demand for their exports and, as a result, certain of these economies faced significant difficulties and some economies fell into recession. Although certain economies in emerging market countries have recently shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. The reduced demand for exports and lack of available capital for investment resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy may limit recovery by emerging market countries.</R>
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<R> Canada. </R>
<R> Political. Canada's parliamentary system of government is, in general, stable. Quebec does have a "separatist" opposition party whose objective is to achieve sovereignty and increased self-governing legal and financial powers for the province. To date, referendums on Quebec sovereignty have been defeated. If a referendum about the independence of Quebec were successful, the Canadian federal government may be obliged to negotiate with Quebec.</R>
Economic. Canada is a major producer of commodities such as forest products, metals, agricultural products, and energy related products like oil, gas, and hydroelectricity. Accordingly, changes in the supply and demand of base commodity resources and industrial and precious metals and materials, both domestically and internationally, can have a significant effect on Canadian market performance.
<R>The U.S. is Canada's largest trading partner and developments in economic policy and U.S. market conditions have a significant impact on the Canadian economy. The expanding economic and financial integration of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico through the North American Free Trade Agreement may make the Canadian economy and securities market more sensitive to North American trade patterns. However, growth in developing countries overseas, particularly China, may change the composition of Canada's trade and foreign investment composition in the near future.</R>
<R>In recent years, economic growth slowed down in certain sectors of the Canadian economy. The Canadian economy suffered from a recession due, in part, to the recent global financial crisis. The weaker economy resulted in lower tax collections and increased support being provided to Canadians through government programs, which increased the Canadian budget deficit. While the Canadian economy has shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. Growth forecasts remain modest due to ongoing fiscal consolidation, the effects of the economic slowdown in the U.S., and weakened demand for Canadian exports and investment as a result of the European crisis. Furthermore, the strength of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar may negatively affect Canada's ability to export, which could limit Canada's economic recovery.</R>
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<R> Europe. The European Union (EU) is an intergovernmental and supranational union of most Western European countries and a growing number of Eastern European countries, each known as a member state. One of the key activities of the EU is the establishment and administration of a common single market, consisting of, among other things, a common trade policy. In order to pursue this goal, member states established, among other things, the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), which sets out different stages and commitments that member states need to follow to achieve greater economic policy coordination and monetary cooperation, including the adoption of a single currency, the euro. While all EU member states participate in the economic union, only certain EU member states have adopted the euro as their currency. When a member state adopts the euro as its currency, the member state no longer controls its own monetary policies. Instead, the authority to direct monetary policy is exercised by the European Central Bank.</R>
<R>While economic and monetary convergence in the EU may offer new opportunities for those investing in the region, investors should be aware that the success of the EU is not wholly assured. European countries can be significantly affected by the tight fiscal and monetary controls that the EMU imposes on its members or with which candidates for EMU membership are required to comply. Europe must grapple with a number of challenges, any one of which could threaten the survival of this monumental undertaking. The countries adopting the euro must adjust to a unified monetary system, the absence of exchange rate flexibility, and the loss of economic sovereignty. Europe's economies are diverse, its governments are decentralized, and its cultures differ widely. Unemployment in some European countries has historically been higher than in the U.S. and could pose political risk. Many EU nations are susceptible to high economic risks associated with high levels of debt, notably due to investments in sovereign debts of European countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the Republic of Ireland. One or more member states might exit the EU, placing its currency and banking system in jeopardy. The EU currently faces major issues involving its membership, structure, procedures and policies; including the adoption, abandonment or adjustment of the new constitutional treaty, the EU's enlargement to the south and east, and resolution of the EU's problematic fiscal and democratic accountability. Efforts of the member states to continue to unify their economic and monetary policies may increase the potential for similarities in the movements of European markets and reduce the benefit of diversification within the region.</R>
<R> Political. The EU has been extending its influence to the east. It has accepted several Eastern European countries as new members, and has plans to accept several more in the medium-term. It is hoped that membership for these states will help cement economic and political stability in the region. For these countries, membership serves as a strong political impetus to employ tight fiscal and monetary policies. Nevertheless, new member states that were former Soviet satellites remain burdened to various extents by the inherited inefficiencies of centrally planned economies similar to what existed under the former Soviet Union. Further expansion of the EU has long-term economic benefits, but certain European countries are not viewed as currently suitable for membership, especially the troubled economies of countries further east. Also, as the EU continues to enlarge, the candidate countries' accessions may grow more controversial. Some member states may repudiate certain candidate countries joining the EU upon concerns about the possible economic, immigration, and cultural implications that may result from such enlargement. The current and future status of the EU therefore continues to be the subject of political controversy, with widely differing views both within and between member states. Also, Russia may be opposed to the expansion of the EU to members of the former Soviet bloc and may, at times, take actions that could negatively impact EU economic activity.</R>
It is possible that the gap between rich and poor within the EU's member countries, and particularly among new members that have not met the requirements for joining the EMU may increase, and that realigning traditional alliances could alter trading relationships and potentially provoke divisive socioeconomic splits.
<R>In the transition to the single economic system, significant political decisions will be made that may affect the market regulation, subsidization, and privatization across all industries, from agricultural products to telecommunications.</R>
<R> Economic. As economic conditions across member states may vary widely, there is continued concern about national-level support for the euro and the accompanying coordination of fiscal and wage policy among EMU member countries. Member countries must maintain tight control over inflation, public debt, and budget deficits in order to qualify for participation in the euro. These requirements severely limit EMU member countries' ability to implement monetary policy to address regional economic conditions.</R>
<R>The recent global financial crisis brought several small economies in Europe to the brink of bankruptcy and many other economies into recession and weakened the banking and financial sectors of many European countries. As a result, the governments of many European countries are now facing a serious economic crisis as high levels of public debt and substantial budget deficits hinder economic growth in the region and threaten the continued viability of the EMU. Due to these large public deficits, some European issuers have had difficulty accessing capital and may be dependent on emergency assistance from European governments and institutions to avoid defaulting on their outstanding debt obligations. The availability of such assistance, however, may be contingent on an issuer's implementation of certain reforms or reaching a required level of performance, which may increase the possibility of default. Such prospects have injected significant volatility into European markets, which may reduce the liquidity or value of a fund's investments in the region. Likewise, the high levels of public debt raise the possibility that certain European issuers may be forced to restructure their debt obligations, which could cause a fund to lose the value of its investments in any such issuer.</R>
<R>As European policy makers take unprecedented steps to respond to the ongoing economic crisis in the region, there is an increased risk that regulatory uncertainty could have a negative effect on the value of a fund's investments in the region. For example, the French parliament recently adopted a financial transactions tax that imposes a tax on, among other transactions, acquisitions of equities in listed companies that have their registered offices in France and that exceed a specified market capitalization. The European Commission has proposed plans for an EU-wide financial transactions tax to take effect in 2014, although it remains unclear whether such a tax will be agreed upon by EU member countries. Moreover, governments across the EMU are facing increasing opposition to certain crisis response measures. For example, efforts to reduce public spending in certain countries have been countered by large-scale protests. As a result, many governments in the region have collapsed or been voted out of office. Leaders in some of these countries have openly questioned the sustainability of the EMU, which raises the risk that certain member states will abandon the euro or that the euro may cease to exist as a single currency in its current form. Any such occurrence would likely have wide-ranging effects on global markets that are difficult to predict. However, these effects would likely have a negative impact on a fund's investments in the region.</R>
<R>Furthermore, the ongoing economic crisis has limited the prospect of short-term growth and economic recovery in the region, which raises the risk that Europe will fall into another recession. Economic challenges facing the region include high levels of public debt, significant rates of unemployment, aging populations, over-regulation of non-financial businesses, persistent trade deficits, rigid labor markets, and inability to access credit. Although certain of these challenges may weigh more heavily on some European economies than others, the economic integration of the region increases the likelihood that recession in one country may spread to others. Should Europe fall into another recession, the value of a fund's investments in the region may be affected.</R>
<R> Currency. Investing in euro-denominated (or other European currencies-denominated) securities entails risk of being exposed to a currency that may not fully reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the disparate European economies. In addition, many European countries rely heavily upon export-dependent businesses and any strength in the exchange rate between the euro and the U.S. dollar can have either a positive or a negative effect upon corporate profits and the performance of EU investments. Currencies have become more volatile, subjecting a fund's foreign investments to additional risks.</R>
<R> Nordic Countries. The Nordic countries relate to European integration in different ways. Norway and Iceland are outside the EU, although they are members of the European Economic Area. Denmark, Finland, and Sweden are all EU members, but only Finland has adopted the euro as its currency. Faced with stronger global competition, the Nordic countries - Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden - have had to scale down their historically generous welfare programs, resulting in drops in domestic demand and increased unemployment. Major industries in the region, such as forestry, agriculture, and oil, are heavily resource-dependent and face pressure as a result of high labor costs. Economic growth in many Nordic countries continues to be constrained by tight labor markets and adverse European and global economic conditions. Although certain Nordic countries have recently exhibited signs of economic growth, any such growth may be limited by the European crisis and the weakened global economy.</R>
Eastern Europe. Investing in the securities of Eastern European issuers is highly speculative and involves risks not usually associated with investing in the more developed markets of Western Europe. Political and economic reforms are too recent to establish a definite trend away from centrally planned economies and state-owned industries. Investments in Eastern European countries may involve risks of nationalization, expropriation, and confiscatory taxation.
<R>Many Eastern European countries continue to move towards market economies at different paces with appropriately different characteristics. Most Eastern European markets suffer from thin trading activity, dubious investor protections, and often a dearth of reliable corporate information. Information and transaction costs, differential taxes, and sometimes political or transfer risk give a comparative advantage to the domestic investor rather than the foreign investor. In addition, these markets are particularly sensitive to social, political, economic, and currency events in Western Europe and Russia and may suffer heavy losses as a result of their trading and investment links to these economies and currencies. Additionally, Russia may attempt to assert its influence in the region through economic or even military measures, as it did with Georgia in the summer of 2008.</R>
In some of the countries of Eastern Europe, there is no stock exchange or formal market for securities. Such countries may also have government exchange controls, currencies with no recognizable market value relative to the established currencies of Western market economies, little or no experience in trading in securities, no accounting or financial reporting standards, a lack of banking and securities infrastructure to handle such trading and a legal tradition that does not recognize rights in private property. Credit and debt issues and other economic difficulties affecting Western Europe and its financial institutions can negatively affect Eastern European countries.
<R>Eastern European economies may also be particularly susceptible to the international credit market due to their reliance on bank related inflows of foreign capital. The recent global financial crisis restricted international credit supplies and several Eastern European economies faced significant credit and economic crises. Although some Eastern European economies are expanding again, major challenges are still present as a result of their continued dependence on the Western European zone for credit and trade. Accordingly, the European crisis may present serious risks for Eastern European economies, which may have a negative effect on a fund's investments in the region.</R>
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<R> Japan. Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, emphasis on education, and a comparatively small defense allocation have helped Japan advance with extraordinary speed to become one of the largest economic powers along with the U.S. and the EU. Despite its impressive history, investors face special risks when investing in Japan.</R>
<R> Economic. For three decades from the 1960s through the 1980s, Japan's overall real economic growth had been spectacular. However, growth slowed markedly in the 1990s and Japan's economy fell into a long recession. After a few years of mild recovery in the mid-2000s, the Japanese economy fell into another recession as a result of the recent global financial crisis.</R>
While Japan experienced an increase in exports relative to recent years, the rate of export growth has since slowed and the rapid appreciation in the value of the yen has negatively impacted Japan's exports. This economic recession was likely compounded by Japan's massive government debt, the aging and shrinking of the population, an unstable financial sector, low domestic consumption, and certain corporate structural weaknesses, which remain some of the major long-term problems of the Japanese economy.
<R>Overseas trade is important to Japan's economy and Japan's economic growth is significantly driven by its exports. Japan has few natural resources and must export to pay for its imports of these basic requirements. Meanwhile, Japan's aging and shrinking population increases the cost of the country's pension and public welfare system and lowers domestic demand, making Japan more dependent on exports to sustain its economy. Therefore, any developments that negatively affect Japan's exports could present risks to a fund's investments in Japan. For example, domestic or foreign trade sanctions or other protectionist measures could harm Japan's economy. Likewise, any escalation of tensions with China or South Korea over disputed territorial claims may adversely impact Japan's trading relationship with two of its largest trading partners. Furthermore, reduced demand for Japan's exports resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy could present additional risks to a fund's investments in Japan.</R>
<R>Japan's recovery from the recession has been affected by economic distress resulting from the earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck northeastern Japan in March 2011 causing major damage along the coast, including damage to nuclear power plants in the region. Following the earthquake, Japan's financial markets fluctuated dramatically. The government injected capital into the economy and proposed plans for massive spending on reconstruction efforts in disaster-affected areas in order to stimulate economic growth. The full extent of the natural disaster's impact on Japan's economy and foreign investment in Japan is difficult to estimate. The risks of natural disasters of varying degrees, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, and the resulting damage, continue to exist.</R>
A pressing need to sustain Japan's economic recovery and improve its economic growth is the task of overhauling the nation's financial institutions. Banks, in particular, may have to reform themselves to become more competitive. Successful financial sector reform would contribute to Japan's economic recovery at home and would benefit other economies in Asia. Internal conflict over the proper way to reform the banking system continues to exist. Currently, Japanese banks are facing difficulties generating profits. Currency fluctuations may also significantly affect Japan's economy.
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<R> Asia Pacific Region (ex Japan). Many countries in the region have historically faced political uncertainty, corruption, military intervention, and social unrest. Examples include military threats on the Korean peninsula and along the Taiwan Strait, the ethnic, sectarian, and separatist violence found in Indonesia, and the nuclear arms threats between India and Pakistan. To the extent that such events continue in the future, they can be expected to have a negative effect on economic and securities market conditions in the region. In addition, the Asia Pacific geographic region has historically been prone to natural disasters. The occurrence of a natural disaster in the region could negatively impact the economy of any country in the region.</R>
<R> Economic. The economies of many countries in the region are heavily dependent on international trade and are accordingly affected by protective trade barriers and the economic conditions of their trading partners, principally, the U.S., Japan, China, and the European Union. The countries in this region are also heavily dependent on exports and are thus particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. High food, fuel and other commodities' prices, as well as volatile capital inflows, may pose challenges to countries in this region in the near future. The recent global financial crisis spread to the region, significantly lowering its exports and foreign investments in the region, which are driving forces of its economic growth. In addition, the economic crisis also significantly affected consumer confidence and local stock markets. Although the economies of many countries in the region have recently shown signs of recovery from the crisis, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. Furthermore, any such recovery may be limited or hindered by the reduced demand for exports and lack of available capital for investment resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy.</R>
<R> The Republic of Korea (South Korea). Investors should be aware that investing in South Korea involves risks not typically associated with investing in the U.S. securities markets. Although relations between North Korea and South Korea had begun to improve in the past few years, recent developments are troubling. As a result, these relations still remain tense and the possibility of military action between the two countries still exists.</R>
<R> Corporate and financial sector restructuring initiated by the Korean government, in conjunction with the IMF, after the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis can be expected to continue, but its full impact cannot be predicted yet. The Korean economy's reliance on international trade makes it highly sensitive to fluctuations in international commodity prices, currency exchange rates and government regulation, and vulnerable to downturns of the world economy. For example, the recent global financial crisis led to large capital outflows from South Korea, which caused the deterioration of the country's currency, domestic asset markets, and credit conditions. The South Korean economy began showing signs of recovery from this downturn in 2009. Although South Korea's initial recovery was faster than many other developed nations, South Korea's growth has since slowed and any continued recovery may be gradual as the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for South Korean exports. The South Korean economy's long-term challenges include a rapidly aging population, inflexible labor market, and overdependence on exports to drive economic growth.</R>
<R> China Region. As with all transition economies, China's ability to develop and sustain a credible legal, regulatory, monetary, and socioeconomic system could influence the course of outside investment. Hong Kong is closely tied to China, economically and through China's 1997 acquisition of the country as a Special Autonomous Region (SAR).</R>
<R> Hong Kong's success depends, in large part, on its ability to retain the legal, financial, and monetary systems that it currently has in place, which allows economic freedom and market expansion. Although many Taiwanese companies heavily invest in China, a state of hostility continues to exist between China and Taiwan, which Beijing has long deemed a part of China and has made a nationalist cause of recovering it. Taiwan's political stability and ability to sustain its economic growth could be significantly affected by its political and economic relationship with China.</R>
<R>The recent global financial crisis caused a marked slowdown in economic growth in the region, leading local governments, especially the Chinese government, to take unprecedented steps to shore up economic growth and prevent widespread unemployment. Although China has experienced economic growth in recent years, recent economic data shows that growth is slowing. Demand for Chinese exports by Western countries, including the U.S. and Europe, may weaken due to the effects of relatively limited economic growth in those countries resulting from the financial crisis in the United States and the crisis in Europe. However, the Chinese government continues to maintain certain of these measures and may introduce more in the future, including measures intended to increase growth and to contain social unrest, which is an increasing risk.</R>
In addition to the risks inherent in investing in the emerging markets, the risks of investing in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan merit special consideration.
People's Republic of China. The government of the People's Republic of China is dominated by the one-party rule of the Chinese Communist Party.
China's economy has transitioned from a rigidly central-planned state-run economy to one that has been only partially reformed by more market-oriented policies. Although the Chinese government has implemented economic reform measures, reduced state ownership of companies and established better corporate governance practices, a substantial portion of productive assets in China are still owned by the Chinese government. The government continues to exercise significant control over regulating industrial development and, ultimately, control over China's economic growth through the allocation of resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies.
<R>At times, China's economy has been subject to the risks of overheating, which leads to the government's attempt to slow down the pace of growth through administrative measures. The recent global financial crisis, however, changed this course for some time, as China's economic growth slowed, due, in part, to weakened demand for its exports and reduced foreign investments in the country. The Chinese economy then showed strong signs of recovery from this slowed growth, but a recovery of China's trading partners may also be necessary to sustain China's continued growth and measures to control growth may be adopted again. In the short term, China's economy faces problems of inflation and local government debt, which swelled in recent years as a result of certain economic stimulus policies. Furthermore, the economy faces the prospect of prolonged weakness in demand for Chinese exports as its major trading partners, such as the United States, Japan, and Europe, continue to experience economic uncertainty stemming from the global financial crisis and European crisis, among other things. Over the long term, China's aging infrastructure, worsening environmental conditions and rapidly widening urban and rural income gap, which all carry political and economic implications, are among the country's major challenges. In addition, tensions resulting from China's territorial claims in the region may present risks to diplomatic and trade relations with certain of China's regional trade partners. Any escalation of these tensions could further reduce international demand for Chinese goods and services, which could have a negative effect on a fund's investments in the securities of Chinese issuers.</R>
As with all transition economies, China's ability to develop and sustain a credible legal, regulatory, monetary, and socioeconomic system could influence the course of outside investment. The Chinese legal system, in particular, constitutes a significant risk factor for investors. The Chinese legal system is based on statutes. Since the late 1970s, Chinese legislative bodies have promulgated laws and regulations dealing with various economic matters such as foreign investment, corporate organization and governance, commerce, taxation, and trade. However, these laws are relatively new and published court decisions based on these laws are limited and non-binding. The interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations are uncertain.
<R>China continues to limit direct foreign investments generally in industries deemed important to national interests. Foreign investment in domestic securities are also subject to substantial restrictions. Some believe that China's currency is undervalued. Currency fluctuations could significantly affect China and its trading partners. China continues to exercise control over the value of its currency, rather than allowing the value of the currency to be determined by market forces. This type of currency regime may experience sudden and significant currency adjustments, which may adversely impact investment returns.</R>
<R> Hong Kong. In 1997, Great Britain handed over control of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China. Since that time, Hong Kong has been governed by a semi-constitution known as the Basic Law, which guarantees a high degree of autonomy in certain matters until 2047, while defense and foreign affairs are the responsibility of the central government in Beijing. The chief executive of Hong Kong is appointed by the Chinese government. However, Hong Kong is able to participate in international organizations and agreements and it continues to function as an international financial center, with no exchange controls, free convertibility of the Hong Kong dollar and free inward and outward movement of capital. The Basic Law also guarantees existing freedoms, including the freedom of speech, assembly, press, and religion, as well as the right to strike and travel. Business ownership, private property, the right of inheritance and foreign investment are also protected by law. By treaty, China has committed to preserve Hong Kong's autonomy until 2047. Nevertheless, if China were to exert its authority so as to alter the economic, political, or legal structures or the existing social policy of Hong Kong, investor and business confidence in Hong Kong could be negatively affected, which in turn could negatively affect markets and business performance.</R>
<R>The global financial crisis forced Hong Kong's economy into a recession. Recently, however, Hong Kong's economy has shown signs of recovery from this recession. This recovery can be attributed, in large part, to the combined efforts of both China and Hong Kong to shore up domestic economic growth. As these measures continue to take effect, their long-term impact on the growth of Hong Kong's economy is unpredictable. However, Hong Kong's recovery has raised concerns about possible overheating in certain sectors of its economy, such as its real estate market, which could limit Hong Kong's future growth. In addition, because of Hong Kong's heavy reliance on international trade and global financial markets, Hong Kong remains exposed to significant risks as a result of the European crisis and weakened global economy. The negative effects of the European downturn on the global economy could push Hong Kong into another recession. Likewise, due to Hong Kong's close political and economic ties with China, any economic stagnation on the mainland could have a negative impact on Hong Kong's economy.</R>
<R> Taiwan. For decades, a state of hostility has existed between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China. Beijing has long deemed Taiwan a part of the "one China" and has made a nationalist cause of recovering it. In the past, China has staged frequent military provocations off the coast of Taiwan and made threats of full-scale military action. Foreign trade has been the engine of rapid growth in Taiwan and has transformed the island into one of Asia's great exporting nations. As an export-oriented economy, Taiwan depends on an open world trade regime and remains vulnerable to downturns in the world economy. Taiwanese companies continue to compete mostly on price, producing generic products or branded merchandise on behalf of multinational companies. Accordingly, these businesses can be particularly vulnerable to currency volatility and increasing competition from neighboring lower-cost countries. Moreover, many Taiwanese companies are heavily invested in mainland China and other countries throughout Southeast Asia, making them susceptible to political events and economic crises in these parts of the region. Significantly, Taiwan and China recently entered into agreements covering banking, securities, and insurance. Closer economic links with the mainland may bring greater opportunities for the Taiwanese economy, but also poses new challenges. For example, foreign direct investment in China has resulted in Chinese import substitution away from Taiwan's exports and a restriction of potential job creation in Taiwan. As a result of the recent global financial crisis, the demand for exports decreased and Taiwan entered into a recession. Although Taiwan's economy has recently shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. In addition, the effects of the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for Taiwan's exports, which could force its economy into another recession.</R>
<R> India. The value of a fund's investments in Indian securities may be affected by, among other things, political developments, rapid changes in government regulation, state intervention in private enterprise, nationalization or expropriation of foreign assets, legal uncertainty, high rates of inflation or interest rates, currency volatility, and civil unrest. In addition, any escalation of tensions with Pakistan may have a negative impact on a fund's investments in India. Likewise, political, social and economic disruptions caused by domestic sectarian violence or terrorist attacks may also present risks to a fund's investments in India.</R>
<R>The Indian economy is heavily dependent on exports and is vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. Recently, the Indian economy began showing signs of recovery from the effects of the global financial crisis. However, this recovery may be limited by the European crisis and weakened global economy. In the event that India's economic recovery slows, a fund's investments in Indian securities may be harmed.</R>
<R>Furthermore, restrictions or controls applicable to foreign investment in the securities of issuers in India may also adversely affect a fund's investments within the country. The availability of financial instruments with exposure to Indian financial markets may be substantially limited by restrictions on foreign investors. Foreign investors are required to observe certain investment restrictions, including limits on shareholdings, which may impede a fund's ability to invest in certain issuers or to fully pursue its investment objective. These restrictions may also have the effect of reducing demand for, or limiting the liquidity of, such investments. There can be no assurance that the Indian government will not impose restrictions on foreign capital remittances abroad or otherwise modify the exchange control regime applicable to foreign investors in such a way that may adversely affect the ability of a fund to repatriate their income and capital.</R>
<R>Shares of many Indian issuers are held by a limited number of persons and financial institutions, which may limit the number of shares available for investment. In addition, further issuances of securities by Indian issuers in which a fund has invested could dilute the investments of existing shareholders and could adversely affect the market price of such securities. Sales of securities by such issuer's major shareholders may also significantly and adversely affect other shareholders. Moreover, a limited number of issuers represent a disproportionately large percentage of market capitalization and trading value in India.</R>
<R> Indonesia. Indonesia has restored financial stability and pursued sober fiscal policies since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, but many economic development problems remain, including high unemployment, a fragile banking sector, endemic corruption, inadequate infrastructure, a poor investment climate, inflationary pressures and unequal resource distribution among regions. These problems may limit the country's ability to contain the severe and negative impact of the recent global financial crisis on its economy. In addition, Indonesia continues to be at risk of ethnic, sectarian, and separatist violence. Furthermore, slow budgetary disbursements have created challenges for government programs related to infrastructure, secondary education, and certain social policies. Rises in global commodity prices may also present risks to Indonesia's growth potential. Keys to future growth remain internal reform, peaceful resolution of internal conflicts, bolstering the confidence of international and domestic investors, and strong global economic growth.</R>
<R> Thailand. Thailand has a well-developed infrastructure and a free-enterprise economy, which is welcoming to certain foreign investment. Increased consumption and investment spending and strong export industries continue to sustain economic growth. Moreover, Bangkok has pursued preferential trade agreements with a variety of partners in an effort to boost exports and maintain high growth, and in 2004 began negotiations on a free trade agreement with the U.S. However, weakening fiscal discipline, separatist violence in the south, the intervention by the military in civilian spheres, and continued political instability may cause additional risks for investments in Thailand. In addition, natural disasters may affect economic growth in the country. For example, in late 2011, historic floods devastated industrial areas north of Bangkok, which severely harmed Thailand's manufacturing sector and reduced the country's economic growth. Although the Thai economy may already be showing signs of recovery from this disaster, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as demand for Thai goods and services could decline due to the effects of the European sovereign debt crisis and weakened global economy.</R>
<R> Philippines. Because of its relatively low dependence on exports and high domestic rates of consumption, as well as substantial remittances received from large overseas populations, the Philippines was one of the few countries in Asia to navigate the recent global financial crisis without falling into recession. Although the economy of the Philippines has shown signs of growth in recent years, there can be no assurances that such growth will continue. Reduced demand for exports from the Philippines as a result of the European crisis and weakened global economy, as well as lower remittances from Filipino immigrants abroad, may negatively impact economic growth in the Philippines. Furthermore, certain weaknesses in the economy, such as inadequate infrastructure, high poverty rates, uneven wealth distribution, low fiscal revenues, endemic corruption, inconsistent regulation, unpredictable taxation, unreliable judicial processes, and the appropriation of foreign assets may present risks to a fund's investments in the Philippines. In addition, investments in the Philippines are subject to risks arising from political or social unrest, including threats from military coups, terrorist groups and separatist movements. Likewise, the Philippines is prone to natural disasters such as typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes and flooding, which may also present risks to a fund's investments in the Philippines.</R>
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<R> Latin America. As an emerging market, Latin America historically suffered from social, political, and economic instability. For investors, this has meant additional risk caused by periods of regional conflict, political corruption, totalitarianism, protectionist measures, nationalization, hyperinflation, debt crises, sudden and large currency devaluation, and intervention by the military in civilian and economic spheres. For example, at times the government of Brazil has imposed a tax on foreign investment in Brazilian stocks and bonds, which may affect the value of a fund's investments in the securities of Brazilian issuers. However, in some Latin American countries, a move to sustainable democracy and a more mature and accountable political environment is under way. Domestic economies have been deregulated, privatization of state-owned companies is almost completed and foreign trade restrictions have been relaxed.</R>
<R> Nonetheless, to the extent that events such as those listed above continue in the future, they could reverse favorable trends toward market and economic reform, privatization, and removal of trade barriers, and result in significant disruption in securities markets in the region. In addition, recent favorable economic performance in much of the region has led to a concern regarding government overspending in certain Latin American countries. Investors in the region continue to face a number of potential risks. Certain Latin American countries depend heavily on exports to the U.S. and investments from a small number of countries. Accordingly, these countries may be sensitive to fluctuations in demand, exchange rates and changes in market conditions associated with those countries. The economic growth of most Latin American countries is highly dependent on commodity exports and the economies of certain Latin American countries, particularly Mexico and Venezuela, are highly dependent on oil exports. As a result, these economies are particularly susceptible to fluctuations in the price of oil and other commodities and currency fluctuations. The recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for oil and other commodities and, as a result, Latin American countries faced significant economic difficulties that led certain countries into recession. If global economic conditions worsen, prices for Latin American commodities may experience increased volatility and demand may continue to decrease. Although certain of these countries have recently shown signs of recovery, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. In addition, prolonged economic difficulties may have negative effects on the transition to a more stable democracy in some Latin American countries. In certain countries, political risk, including nationalization risk, is high.</R>
<R>A number of Latin American countries are among the largest debtors of developing countries and have a long history of reliance on foreign debt and default. The majority of the region's economies have become highly dependent upon foreign credit and loans from external sources to fuel their state-sponsored economic plans. Historically, government profligacy and ill-conceived plans for modernization have exhausted these resources with little benefit accruing to the economy. Most countries have been forced to restructure their loans or risk default on their debt obligations. In addition, interest on the debt is subject to market conditions and may reach levels that would impair economic activity and create a difficult and costly environment for borrowers. Accordingly, these governments may be forced to reschedule or freeze their debt repayment, which could negatively affect local markets. Because of their dependence on foreign credit and loans, a number of Latin American economies faced significant economic difficulties and some economies fell into recession as the recent global financial crisis tightened international credit supplies. While the region has recently shown signs of economic improvement, recovery from past economic downturns in Latin America has historically been slow, and any such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. The European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for exports from Latin America and limit the availability of foreign credit for some countries in the region. As a result, a fund's investments in Latin American securities could be harmed if economic recovery in the region is limited.</R>
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<R> Russia. Investing in Russian securities is highly speculative and involves significant risks and special considerations not typically associated with investing in the securities markets of the U.S. and most other developed countries.</R>
Political. Over the past century, Russia has experienced political and economic turbulence and has endured decades of communist rule under which tens of millions of its citizens were collectivized into state agricultural and industrial enterprises. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's government has been faced with the daunting task of stabilizing its domestic economy, while transforming it into a modern and efficient structure able to compete in international markets and respond to the needs of its citizens. However, to date, many of the country's economic reform initiatives have floundered as the proceeds of IMF and other economic assistance have been squandered or stolen. In this environment, there is always the risk that the nation's government will abandon the current program of economic and political reform and replace it with radically different political and economic policies that would be detrimental to the interests of foreign and private investors.
In the last few years, as significant income from oil and commodity exports has boosted Russia's economy, Russia's government has begun to make bolder steps to re-assert its regional geopolitical influence (including military steps). Such steps may increase tensions between Russia and its neighbors and Western countries and may negatively affect economic growth.
Economic. Many of Russia's businesses have failed to mobilize the available factors of production because the country's privatization program virtually ensured the predominance of the old management teams that are largely non-market-oriented in their management approach. Poor accounting standards, inept management, pervasive corruption, insider trading and crime, and inadequate regulatory protection for the rights of investors all pose a significant risk, particularly to foreign investors. In addition, there is the risk that the Russian tax system will not be reformed to prevent inconsistent, retroactive, and/or exorbitant taxation, or, in the alternative, the risk that a reformed tax system may result in the inconsistent and unpredictable enforcement of the new tax laws.
Compared to most national stock markets, the Russian securities market suffers from a variety of problems not encountered in more developed markets. There is little long-term historical data on the Russian securities market because it is relatively new and a substantial proportion of securities transactions in Russia are privately negotiated outside of stock exchanges. The inexperience of the Russian securities market and the limited volume of trading in securities in the market may make obtaining accurate prices on portfolio securities from independent sources more difficult than in more developed markets. Additionally, there is little solid corporate information available to investors. As a result, it may be difficult to assess the value or prospects of an investment in Russian companies.
<R>Because of the recent formation of the Russian securities market as well as the underdeveloped state of the banking and telecommunications systems, settlement, clearing and registration of securities transactions are subject to significant risks. Ownership of shares (except where shares are held through depositories that meet the requirements of the 1940 Act) is defined according to entries in the company's share register and normally evidenced by extracts from the register or by formal share certificates. However, these services are carried out by the companies themselves or by registrars located throughout Russia. These registrars are not necessarily subject to effective state supervision nor are they licensed with any governmental entity and it is possible for a fund to lose its registration through fraud, negligence, or even mere oversight. While a fund will endeavor to ensure that its interest continues to be appropriately recorded either itself or through a custodian or other agent inspecting the share register and by obtaining extracts of share registers through regular confirmations, these extracts have no legal enforceability and it is possible that subsequent illegal amendment or other fraudulent act may deprive a fund of its ownership rights or improperly dilute its interests. In addition, while applicable Russian regulations impose liability on registrars for losses resulting from their errors, it may be difficult for a fund to enforce any rights it may have against the registrar or issuer of the securities in the event of loss of share registration. Furthermore, significant delays or problems may occur in registering the transfer of securities, which could cause a fund to incur losses due to a counterparty's failure to pay for securities the fund has delivered or the fund's inability to complete its contractual obligations because of theft or other reasons. A recently enacted law authorizes the establishment of a centralized securities depository (CSD), which, in effect, will become the exclusive settlement organization for publicly traded Russian companies and investment funds in Russia. Once the CSD is fully functional, it should enhance the efficiency and transparency of the Russian securities market.</R>
<R>The Russian economy is heavily dependent upon the export of a range of commodities including most industrial metals, forestry products, oil, and gas. Accordingly, it is strongly affected by international commodity prices and is particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. As the recent global financial crisis caused price volatility in commodities, especially oil, many sectors in the Russian economy fell into turmoil, pushing the whole economy into recession. In addition, prior to the global financial crisis, Russia's economic policy encouraged excessive foreign currency borrowing as high oil prices increased investor appetite for Russian financial assets. As a result of this credit boom, Russia reached alarming debt levels and suffered from the effects of tight credit markets. Although the country is still plagued by high debt levels, the Russian economy has recently shown signs of recovery from the recession. However, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as Russia continues to face significant economic challenges. In the near term, the fallout from the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for Russian exports such as oil and gas, which could limit Russia's economic recovery. Over the long-term, Russia faces challenges including a shrinking workforce, a high level of corruption, and difficulty in accessing capital for smaller, non-energy companies and poor infrastructure in need of large investments.</R>
<R> Currency. Foreign investors also face a high degree of currency risk when investing in Russian securities and a lack of available currency hedging instruments. In a surprise move in August 1998, Russia devalued the ruble, defaulted on short-term domestic bonds, and imposed a moratorium on the repayment of its international debt and the restructuring of the repayment terms. These actions have negatively affected Russian borrowers' ability to access international capital markets and have had a damaging impact on the Russian economy. In light of these and other government actions, foreign investors could face the possibility of further devaluations. In addition, there is the risk that the government may impose capital controls on foreign portfolio investments in the event of extreme financial or political crisis. Such capital controls could prevent the sale of a portfolio of foreign assets and the repatriation of investment income and capital. Such risks have led to heightened scrutiny of Russian liquidity conditions, which in turn creates a heightened risk of the repatriation of ruble assets by nervous foreign investors. The recent economic turmoil in Russia caused the Russian ruble to depreciate as unemployment levels increased and global demand for oil exports decreased. As the global economy faces another economic crisis, the Russian central bank may need to manage bank liquidity carefully to avoid undue pressures on Russia's banks and other financial institutions and the ruble.</R>
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<R> The Middle East and Africa. Investing in Middle Eastern and African securities is highly speculative and involves significant risks and special considerations not typically associated with investing in the securities markets of the U.S. and most other developed countries.</R>
<R> Political. Many Middle Eastern and African countries historically have suffered from political instability. Despite a growing trend towards democratization, especially in Africa, significant political risks continue to affect some Middle Eastern and African countries. These risks may include substantial government control over the private sector, corrupt leaders, civil unrest, suppression of opposition parties that can lead to further dissidence and militancy, fixed elections, terrorism, coups, and war. Recently, several countries in the Middle East and North Africa have experienced pro-democracy movements that resulted in swift regime changes. In some cases, these movements have led to armed conflict involving local factions, regional allies or international forces. These changes, in the short term, have affected the status and speed of economic reforms in the region. Because many Middle East and African nations have a history of dictatorship, military intervention, and corruption, there can be no guarantee that recent movements toward a more democratic process will continue. Therefore, the long-term effects of the ongoing regime changes are largely unpredictable. In addition, there is an increasing risk that historical animosities, border disputes, or defense concerns may lead to further armed conflict in the region. In all regions, if such developments were to occur, it could have a negative effect on economic growth and reverse favorable trends toward economic and market reform, privatization, and the removal of trade barriers. Such developments could also result in significant disruptions in securities markets, which may have wider consequences for the global economy.</R>
<R> Economic. Middle Eastern and African countries historically have suffered from economic instability. Underdeveloped infrastructure, high unemployment rates, a comparatively unskilled labor force, and inconsistent access to capital have contributed to economic instability in the region. Furthermore, certain Middle Eastern and African markets may face a higher concentration of market capitalization, greater illiquidity and greater price volatility than that found in more developed markets of Western Europe or the U.S. Additionally, certain countries in the region have a history of nationalizing or expropriating foreign assets, which could cause a fund to lose the value of its investments in those countries. Despite a growing trend towards economic diversification, many Middle Eastern and African economies remain heavily dependent upon a limited range of commodities. These include gold, silver, copper, cocoa, diamonds, natural gas and petroleum. These economies are greatly affected by international commodity prices and are particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. As the recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for oil, gas, and other commodities, some countries in the region faced significant economic difficulties and many countries have been forced to scale down their infrastructure development and the size of their public welfare systems, which could have long-term economic, social, and political implications. Although certain economies in Africa and the Middle East have recently shown signs of recovery from the recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for exports from the region.</R>
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<R>The largest economy in Africa is South Africa. The country has a two-tiered, developing economy with one tier similar to that of a developed country and the second tier having only the most basic infrastructure. High interest rates, power shortages, and weakening commodities prices, along with the recent economic crisis, caused South Africa to enter a recession in 2009 for the first time in 18 years. The South African Government, both before and during the recession, implemented policies designed to reduce trade and investment restrictions and privatize certain industries. However, ethnic and civil conflicts, the HIV health crisis, uncertainty surrounding government policy, and political instability have led to uneven wealth distribution within the country and may cause additional risks for investments in South Africa. These problems likely compounded the economic difficulties that South Africa faced as the negative effects of the global financial crisis spread to the country. Although the South African economy has recently shown signs of recovery, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as political, social, and labor unrest could affect the South African economy. In addition, reduced demand for South African exports due to the European crisis and weakened global economy may limit any such recovery.</R>
Currency. Certain Middle Eastern and African countries have currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar or euro, rather than at levels determined by market forces. This type of currency regime may experience sudden and significant currency adjustments, which may adversely impact investment returns.
To the extent that Strategic Advisers grants investment management authority over an allocated portion of the fund's assets to a sub-adviser (see the section entitled "Management Contract"), that sub-adviser is authorized to provide the services described in the respective sub-advisory agreement, and in accordance with the policies described in this section.
Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities are placed on behalf of the fund by Strategic Advisers (either directly or through its affiliates) or a sub-adviser, pursuant to authority contained in the management contract and the respective sub-advisory agreement.
Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
<R>The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in affiliated funds, but it may incur such costs when it invests in non-affiliated funds and when it invests directly in other types of securities, including ETFs.</R>
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review Strategic Advisers' and its affiliates' and each sub-adviser's performance of their respective responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
Strategic Advisers.
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Strategic Advisers, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Strategic Advisers or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.</R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Strategic Advisers or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services Strategic Advisers or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Strategic Advisers' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Strategic Advisers or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.</R>
Research Contracts. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Strategic Advisers or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) who have entered into arrangements with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
<R>Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), with whom they are under common control, provided Strategic Advisers or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade-execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.</R>
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Strategic Advisers to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
<R> Causeway Capital Management LLC (Causeway). </R>
<R> In executing fund transactions with brokers and dealers, Causeway seeks to obtain the best available price in the best available market so that the fund's total cost is or proceeds are the most favorable under the circumstances, taking into account all relevant factors, including, the size and nature of an order, the difficulty of execution, and the full range and quality of a broker-dealer's services, including among other things:</R>
Causeway does not adhere to any rigid formulas in selecting broker-dealers, but will weigh a combination of some or all of the preceding criteria. The determinative factor is not the lowest possible commission cost, but whether the transaction represents the best qualitative execution for the fund and Causeway's other clients. Causeway's traders monitor prices by comparing fills to the stock's volume-weighted average price ("VWAP") for the trading day. Portfolio managers and research analysts assess brokers based on research services and communicate research rankings to the Trading Desk. Portfolio managers and traders receive monthly and annual reports listing brokers and commissions by country, monitor the amount of commissions allocated among broker-dealers and seek to allocate transactions to broker-dealers who provide superior execution and research services. Causeway also uses a third party service provider to assist the firm in assessing best execution.
Causeway may consider proprietary or third party brokerage and research services provided by broker-dealers as a factor in their selection. Causeway may effect securities transactions that cause the fund to pay an amount of commission in excess of the amount of commission another broker-dealer would have charged; provided, that Causeway determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of brokerage and research services provided by the broker-dealer used by Causeway, viewed in terms of either the specific transaction or Causeway's overall responsibilities to the fund and other accounts for which it exercises investment discretion.
To the extent research services may be a factor in selecting broker-dealers, such services may be in written form or through direct contact with individuals and may include information about securities, companies, industries, markets, economics, the valuation of investments and portfolio strategy. Research may be in the form of research reports, electronic market data, computer and technical market analyses, and access to research analysts, corporate management personnel, and industry experts. Brokerage and research services furnished by broker-dealers may be used in servicing all Causeway's accounts and not all such services may be used in connection with the fund or any other particular account of Causeway which paid commissions to the broker-dealer providing such services.
Pursuant to SEC interpretative guidance, Causeway uses commission sharing arrangements ("CSAs") with certain brokers. These CSA brokers execute trades and credit soft dollars to pools from which Causeway directs payments to the CSA brokers, third-party brokers, and independent research providers based on commission targets. The use of CSAs is intended to assist Causeway in providing credits to brokers who, in its judgment, provide the best access to analysts and management, and to independent research providers, while using reliable execution brokers which Causeway believes will benefit Causeway's accounts, including the fund.
Causeway may aggregate or "block" purchase and sale orders - including IPOs and new issues - to seek the efficiencies that may be available for larger transactions when it determines that investment decisions are appropriate for each participating account and it believes that aggregation is consistent with its duty to seek best execution for its clients. Prior to placing the order, Causeway computes the allocation it intends to make among participating client accounts. When aggregating orders, participating clients receive the average share price for all the transactions in that security for the aggregated order on a given business day, with transaction costs shared pro rata based on each client's participation.
If the aggregated order is entirely filled, Causeway will allocate the securities among clients in accordance with its previous allocation computation. Securities purchased or sold in an aggregated order that is not completely filled on a trading day are allocated pro rata, when possible, to the participating client accounts in proportion to the size of the order placed for each account. Causeway may, however, increase or decrease the amount of securities allocated to each account if necessary due to cash constraints or to avoid holding odd-lot or small numbers of shares for particular clients. Additionally, if Causeway is unable to fully execute an aggregated order and Causeway determines that it would be impractical to allocate a small number of securities among the accounts participating in the transaction on a pro rata basis, Causeway may allocate such securities in a manner determined in good faith to be a fair allocation.
<R> Massachusetts Financial Services Company (MFS). </R>
<R> Specific decisions to purchase or sell securities for the fund are made by persons affiliated with MFS. Any such person may serve other clients of MFS or any subsidiary of MFS in a similar capacity.</R>
MFS places all fund orders for the purchase or sale of securities with the primary objective of seeking to obtain the best price and execution from responsible broker/dealers at competitive rates. MFS seeks to deal with broker/dealers that can meet a high standard of quality regarding execution services. MFS may also place value on a broker/dealer's ability to provide useful research assistance. MFS takes into account all factors it deems relevant, including by way of illustration: price; the size of the transaction; the nature of the market of the security; the amount of the commission; the timing and impact of the transaction taking into account market prices and trends; the reputation, experience and financial stability of the broker/dealer involved; the willingness of the broker/dealer to commit capital; the need for anonymity in the market; and the quality of services rendered by the broker/dealer in other transactions, including the quality of the broker/dealer's research.
<R>In certain circumstances, such as a buy in for failure to deliver, MFS is not able to select the broker/dealer who will transact to cover the failure. For example, if the fund sells a security short and is unable to deliver the securities sold short the broker/dealer through whom the fund sold short must deliver securities purchased for cash, i.e., effect a buy-in, unless it knows that the fund either is in the process of forwarding the securities to the broker/dealer or will do so as soon as possible without undue inconvenience or expense. Similarly, there can also be a failure to deliver in a long transaction and a resulting buy-in by the broker/dealer through whom the securities were sold. If the broker/dealer effects a buy-in, MFS will be unable to control the trading techniques, methods, venues or any other aspect of the trade used by the broker/dealer.</R>
Commission rates vary depending upon trading techniques, methods, venues and broker/dealers selected as well as the market(s) in which the security is traded and its relative liquidity. As noted above, MFS may utilize numerous broker/dealers and trading venues and strategies in order to seek the best execution for client transactions. MFS periodically and systematically reviews the performance of the broker/dealers that execute fund transactions, including the commission rates paid to broker/dealers by considering the value and quality of brokerage and research services provided. The quality of a broker/dealer's services is measured by analyzing various factors that could affect the execution of trades. These factors include the ability to execute trades with a minimum of market impact, the speed and efficiency of executions, electronic trading capabilities, adequacy of capital, research provided to the adviser, and accommodation of the adviser's special needs. MFS may employ outside vendors to provide reports on the quality of broker/dealer executions.
In the case of securities traded in the over-the-counter market, portfolio transactions may be effected either on an agency basis, which involves the payment of negotiated brokerage commissions to the broker/dealer, including electronic communication networks, or on a principal basis at net prices without commissions, but which include compensation to the broker/dealer in the form of a mark-up or mark-down, depending on where MFS believes best execution is available. In the case of securities purchased from underwriters, the cost of such securities generally includes a fixed underwriting commission or concession. From time to time, soliciting dealer fees are available to MFS on tender or exchange offers. Such soliciting or dealer fees are, in effect, recaptured by the fund.
In allocating brokerage, MFS may take into consideration the receipt of research and brokerage services, consistent with its obligation to seek best price and execution for fund transactions. As permitted by Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended ("Section 28(e)"), MFS may cause the fund to pay a broker/dealer which provides "brokerage and research services" (as defined by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) to MFS an amount of commission for effecting a securities transaction for the fund in excess of the amount other broker/dealers would have charged for the transaction if MFS determines in good faith that the greater commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by the effecting broker/dealer viewed in terms of either a particular transaction or MFS' overall responsibilities to the fund and its other clients. "Commissions," as interpreted by the SEC, include fees paid to brokers for trades conducted on an agency basis, and certain mark-ups, markdowns, commission equivalents and other fees received by dealers in riskless principal transactions placed in the NASDAQ market.
The term "brokerage and research services" includes advice as to the value of securities, the advisability of investing in, purchasing or selling securities, and the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities; furnishing analyses and reports concerning issuers, industries, securities, economic factors and trends, portfolio strategy, and the performance of accounts; and effecting securities transactions and performing functions incidental thereto (such as clearance and settlement) or required in connection therewith by applicable rules. Such services ("Research") includes statistical, research, and other factual information or services such as: investment research reports; access to analysts; execution systems and trading analytics; reports or databases containing corporate, fundamental, and technical analyses; portfolio modeling strategies; and economic research services, such as publications, chart services, and advice from economists concerning macroeconomics information, and analytical investment information about particular corporations. Such brokerage and research services are provided to MFS for no consideration other than brokerage or underwriting commissions. In determining whether a service or product qualifies as "brokerage and research services," MFS evaluates whether the service or product provides lawful and appropriate assistance to MFS in carrying out its investment decision-making responsibilities. It is often not possible to place a dollar value on the brokerage and research services MFS receives from brokers. The determination and evaluation of the reasonableness of the brokerage commissions paid in connection with portfolio transactions is based primarily on the professional opinions of the persons responsible for the placement and review of such transactions.
MFS has entered into Client Commission Agreements with broker/dealers that are involved from time to time in executing, clearing or settling securities transactions on behalf of the fund ("Executing Brokers") which provide for the Executing Brokers to pay a portion of the Commissions paid by the fund for securities transactions ("Pooled Commissions") to providers of Research ("Research Providers"). Such Research Providers produce Research for the benefit of MFS.
Because a Research Provider may play no role in executing client securities transactions, any Research prepared by that Research Provider may constitute third party research. MFS may use brokerage commissions, including Pooled Commissions, from the fund's portfolio transactions to acquire Research, subject to the procedures and limitations described in this discussion.
<R>From time to time, MFS prepares a list of Research Providers that have been deemed by MFS to provide valuable Research ("Research Firms") as determined periodically by MFS' investment staff ("Research Votes"). Executing Brokers are eligible to be included in the list of Research Firms. All trades with Research Firms will be effected in accordance with MFS' obligation to seek best execution for its client accounts. MFS uses a Research Vote as a guide for allocating Pooled Commissions. Compensation for Research may also be made pursuant to commissions paid on trades ("Trade Commissions") executed by a Research Provider who is registered as a broker/dealer ("Broker Provider"). Under normal circumstances, Executing Brokers are compensated for Research solely through Trade Commissions. To the extent that payments for Research to a Broker Provider other than an Executing Broker are made pursuant to Trade Commissions, MFS will reduce the amount of Pooled Commissions to be paid to that Broker Provider for its Research. However, MFS will reduce the amount of Pooled Commissions to be paid to that Broker Provider by less than the full amount of Trade Commissions paid to that Broker Provider. Research votes are also used as a guide for allocating cash payments, if any, made by MFS from its own resources and Pooled Commissions to Research Firms that are not Broker Providers. Neither MFS nor the fund have an obligation to any Research Firm if the amount of Trade Commissions and Pooled Commissions paid to the Research Firm is less than the applicable non-binding target. MFS reserves the right to pay cash to the Research Firm from its own resources in an amount MFS determines in its discretion.</R>
If MFS determines that any service or product has a mixed use (i.e., it also serves functions that do not assist the investment decision-making or trading process), MFS may allocate the costs of such service or product accordingly in its reasonable discretion. MFS will allocate Trade Commissions and Pooled Commissions to Research Firms only for the portion of the service or product that MFS determines assists it in the investment decision-making or trading process and will pay for the remaining value of the product or service in cash.
In effecting portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund and MFS' other clients, MFS from time to time may instruct the broker/dealer that executes a transaction to allocate, or "step out," a portion of such transaction to another broker/dealer. The broker/dealer to which MFS has "stepped out" would then settle and complete the designated portion of the transaction, and the executing broker/dealer would settle and complete the remaining portion of the transaction that has not been "stepped out." Each broker/dealer may receive a commission or brokerage fee with respect to that portion of the transaction that it settles and completes.
The advisory fee paid by the fund to MFS is not reduced as a consequence of MFS' receipt of Research. To the extent the fund's portfolio transactions are used to obtain Research, the brokerage commissions paid by the fund might exceed those that might otherwise be paid for execution only. The Research received may be useful and of value to MFS or its affiliates in serving both the fund and other clients of MFS or its affiliates; accordingly, not all of the Research provided by broker/dealers through which the fund effects securities transactions may be used by MFS in connection with the fund. MFS, through the use of the Research, avoids the additional expenses that it would incur if it attempted to develop comparable information through its own staff or if it purchased such Research with its own resources.
<R>In certain instances there are securities that are suitable for the fund's portfolio as well as for one or more of the other clients of MFS or of any subsidiary of MFS (or that MFS believes should no longer be held by the fund's portfolio or by other clients of MFS or any subsidiary of MFS). It is possible that a particular security is bought or sold for only one client even though it might be held by, or bought or sold for, other clients. Likewise, a particular security may be bought for one or more clients when one or more other clients are selling that same security. Some simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several clients receive investment advice from the same investment adviser, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objectives of more than one client. Transactions for each client are generally effected independently unless MFS determines to purchase or sell the same securities for several clients at approximately the same time. MFS may, but is not required to, aggregate together purchases and sales for several clients and will allocate the trades in a fair and equitable manner, across participating clients. MFS has adopted policies that are reasonably designed to ensure that when two or more clients are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, the securities are allocated among clients in a manner believed by MFS to be fair and equitable to each. With respect to proprietary accounts of MFS or its subsidiaries, allocations otherwise than in the context of equity initial public offerings, equity limited offerings or fixed income new issues will be made only to accounts that have been established and seeded with not more than $25 million: (1) in a commingled vehicle advised by MFS or an affiliate that is available for purchase by unaffiliated third parties ("New MFS Fund"); or (2) for the purpose of establishing a performance record to enable MFS or the subsidiary to offer the account's investment style to unaffiliated third parties or if the account is being offered to the general public. Other proprietary accounts will not participate in the investment opportunity until after it has been allocated to other accounts. Proprietary accounts include other accounts (1) owned beneficially solely by MFS or its subsidiaries; (2) in which the officers and employees of MFS or trustees/managers of any registered investment companies for which MFS serves as the primary investment advisor are the principal owners; or (3) invested in an investment strategy that is 25% or more owned by MFS or any of its direct or indirect subsidiaries, its officers and employees and that MFS has determined in its discretion to be an alternative account. With respect to allocations of equity initial public offerings, equity limited offerings or fixed income new issues, these policies prohibit allocations to: (1) Private Portfolio Management accounts; (2) accounts principally owned by officers or employees of MFS or its subsidiaries or trustees/managers of any registered investment companies for which MFS serves as the primary investment advisor and which are not being offered to unaffiliated third parties; or (3) a proprietary account (other than a New MFS Fund). However, these policies do not prohibit allocations to funds or other accounts owned beneficially by Sun Life of Canada (U.S.) Financial Services Holdings, Inc., or Sun Life Financial Inc., or their affiliates other than MFS and its direct and indirect subsidiaries.</R>
It is recognized that in some cases this system could have a detrimental effect on the price or availability of a security as far as the fund is concerned.
<R> William Blair & Company, LLC (William Blair). </R>
<R> Decisions on portfolio transactions (including the decision to buy or sell, the appropriate price, allocation of brokerage, use of a broker as agent or dealer as principal and negotiation of commissions) normally are made by William Blair. In purchasing and selling portfolio securities, William Blair seeks to obtain the most favorable overall result, taking into account the net price, the method of execution and research services provided by the broker. Such research services include economic forecasts and analytical, narrative and statistical reports on industries and companies for consideration by William Blair's other clients. Portfolio transactions may increase or decrease the return of a fund depending upon William Blair's ability to correctly time and execute such transactions.</R>
Selection of a broker for a particular portfolio transaction depends on many factors, some of which are subjective and that include the net price, confidentiality, reliability, integrity, size and nature of the transaction and the market in which it is to occur and any research or other services that the broker has provided. William Blair does not consider the sale of fund shares in selecting brokers. Transactions in over-the-counter securities are generally executed as principal trades with primary market makers, except where it is believed that a better combination of price and execution could otherwise be obtained. William Blair determines the overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions and of premiums and discounts on principal transactions (which do not involve commissions) by review of comparable trades for William Blair's other clients and in the market generally. If more than one broker is believed to be equally qualified to effect a portfolio transaction, William Blair may assign the transaction to a broker that has furnished research services, but William Blair has no agreement, formula or policy as to allocation of brokerage.
The fund may pay to brokers that provide research services to William Blair a commission higher than another broker might have charged if it is determined that the commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services that are provided, viewed in terms of either the particular transaction or William Blair's overall responsibility to its advisory accounts. The extent to which such commissions exceed commissions solely for execution cannot be determined, but such research services, which are involved in portfolio transactions for the fund and for William Blair's other advisory accounts, can be of benefit to both the fund and such other accounts. The value of research services that are provided by brokers who handle portfolio transactions for the fund cannot be precisely determined and such services are supplemental to William Blair's own efforts, which are undiminished thereby. William Blair does not believe that its expenses are reduced by reason of such services, which benefit the fund and William Blair's other clients. William Blair receives research products and services from broker/dealers and third parties in the form of written reports on individual companies and industries of particular interest to William Blair, general economic conditions, pertinent federal and state legislative developments and changes in accounting practices; direct access by telephone or meetings with leading research analysts throughout the financial community, corporate management personnel and industry experts; comparative performance and evaluation and technical measurement services for issuers, industries and the market as a whole; access to and monitoring of equity valuation models; and services from recognized experts on investment matters of particular interest to William Blair.
Commissions Paid
A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
<R>For the fiscal periods ended February 28, 2013 and February 29, 2012, the fund's portfolio turnover rates were 25% and 18%, respectively. Variations in turnover rate may be due to a fluctuating volume of shareholder purchase and redemption orders, market conditions, and/or changes in Strategic Advisers' investment outlook.</R>
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund held securities issued by one or more of its regular brokers or dealers or a parent company of its regular brokers or dealers. The following table shows the aggregate value of the securities of the regular broker or dealer or parent company held by the fund as of the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013.</R>
<R>The following table shows the total amount of brokerage commissions paid by the fund, comprising commissions paid on securities and/or futures transactions, as applicable, for the fiscal years ended February 28, 2013, February 29, 2012, and February 28, 2011. The total amount of brokerage commissions paid is stated as a dollar amount and a percentage of the fund's average net assets.</R>
Fiscal Year
|
|
Dollar
|
Percentage of
|
<R>2013 |
|
$ 5,601,959 |
0.05%</R> |
2012 + |
|
$ 4,120,916 |
0.04% |
2011 |
|
$ 699,177 |
0.01% |
<R> |
|
|
</R> |
+ Fiscal year ended February 29.
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid $2,905,547 in brokerage commissions to firms that may have provided research or brokerage services involving approximately $2,281,352,632 of transactions.</R>
The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. The NAV of the fund is computed by adding the value of the fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting its liabilities, and dividing the result by the number of shares outstanding.
The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for pricing, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers has established the Strategic Advisers Fair Value Committee (Strategic Advisers Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities. The Strategic Advisers Committee may rely on information and recommendations provided by affiliates of Strategic Advisers in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, including the fair valuation of securities.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) held by the fund are valued at their respective NAVs. If an underlying fund's NAV is unavailable, shares of that underlying fund will be fair valued in good faith by the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by the fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity non-money market fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
<R>Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques.</R>
Short-term securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less for which market quotations and information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates current value.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
<R>Prices described above are obtained from pricing services that have been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available and the funds may use more than one of these services. The funds may also discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time. Strategic Advisers engages in oversight activities with respect to the fund's pricing services, which includes, among other things, testing the prices provided by pricing services prior to calculation of a fund's NAV, conducting periodic due diligence meetings, and periodically reviewing the methodologies and inputs used by these services.</R>
<R>Foreign securities and instruments are valued in their local currency following the methodologies described above. Foreign securities, instruments and currencies are translated to U.S. dollars, based on foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by a pricing service as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which uses a proprietary model to determine the exchange rate. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at an interpolated rate based on days to maturity between the closest preceding and subsequent settlement period reported by the third party pricing service.</R>
The Board of Trustees of the underlying Fidelity funds has ultimate responsibility for pricing portfolio securities and assets held by those funds, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee and the Strategic Advisers Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and ADRs, market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. This technique involves initially valuing an instrument at its cost as adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount rather than its current market value. The amortized cost value of an instrument may be higher or lower than the price a money market fund would receive if it sold the instrument.
At such intervals as they deem appropriate, the Trustees of an underlying Fidelity money market fund consider the extent to which NAV calculated using market valuations would deviate from the $1.00 per share calculated using amortized cost valuation. If the Trustees believe that a deviation from a money market fund's amortized cost per share may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Trustees have agreed to take such corrective action, if any, as they deem appropriate to eliminate or reduce, to the extent reasonably practicable, the dilution or unfair results. Such corrective action could include selling portfolio instruments prior to maturity to realize capital gains or losses or to shorten average portfolio maturity; withholding dividends; redeeming shares in kind; establishing NAV by using available market quotations; and such other measures as the Trustees may deem appropriate.
BUYING AND SELLING INFORMATION
Shares of the fund are offered only to certain clients of Strategic Advisers that have granted Strategic Advisers discretionary investment authority. If you are not currently a Strategic Advisers client, please call 1-800-544-3455 for more information.
Investors participating in a Strategic Advisers discretionary investment program are charged an annual advisory fee based on a percentage of the average market value of assets in their account. The stated fee is then reduced by a credit reflecting the amount of fees, if any, received by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates from mutual funds for investment management or certain other services.
The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the fund's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
<R> Dividends. Because the fund may invest significantly in foreign securities and/or in underlying funds that invest significantly in foreign securities, corporate shareholders should not expect fund dividends to qualify for the dividends-received deduction. However, a portion of the fund's dividends, when distributed to individual shareholders, may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met). Short-term capital gains are taxable at ordinary income tax rates.</R>
Capital Gain Distributions. The fund's long-term capital gain distributions, including amounts attributable to an underlying fund's long-term capital gain distributions, are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the fund had an aggregate capital loss carryforward of approximately $105,220,329. This loss carryforward, none of which will expire, is available to offset future capital gains. Under provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and related regulations, a fund must use losses that do not expire before it uses losses that do expire, and a fund's ability to utilize its capital loss carryforwards in a given year or in total may be limited.</R>
Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.
Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. As a general matter, if, at the close of its fiscal year, more than 50% of the fund's total assets is invested in securities of foreign issuers, the fund may elect to pass through eligible foreign taxes paid and thereby allow shareholders to take a deduction or, if they meet certain holding period requirements with respect to fund shares, a credit on their individual tax returns. In addition, if at the close of each quarter of its fiscal year at least 50% of the fund's total assets is represented by interests in other regulated investment companies, the same rules will apply to any foreign tax credits that underlying funds pass through to the fund. The amount of foreign taxes paid by the fund will be reduced to the extent that the fund lends securities over the dividend record date. Special rules may apply to the credit for individuals who receive dividends qualifying for the long-term capital gains tax rate.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
<R>The Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and executive officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. If the interests of the fund and an underlying Fidelity fund were to diverge, a conflict of interest could arise and affect how the Trustees and Member of the Advisory Board fulfill their fiduciary duties to the affected funds. Strategic Advisers has structured the fund to avoid these potential conflicts, although there may be situations where a conflict of interest is unavoidable. In such instances, Strategic Advisers, the Trustees, and Member of the Advisory Board would take reasonable steps to minimize and, if possible, eliminate the conflict. Except for Mary C. Farrell, each of the Trustees oversees 26 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. Ms. Farrell oversees 20 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.</R>
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. The executive officers and Advisory Board Member hold office without limit in time, except that any officer and Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
<R>Each Trustee who is not an interested person of the trust and the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) is referred to herein as an Independent Trustee.</R>
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Fund's Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also engage professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates with experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. Additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, may be considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. Roger T. Servison is an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) and currently serves as Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Ralph F. Cox serves as the lead Independent Trustee and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
<R>Fidelity funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees asset allocation funds as well as the Fidelity enhanced index funds. Other boards oversee Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds and Fidelity's equity and high income funds. The fund may invest in Fidelity funds overseen by such other Boards. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues.</R>
The Trustees primarily operate as a full Board, but also operate in committees, to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board has charged Strategic Advisers and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through Strategic Advisers, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. Board oversight of different aspects of the fund's activities is exercised primarily through the full Board, but also through the Audit and Compliance Committee. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees."
Interested Trustees *:
<R>Correspondence intended for each Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience + </R> |
|
<R>Roger T. Servison (1945)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Servison is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Servison serves as President of Strategic New Business Development for Fidelity Investments and serves as a Director of Strategic Advisers. Previously, Mr. Servison oversaw Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company (2005-2006) and Strategic Advisers (2005-2007). Mr. Servison also served as President and a Director of Fidelity Brokerage Services (Japan), LLC (1994-2004). |
<R>Derek L. Young (1964)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Mr. Young is Vice President of Fidelity's Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present), President and a Director of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2011-present), President of Fidelity Global Asset Allocation (GAA) (2011-present), and Vice Chairman of Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2011-present). Previously, Mr. Young served as Chief Investment Officer of GAA (2009-2011) and as a portfolio manager. |
* Trustees have been determined to be "Interested Trustees" by virtue of, among other things, their affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with Strategic Advisers.
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees :
Correspondence intended for each Independent Trustee (that is, the Trustees other than the Interested Trustees) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience + </R> |
|
<R>Peter C. Aldrich (1944)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Aldrich is a Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Director of the funds of BlackRock Realty Group (2006-present). Previously, Mr. Aldrich served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010), a Managing Member of Poseidon, LLC (foreign private investment, 1998-2004), and Chairman and Managing Member of AEGIS, LLC (foreign private investment, 1997-2004). Mr. Aldrich also served as Faculty Chairman of The Research Council on Global Investment of The Conference Board (business and professional education non-profit, 1999-2004). Mr. Aldrich is a Member of the Boards of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and an Overseer of the Longy School of Music. |
<R>Amy Butte Liebowitz (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011</R> Ms. Butte Liebowitz was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of TILE Financial (financial internet service, 2008-2012). Previously, Ms. Butte Liebowitz served as the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of MF Global (broker-dealer, 2006-2008), and Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange (2004-2006). Ms. Butte Liebowitz is a member of the Boards of Directors of Accion International and the New York Women's Forum, as well as an alumna of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader program. |
<R>Ralph F. Cox (1932)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Cox is President of RABAR Enterprises (management consulting for the petroleum industry). Mr. Cox is a Director of Abraxas Petroleum (exploration and production). Mr. Cox is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Business and Engineering Schools of Texas A&M University and the Engineering School of University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Mr. Cox served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010) and as an Advisory Director of CH2M Hill Companies (engineering, 1981-2011). Mr. Ralph F. Cox and Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. are not related. |
<R>Mary C. Farrell (1949)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2013</R> Ms. Farrell is a Director of the W.R. Berkley Corporation (insurance provider) and President (2009-present) and Director (2006-present) of the Howard Gilman Foundation (charitable organization). Previously, Ms. Farrell was Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at UBS Wealth Management USA and Co-Head of UBS Wealth Management Investment Strategy & Research Group (2003-2005). Ms. Farrell also served as Investment Strategist at PaineWebber (1982-2000) and UBS PaineWebber (2000-2002). Ms. Farrell also serves as Trustee on the Board of Overseers of the New York University Stern School of Business, the Board of Trustees of Yale-New Haven Hospital and is a member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II. |
<R>Karen Kaplan (1960)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Ms. Kaplan is President of Hill Holliday (advertising and specialized marketing, 2007-present). Ms. Kaplan is a Director of DSM (dba Delta Dental and DentaQuest) (2004-present), Director of Vera Bradley (2012-present), Member of the Board of Governors of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston (2010-present), Member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference for Women (2008-present), Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (2006-present), Board of Directors of Jobs for Massachusetts (2012-present), National Association of Corporate Directors Chapter (2012-present), and Board of Directors of the Post Office Square Trust (2012-present). She is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, an action oriented community of the most effective CEOs, heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, and non-governmental leaders in the world. Previously, Ms. Kaplan served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010), President of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2008-2010), Treasurer of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2002-2006), Vice Chair of the Board of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2003-2010), Director of United Way of Massachusetts Bay (2004-2006), Director of ADVO (direct mail marketing, 2003-2007), and Director of Tweeter Home Entertainment Group (2006-2007). |
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Member and Executive Officers :
<R>Correspondence intended for each executive officer and Howard E. Cox, Jr. may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupation </R> |
|
<R>Howard E. Cox, Jr. (1944)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II. Mr. Cox is a Member of the Advisory Board of Devonshire Investors (2009-present). Mr. Cox serves as an Advisory Partner of Greylock (venture capital) and a Director of Stryker Corporation (medical products and services). Previously, Mr. Cox served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010) and a Member of the Secretary of Defense's Business Board of Directors (2008-2010). Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. and Mr. Ralph F. Cox are not related. |
<R>Kenneth B. Robins (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 President and Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Robins also serves as President and Treasurer of other Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds (2008-present) and Assistant Treasurer of other Fidelity Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present). Mr. Robins is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Robins served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2005-2008) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2006-2008). |
<R>Marc Bryant (1966)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of the fund. Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Fidelity Investments. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Mr. Bryant served as a Senior Vice President and the Head of Global Retail Legal for AllianceBernstein L.P. (2006-2010), and as the General Counsel for ProFund Advisors LLC (2001-2006). |
<R>Elizabeth Paige Baumann (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer of the fund. Ms. Baumann also serves as AML Officer of the Fidelity funds (2012-present) and The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2012-present), Chief AML Officer of FMR LLC (2012-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Baumann served as Vice President and Deputy Anti-Money Laundering Officer (2007-2012). |
<R>Nicholas E. Steck (1964)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the fund. Mr. Steck serves as Senior Vice President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. During the period 2002 to 2009, Mr. Steck served as a Compliance Officer of FMR, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc., FMR LLC, Fidelity Research & Analysis (U.K.) Inc., Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. |
<R>Laura M. Doherty (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Compliance Officer of the fund. Ms. Doherty also serves as Senior Vice President of the Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Doherty served as a Vice President in Fidelity's Corporate Audit department (1998-2008). |
<R>Adrien E. Deberghes (1967)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Deberghes also serves as Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) and Deputy Treasurer (2008-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Deberghes served as Senior Vice President of Mutual Fund Administration at State Street Corporation (2007-2008), Senior Director of Mutual Fund Administration at Investors Bank & Trust (2005-2007), and Director of Finance for Dunkin' Brands (2000-2005). |
<R>Stephanie J. Dorsey (1969)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Ms. Dorsey also serves as President and Treasurer (2013-present) and Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Dorsey served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2008-2013), Treasurer (2004-2008) of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds and Vice President (2004-2008) of JPMorgan Chase Bank. |
<R>Jonathan Davis (1968)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Davis is also Assistant Treasurer of certain Fidelity funds. Mr. Davis is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2003-2010). |
<R>Margaret A. Carey (1973)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009</R> Assistant Secretary of the fund. Ms. Carey also serves as Assistant Secretary of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present), Vice President, Associate General Counsel (2007-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). |
Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established two committees to supplement the work of the Board as a whole. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
<R>The Audit and Compliance Committee is composed of Ms. Butte Liebowitz (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, Mr. Ralph Cox, and Mses. Farrell and Kaplan. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The committee determines whether at least one member of the committee is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined in rules promulgated by the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The committee normally meets in conjunction with in person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee meets separately periodically with the fund's Treasurer, the fund's Chief Financial Officer, the fund's CCO, personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and the fund's outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the fund for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the fund and the fund's service providers, (ii) the financial reporting processes of the fund, (iii) the independence, objectivity and qualification of the auditors to the fund, (iv) the annual audits of the fund's financial statements, and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the fund. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations (Auditor Independence Regulations) of the SEC. In furtherance of the foregoing, the committee has adopted (and may from time to time amend or supplement) and provides oversight of policies and procedures for non-audit engagements by outside auditors of the fund. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the fund and for resolving disagreements between the fund and any outside auditor regarding the fund's financial reporting, and has sole authority to hire and fire any auditor. Auditors of the fund report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the fund and any service providers consistent with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Ethics and Independence Rule 3526, Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence. The committee will discuss with the outside auditors any such disclosed relationships and their impact on the auditor's independence and objectivity. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the Auditor Independence Regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the fund's service providers' internal controls and reviews with management, internal auditors, and outside auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of the fund's and service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the fund's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the fund's or service provider's internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will review with counsel any legal matters that may have a material impact on the fund's financial statements and any material reports or inquiries received from regulators or governmental agencies. The committee reviews at least annually a report from the outside auditor describing (i) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control review, peer review, or PCAOB examination of the auditing firm and (ii) any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm since the most recent report and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the fund's financial reporting process and will receive reports from an outside auditor relating to (i) critical accounting policies and practices used by the fund, (ii) alternative accounting treatments that the auditor has discussed with Strategic Advisers, and (iii) other material written communications between the auditor and Strategic Advisers (as determined by the auditor). The committee will discuss with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the fund. The committee will review with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC (to the extent relevant) the results of audits of the fund's financial statements. The committee will review periodically the fund's major internal controls exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. The committee also oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the fund and its service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee of the Board of Trustees or reserved to the Board itself. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the fund. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO and, if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports on significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the fund's compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1 and quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of Mr. Ralph Cox (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, and Mses. Butte Liebowitz, Farrell, and Kaplan. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the code of ethics and any supplemental policies regarding personal securities transactions applicable to the Independent Trustees. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the fund's or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the fund's expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the fund, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012 (or as of March 31, 2013 for Ms. Farrell, Trustee as of March 5, 2013).</R>
Interested Trustees |
||
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Roger T. Servison |
Derek L. Young |
Strategic Advisers International Fund |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
none |
none |
<R></R>
<R>Independent Trustees</R> |
|||||
<R>
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Peter C. Aldrich |
Mary C. Farrell |
Amy Butte Liebowitz |
Ralph F. Cox |
Karen Kaplan </R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers International Fund |
over $100,000 |
none |
none |
over $100,000 |
none </R> |
<R>
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
over $100,000 |
none |
none |
over $100,000 |
none </R> |
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board for his or her services for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, or calendar year ended December 31, 2012, as applicable.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Compensation Table 1 </R> |
||||||
<R>
AGGREGATE
|
Peter C.
|
Mary C.
|
Amy
|
Ralph F.
|
Karen
|
</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers International Fund |
$ 28,218 |
$ 0 |
$ 28,218 |
$ 28,218 |
$ 28,218 |
</R> |
<R>
TOTAL COMPENSATION
|
$ 137,500 |
$ 0 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
</R> |
1 Roger T. Servison, Howard E. Cox, Jr., and Derek L. Young are interested persons and are compensated by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate (including FMR).
<R> 2 Effective March 5, 2013, Ms. Farrell serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II.</R>
<R> A Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, for 26 funds of two trusts.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and officers of the fund owned, in the aggregate, less than 1% of the fund's total outstanding shares.</R>
CONTROL OF INVESTMENT ADVISERS
<R>FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of Strategic Advisers and Pyramis Global Advisers, LLC (Pyramis). The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Abigail P. Johnson family, directly or through trusts, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.</R>
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
Causeway was founded in 2001 and is a Delaware limited liability company. Sarah H. Ketterer and Harry W. Hartford, chief executive officer and president of Causeway, respectively, control Causeway through their executive offices and their voting control of Causeway.
MFS and its predecessor organizations have a history of money management dating from 1924. MFS is a subsidiary of Sun Life of Canada (U.S.) Financial Services Holdings, Inc., which in turn is an indirect majority-owned subsidiary of Sun Life Financial Inc. (a diversified financial services company).
Pyramis is a registered investment adviser. FMR LLC is the ultimate parent company of Pyramis. Information regarding the ownership of FMR LLC is disclosed above.
William Blair is a limited liability company that is 100% owned by WBC Holdings, L.P., a limited partnership. The affairs of William Blair are controlled by the general partner of WBC Holdings, L.P., WBC GP, L.L.C., which in turn, is controlled by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is composed of John R. Ettelson, Brent W. Gledhill, Arthur J. Simon, W. George Greig, Richard P. Kiphart, John C. Moore, and Michelle R. Seitz.
Strategic Advisers, Causeway, MFS, Pyramis, William Blair (the Investment Advisers), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and the fund have adopted codes of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that set forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establish procedures for personal investing, and restrict certain transactions. Employees subject to the codes of ethics, including the Investment Advisers' investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.
The fund has entered into a management contract with Strategic Advisers, pursuant to which Strategic Advisers furnishes investment advisory and other services.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Strategic Advisers has retained Causeway, MFS, Pyramis, and William Blair to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. The sub-advisers do not sponsor the fund.
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
Management and Sub-Advisory Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, Strategic Advisers acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, directs the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. Strategic Advisers is authorized, in its discretion, to allocate the fund's assets pursuant to its investment strategy. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates provide the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensate all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of Strategic Advisers, and compensate all personnel of the fund or Strategic Advisers performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
Under its respective sub-advisory agreement, and subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, each sub-adviser directs the investment of its allocated portion of the fund's assets in accordance with the fund's investment objective, policies and limitations.
Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to Strategic Advisers and the fees payable to the transfer agent and pricing and bookkeeping agent, the fund pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by those parties. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders; however, under the terms of the fund's transfer agent agreement, the transfer agent bears these costs. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.
Management Fees. For the services of Strategic Advisers under the management contract, the fund pays Strategic Advisers a monthly management fee calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets; provided, however, that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.00% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the fund until September 30, 2015. The fee waiver by Strategic Advisers will increase the fund's returns.</R>
The following table shows the amount of management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers for the past three fiscal years and the amount of waivers reducing management fees for the fund.
+ Fiscal year ended February 29.
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of the fund's operating expenses. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Expense reimbursements by Strategic Advisers will increase the fund's returns, and repayment of the reimbursement by the fund will decrease its returns.
Sub-Adviser - Causeway. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Causeway pursuant to which Causeway may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Causeway fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Causeway pursuant to a separately negotiated investment mandate (a "Strategy"). The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Causeway under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Causeway pursuant to that Strategy.
Sub-Adviser - MFS. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with MFS pursuant to which MFS may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays MFS fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by MFS pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by MFS under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by MFS pursuant to that Strategy.
<R> Sub-Adviser - Pyramis. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Pyramis pursuant to which Pyramis may provide investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Pyramis fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Pyramis pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Pyramis under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Pyramis pursuant to that Strategy.</R>
Pyramis has not currently been allocated a portion of the fund's assets to manage.
Sub-Adviser - William Blair. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with William Blair pursuant to which William Blair may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays William Blair fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by William Blair pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by William Blair under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by William Blair pursuant to that Strategy.
The following table shows the aggregate amount of sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to unaffiliated sub-advisers for the past three fiscal years.
+ Fiscal year ended February 29.
<R>Differences between the amount of the management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers and the aggregate amount of the sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to unaffiliated sub-advisers may be due to expense estimates, which are accrued in the period to which they relate and adjusted when actual amounts are known.</R>
Portfolio Manager Compensation - Strategic Advisers.
Wilfred Chilangwa is an employee of Strategic Advisers, a subsidiary of FMR LLC and an affiliate of FMR. Strategic Advisers is the adviser to the fund.
<R>Mr. Chilangwa is the lead portfolio manager of the fund and receives compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Strategic Advisers or at the election of the portfolio manager.</R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of a broad range of Strategic Advisers funds and accounts, including the fund. Accounts may include model portfolios designed for asset allocation, retirement planning, or tax-sensitive goals. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s), and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with the portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and peer group. A subjective component of the bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Strategic Advisers. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of his fund is based on the fund's pre-tax investment performance measured against the MSCI ® EAFE ® Index (net MA tax), and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund within the Morningstar ® Foreign Large Blend Category. The portfolio manager may be compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Strategic Advisers' parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates. </R>
<R></R>
<R>The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Chilangwa as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
5 |
184 |
none</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 16,438 |
$ 16,673 |
none</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Fund ($13,654 (in millions) assets managed). The amount of assets managed of the fund reflects trades and other assets as of the close of the business day prior to the fund's fiscal year-end.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Chilangwa was $50,001 - $100,000.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Causeway. Ms. Ketterer and Mr. Hartford, the chief executive officer and president of Causeway, respectively, receive annual salary and are entitled, as controlling owners of the firm, to distributions of the firm's profits based on their ownership interests. They do not receive incentive compensation. Messrs. Doyle, Eng, Durkin, Muldoon, Corwith, and Valentini receive salary, incentive compensation, equity and/or synthetic equity awards, and distributions of firm profits based on their minority ownership interests. Salary and incentive compensation are determined by the firm's Operating Committee, led by Ms. Ketterer and Mr. Hartford, weighing a variety of objective and subjective factors. No specific formula is used and salary and incentive compensation are not based on the specific performance of the fund or any single client account managed by Causeway. The following factors are among those considered in determining incentive compensation: individual research contribution, portfolio management contribution, group research contribution and client service contribution.</R>
Causeway's portfolio managers to the fund have responsibility for the day-to-day management of accounts other than the fund. Information regarding these other accounts is set forth below.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Ms. Ketterer as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Fund ($950 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Fund beneficially owned by Ms. Ketterer was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Hartford as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Fund ($950 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Hartford was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Doyle as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Fund ($950 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Doyle was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Eng as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Fund ($950 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Eng was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Durkin as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Fund ($950 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Durkin was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Muldoon as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Fund ($950 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Muldoon was none.</R>
<R> The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Corwith as of April 1, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Fund ($950 (in millions) assets managed) as of February 28, 2013.</R>
<R>As of April 1, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Corwith was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Valentini as of April 1, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Fund ($950 (in millions) assets managed) as of February 28, 2013.</R>
<R>As of April 1, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Valentini was none.</R>
<R>Causeway's portfolio managers also manage their own personal accounts and other accounts, including corporations, pension plans, public retirement plans, Taft-Hartley pension plans, endowments and foundations, mutual funds, charities, private trusts, wrap fee programs, and other institutions (collectively, "Other Accounts"). In managing the Other Accounts, the portfolio managers employ investment strategies similar to that used in managing the fund, subject to certain variations in investment restrictions. The portfolio managers purchase and sell securities for the fund that they also recommend to Other Accounts. The portfolio managers at times give advice or take action with respect to certain accounts that differs from the advice given other accounts with similar investment strategies. Certain of the Other Accounts pay higher or lower management fee rates than the fund or pay performance-based fees to Causeway. Ms. Ketterer and Mr. Hartford hold a controlling interest in the Causeway's equity and Messrs. Doyle, Eng, Durkin, Muldoon, Corwith, and Valentini have minority interests in Causeway's equity.</R>
Actual or potential conflicts of interest arise from the fund's portfolio managers' management responsibilities with respect to the Other Accounts and their own personal accounts. These responsibilities may cause portfolio managers to devote unequal time and attention across client accounts and the differing fees, incentives and relationships with the various accounts provide incentives to favor certain accounts. Causeway has written compliance policies and procedures designed to mitigate or manage these conflicts of interest. These include policies and procedures to seek fair and equitable allocation of investment opportunities (including IPOs) and trade allocations among all client accounts and policies and procedures concerning the disclosure and use of portfolio transaction information. Causeway also has a Code of Ethics which, among other things, limits personal trading by portfolio managers and other employees of Causeway. There is no guarantee that any such policies or procedures will cover every situation in which a conflict of interest arises.
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - MFS. Portfolio manager compensation is reviewed annually. As of December 31, 2012, portfolio manager total cash compensation is a combination of base salary and performance bonus:</R>
Base Salary - Base salary represents a smaller percentage of portfolio manager total cash compensation than performance bonus.
Performance Bonus - Generally, the performance bonus represents more than a majority of portfolio manager total cash compensation.
<R>With respect to Thomas Melendez, portfolio manager of the fund, the performance bonus is based on the results of an annual internal peer review process (conducted by other portfolio managers, analysts, traders, and non-investment personnel) and management's assessment of overall portfolio manager contributions to investor relations, the investment process and overall performance (distinct from fund and other account performance). This performance bonus may be in the form of cash and/or a deferred cash award, at the discretion of management. A deferred cash award is issued for a cash value and becomes payable over a three-year vesting period if the portfolio manager remains in the continuous employ of MFS or its affiliates. During the vesting period, the value of the unfunded deferred cash award will fluctuate as though the portfolio manager had invested the cash value of the award in an MFS Fund(s) selected by the portfolio manager. A selected fund may be, but is not required to be, a fund that is managed by the portfolio manager. </R>
With respect to Jose Luis Garcia, Benjamin Stone, and Barnaby Wiener, portfolio managers of the fund, the performance bonus is based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative factors, generally with more weight given to the former and less weight given to the latter.
<R>The quantitative portion is based on the pre-tax performance of assets managed by the portfolio manager over one-, three-, and five-year periods relative to peer group universes and/or indices ("benchmarks"). As of December 31, 2012, the following benchmarks were used to measure the following portfolio managers' performance for the following Fund:</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers International Fund |
Jose Luis Garcia |
MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Index</R> |
<R> |
Benjamin Stone |
MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Value Index </R> MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Index |
<R> |
Barnaby Wiener |
MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Value Index</R> |
<R>Additional or different benchmarks, including versions of indices, custom indices, and linked indices that include performance of different indices for different portions of the time period, may also be used. Primary weight is given to portfolio performance over a three-year time period with lesser consideration given to portfolio performance over one and five-year periods (adjusted as appropriate if the portfolio manager has served for less than five years). </R>
<R>The qualitative portion is based on the results of an annual internal peer review process (conducted by other portfolio managers, analysts, and traders) and management's assessment of overall portfolio manager contributions to investor relations and the investment process (distinct from fund and other account performance). This performance bonus may be in the form of cash and/or a deferred cash award, at the discretion of management. A deferred cash award is issued for a cash value and becomes payable over a three-year vesting period if the portfolio manager remains in the continuous employ of MFS or its affiliates. During the vesting period, the value of the unfunded deferred cash award will fluctuate as though the portfolio manager had invested the cash value of the award in an MFS Fund(s) selected by the portfolio manager. A selected fund may be, but is not required to be, a fund that is managed by the portfolio manager. </R>
Portfolio managers also typically benefit from the opportunity to participate in the MFS Equity Plan. Equity interests and/or options to acquire equity interests in MFS or its parent company are awarded by management, on a discretionary basis, taking into account tenure at MFS, contribution to the investment process, and other factors.
Finally, portfolio managers also participate in benefit plans (including a defined contribution plan and health and other insurance plans) and programs available generally to other employees of MFS. The percentage such benefits represent of any portfolio manager's compensation depends upon the length of the individual's tenure at MFS and salary level, as well as other factors.
MFS seeks to identify potential conflicts of interest resulting from a portfolio manager's management of both the fund and other accounts, and has adopted policies and procedures designed to address such potential conflicts.
The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) gives rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives and strategies, benchmarks, time horizons and fees as a portfolio manager must allocate his or her time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In certain instances there are securities which are suitable for the fund's portfolio as well as for accounts of MFS or its subsidiaries with similar investment objectives. The fund's trade allocation policies may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed or are delayed in getting executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts of MFS or its subsidiaries. A portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely affect the value of the fund's investments. Investments selected for funds or accounts other than the fund may outperform investments selected for the fund.
When two or more clients are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, the securities are allocated among clients in a manner believed by MFS to be fair and equitable to each. It is recognized that in some cases this system could have a detrimental effect on the price or volume of the security as far as the fund is concerned. In most cases, however, MFS believes that the fund's ability to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions for the fund.
MFS and/or a portfolio manager may have a financial incentive to allocate favorable or limited opportunity investments or structure the timing of investments to favor accounts other than the fund, for instance, those that pay a higher advisory fee and/or have a performance adjustment and/or include an investment by the portfolio manager.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Melendez as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Fund ($1,868 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Melendez was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Garcia as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Fund ($1,868 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Garcia was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Stone as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Fund ($1,868 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Stone was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Wiener as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Fund ($1,868 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Wiener was none.</R>
Portfolio Manager Compensation - William Blair. The compensation of William Blair's portfolio managers is based on the firm's mission: "to achieve success for its clients." W. George Greig is a portfolio manager of the fund and a partner of William Blair, and his compensation consists of a fixed base salary, a share of the firm's profits and, in some instances, a discretionary bonus. The discretionary bonus as well as any potential changes to a principal's ownership stakes is determined by the head of William Blair's Investment Management Department, subject to the approval of William Blair's Executive Committee and is based entirely on a qualitative assessment rather than a formula. The discretionary bonus rewards the specific accomplishments in the prior year, including short-term and long-term investment performance, quality of research ideas, and other contributions to William Blair and its clients. Changes in ownership stake are based on an individual's sustained, multi-year contribution to long-term investment performance, and to William Blair's revenue, profitability, intellectual capital and brand reputation. The compensation process is a subjective one that takes into account the factors described above. Portfolio managers do not receive any direct compensation based upon the performance of any individual client account and no indices are used to measure performance. In addition, there is no particular weighting or formula for evaluating the factors.
Management of multiple accounts can give rise to potential conflicts of interest. The potential conflicts of interest that may arise in managing multiple accounts include, for example, conflicts among investment strategies, conflicts in the allocation of investment opportunities, or conflicts due to different fees. Some accounts have higher fees, including performance fees, than others. Fees charged to clients may differ depending upon a number of factors including, but not limited to, the particular strategy, the size of the portfolio being managed, the relationship with the client, the service requirements and the asset class involved. Fees may also differ based on the account type (e.g., separately managed accounts, mutual funds, and wrap accounts). Based on these factors, a client may pay higher fees than another client in the same strategy. Also, clients with larger assets under management generate more revenue for William Blair than smaller accounts. These differences may give rise to a potential conflict that a portfolio manager would favor the higher fee-paying account over the other or allocate more time to the management of one account over another. Furthermore, if a greater proportion of a portfolio manager's compensation could be derived from an account or group of accounts than other accounts under the portfolio manager's management, there could be an incentive for the portfolio manager to favor the accounts that could have a greater impact on the portfolio manager's compensation. While William Blair does not monitor the specific amount of time that a portfolio manager spends on a single portfolio, senior William Blair personnel periodically review the performance of William Blair's portfolio managers as well as periodically assess whether the portfolio manager has adequate resources to effectively manage the accounts assigned to that portfolio manager. As part of its obligation to mitigate such conflicts, William Blair has adopted trade allocation policies and procedures that seek to manage, monitor and, to the extent possible, minimize the effects of these conflicts.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Greig as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
14 |
19 |
58</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 9,560 |
$ 3,028 |
$ 9,604</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Fund ($651 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Greig was none.</R>
Proxy Voting - Strategic Advisers.
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of the fund, after consultation with Strategic Advisers. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Strategic Advisers and its affiliates and by the Independent Trustees of the fund, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. The funds in the trust generally intend to vote shares of underlying funds using echo voting procedures (that is, in the same proportion as the holders of all other shares of the particular underlying fund).
B. Any proposals not covered by paragraph A above or other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate Strategic Advisers analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review and approval by the General Counsel or Compliance Officer of FMR or the General Counsel of FMR LLC.
Sub-Advisers:
Proxy voting policies and procedures are used by a sub-adviser to determine how to vote proxies relating to the securities held by its allocated portion of the fund's assets. The proxy voting policies and procedures used by the sub-advisers are described below.
Causeway votes the proxies of companies owned by clients who have granted Causeway voting authority. Causeway votes proxies solely in the best interests of clients in accordance with its Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures. Causeway's policies and procedures are designed to ensure, to the extent feasible, that votes cast are consistent with certain basic principles: (i) increasing shareholder value; (ii) maintaining or increasing shareholder influence over the board of directors and management; (iii) establishing and enhancing a strong and independent board of directors; (iv) maintaining or increasing the rights of shareholders; and (v) aligning the interests of management and employees with those of shareholders with a view toward the reasonableness of executive compensation and shareholder dilution.
Causeway's guidelines also recognize that a company's management is charged with day-to-day operations and, therefore, Causeway generally votes on routine business matters in favor of management's proposals or positions. Under its guidelines, Causeway generally votes for distributions of income, appointment of auditors, director compensation (unless deemed excessive), management's slate of director nominees (except nominees with poor attendance or who have not acted in the best interests of shareholders), financial results/director and auditor reports, share repurchase plans, and changing corporate names and other similar matters.
Causeway generally votes with management on social issues because it believes management is responsible for handling them. Causeway generally votes against anti-takeover mechanisms and generally opposes cumulative voting and attempts to classify boards of directors. Causeway votes other matters - including equity-based compensation plans - on a case-by-case basis.
Causeway's interests may conflict with clients on certain proxy votes where Causeway might have a significant business or personal relationship with the company or its officers. Causeway's chief operating officer in consultation with the general counsel decides if a vote involves a material conflict of interest. If so, Causeway may obtain instructions or consent from the client on voting or will vote in accordance with a "for" or "against" or "with management" guideline if one applies. If no such guideline applies, Causeway will follow the recommendation of an independent third party such as Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS).
Non-U.S. proxies may involve a number of problems that restrict or prevent Causeway's ability to vote. As a result, Causeway will only use its best efforts to vote clients' non-U.S. proxies. In addition, Causeway will not vote proxies (U.S. or non-U.S.) if it does not receive adequate information from the client's custodian in sufficient time to cast the vote. Causeway may not be able to vote proxies for securities that a client has loaned to a third party.
Proxy Voting - MFS.
Massachusetts Financial Services Company, MFS Institutional Advisors, Inc., MFS International (UK) Limited, MFS Heritage Trust Company, McLean Budden Limited and MFS' other subsidiaries that perform discretionary investment management activities (collectively, "MFS") have adopted proxy voting policies and procedures, as set forth below ("MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures"), with respect to securities owned by the clients for which MFS serves as investment adviser and has the power to vote proxies, including the pooled investment vehicles sponsored by MFS (the "MFS Funds"). References to "clients" in these policies and procedures include the MFS Funds and other clients of MFS, such as funds organized offshore, sub-advised funds and separate account clients, to the extent these clients have delegated to MFS the responsibility to vote proxies on their behalf under the MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures.
The MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures include:
A. Voting Guidelines;
B. Administrative Procedures;
C Records Retention; and
D. Reports.
A. VOTING GUIDELINES
1. General Policy; Potential Conflicts of Interest
MFS' policy is that proxy voting decisions are made in what MFS believes to be the best long-term economic interests of MFS' clients, and not in the interests of any other party or in MFS' corporate interests, including interests such as the distribution of MFS Fund shares and institutional client relationships.
<R> MFS reviews corporate governance issues and proxy voting matters that are presented for shareholder vote by either management or shareholders of public companies. Based on the overall principle that all votes cast by MFS on behalf of its clients must be in what MFS believes to be the best long-term economic interests of such clients, MFS has adopted proxy voting guidelines, set forth below, that govern how MFS generally will vote on specific matters presented for shareholder vote.</R>
As a general matter, MFS votes consistently on similar proxy proposals across all shareholder meetings. However, some proxy proposals, such as certain excessive executive compensation, environmental, social and governance matters, are analyzed on a case-by-case basis in light of all the relevant facts and circumstances of the proposal. Therefore, MFS may vote similar proposals differently at different shareholder meetings based on the specific facts and circumstances of the issuer or the terms of the proposal. In addition, MFS also reserves the right to override the guidelines with respect to a particular proxy proposal when such an override is, in MFS' best judgment, consistent with the overall principle of voting proxies in the best long-term economic interests of MFS' clients.
MFS also generally votes consistently on the same matter when securities of an issuer are held by multiple client accounts, unless MFS has received explicit voting instructions to vote differently from a client for its own account. From time to time, MFS may also receive comments on the MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures from its clients. These comments are carefully considered by MFS when it reviews these guidelines and revises them as appropriate.
These policies and procedures are intended to address any potential material conflicts of interest on the part of MFS or its subsidiaries that are likely to arise in connection with the voting of proxies on behalf of MFS' clients. If such potential material conflicts of interest do arise, MFS will analyze, document and report on such potential material conflicts of interest (see Sections B.2 and D below), and shall ultimately vote the relevant proxies in what MFS believes to be the best long-term economic interests of its clients. The MFS Proxy Voting Committee is responsible for monitoring and reporting with respect to such potential material conflicts of interest.
MFS is also a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. In developing these guidelines, MFS considered environmental, social and corporate governance issues in light of MFS' fiduciary obligation to vote proxies in the best long-term economic interest of its clients.
B. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
1. MFS Proxy Voting Committee
The administration of these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures is overseen by the MFS Proxy Voting Committee, which includes senior personnel from the MFS Legal and Global Investment Support Departments. The Proxy Voting Committee does not include individuals whose primary duties relate to client relationship management, marketing, or sales. The MFS Proxy Voting Committee:
a. Reviews these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures at least annually and recommends any amendments considered to be necessary or advisable;
b. Determines whether any potential material conflict of interest exists with respect to instances in which MFS (i) seeks to override these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures; (ii) votes on ballot items not governed by these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures; (iii) evaluates an excessive executive compensation issue in relation to the election of directors; or (iv) requests a vote recommendation from an MFS portfolio manager or investment analyst (e.g. mergers and acquisitions); and
c. Considers special proxy issues as they may arise from time to time.
2. Potential Conflicts of Interest
<R> The MFS Proxy Voting Committee is responsible for monitoring potential material conflicts of interest on the part of MFS or its subsidiaries that could arise in connection with the voting of proxies on behalf of MFS' clients. Due to the client focus of our investment management business, we believe that the potential for actual material conflict of interest issues is small. Nonetheless, we have developed precautions to assure that all proxy votes are cast in the best long-term economic interest of shareholders 1 . Other MFS internal policies require all MFS employees to avoid actual and potential conflicts of interests between personal activities and MFS' client activities. If an employee (including investment professionals) identifies an actual or potential conflict of interest with respect to any voting decision (including the ownership of securities in their individual portfolio), then that employee must recuse himself/herself from participating in the voting process. Any significant attempt by an employee of MFS or its subsidiaries to unduly influence MFS' voting on a particular proxy matter should also be reported to the MFS Proxy Voting Committee. </R>
1 For clarification purposes, note that MFS votes in what we believe to be the best, long-term economic interest of our clients entitled to vote at the shareholder meeting, regardless of whether other MFS clients hold "short" positions in the same issuer.
<R> In cases where proxies are voted in accordance with these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures, no material conflict of interest will be deemed to exist. In cases where (i) MFS is considering overriding these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures, (ii) matters presented for vote are not governed by these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures, (iii) MFS evaluates a potentially excessive executive compensation issue in relation to the election of directors or advisory pay or severance package vote, (iv) a vote recommendation is requested from an MFS portfolio manager or investment analyst (e.g. mergers and acquisitions); or (v) MFS evaluates a director nominee who also serves as a director of the MFS Funds (collectively, "Non-Standard Votes"); the MFS Proxy Voting Committee will follow these procedures:</R>
a. Compare the name of the issuer of such proxy against a list of significant current (i) distributors of MFS Fund shares, and (ii) MFS institutional clients (the "MFS Significant Client List");
b. If the name of the issuer does not appear on the MFS Significant Client List, then no material conflict of interest will be deemed to exist, and the proxy will be voted as otherwise determined by the MFS Proxy Voting Committee;
c. If the name of the issuer appears on the MFS Significant Client List, then the MFS Proxy Voting Committee will be apprised of that fact and each member of the MFS Proxy Voting Committee will carefully evaluate the proposed vote in order to ensure that the proxy ultimately is voted in what MFS believes to be the best long-term economic interests of MFS' clients, and not in MFS' corporate interests; and
d. For all potential material conflicts of interest identified under clause (c) above, the MFS Proxy Voting Committee will document: the name of the issuer, the issuer's relationship to MFS, the analysis of the matters submitted for proxy vote, the votes as to be cast and the reasons why the MFS Proxy Voting Committee determined that the votes were cast in the best long-term economic interests of MFS' clients, and not in MFS' corporate interests. A copy of the foregoing documentation will be provided to MFS' Conflicts Officer.
The members of the MFS Proxy Voting Committee are responsible for creating and maintaining the MFS Significant Client List, in consultation with MFS' distribution and institutional business units. The MFS Significant Client List will be reviewed and updated periodically, as appropriate.
If an MFS client has the right to vote on a matter submitted to shareholders by Sun Life Financial, Inc. or any of its affiliates (collectively "Sun Life"), MFS will cast a vote on behalf of such MFS client pursuant to the recommendations of Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc.'s ("ISS") benchmark policy, or as required by law.
Except as described in the MFS Fund's prospectus, from time to time, certain MFS Funds (the "top tier fund") may own shares of other MFS Funds (the "underlying fund"). If an underlying fund submits a matter to a shareholder vote, the top tier fund will generally vote its shares in the same proportion as the other shareholders of the underlying fund. If there are no other shareholders in the underlying fund, the top tier fund will vote in what MFS believes to be in the top tier fund's best long-term economic interest. If an MFS client has the right to vote on a matter submitted to shareholders by a pooled investment vehicle advised by MFS, MFS will cast a vote on behalf of such MFS client in the same proportion as the other shareholders of the pooled investment vehicle.
3. Gathering Proxies
Most proxies received by MFS and its clients originate at Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. ("Broadridge"). Broadridge and other service providers, on behalf of custodians, send proxy related material to the record holders of the shares beneficially owned by MFS' clients, usually to the client's proxy voting administrator or, less commonly, to the client itself. This material will include proxy ballots reflecting the shareholdings of Funds and of clients on the record dates for such shareholder meetings, as well as proxy materials with the issuer's explanation of the items to be voted upon.
MFS, on behalf of itself and certain of its clients (including the MFS Funds) has entered into an agreement with an independent proxy administration firm pursuant to which the proxy administration firm performs various proxy vote related administrative services such as vote processing and recordkeeping functions. Except as noted below, the proxy administration firm for MFS and its clients, including the MFS Funds, is ISS. The proxy administration firm for MFS Development Funds, LLC is Glass, Lewis & Co., Inc. ("Glass Lewis"; Glass Lewis and ISS are each hereinafter referred to as the "Proxy Administrator").
The Proxy Administrator receives proxy statements and proxy ballots directly or indirectly from various custodians, logs these materials into its database and matches upcoming meetings with MFS Fund and client portfolio holdings, which are input into the Proxy Administrator's system by an MFS holdings data-feed. Through the use of the Proxy Administrator system, ballots and proxy material summaries for all upcoming shareholders' meetings are available on-line to certain MFS employees and members of the MFS Proxy Voting Committee.
It is the responsibility of the Proxy Administrator and MFS to monitor the receipt of ballots. When proxy ballots and materials for clients are received by the Proxy Administrator, they are input into the Proxy Administrator's on-line system. The Proxy Administrator then reconciles a list of all MFS accounts that hold shares of a company's stock and the number of shares held on the record date by these accounts with the Proxy Administrator's list of any upcoming shareholder's meeting of that company. If a proxy ballot has not been received, the Proxy Administrator contacts the custodian requesting the reason as to why a ballot has not been received.
4. Analyzing Proxies
Proxies are voted in accordance with these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures. The Proxy Administrator, at the prior direction of MFS, automatically votes all proxy matters that do not require the particular exercise of discretion or judgment with respect to these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures as determined by MFS. With respect to proxy matters that require the particular exercise of discretion or judgment, the MFS Proxy Voting Committee considers and votes on those proxy matters. MFS also receives research and recommendations from the Proxy Administrator which it may take into account in deciding how to vote. MFS uses the research of ISS to identify (i) circumstances in which a board may have approved excessive executive compensation, (ii) environmental and social proposals that warrant consideration or (iii) circumstances in which a non-U.S. company is not in compliance with local governance or compensation best practices. In those situations where the only MFS fund that is eligible to vote at a shareholder meeting has Glass Lewis as its Proxy Administrator, then we will rely on research from Glass Lewis to identify such issues. Representatives of the MFS Proxy Voting Committee review, as appropriate, votes cast to ensure conformity with these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures.
<R> As a general matter, portfolio managers and investment analysts have little involvement in most votes taken by MFS. This is designed to promote consistency in the application of MFS' voting guidelines, to promote consistency in voting on the same or similar issues (for the same or for multiple issuers) across all client accounts, and to minimize the potential that proxy solicitors, issuers, or third parties might attempt to exert inappropriate influence on the vote. In limited types of votes (e.g. mergers and acquisitions, capitalization matters, potentially excessive executive compensation issues, or shareholder proposals relating to environmental and social issues), a representative of MFS Proxy Voting Committee may consult with or seek recommendations from MFS portfolio managers or investment analysts 2 . However, the MFS Proxy Voting Committee would ultimately determine the manner in which all proxies are voted.</R>
2 From time to time, due to travel schedules and other commitments, an appropriate portfolio manager or research analyst may not be available to provide a vote recommendation. If such a recommendation cannot be obtained within a reasonable time prior to the cut-off date of the shareholder meeting, the MFS Proxy Voting Committee may determine to abstain from voting.
As noted above, MFS reserves the right to override the guidelines when such an override is, in MFS' best judgment, consistent with the overall principle of voting proxies in the best long-term economic interests of MFS' clients. Any such override of the guidelines shall be analyzed, documented and reported in accordance with the procedures set forth in these policies.
5. Voting Proxies
<R> In accordance with its contract with MFS, the Proxy Administrator also generates a variety of reports for the MFS Proxy Voting Committee, and makes available on-line various other types of information so that the MFS Proxy Voting Committee or proxy team may review and monitor the votes cast by the Proxy Administrator on behalf of MFS' clients.</R>
6. Securities Lending
<R> From time to time, the MFS Funds or other pooled investment vehicles sponsored by MFS may participate in a securities lending program. In the event MFS or its agent receives timely notice of a shareholder meeting for a U.S. security, MFS and its agent will attempt to recall any securities on loan before the meeting's record date so that MFS will be entitled to vote these shares. However, there may be instances in which MFS is unable to timely recall securities on loan for a U.S. security, in which cases MFS will not be able to vote these shares. MFS will report to the appropriate board of the MFS Funds those instances in which MFS is not able to timely recall the loaned securities. MFS generally does not recall non-U.S. securities on loan because there may be insufficient advance notice of proxy materials, record dates, or vote cut-off dates to allow MFS to timely recall the shares in certain markets on an automated basis. As a result, non-U.S. securities that are on loan will not generally be voted. If MFS receives timely notice of what MFS determines to be an unusual, significant vote for a non-U.S. security whereas MFS shares are on loan, and determines that voting is in the best long-term economic interest of shareholders, then MFS will attempt to timely recall the loaned shares.</R>
7. Engagement
The MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures are available on www.mfs.com and may be accessed by both MFS' clients and the companies in which MFS' clients invest. From time to time, MFS may determine that it is appropriate and beneficial for representatives from the MFS Proxy Voting Committee to engage in a dialogue or written communication with a company or other shareholders regarding certain matters on the company's proxy statement that are of concern to shareholders, including environmental, social and governance matters. A company or shareholder may also seek to engage with representatives of the MFS Proxy Voting Committee in advance of the company's formal proxy solicitation to review issues more generally or gauge support for certain contemplated proposals.
C. RECORDS RETENTION
<R> MFS will retain copies of these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures in effect from time to time and will retain all proxy voting reports submitted to the Board of Trustees of the MFS Funds for the period required by applicable law. Proxy solicitation materials, including electronic versions of the proxy ballots completed by representatives of the MFS Proxy Voting Committee, together with their respective notes and comments, are maintained in an electronic format by the Proxy Administrator and are accessible on-line by the MFS Proxy Voting Committee. All proxy voting materials and supporting documentation, including records generated by the Proxy Administrator's system as to proxies processed, including the dates when proxy ballots were received and submitted, and the votes on each company's proxy issues, are retained as required by applicable law.</R>
D. REPORTS
All MFS Advisory Clients
MFS may publicly disclose the proxy voting records of certain clients or the votes it casts with respect to certain matters as required by law. At any time, a report can also be printed by MFS for each client who has requested that MFS furnish a record of votes cast. The report specifies the proxy issues which have been voted for the client during the year and the position taken with respect to each issue and, upon request, may identify situations where MFS did not vote in accordance with the MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures.
Except as described above, MFS generally will not divulge actual voting practices to any party other than the client or its representatives because we consider that information to be confidential and proprietary to the client. However, as noted above, MFS may determine that it is appropriate and beneficial to engage in a dialogue with a company regarding certain matters. During such dialogue with the company, MFS may disclose the vote it intends to cast in order to potentially effect positive change at a company in regards to environmental, social or governance issues.
Proxy Voting - William Blair.
William Blair's Proxy Voting Policy Statement and Procedures (the "Proxy Voting Policy") provide that William Blair will vote proxies solely in the best interest of its clients, including the fund, in their capacity as shareholders of a company. William Blair's Domestic Proxy Voting Guidelines and International Proxy Voting Guidelines (the "Guidelines") set forth William Blair's general position on frequent proxy proposals, such as routine matters, shareholder rights, anti-takeover matters, proxy contests, capital structure, executive and director compensation and social and environmental issues. To the extent a particular proposal is not covered by the Guidelines or the Guidelines provide for voting on a "case-by-case" basis, William Blair's proxy administrator will consult William Blair's Proxy Policy Committee, which will review the issues and vote proxies based on information from the company, William Blair's internal analysis and third party research services. Although the Guidelines set forth William Blair's general position on various proposals, William Blair may determine under some circumstances to vote contrary to those positions.
The Proxy Voting Policy describes the way in which William Blair will address potential conflicts of interest. If any of the potential conflicts that William Blair has identified in the Proxy Voting Policy arise with respect to a matter, the Proxy Policy Committee will vote all such proxies in accordance with the Guidelines, unless the Guidelines have no recommendation or provide for a vote on a "case-by-case" basis. In such case, the Proxy Policy Committee will vote consistent with the voting recommendation provided by Institutional Shareholder Services, an independent third party research provider.
In international markets where share blocking applies, William Blair typically will not vote proxies due to liquidity constraints. Share blocking is the "freezing" of shares for trading purposes in order to vote proxies. Share blocking typically takes place between one and twenty days before a shareholder meeting, depending on the market. While shares are frozen, they may not be traded. Therefore, there is the potential for a pending trade to fail if trade settlement falls on a date during the blocking period or the fund would not be able to sell a security if the portfolio manager believed it advisable if share blocking were in effect.
To view a fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, visit www.fidelity.com/proxyvotingresults or visit the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.
<R>The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. The principal business address of FDC is 100 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by Strategic Advisers.</R>
The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan with respect to shares of the fund (the Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a mutual fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows the fund and Strategic Advisers to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.
Under the Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to Strategic Advisers is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Plan. The Plan specifically recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Plan provides that Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers or FDC), that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Prior to approving the Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Plan will benefit the fund and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Plan does not authorize payments by the fund other than those made to Strategic Advisers under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Plan gives Strategic Advisers and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of shares of the fund, additional sales of shares of the fund or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
<R>The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (FIIOC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers, which is located at 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services for the fund.</R>
For providing transfer agency services, FIIOC receives an account fee and an asset-based fee with respect to assets managed by one or more sub-advisers and assets invested in non-affiliated ETFs. For retail accounts, these fees are based on fund type. For certain institutional accounts, these fees are based on size of position and fund type. For institutional retirement accounts, these fees are based on account type and fund type. The account fee is billed monthly on a pro rata basis at one-twelfth of the applicable annual rate as of the end of each calendar month. The asset-based fee is calculated and paid monthly on the basis of average daily net assets. For assets invested in underlying Fidelity funds, each underlying Fidelity fund pays its respective transfer agent (either FIIOC or an affiliate of FIIOC) fees based, in part, on the number of positions in and assets of the fund invested in such underlying Fidelity fund.
FIIOC also may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
<R>The fund has entered into a service agent agreement with Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers (or an agent, including an affiliate). Under the terms of the agreement, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for the fund and maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records.</R>
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
The annual rates for pricing and bookkeeping services for the fund are 0.0518% of the first $500 million of average net assets, 0.0415% of average net assets between $500 million and $3.5 billion, 0.0041% of average net assets between $3.5 billion and $25 billion, and 0.0019% of average net assets in excess of $25 billion.
Pricing and bookkeeping fees paid by the fund to FSC for the past three fiscal years are shown in the following table.
<R> Fund |
2013 |
2012 |
2011 </R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers International Fund |
$ 1,849,403 |
$ 1,825,437 |
$ 506,949</R> |
<R> Trust Organization. Strategic Advisers International Fund is a fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, an open-end management investment company created under an initial trust instrument dated March 8, 2006. Currently, there are 20 funds offered in the trust: Strategic Advisers Core Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.</R>
The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds.
Shareholder Liability. The trust is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that, except to the extent otherwise provided in the Trust Instrument, shareholders shall be entitled to the same limitations of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit organized under the general corporation law of Delaware. The courts of some states, however, may decline to apply Delaware law on this point. The Trust Instrument contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust. The Trust Instrument provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Trust Instrument further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of each fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Trust Instrument also provides that each fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which Delaware law does not apply, no contractual limitation of liability was in effect, and a fund is unable to meet its obligations. Strategic Advisers believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is extremely remote.
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. As a shareholder, you are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value you own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
<R></R>
The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodians. State Street Bank and Trust Company, 1776 Heritage Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as special purpose custodians of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions.
Strategic Advisers, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Member of the Advisory Board, and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by Strategic Advisers. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of Strategic Advisers, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 125 High Street, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit, tax, and related services.
<R></R>
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized Strategic Advisers, in consultation with FMR, to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
Other registered investment companies that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be subject to different portfolio holdings disclosure policies, and neither Strategic Advisers nor the Board exercises control over such policies or disclosure. In addition, separate account clients of Strategic Advisers and the sub-advisers have access to their portfolio holdings and are not subject to the fund's portfolio holdings disclosure policies. Some of the funds that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser and some of the separate accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser have investment objectives and strategies that are substantially similar or identical to the fund's and, therefore, potentially substantially similar, and in certain cases nearly identical, portfolio holdings as the fund.
The fund will provide a full list of holdings monthly on www.fidelity.com 30 days after the month-end (excluding high income security holdings, which generally will be presented collectively monthly and included in a list of full holdings 60 days after its fiscal quarter-end).
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations.
<R> The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the activities associated with managing Fidelity funds to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons Strategic Advisers believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include, but are not limited to: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics (including portfolio managers of affiliated funds of funds); contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.</R>
<R> Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, (ii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iii) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. Strategic Advisers relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.</R>
<R>At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day) and DocuLynx Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day).</R>
Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, Strategic Advisers desired to make such an arrangement, it would seek prior Board approval and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
<R> FINANCIAL STATEMENTS </R>
<R>The fund's financial statements and financial highlights for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, and report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the fund's annual report and are incorporated herein by reference. Total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table may differ from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the financial highlights because total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table include any acquired fund fees and expenses, whereas the ratios of expenses in the financial highlights do not, except to the extent any acquired fund fees and expenses relate to an entity, such as a wholly-owned subsidiary, with which a fund's financial statements are consolidated. Acquired funds include other investment companies in which the fund has invested, if and to the extent it is permitted to do so. Total annual operating expenses in the prospectus fee table and the financial highlights do not include any expenses associated with investments in certain structured or synthetic products that may rely on the exception from the definition of "investment company" provided by section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
Fund /Ticker
Strategic Advisers ® U.S. Opportunity II Fund /FUSPX
Offered exclusively to certain clients of Strategic Advisers, Inc. - not available for sale to the general public
Prospectus
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
Fund Summary |
Strategic Advisers ® U.S. Opportunity II Fund |
|
Fund Basics |
Investment Details |
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Valuing Shares |
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Shareholder Information |
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares |
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Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions |
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Tax Consequences |
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Fund Services |
Fund Management |
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Fund Distribution |
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Appendix |
Financial Highlights |
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Additional Information about the Index |
Prospectus
Fund:
Strategic Advisers
®
U.S. Opportunity II Fund
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy and hold shares of the fund.
Shareholder fees
|
None |
Annual fund operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Management fee B |
0.25% |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees |
None |
Other expenses |
0.02% |
<R> Acquired fund fees and expenses (fees and expenses of underlying funds) |
0.81% </R> |
<R> Total annual fund operating expenses A |
1.08% </R> |
Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement B |
0.25% |
<R> Total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement A |
0.83% </R> |
A Differs from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the Financial Highlights section of the prospectus because of acquired fund fees and expenses.
<R> B Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) has contractually agreed that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.95% of the fund's average daily net assets. In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets. This arrangement will remain in effect through September 30, 2015. Strategic Advisers may not terminate this arrangement without the approval of the Board of Trustees. </R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
<R> 1 year |
$ 85 </R> |
<R> 3 years |
$ 276 </R> |
<R> 5 years |
$ 530 </R> |
<R> 10 years |
$ 1,256 </R> |
<R>The fund will not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of underlying funds (or "turns over" its portfolio), but it could incur transaction costs if it were to buy and sell other types of securities directly. If the fund were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs and could result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example and would affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 98% of the average value of its portfolio.</R>
Prospectus
An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following information is intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the fund. The information illustrates the changes in the performance of the fund's shares from year to year and compares the performance of the fund's shares to the performance of a securities market index over various periods of time. The index description appears in the Additional Information about the Index section of the prospectus. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future performance.
Visit www.fidelity.com for updated return information.
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
<R> Calendar Years |
|
|
|
|
|
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 </R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
|
-39.92% |
33.73% |
20.45% |
-1.13% |
17.03% </R> |
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
During the periods shown in the chart: |
Returns |
Quarter ended |
Highest Quarter Return |
17.87% |
September 30, 2009 |
Lowest Quarter Return |
-22.62% |
December 31, 2008 |
<R> Year-to-Date Return |
10.25% |
March31, 2013 </R> |
<R>After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, but do not reflect the impact of state or local taxes. Actual after-tax returns may differ depending on your individual circumstances. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your shares in a retirement account or in another tax-deferred arrangement. </R>
<R></R>
<R>
For the periods ended
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Past 1
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Past 5
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Life of
|
<R> Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund |
|
|
</R> |
<R> Return Before Taxes |
17.03% |
2.29% |
3.43% </R> |
<R> Return After Taxes on Distributions |
16.22% |
1.98% |
3.05% </R> |
<R> Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
11.72% |
1.86% |
2.83% </R> |
<R>
Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index
SM
|
16.38% |
2.21% |
2.89% </R> |
A From March 8, 2007.
Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) is the fund's manager.
Prospectus
Robert Vick (portfolio manager) has managed the fund since January 2010.
The fund is not available for sale to the general public.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its net asset value per share (NAV). Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV. Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
The fund has no minimum investment requirement.
Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state or local taxes, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account (in which case you may be taxed later, upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).
The fund, Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Investment Objective
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
Principal Investment Strategies
The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of U.S. corporations and in shares of underlying Fidelity U.S. equity funds.
The fund implements its investment strategies by investing indirectly in securities through one or more underlying funds, which in turn invest directly in securities.
Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of underlying funds at any time.
Strategic Advisers allocates assets among underlying funds according to an allocation strategy designed to achieve portfolio characteristics similar to those of the Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index.
Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds to attempt to diversify the fund's portfolio in terms of market capitalization (by including large, mid, and/or small cap underlying funds) and investment style (by including growth and value underlying funds).
The fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers in addition to securities of domestic issuers.
Strategic Advisers pursues a disciplined, benchmark-driven approach to portfolio construction, and monitors and adjusts allocations to underlying funds as necessary to favor those underlying funds that Strategic Advisers believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the fund's investment objective.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among underlying funds, Strategic Advisers relies on proprietary fundamental and quantitative fund research in its fund selection process. Factors considered when investing in underlying funds include fund performance, a fund manager's experience and investment style, and fund characteristics such as expense ratio, asset size, and portfolio turnover.
<R>Strategic Advisers may actively adjust the allocation of the fund's assets at any time. For current information on fund holdings, please call 1-800-544-3455 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com. For information on the underlying funds, see the underlying funds' prospectuses. A copy of any underlying fund's prospectus is available at www.fidelity.com or www.advisor.fidelity.com.</R>
In addition, the fund may have indirect exposure to derivatives through its investments in underlying funds.
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on the performance of the underlying funds in which it invests. The ability of the fund to meet its investment objective is directly related to its allocation among underlying funds and the ability of those funds to meet their investment objectives.
If Strategic Advisers' allocation strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective. The portfolio manager's evaluations and assumptions in selecting underlying funds may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.
Prospectus
When your shares are sold they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
Investing in Other Funds. The fund bears all risks of investment strategies employed by the underlying funds. The fund does not control the investments of the underlying funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the fund would not engage in directly. Aggregation of underlying fund holdings may result in indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase volatility.
Stock Market Volatility. The value of equity securities fluctuates in response to issuer, political, market, and economic developments. Fluctuations can be dramatic over the short as well as long term, and different parts of the market and different types of equity securities can react differently to these developments. For example, large cap stocks can react differently from small cap stocks, "growth" stocks can react differently from "value" stocks, and stocks selected using quantitative or technical analysis can react differently than stocks selected using fundamental analysis. Issuer, political, or economic developments can affect a single issuer, issuers within an industry or economic sector or geographic region, or the market as a whole. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact the market as a whole. Terrorism and related geo-political risks have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
<R> Foreign Exposure. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; withholding or other taxes; trading, settlement, custodial, and other operational risks; and the less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets. All of these factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and potentially less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can perform differently from the U.S. market.</R>
<R>Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers or providers in, or foreign exchange rates with, a different country or region.</R>
Industry Exposure. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry or a group of related industries, and the securities of companies in that industry or group of industries could react similarly to these or other developments. In addition, from time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry or a group of related industries as a whole, and these companies can be sensitive to adverse economic, regulatory, or financial developments.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's value. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers.
<R> Quantitative Investing. The value of securities selected using quantitative analysis can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis. The factors used in quantitative analysis and the weight placed on those factors may not be predictive of a security's value. In addition, factors that affect a security's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model.</R>
<R>In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser, if any, may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
The following policy is fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
Prospectus
The following policy is subject to change only upon 60 days' prior notice to shareholders:
The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of U.S. corporations and in shares of underlying Fidelity U.S. equity funds.
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates the fund's NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing the fund's NAV.
NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Shares of underlying funds are valued at their respective NAVs. For an explanation of the circumstances under which the underlying funds will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the underlying funds' prospectuses and statements of additional information (SAIs). The fund's NAV is calculated using the values of the underlying funds in which it invests.
To the extent that underlying fund assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some underlying fund assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Prospectus
THE FUND IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
Shares of the fund can be purchased only through certain discretionary investment programs offered by Strategic Advisers. If you are not currently a Strategic Advisers client, please call 1-800-544-3455 (9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday) for more information. Strategic Advisers charges fees for its discretionary investment programs. For more information on these fees, please refer to the "Buying and Selling Information" section of the SAI.
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase orders.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
Because investments in the fund can be made only by Strategic Advisers on behalf of its clients, the potential for excessive or short-term disruptive purchases and sales is reduced. Accordingly, the Board of Trustees has not adopted policies and procedures designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares and the fund accommodates frequent trading.
The fund has no exchange privilege with any other fund. The fund does not place a limit on purchases or sales of fund shares by Strategic Advisers. The fund reserves the right, but does not have the obligation, to reject any purchase transaction at any time. In addition, the fund reserves the right to impose restrictions on disruptive, excessive, or short-term trading.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its NAV. The fund's shares are sold without a sales charge.
Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
Provided the fund receives an order to buy shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to buy shares of an underlying fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV.
Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
Prospectus
Provided the fund receives an order to sell shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to sell shares of an underlying fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.
Redemptions may be suspended or payment dates postponed when the NYSE is closed (other than weekends or holidays), when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as permitted by the SEC.
Redemption proceeds may be paid in underlying fund shares, securities, or other property rather than in cash if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund.
When you terminate your relationship with Strategic Advisers, your shares may be sold at the NAV next calculated, in which case Strategic Advisers would send the redemption proceeds to you.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, redemption requests may be suspended, restricted, canceled, or processed and the proceeds may be withheld.
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
The fund normally pays dividends and capital gain distributions in April and December.
Dividends and capital gain distributions may be reinvested in additional shares of the fund or paid in cash.
As with any investment, your investment in the fund could have tax consequences for you. If you are not investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account, you should consider these tax consequences.
Taxes on distributions. Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes.
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including dividends and distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable to you as ordinary income, while certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of long-term capital gains, are taxable to you generally as capital gains. A percentage of certain distributions of dividends may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
If Strategic Advisers buys shares on your behalf when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Any taxable distributions you receive from the fund will normally be taxable to you when you receive them, regardless of your distribution option.
Taxes on transactions. Your redemptions may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on your investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of your shares and the price you receive when you sell them.
Prospectus
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
<R> Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. The address of Strategic Advisers and its affiliates, unless otherwise indicated below, is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
Each underlying fund is managed by FMR or an affiliate.
<R>As of December 31, 2012, Strategic Advisers had approximately $320.7 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
<R>As of December 31, 2012, FMR had approximately $1.0 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
As the manager, Strategic Advisers has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
As the manager for the underlying funds, FMR is responsible for choosing each fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
<R>Strategic Advisers currently employs a fund of funds investment structure for the fund. As a result, no portion of the fund's assets has been allocated to a sub-adviser. However, Strategic Advisers may allocate assets to one or more sub-advisers in the future, pursuant to the terms of the Exemptive Order described above.</R>
Robert Vick is portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since January 2010. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1989, Mr. Vick has worked as a systems manager, senior quantitative analyst, senior vice president of Quantitative Investment Research, and portfolio manager.
The SAI provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by the portfolio manager.
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
The fund pays a management fee to Strategic Advisers. The management fee is calculated and paid to Strategic Advisers every month.
The fund's management fee is calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers, if any, based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets. The fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.95% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets through September 30, 2015.</R>
<R>For the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid a management fee of 0.00% of the fund's average net assets, after waiver and/or reimbursement.</R>
In the event Strategic Advisers retains one or more sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers will pay each of the fund's sub-advisers the fee (as described above) payable to that sub-adviser.
<R>The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract for the fund is available in the fund's annual report for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013.</R>
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, agree to reimburse the fund for, or waive, management fees and other expenses above a specified limit. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid by the fund if expenses fall below the specified limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Reimbursement or waiver arrangements can decrease expenses and boost performance.
FDC distributes the fund's shares.
The fund has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) with respect to its shares that recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, service-providers, and administrators, that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Prospectus
If payments made by Strategic Advisers to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of the fund's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
Prospectus
<R>The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the financial history of the fund's shares for the past 5 years. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of the fund. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in shares of the fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial highlights and financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report. A free copy of the annual report is available upon request.</R>
<R> Years ended February 28, |
2013 |
2012 E |
2011 |
2010 |
2009 </R> |
Selected Per-Share Data |
|
|
|
|
|
<R> Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 10.58 |
$ 10.33 |
$ 8.24 |
$ 5.25 |
$ 9.53 </R> |
Income from Investment Operations |
|
|
|
|
|
<R> Net investment income (loss) B |
.12 |
.08 |
.06 |
.07 |
.10 </R> |
<R> Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
1.25 |
.27 |
2.12 |
2.99 |
(4.27 ) </R> |
<R> Total from investment operations |
1.37 |
.35 |
2.18 |
3.06 |
(4.17 ) </R> |
<R> Distributions from net investment income |
(.12) |
(.07) |
(.07) |
(.06) |
(.10) </R> |
<R> Distributions from net realized gain |
(.28 ) |
(.03 ) |
(.02 ) |
(.01) |
(.01 ) </R> |
<R> Total distributions |
(.40 ) |
(.10 ) |
(.09 ) |
(.07 ) |
(.11 ) </R> |
<R> Net asset value, end of period |
$ 11.55 |
$ 10.58 |
$ 10.33 |
$ 8.24 |
$ 5.25 </R> |
<R> Total Return A |
13.25% |
3.48% |
26.53% |
58.31% |
(43.90)% </R> |
<R> Ratios to Average Net Assets C |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> Expenses before reductions |
.27% |
.27% |
.27% |
.25% |
.25% </R> |
<R> Expenses net of fee waivers, if any |
.02% |
.02% |
.02% |
.00% |
.00% </R> |
<R> Expenses net of all reductions |
.02% |
.02% |
.02% |
.00% |
.00% </R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) |
1.13% |
.85% |
.72% |
.94% |
1.24% </R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
Supplemental Data |
|
|
|
|
|
<R> Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$ 643,904 |
$ 603,210 |
$ 584,790 |
$ 507,102 |
$ 271,774 </R> |
<R> Portfolio turnover rate D |
98% |
112% |
91% |
48% |
130% </R> |
<R></R>
A Total returns would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reduced during the applicable periods shown.
B Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.
<R></R>
<R> C Expense ratios reflect operating expenses of the Fund. Expenses before reductions do not reflect amounts reimbursed by the investment adviser or reductions from expense offset arrangements and do not represent the amount paid by the Fund during periods when reimbursements or reductions occur. Expenses net of fee waivers reflect expenses after reimbursement by the investment adviser but prior to reductions from expense offset arrangements. Expenses net of all reductions represent the net expenses paid by the Fund. Fees and expenses of the Underlying Funds are not included in the Fund's annualized ratios. The Fund indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the Underlying Funds. </R>
D Amounts do not include the portfolio activity of any Underlying Funds.
Prospectus
E For the year ended February 29.
Prospectus
Appendix - continued
Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index is a float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index of all equity securities of U.S. headquartered companies with readily available price data.
Prospectus
Notes
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account. For individual investors opening an account: When you open an account, you will be asked for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow Fidelity to identify you. You may also be asked to provide documents that may help to establish your identity, such as your driver's license. For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account such as name, residential address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity. |
You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.
For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call 1-800-544-3455. In addition, you may visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number, 811-21991 |
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
<R>Strategic Advisers and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R>1.912855.103 SUI-PRO-0413</R>
Strategic Advisers ® U.S. Opportunity II Fund (FUSPX)
A Fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
Offered exclusively to certain clients of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) - not available for sale to the general public.
This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. Portions of the fund's annual report are incorporated herein. The annual report is supplied with this SAI.
<R>To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated April 29, 2013, or an annual report, please call Fidelity at 1-800-544-3455 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com.</R>
<R>SUI-PTB-0413
1.912856.104</R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
|
PAGE |
Investment Policies and Limitations |
|
<R>Portfolio Transactions |
|
<R>Valuation |
|
<R>Buying and Selling Information |
|
<R>Distributions and Taxes |
|
<R>Trustees and Officers |
|
<R>Control of Investment Adviser |
|
<R>Management Contract |
|
<R>Proxy Voting Guidelines |
|
<R>Distribution Services |
|
Transfer and Service Agent Agreements |
|
<R>Description of the Trust |
|
<R>Fund Holdings Information |
|
<R>Financial Statements |
34 </R> |
<R>Appendix |
34 </R> |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not with respect to 75% of the fund's total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except in connection with the insurance program established by the fund pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission or as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry (provided that investments in other investment companies shall not be considered an investment in any particular industry for purposes of this investment limitation).
<R>For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities, Strategic Advisers looks through to the U.S. Government securities.</R>
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The acquisitions of loans and loan participations excluded from the fund's lending limitation discussed above are only those loans and loan participations considered securities within the meaning of the 1940 Act.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, and provided that transactions in futures contracts and options are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 10% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 10% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
To the extent that the fund acquires the shares of an underlying fund in accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, the underlying fund is not obligated to redeem its shares in an amount exceeding 1% of its shares outstanding during any period of less than 30 days. Those underlying fund shares will not be treated as illiquid securities for purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation described above to the extent that the fund is able to dispose of such securities by distributing them in kind to redeeming shareholders. (See "Securities of Other Investment Companies" on page 17 .)
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to lend assets other than securities to other parties, except by (a) lending money (up to 15% of the fund's net assets) to a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) assuming any unfunded commitments in connection with the acquisition of loans, loan participations, or other forms of debt instruments. (This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities, to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.)
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
<R>For the fund's limitations on futures and options transactions, see the section entitled "Futures, Options, and Swaps" on page 9 .</R>
Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitations, the underlying funds in which the fund may invest have adopted certain investment limitations that may be more or less restrictive than those listed above, thereby permitting the fund to engage indirectly in investment strategies that are prohibited under the investment limitations listed above. The investment limitations of each underlying fund are set forth in its registration statement.
In accordance with its investment program as set forth in the prospectus, the fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in any one underlying Fidelity fund. Although the fund does not intend to concentrate its investments in a particular industry, the fund may indirectly concentrate in a particular industry or group of industries through its investments in one or more underlying funds.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
Strategic Advisers ® U.S. Opportunity II Fund may have exposure to instruments, techniques, and risks either directly or indirectly through an investment in an underlying fund. An underlying fund may invest in the same or other types of instruments and its adviser may employ the same or other types of techniques. Strategic Advisers ® U.S. Opportunity II Fund's performance will be affected by the instruments, techniques, and risks associated with an underlying fund, in proportion to the amount of assets that the fund allocates to that underlying fund.
On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "a fund" or "the fund" may relate to Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund or an underlying fund, and references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to Strategic Advisers (or its affiliates) or an adviser of an underlying fund.
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of short-term bond or money market funds, including (for Fidelity funds and other advisory clients only) shares of Fidelity central funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.
<R> Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Notice of Exclusion. The trust, on behalf of the Fidelity fund to which this SAI relates, has filed with the National Futures Association a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the CFTC promulgated thereunder, with respect to the fund's operation. Accordingly, neither the fund nor its adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or a CPO. However, the CFTC has adopted certain rule amendments that significantly affect the continued availability of this exclusion, and may subject advisers to funds to regulation by the CFTC. As of the date of this SAI, the adviser does not expect to register as a CPO of the fund. However, there is no certainty that a fund or its adviser will be able to rely on an exclusion in the future as the fund's investments change over time. A fund may determine not to use investment strategies that trigger additional CFTC regulation or may determine to operate subject to CFTC regulation, if applicable. If a fund or its adviser operates subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.</R>
Common Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock, although related proceedings can take time to resolve and results can be unpredictable.
Convertible Securities are bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption or conversion, the fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
Debt Securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay interest but are sold at a deep discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, and mortgage and other asset-backed securities.
<R> Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments. An ETF may seek to replicate the performance of a specified index or may be actively managed.</R>
Typically, ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks (typically, 50,000 shares) often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.
Some of the risks of investing in an ETF that tracks an index are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
<R> ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their intraday indicative value. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater.</R>
Exposure to Foreign and Emerging Markets. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Foreign investments involve risks relating to local political, economic, regulatory, or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments, and may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Such actions may include expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. Additionally, governmental issuers of foreign debt securities may be unwilling to pay interest and repay principal when due and may require that the conditions for payment be renegotiated. There is no assurance that a fund's adviser will be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies and of dividends and interest paid with respect to such securities will fluctuate based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar.
It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for foreign securities will be on an exchange or in over-the-counter (OTC) markets located outside of the United States. Foreign stock markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign security trading, settlement and custodial practices (including those involving securities settlement where fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment) are often less developed than those in U.S. markets, and may result in increased investment or valuation risk or substantial delays in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of, or breach of duty by, a foreign broker-dealer, securities depository, or foreign subcustodian. In addition, the costs associated with foreign investments, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions, and custodial costs, are generally higher than with U.S. investments.
Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors than U.S. markets. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Adequate public information on foreign issuers may not be available, and it may be difficult to secure dividends and information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. OTC markets tend to be less regulated than stock exchange markets and, in certain countries, may be totally unregulated. Regulatory enforcement may be influenced by economic or political concerns, and investors may have difficulty enforcing their legal rights in foreign countries.
Some foreign securities impose restrictions on transfer within the United States or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than foreign securities of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks include foreign exchange risk as well as the political and economic risks of the underlying issuer's country.
The risks of foreign investing may be magnified for investments in emerging markets. Security prices in emerging markets can be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
Foreign Currency Transactions. A fund may conduct foreign currency transactions on a spot ( i.e., cash) or forward basis ( i.e., by entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies). Although foreign exchange dealers generally do not charge a fee for such conversions, they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the counterparty desire to resell that currency to the dealer. Forward contracts are customized transactions that require a specific amount of a currency to be delivered at a specific exchange rate on a specific date or range of dates in the future. Forward contracts are generally traded in an interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The parties to a forward contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated currency exchange.
The following discussion summarizes the principal currency management strategies involving forward contracts that could be used by a fund. A fund may also use swap agreements, indexed securities, and options and futures contracts relating to foreign currencies for the same purposes. Forward contracts not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying currency. All of these instruments and transactions are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default.
<R>A "settlement hedge" or "transaction hedge" is designed to protect a fund against an adverse change in foreign currency values between the date a security denominated in a foreign currency is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in an underlying security transaction for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars "locks in" the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used to protect a fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected.</R>
<R>A fund may also use forward contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in a foreign currency. For example, if a fund owned securities denominated in pounds sterling, it could enter into a forward contract to sell pounds sterling in return for U.S. dollars to hedge against possible declines in the pound's value. Such a hedge, sometimes referred to as a "position hedge," would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. A fund could also attempt to hedge the position by selling another currency expected to perform similarly to the pound sterling. This type of hedge, sometimes referred to as a "proxy hedge," could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield, or efficiency, but generally would not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a direct hedge into U.S. dollars. Proxy hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated.</R>
A fund may enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a "cross-hedge," will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if a fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. A fund may cross-hedge its U.S. dollar exposure in order to achieve a representative weighted mix of the major currencies in its benchmark index and/or to cover an underweight country or region exposure in its portfolio. Cross-hedges protect against losses resulting from a decline in the hedged currency, but will cause a fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases.
<R>Successful use of currency management strategies will depend on an adviser's skill in analyzing currency values. Currency management strategies may substantially change a fund's investment exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and could result in losses to a fund if currencies do not perform as an adviser anticipates. For example, if a currency's value rose at a time when a fund had hedged its position by selling that currency in exchange for dollars, the fund would not participate in the currency's appreciation. If a fund hedges currency exposure through proxy hedges, the fund could realize currency losses from both the hedge and the security position if the two currencies do not move in tandem. Similarly, if a fund increases its exposure to a foreign currency and that currency's value declines, the fund will realize a loss. Foreign currency transactions involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that a fund's hedging strategies will be ineffective. Moreover, it is impossible to precisely forecast the market value of portfolio securities at the expiration of a foreign currency forward contract. Accordingly, a fund may be required to buy or sell additional currency on the spot market (and bear the expenses of such transaction), if an adviser's predictions regarding the movement of foreign currency or securities markets prove inaccurate.</R>
<R>A fund may be required to limit its hedging transactions in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options in order to maintain its classification as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Hedging transactions could result in the application of the mark-to-market provisions of the Code, which may cause an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a fund and could affect whether dividends paid by a fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. A fund will cover its exposure to foreign currency transactions with liquid assets in compliance with applicable requirements. There is no assurance that an adviser's use of currency management strategies will be advantageous to a fund or that it will employ currency management strategies at appropriate times.</R>
Options and Futures Relating to Foreign Currencies. Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges (and have margin requirements) and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The underlying instrument of a currency option may be a foreign currency, which generally is purchased or delivered in exchange for U.S. dollars, or may be a futures contract. The purchaser of a currency call obtains the right to purchase the underlying currency, and the purchaser of a currency put obtains the right to sell the underlying currency.
<R>The uses and risks of currency options and futures are similar to options and futures relating to securities or indexes, as discussed below. A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and may purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. Currency options may also be purchased or written in conjunction with each other or with currency futures or forward contracts. Currency futures and options values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates, but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated security from a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of a fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the fund's investments exactly over time.</R>
<R>Currency options traded on U.S. or other exchanges may be subject to position limits which may limit the ability of the fund to reduce foreign currency risk using such options.</R>
Foreign Repurchase Agreements. Foreign repurchase agreements involve an agreement to purchase a foreign security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price in either U.S. dollars or foreign currency. Unlike typical U.S. repurchase agreements, foreign repurchase agreements may not be fully collateralized at all times. The value of a security purchased by a fund may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to repurchase the security. In the event of default by the counterparty, a fund may suffer a loss if the value of the security purchased is less than the agreed-upon repurchase price, or if the fund is unable to successfully assert a claim to the collateral under foreign laws. As a result, foreign repurchase agreements may involve higher credit risks than repurchase agreements in U.S. markets, as well as risks associated with currency fluctuations. In addition, as with other emerging market investments, repurchase agreements with counterparties located in emerging markets or relating to emerging markets may involve issuers or counterparties with lower credit ratings than typical U.S. repurchase agreements.
Fund's Rights as an Investor. Fidelity funds do not intend to direct or administer the day-to-day operations of any company. A fund may, however, exercise its rights as a shareholder or lender and may communicate its views on important matters of policy to a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders, and holders of a company's other securities when such matters could have a significant effect on the value of the fund's investment in the company. The activities in which a fund may engage, either individually or in conjunction with others, may include, among others, supporting or opposing proposed changes in a company's corporate structure or business activities; seeking changes in a company's directors or management; seeking changes in a company's direction or policies; seeking the sale or reorganization of the company or a portion of its assets; supporting or opposing third-party takeover efforts; supporting the filing of a bankruptcy petition; or foreclosing on collateral securing a security. This area of corporate activity is increasingly prone to litigation and it is possible that a fund could be involved in lawsuits related to such activities. Such activities will be monitored with a view to mitigating, to the extent possible, the risk of litigation against a fund and the risk of actual liability if a fund is involved in litigation. No guarantee can be made, however, that litigation against a fund will not be undertaken or liabilities incurred. The fund's proxy voting guidelines are included in this SAI.
<R> Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. If a fund invests a significant portion of its assets in derivatives, its investment exposure could far exceed the value of its portfolio securities and its investment performance could be primarily dependent upon securities it does not own.</R>
Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.
The limitations on the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps, and the fund's policies regarding futures contracts, options, and swaps may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts.
<R> Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts and the price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities or baskets of securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indexes (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indexes of securities prices (including foreign indexes for funds that seek foreign exposure). Futures on indexes and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out by offsetting purchases or sales of futures contracts before then if a liquid market is available. A fund may realize a gain or loss by closing out its futures contracts.</R>
<R>The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the underlying instrument. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.</R>
<R>The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by a fund, but is instead a settlement between a fund and the FCM of the amount one would owe the other if the fund's contract expired. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is also required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.</R>
<R>Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement, and margin procedures that are different from those for U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may not involve a clearing mechanism or related guarantees and may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to a fund. Because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuation.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.</R>
<R>If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
<R>Futures contracts on U.S. Government securities historically have reacted to an increase or decrease in interest rates in a manner similar to the manner in which the underlying U.S. Government securities reacted. To the extent, however, that a fund enters into such futures contracts, the value of these futures contracts will not vary in direct proportion to the value of the fund's holdings of U.S. Government securities. Thus, the anticipated spread between the price of the futures contract and the hedged security may be distorted due to differences in the nature of the markets. The spread also may be distorted by differences in initial and variation margin requirements, the liquidity of such markets and the participation of speculators in such markets.</R>
<R> Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, baskets of assets or securities, indexes of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). Options may be traded on an exchange or OTC. The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. Depending on the terms of the contract, upon exercise, an option may require physical delivery of the underlying instrument or may be settled through cash payments. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.</R>
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
<R>The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right (but not the obligation) to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.</R>
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
<R>Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer should mitigate the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.</R>
<R>Where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price to close out the put or call option on the secondary market may move more or less than the price of the related security.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for exchange-traded options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.</R>
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
<R>A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps (swaptions), which are generally options on interest rate swaps. An option on a swap gives a party the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, a fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes (sells) an option on a swap than it will incur when it purchases an option on a swap. When a fund purchases an option on a swap, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when a fund writes an option on a swap, upon exercise of the option the fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement. A fund that writes an option on a swap receives the premium and bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the preset rate on the underlying interest rate swap. Whether a fund's use of options on swaps will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend on the adviser's ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Options on swaps may involve risks similar to those discussed below in "Swap Agreements."</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
<R> Swap Agreements. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term. Most swap agreements are currently traded over-the-counter. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange one or more payments based, for example, on the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, indexes, or other financial or economic interests). The gross payments to be exchanged between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.</R>
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness.
<R>A fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. In order to cover its outstanding obligations to a swap counterparty, a fund would generally be required to provide margin or collateral for the benefit of that counterparty. If a counterparty to a swap transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited temporarily or permanently in exercising its right to the return of related fund assets designated as margin or collateral in an action against the counterparty.</R>
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<R>Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that an adviser will not accurately forecast market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other economic factors in establishing swap positions for a fund. If an adviser attempts to use a swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, a fund may be exposed to the risk that the swap will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment, which could cause substantial losses for a fund. While hedging strategies involving swap instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Swaps are complex and often valued subjectively.</R>
Illiquid Securities cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity fund's adviser determines the liquidity of the fund's investments and, through reports from the fund's adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid securities.
Various factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments, including (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
Increasing Government Debt. The total public debt of the United States and other countries around the globe as a percent of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented.
A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt cost higher and cause a country to sell additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In the worst case, unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns.
On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States one level to "AA+" from "AAA." While Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the United States' short-term sovereign credit rating as "A-1+," there is no guarantee that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services will not decide to lower this rating in the future. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services stated that its decision was prompted by its view on the rising public debt burden and its perception of greater policymaking uncertainty. The market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government may be adversely affected by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services decisions to downgrade the long-term sovereign credit rating of the United States.
<R> Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indexes, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.</R>
<R>Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indexes. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.</R>
Indexed securities may have principal payments as well as coupon payments that depend on the performance of one or more interest rates. Their coupon rates or principal payments may change by several percentage points for every 1% interest rate change.
Mortgage-indexed securities, for example, could be structured to replicate the performance of mortgage securities and the characteristics of direct ownership.
Inflation-protected securities, for example, can be indexed to a measure of inflation, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Commodity-indexed securities, for example, can be indexed to a commodities index such as the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return SM .
Gold-indexed securities typically provide for a maturity value that depends on the price of gold, resulting in a security whose price tends to rise and fall together with gold prices.
Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Insolvency of Issuers, Counterparties, and Intermediaries. Issuers of fund portfolio securities or counterparties to fund transactions that become insolvent or declare bankruptcy can pose special investment risks. In each circumstance, risk of loss, valuation uncertainty, increased illiquidity, and other unpredictable occurrences may negatively impact an investment. Each of these risks may be amplified in foreign markets, where security trading, settlement, and custodial practices can be less developed than those in the U.S. markets, and bankruptcy laws differ from those of the U.S.
As a general matter, if the issuer of a fund portfolio security is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock have priority over the claims of common stock owners. These events can negatively impact the value of the issuer's securities and the results of related proceedings can be unpredictable.
If a counterparty to a fund transaction, such as a swap transaction, a short sale, a borrowing, or other complex transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise rights to obtain the return of related fund assets or in exercising other rights against the counterparty. In addition, insolvency and liquidation proceedings take time to resolve, which can limit or preclude a fund's ability to terminate a transaction or obtain related assets or collateral in a timely fashion. Uncertainty may also arise upon the insolvency of a securities or commodities intermediary such as a broker-dealer or futures commission merchant with which a fund has pending transactions. If an intermediary becomes insolvent, while securities positions and other holdings may be protected by U.S. or foreign laws, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these protections are available to specific trades based on the circumstances. Receiving the benefit of these protections can also take time to resolve, which may result in illiquid positions.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a Fidelity fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) or its affiliates. A Fidelity fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. A Fidelity fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
<R> Investments by Large Shareholders. A fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by large shareholders. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a fund's portfolio. In addition, when investors own a substantial portion of a fund's shares, a large redemption could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the fund's shares. When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful. A high volume of redemption requests can impact a fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments.</R>
Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. Direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve a risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a fund supply additional cash to a borrower on demand. A fund may acquire loans by buying an assignment of all or a portion of the loan from a lender or by purchasing a loan participation from a lender or other purchaser of a participation.
Lenders and purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of foreign countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.
Direct lending and investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the lender/purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary.
A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest.
Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate lenders/purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a lender/purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
For a Fidelity fund that limits the amount of total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry, the fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require a fund, in appropriate circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for these purposes. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
Because the risk of default is higher for lower-quality debt securities, research and credit analysis are an especially important part of managing securities of this type. Such analysis may focus on relative values based on factors such as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earnings prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer, in an attempt to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved, or is expected to improve in the future.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Precious Metals. Precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, at times have been subject to substantial price fluctuations over short periods of time and may be affected by unpredictable monetary and political policies such as currency devaluations or revaluations, economic and social conditions within a country, trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries. The prices of gold and other precious metals, however, are less subject to local and company-specific factors than securities of individual companies. As a result, precious metals may be more or less volatile in price than securities of companies engaged in precious metals-related businesses. Investments in precious metals can present concerns such as delivery, storage and maintenance, possible illiquidity, and the unavailability of accurate market valuations. Although precious metals can be purchased in any form, including bullion and coins, a Fidelity fund intends to purchase only those forms of precious metals that are readily marketable and that can be stored in accordance with custody regulations applicable to mutual funds. A fund may incur higher custody and transaction costs for precious metals than for securities. Also, precious metals investments do not pay income.
For a fund to qualify as a regulated investment company under current federal tax law, gains from selling precious metals may not exceed 10% of the fund's gross income for its taxable year. This tax requirement could cause a fund to hold or sell precious metals or securities when it would not otherwise do so.
Preferred Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Equity real estate investment trusts own real estate properties, while mortgage real estate investment trusts make construction, development, and long-term mortgage loans. Their value may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property of the trusts, the creditworthiness of the issuer, property taxes, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements, such as those relating to the environment. Both types of trusts are dependent upon management skill, are not diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers, self-liquidation, and the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
Reforms and Government Intervention in the Financial Markets. Economic downturns can trigger various economic, legal, budgetary, tax, and regulatory reforms across the globe. Instability in the financial markets in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn led the U.S. Government and other governments to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility, and in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Reforms are ongoing and their effects are uncertain. Federal, state, local, foreign, and other governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which a fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Reforms may also change the way in which a fund is regulated and could limit or preclude a fund's ability to achieve its investment objective or engage in certain strategies. Also, while reforms generally are intended to strengthen markets, systems, and public finances, they could affect fund expenses and the value of fund investments.
The value of a fund's holdings is also generally subject to the risk of future local, national, or global economic disturbances based on unknown weaknesses in the markets in which a fund invests. In the event of such a disturbance, the issuers of securities held by a fund may experience significant declines in the value of their assets and even cease operations, or may receive government assistance accompanied by increased restrictions on their business operations or other government intervention. In addition, it is not certain that the U.S. Government or foreign governments will intervene in response to a future market disturbance and the effect of any such future intervention cannot be predicted.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its right to liquidate assets related to a repurchase agreement with an insolvent counterparty. A Fidelity fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities Lending. Securities lending allows a fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The fund seeks to maintain the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased.
Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies (which include business development companies (BDCs)), unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. For certain investment companies, such as BDCs, these expenses may be significant. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.
The securities of closed-end funds may be leveraged. As a result, a fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. An investment in securities of closed-end funds that use leverage may expose a fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the fund's long-term returns on such securities will be diminished.
The extent to which a fund can invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws.
Short Sales. Short sales involve the market sale of a security a fund has borrowed from a prime broker with which it has a contractual relationship, with the expectation that the security will underperform either the market or the securities that the fund holds long. A fund closes a short sale by purchasing the same security at the current market price and delivering it to the prime broker.
Until a fund closes out a short position, the fund is obligated to pay the prime broker (from which it borrowed the security sold short) interest as well as any dividends that accrue during the period of the loan. While a short position is outstanding, a fund must also pledge a portion of its assets to the prime broker as collateral for the borrowed security. The collateral will be marked to market daily.
Short positions create a risk that a fund will be required to cover them by buying the security at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the fund. A short position in a security poses more risk than holding the same security long. Because a short position loses value as the security's price increases, the loss on a short sale is theoretically unlimited. The loss on a long position is limited to what a fund originally paid for the security together with any transaction costs. A fund may not always be able to borrow a security the fund seeks to sell short at a particular time or at an acceptable price. As a result, a fund may be unable to fully implement its investment strategy due to a lack of available stocks or for other reasons. It is possible that the market value of the securities a fund holds in long positions will decline at the same time that the market value of the securities the fund has sold short increases, thereby increasing the fund's potential volatility. Because a fund may be required to pay dividends, interest, premiums and other expenses in connection with a short sale, any benefit for the fund resulting from the short sale will be decreased, and the amount of any ultimate gain will be decreased or of any loss will be increased, by the amount of such expenses.
A fund may also enter into short sales against the box. Short sales "against the box" are short sales of securities that a fund owns or has the right to obtain (equivalent in kind or amount to the securities sold short). If a fund enters into a short sale against the box, it will be required to set aside securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short (or securities convertible or exchangeable into such securities) and will be required to hold such securities while the short sale is outstanding. A fund will incur transaction costs, including interest expenses, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales against the box.
Sources of Liquidity or Credit Support. Issuers may employ various forms of credit and liquidity enhancements, including letters of credit, guarantees, swaps, puts, and demand features, and insurance provided by domestic or foreign entities such as banks and other financial institutions. An adviser and its affiliates may rely on their evaluation of the credit of the issuer or the credit of the liquidity or credit enhancement provider in determining whether to purchase or hold a security supported by such enhancement. In evaluating the credit of a foreign bank or other foreign entities, factors considered may include whether adequate public information about the entity is available and whether the entity may be subject to unfavorable political or economic developments, currency controls, or other government restrictions that might affect its ability to honor its commitment. Changes in the credit quality of the issuer and/or entity providing the enhancement could affect the value of the security or a fund's share price.
Sovereign Debt Obligations are issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies, including debt of Latin American nations or other developing countries. Sovereign debt may be in the form of conventional securities or other types of debt instruments such as loans or loan participations. Sovereign debt of developing countries may involve a high degree of risk, and may be in default or present the risk of default. Governmental entities responsible for repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal and pay interest when due, and may require renegotiation or rescheduling of debt payments. In addition, prospects for repayment of principal and payment of interest may depend on political as well as economic factors. Although some sovereign debt, such as Brady Bonds, is collateralized by U.S. Government securities, repayment of principal and payment of interest is not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument ( e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
<R> Temporary Defensive Policies. </R>
<R> In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, a fund may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If a fund does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund reserves the right to invest without limitation in preferred stocks and investment-grade debt instruments for temporary, defensive purposes.
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments which entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss.
Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities (normally, shares of underlying funds) are placed on behalf of the fund by Strategic Advisers, (either itself or through its affiliates), pursuant to authority contained in the management contract.
Strategic Advisers may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in underlying funds, but it may incur such costs if it invests directly in other types of securities.
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review Strategic Advisers' and its affiliates' performance of their respective responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Strategic Advisers, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Strategic Advisers or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.</R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Strategic Advisers or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services Strategic Advisers or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Strategic Advisers' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Strategic Advisers or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.</R>
Research Contracts. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Strategic Advisers or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) who have entered into arrangements with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
<R>Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), with whom they are under common control, provided Strategic Advisers or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade-execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.</R>
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Strategic Advisers to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
Commissions Paid
A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
<R>For the fiscal periods ended February 28, 2013 and February 29, 2012, the fund's portfolio turnover rates were 98% and 112%, respectively. Variations in turnover rate may be due to a fluctuating volume of shareholder purchase and redemption orders, market conditions, and/or changes in Strategic Advisers' investment outlook.</R>
<R>For the fiscal years ended February 28, 2013, February 29, 2012, and February 28, 2011, the fund paid no brokerage commissions.</R>
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid no brokerage commissions to firms for providing research or brokerage services.</R>
The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. The NAV of the fund is computed by adding the value of the fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting its liabilities, and dividing the result by the number of shares outstanding.
Shares of underlying funds held by the fund are valued at their respective NAVs.
Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by the fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity non-money market fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
<R>Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques.</R>
Short-term securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less for which market quotations and information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates current value.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
<R>Prices described above are obtained from pricing services that have been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available and the funds may use more than one of these services. The funds may also discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time. Strategic Advisers engages in oversight activities with respect to the fund's pricing services, which includes, among other things, testing the prices provided by pricing services prior to calculation of a fund's NAV, conducting periodic due diligence meetings, and periodically reviewing the methodologies and inputs used by these services.</R>
<R>Foreign securities and instruments are valued in their local currency following the methodologies described above. Foreign securities, instruments and currencies are translated to U.S. dollars, based on foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by a pricing service as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which uses a proprietary model to determine the exchange rate. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at an interpolated rate based on days to maturity between the closest preceding and subsequent settlement period reported by the third party pricing service.</R>
The Board of Trustees of the underlying Fidelity funds has ultimate responsibility for pricing portfolio securities and assets held by those funds, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and ADRs, market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. This technique involves initially valuing an instrument at its cost as adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount rather than its current market value. The amortized cost value of an instrument may be higher or lower than the price a money market fund would receive if it sold the instrument.
At such intervals as they deem appropriate, the Trustees of an underlying Fidelity money market fund consider the extent to which NAV calculated using market valuations would deviate from the $1.00 per share calculated using amortized cost valuation. If the Trustees believe that a deviation from a money market fund's amortized cost per share may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Trustees have agreed to take such corrective action, if any, as they deem appropriate to eliminate or reduce, to the extent reasonably practicable, the dilution or unfair results. Such corrective action could include selling portfolio instruments prior to maturity to realize capital gains or losses or to shorten average portfolio maturity; withholding dividends; redeeming shares in kind; establishing NAV by using available market quotations; and such other measures as the Trustees may deem appropriate.
BUYING AND SELLING INFORMATION
Shares of the fund are offered only to certain clients of Strategic Advisers that have granted Strategic Advisers discretionary investment authority. If you are not currently a Strategic Advisers client, please call 1-800-544-3455 for more information.
Investors participating in a Strategic Advisers discretionary investment program are charged an annual advisory fee based on a percentage of the average market value of assets in their account. The stated fee is then reduced by a credit reflecting the amount of fees, if any, received by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates from mutual funds for investment management or certain other services.
The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the fund's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
Dividends. A portion of the fund's income may qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, but it is unlikely that all of the fund's income will qualify for the deduction. A portion of the fund's dividends, when distributed to individual shareholders, may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
Capital Gain Distributions. The fund's long-term capital gain distributions, including amounts attributable to an underlying fund's long-term capital gain distributions, are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
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Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.
Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. As a general matter, if, at the close of its fiscal year, more than 50% of the fund's total assets is invested in securities of foreign issuers, the fund may elect to pass through eligible foreign taxes paid and thereby allow shareholders to take a deduction or, if they meet certain holding period requirements with respect to fund shares, a credit on their individual tax returns. In addition, if at the close of each quarter of its fiscal year at least 50% of the fund's total assets is represented by interests in other regulated investment companies, the same rules will apply to any foreign tax credits that underlying funds pass through to the fund. The amount of foreign taxes paid by the fund will be reduced to the extent that the fund lends securities over the dividend record date. Special rules may apply to the credit for individuals who receive dividends qualifying for the long-term capital gains tax rate.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
<R>The Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and executive officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. If the interests of the fund and an underlying Fidelity fund were to diverge, a conflict of interest could arise and affect how the Trustees and Member of the Advisory Board fulfill their fiduciary duties to the affected funds. Strategic Advisers has structured the fund to avoid these potential conflicts, although there may be situations where a conflict of interest is unavoidable. In such instances, Strategic Advisers, the Trustees, and Member of the Advisory Board would take reasonable steps to minimize and, if possible, eliminate the conflict. Except for Mary C. Farrell, each of the Trustees oversees 26 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. Ms. Farrell oversees 20 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.</R>
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. The executive officers and Advisory Board Member hold office without limit in time, except that any officer and Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
<R>Each Trustee who is not an interested person of the trust and the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) is referred to herein as an Independent Trustee.</R>
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Fund's Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also engage professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates with experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. Additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, may be considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. Roger T. Servison is an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) and currently serves as Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Ralph F. Cox serves as the lead Independent Trustee and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
<R>Fidelity funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees asset allocation funds as well as the Fidelity enhanced index funds. Other boards oversee Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds and Fidelity's equity and high income funds. The fund may invest in Fidelity funds overseen by such other Boards. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues.</R>
The Trustees primarily operate as a full Board, but also operate in committees, to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board has charged Strategic Advisers and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through Strategic Advisers, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. Board oversight of different aspects of the fund's activities is exercised primarily through the full Board, but also through the Audit and Compliance Committee. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees."
Interested Trustees *:
<R>Correspondence intended for each Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
|
<R>Roger T. Servison (1945)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Servison is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Servison serves as President of Strategic New Business Development for Fidelity Investments and serves as a Director of Strategic Advisers. Previously, Mr. Servison oversaw Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company (2005-2006) and Strategic Advisers (2005-2007). Mr. Servison also served as President and a Director of Fidelity Brokerage Services (Japan), LLC (1994-2004). |
<R>Derek L. Young (1964)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Mr. Young is Vice President of Fidelity's Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present), President and a Director of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2011-present), President of Fidelity Global Asset Allocation (GAA) (2011-present), and Vice Chairman of Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2011-present). Previously, Mr. Young served as Chief Investment Officer of GAA (2009-2011) and as a portfolio manager. |
* Trustees have been determined to be "Interested Trustees" by virtue of, among other things, their affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with Strategic Advisers.
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees :
Correspondence intended for each Independent Trustee (that is, the Trustees other than the Interested Trustees) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
|
<R>Peter C. Aldrich (1944)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Aldrich is a Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Director of the funds of BlackRock Realty Group (2006-present). Previously, Mr. Aldrich served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010), a Managing Member of Poseidon, LLC (foreign private investment, 1998-2004), and Chairman and Managing Member of AEGIS, LLC (foreign private investment, 1997-2004). Mr. Aldrich also served as Faculty Chairman of The Research Council on Global Investment of The Conference Board (business and professional education non-profit, 1999-2004). Mr. Aldrich is a Member of the Boards of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and an Overseer of the Longy School of Music. |
<R>Amy Butte Liebowitz (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011</R> Ms. Butte Liebowitz was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of TILE Financial (financial internet service, 2008-2012). Previously, Ms. Butte Liebowitz served as the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of MF Global (broker-dealer, 2006-2008), and Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange (2004-2006). Ms. Butte Liebowitz is a member of the Boards of Directors of Accion International and the New York Women's Forum, as well as an alumna of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader program. |
<R>Ralph F. Cox (1932)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Cox is President of RABAR Enterprises (management consulting for the petroleum industry). Mr. Cox is a Director of Abraxas Petroleum (exploration and production). Mr. Cox is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Business and Engineering Schools of Texas A&M University and the Engineering School of University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Mr. Cox served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010) and as an Advisory Director of CH2M Hill Companies (engineering, 1981-2011). Mr. Ralph F. Cox and Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. are not related. |
<R>Mary C. Farrell (1949)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2013</R> Ms. Farrell is a Director of the W.R. Berkley Corporation (insurance provider) and President (2009-present) and Director (2006-present) of the Howard Gilman Foundation (charitable organization). Previously, Ms. Farrell was Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at UBS Wealth Management USA and Co-Head of UBS Wealth Management Investment Strategy & Research Group (2003-2005). Ms. Farrell also served as Investment Strategist at PaineWebber (1982-2000) and UBS PaineWebber (2000-2002). Ms. Farrell also serves as Trustee on the Board of Overseers of the New York University Stern School of Business, the Board of Trustees of Yale-New Haven Hospital and is a member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II. |
<R>Karen Kaplan (1960)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Ms. Kaplan is President of Hill Holliday (advertising and specialized marketing, 2007-present). Ms. Kaplan is a Director of DSM (dba Delta Dental and DentaQuest) (2004-present), Director of Vera Bradley (2012-present), Member of the Board of Governors of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston (2010-present), Member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference for Women (2008-present), Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (2006-present), Board of Directors of Jobs for Massachusetts (2012-present), National Association of Corporate Directors Chapter (2012-present), and Board of Directors of the Post Office Square Trust (2012-present). She is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, an action oriented community of the most effective CEOs, heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, and non-governmental leaders in the world. Previously, Ms. Kaplan served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010), President of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2008-2010), Treasurer of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2002-2006), Vice Chair of the Board of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2003-2010), Director of United Way of Massachusetts Bay (2004-2006), Director of ADVO (direct mail marketing, 2003-2007), and Director of Tweeter Home Entertainment Group (2006-2007). |
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Member and Executive Officers :
<R>Correspondence intended for each executive officer and Howard E. Cox, Jr. may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupation</R> |
|
<R>Howard E. Cox, Jr. (1944)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II. Mr. Cox is a Member of the Advisory Board of Devonshire Investors (2009-present). Mr. Cox serves as an Advisory Partner of Greylock (venture capital) and a Director of Stryker Corporation (medical products and services). Previously, Mr. Cox served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010) and a Member of the Secretary of Defense's Business Board of Directors (2008-2010). Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. and Mr. Ralph F. Cox are not related. |
<R>Kenneth B. Robins (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 President and Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Robins also serves as President and Treasurer of other Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds (2008-present) and Assistant Treasurer of other Fidelity Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present). Mr. Robins is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Robins served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2005-2008) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2006-2008). |
<R>Marc Bryant (1966)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of the fund. Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Fidelity Investments. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Mr. Bryant served as a Senior Vice President and the Head of Global Retail Legal for AllianceBernstein L.P. (2006-2010), and as the General Counsel for ProFund Advisors LLC (2001-2006). |
<R>Elizabeth Paige Baumann (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer of the fund. Ms. Baumann also serves as AML Officer of the Fidelity funds (2012-present) and The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2012-present), Chief AML Officer of FMR LLC (2012-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Baumann served as Vice President and Deputy Anti-Money Laundering Officer (2007-2012). |
<R>Nicholas E. Steck (1964)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the fund. Mr. Steck serves as Senior Vice President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. During the period 2002 to 2009, Mr. Steck served as a Compliance Officer of FMR, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc., FMR LLC, Fidelity Research & Analysis (U.K.) Inc., Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. |
<R>Laura M. Doherty (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Compliance Officer of the fund. Ms. Doherty also serves as Senior Vice President of the Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Doherty served as a Vice President in Fidelity's Corporate Audit department (1998-2008). |
<R>Adrien E. Deberghes (1967)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Deberghes also serves as Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) and Deputy Treasurer (2008-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Deberghes served as Senior Vice President of Mutual Fund Administration at State Street Corporation (2007-2008), Senior Director of Mutual Fund Administration at Investors Bank & Trust (2005-2007), and Director of Finance for Dunkin' Brands (2000-2005). |
<R>Stephanie J. Dorsey (1969)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Ms. Dorsey also serves as President and Treasurer (2013-present) and Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Dorsey served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2008-2013), Treasurer (2004-2008) of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds and Vice President (2004-2008) of JPMorgan Chase Bank. |
<R>Jonathan Davis (1968)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Davis is also Assistant Treasurer of certain Fidelity funds. Mr. Davis is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2003-2010). |
<R>Margaret A. Carey (1973)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 </R> Assistant Secretary of the fund. Ms. Carey also serves as Assistant Secretary of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present), Vice President, Associate General Counsel (2007-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). |
Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established two committees to supplement the work of the Board as a whole. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
<R>The Audit and Compliance Committee is composed of Ms. Butte Liebowitz (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, Mr. Ralph Cox, and Mses. Farrell and Kaplan. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The committee determines whether at least one member of the committee is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined in rules promulgated by the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The committee normally meets in conjunction with in person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee meets separately periodically with the fund's Treasurer, the fund's Chief Financial Officer, the fund's CCO, personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and the fund's outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the fund for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the fund and the fund's service providers, (ii) the financial reporting processes of the fund, (iii) the independence, objectivity and qualification of the auditors to the fund, (iv) the annual audits of the fund's financial statements, and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the fund. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations (Auditor Independence Regulations) of the SEC. In furtherance of the foregoing, the committee has adopted (and may from time to time amend or supplement) and provides oversight of policies and procedures for non-audit engagements by outside auditors of the fund. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the fund and for resolving disagreements between the fund and any outside auditor regarding the fund's financial reporting, and has sole authority to hire and fire any auditor. Auditors of the fund report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the fund and any service providers consistent with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Ethics and Independence Rule 3526, Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence. The committee will discuss with the outside auditors any such disclosed relationships and their impact on the auditor's independence and objectivity. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the Auditor Independence Regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the fund's service providers' internal controls and reviews with management, internal auditors, and outside auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of the fund's and service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the fund's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the fund's or service provider's internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will review with counsel any legal matters that may have a material impact on the fund's financial statements and any material reports or inquiries received from regulators or governmental agencies. The committee reviews at least annually a report from the outside auditor describing (i) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control review, peer review, or PCAOB examination of the auditing firm and (ii) any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm since the most recent report and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the fund's financial reporting process and will receive reports from an outside auditor relating to (i) critical accounting policies and practices used by the fund, (ii) alternative accounting treatments that the auditor has discussed with Strategic Advisers, and (iii) other material written communications between the auditor and Strategic Advisers (as determined by the auditor). The committee will discuss with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the fund. The committee will review with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC (to the extent relevant) the results of audits of the fund's financial statements. The committee will review periodically the fund's major internal controls exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. The committee also oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the fund and its service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee of the Board of Trustees or reserved to the Board itself. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the fund. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO and, if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports on significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the fund's compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1 and quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of Mr. Ralph Cox (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, and Mses. Butte Liebowitz, Farrell, and Kaplan. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the code of ethics and any supplemental policies regarding personal securities transactions applicable to the Independent Trustees. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the fund's or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the fund's expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the fund, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012 (or as of March 31, 2013 for Ms. Farrell, Trustee as of March 5, 2013). </R>
Interested Trustees |
||
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Roger T. Servison |
Derek L. Young |
Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
none |
none |
<R></R>
<R>Independent Trustees</R> |
|||||
<R>
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Peter C. Aldrich |
Mary C. Farrell |
Amy Butte Liebowitz |
Ralph F. Cox |
Karen Kaplan</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund |
none |
none |
none |
over $100,000 |
none</R> |
<R>
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
over $100,000 |
none |
none |
over $100,000 |
none</R> |
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board for his or her services for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, or calendar year ended December 31, 2012, as applicable.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Compensation Table 1</R> |
||||||
<R>
AGGREGATE
|
Peter C.
|
Mary C.
|
Amy
|
Ralph F.
|
Karen
|
</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund |
$ 1,413 |
$ 0 |
$ 1,413 |
$ 1,413 |
$ 1,413 |
</R> |
<R>
TOTAL COMPENSATION
|
$ 137,500 |
$ 0 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
</R> |
1 Roger T. Servison, Howard E. Cox, Jr., and Derek L. Young are interested persons and are compensated by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate (including FMR).
<R> 2 Effective March 5, 2013, Ms. Farrell serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II.</R>
<R> A Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, for 26 funds of two trusts.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and officers of the fund owned, in the aggregate, less than 1% of the fund's total outstanding shares.</R>
<R>FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of Strategic Advisers. The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Abigail P. Johnson family, directly or through trusts, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.</R>
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
Strategic Advisers (the Investment Adviser), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and the fund have adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that sets forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establishes procedures for personal investing, and restricts certain transactions. Employees subject to the code of ethics, including Fidelity investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.
The fund has entered into a management contract with Strategic Advisers, pursuant to which Strategic Advisers furnishes investment advisory and other services.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Strategic Advisers has not currently retained any sub-advisers to manage a portion of the fund's assets.
Management and Sub-Advisory Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, Strategic Advisers acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, directs the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. Strategic Advisers is authorized, in its discretion, to allocate the fund's assets pursuant to its investment strategy. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates provide the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensate all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of Strategic Advisers, and compensate all personnel of the fund or Strategic Advisers performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to Strategic Advisers and the fees payable to the transfer agent and pricing and bookkeeping agent, the fund pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by those parties. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders; however, under the terms of the fund's transfer agent agreement, the transfer agent bears these costs. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.
Management Fees. For the services of Strategic Advisers under the management contract, the fund pays Strategic Advisers a monthly management fee calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers, if any, based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets; provided, however, that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.95% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the fund until September 30, 2015. The fee waiver by Strategic Advisers will increase the fund's returns.</R>
The following table shows the amount of management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers for the past three fiscal years and the amount of waivers reducing management fees for the fund.
+ Fiscal year ended February 29.
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of the fund's operating expenses. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Expense reimbursements by Strategic Advisers will increase the fund's returns, and repayment of the reimbursement by the fund will decrease its returns.
Robert Vick is an employee of Strategic Advisers, a subsidiary of FMR LLC and an affiliate of FMR. Strategic Advisers is the adviser to the fund.
<R>Mr. Vick is the portfolio manager of the fund and receives compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Strategic Advisers or at the election of the portfolio manager.</R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group (which may be a customized peer group developed by Strategic Advisers) assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of a broad range of Strategic Advisers funds and accounts, including the fund. Accounts may include model portfolios designed for asset allocation, retirement planning, or tax-sensitive goals. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s), and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with the portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and peer group. A subjective component of the bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Strategic Advisers. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of his fund is based on the fund's pre-tax investment performance measured against the Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index SM , and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund within the customized Morningstar ® U.S. Fidelity Category. The portfolio manager may be compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Strategic Advisers' parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.</R>
<R></R>
<R>The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Vick as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
3 |
13 |
1</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 4,636 |
$ 40 |
$ 5</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund ($644 (in millions) assets managed). The amount of assets managed of the fund reflects trades and other assets as of the close of the business day prior to the fund's fiscal year-end.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Vick was $100,001 - $500,000.</R>
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of the fund, after consultation with Strategic Advisers. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Strategic Advisers and its affiliates and by the Independent Trustees of the fund, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. The funds in the trust generally intend to vote shares of underlying funds using echo voting procedures (that is, in the same proportion as the holders of all other shares of the particular underlying fund).
B. Any proposals not covered by paragraph A above or other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate Strategic Advisers analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review and approval by the General Counsel or Compliance Officer of FMR or the General Counsel of FMR LLC.
To view a fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, visit www.fidelity.com/proxyvotingresults or visit the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.
<R>The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. The principal business address of FDC is 100 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by Strategic Advisers.</R>
The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan with respect to shares of the fund (the Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a mutual fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows the fund and Strategic Advisers to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.
Under the Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to Strategic Advisers is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Plan. The Plan specifically recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Plan provides that Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers or FDC), that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Prior to approving the Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Plan will benefit the fund and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Plan does not authorize payments by the fund other than those made to Strategic Advisers under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Plan gives Strategic Advisers and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of shares of the fund, additional sales of shares of the fund or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
<R>The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (FIIOC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers, which is located at 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services for the fund.</R>
For providing transfer agency services, FIIOC receives an account fee and an asset-based fee with respect to assets managed by one or more sub-advisers and assets invested in non-affiliated ETFs. For retail accounts, these fees are based on fund type. For certain institutional accounts, these fees are based on size of position and fund type. For institutional retirement accounts, these fees are based on account type and fund type. The account fee is billed monthly on a pro rata basis at one-twelfth of the applicable annual rate as of the end of each calendar month. The asset-based fee is calculated and paid monthly on the basis of average daily net assets. For assets invested in underlying Fidelity funds, each underlying Fidelity fund pays its respective transfer agent (either FIIOC or an affiliate of FIIOC) fees based, in part, on the number of positions in and assets of the fund invested in such underlying Fidelity fund.
FIIOC also may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
<R>The fund has entered into a service agent agreement with Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers (or an agent, including an affiliate). Under the terms of the agreement, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for the fund and maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records.</R>
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
The annual rates for pricing and bookkeeping services for the fund are 0.0104% of the first $500 million of average net assets, 0.0062% of average net assets between $500 million and $3.5 billion, 0.0041% of average net assets between $3.5 billion and $25 billion, and 0.0019% of average net assets in excess of $25 billion.
Pricing and bookkeeping fees paid by the fund to FSC for the past three fiscal years are shown in the following table.
<R> Fund |
2013 |
2012 |
2011</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund |
$ 58,004 |
$ 56,201 |
$ 29,440</R> |
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
<R> Trust Organization. Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund is a fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, an open-end management investment company created under an initial trust instrument dated March 8, 2006. Currently, there are 20 funds offered in the trust: Strategic Advisers Core Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.</R>
The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds.
Shareholder Liability. The trust is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that, except to the extent otherwise provided in the Trust Instrument, shareholders shall be entitled to the same limitations of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit organized under the general corporation law of Delaware. The courts of some states, however, may decline to apply Delaware law on this point. The Trust Instrument contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust. The Trust Instrument provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Trust Instrument further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of each fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Trust Instrument also provides that each fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which Delaware law does not apply, no contractual limitation of liability was in effect, and a fund is unable to meet its obligations. Strategic Advisers believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is extremely remote.
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. As a shareholder, you are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value you own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
<R></R>
The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodians. State Street Bank and Trust Company, 1776 Heritage Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as special purpose custodians of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions.
Strategic Advisers, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Member of the Advisory Board, and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by Strategic Advisers. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of Strategic Advisers, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 125 High Street, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit, tax, and related services.
<R> </R>
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized Strategic Advisers, in consultation with FMR, to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
Other registered investment companies that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers may be subject to different portfolio holdings disclosure policies, and neither Strategic Advisers nor the Board exercises control over such policies or disclosure. In addition, separate account clients of Strategic Advisers have access to their portfolio holdings and are not subject to the fund's portfolio holdings disclosure policies. Some of the funds that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers and some of the separate accounts managed by Strategic Advisers have investment objectives and strategies that are substantially similar or identical to the fund's and, therefore, potentially substantially similar, and in certain cases nearly identical, portfolio holdings as the fund.
The fund will provide a full list of holdings monthly on www.fidelity.com 30 days after the month-end (excluding high income security holdings, which generally will be presented collectively monthly and included in a list of full holdings 60 days after its fiscal quarter-end).
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations.
<R> The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the activities associated with managing Fidelity funds to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons Strategic Advisers believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include, but are not limited to: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics (including portfolio managers of affiliated funds of funds); contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.</R>
<R> Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, (ii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iii) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. Strategic Advisers relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.</R>
<R>At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day) and DocuLynx Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day).</R>
Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, Strategic Advisers desired to make such an arrangement, it would seek prior Board approval and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
<R>The fund's financial statements and financial highlights for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, and report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the fund's annual report and are incorporated herein by reference. Total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table may differ from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the financial highlights because total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table include any acquired fund fees and expenses, whereas the ratios of expenses in the financial highlights do not, except to the extent any acquired fund fees and expenses relate to an entity, such as a wholly-owned subsidiary, with which a fund's financial statements are consolidated. Acquired funds include other investment companies in which the fund has invested, if and to the extent it is permitted to do so. Total annual operating expenses in the prospectus fee table and the financial highlights do not include any expenses associated with investments in certain structured or synthetic products that may rely on the exception from the definition of "investment company" provided by section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
Fund /Ticker
Strategic Advisers ® U.S. Opportunity Fund /FUSOX
Offered exclusively to certain clients of Strategic Advisers, Inc. - not available for sale to the general public
Prospectus
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
Fund Summary |
Strategic Advisers ® U.S. Opportunity Fund |
|
Fund Basics |
Investment Details |
|
|
Valuing Shares |
|
Shareholder Information |
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares |
|
|
Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions |
|
|
Tax Consequences |
|
Fund Services |
Fund Management |
|
|
Fund Distribution |
|
Appendix |
Financial Highlights |
|
|
Additional Information about the Index |
Prospectus
Fund:
Strategic Advisers
®
U.S. Opportunity Fund
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy and hold shares of the fund.
Shareholder fees
|
None |
Annual fund operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Management fee B |
0.25% |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees |
None |
<R> Other expenses |
0.08% </R> |
<R> Acquired fund fees and expenses (fees and expenses of underlying funds) |
0.78% </R> |
<R> Total annual fund operating expenses A |
1.11% </R> |
Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement B |
0.25% |
<R> Total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement A |
0.86% </R> |
A Differs from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the Financial Highlights section of the prospectus because of acquired fund fees and expenses.
<R> B Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) has contractually agreed that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.95% of the fund's average daily net assets. In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets. This arrangement will remain in effect through September 30, 2015. Strategic Advisers may not terminate this arrangement without the approval of the Board of Trustees. </R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
<R> 1 year |
$ 88 </R> |
<R> 3 years |
$ 286 </R> |
<R> 5 years |
$ 546 </R> |
<R> 10 years |
$ 1,291 </R> |
<R>The fund will not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of affiliated funds but may incur transaction costs when buying or selling non-affiliated funds and other types of securities (including non-affiliated exchange traded funds) directly (or "turns over" its portfolio). If the fund were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs and could result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example and would affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 92% of the average value of its portfolio.</R>
Prospectus
An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following information is intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the fund. The information illustrates the changes in the performance of the fund's shares from year to year and compares the performance of the fund's shares to the performance of a securities market index over various periods of time. The index description appears in the Additional Information about the Index section of the prospectus. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future performance.
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
Visit www.fidelity.com for updated return information.
Prospectus
<R> Calendar Years |
|
|
|
|
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 </R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
8.00% |
-39.17% |
34.19% |
19.03% |
-1.61% |
15.76% </R> |
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
During the periods shown in the chart: |
Returns |
Quarter ended |
Highest Quarter Return |
18.29% |
June 30, 2009 |
Lowest Quarter Return |
-22.01% |
December 31, 2008 |
<R> Year-to-Date Return |
10.26% |
March31, 2013 </R> |
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, but do not reflect the impact of state or local taxes. Actual after-tax returns may differ depending on your individual circumstances. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your shares in a retirement account or in another tax-deferred arrangement. Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares may be higher than other returns for the same period due to a tax benefit of realizing a capital loss upon the sale of fund shares.
<R>
For the periods ended
|
Past 1
|
Past 5
|
Life of
|
Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund |
|
|
|
<R> Return Before Taxes |
15.76% |
2.05% |
3.02% </R> |
<R> Return After Taxes on Distributions |
14.57% |
1.52% |
2.51% </R> |
<R> Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
11.14% |
1.60% |
2.45% </R> |
<R>
Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index
SM
|
16.38% |
2.21% |
2.77% </R> |
A From December 29, 2006.
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) is the fund's manager.
Robert Vick (portfolio manager) has managed the fund since January 2010.
The fund is not available for sale to the general public.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its net asset value per share (NAV). Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV. Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
The fund has no minimum investment requirement.
Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state or local taxes, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account (in which case you may be taxed later, upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).
The fund, Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Investment Objective
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
Principal Investment Strategies
The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of U.S. corporations and in shares of other U.S. equity funds.
The fund implements its investment strategies by investing indirectly in securities through one or more underlying funds, which in turn invest directly in securities.
Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of underlying funds at any time.
Strategic Advisers allocates assets among underlying funds according to an allocation strategy designed to achieve portfolio characteristics similar to those of the Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index.
Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds to attempt to diversify the fund's portfolio in terms of market capitalization (by including large, mid, and/or small cap underlying funds) and investment style (by including growth and value underlying funds).
The fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers in addition to securities of domestic issuers.
Strategic Advisers pursues a disciplined, benchmark-driven approach to portfolio construction, and monitors and adjusts allocations to underlying funds as necessary to favor those underlying funds that Strategic Advisers believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the fund's investment objective.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among underlying funds, Strategic Advisers relies on proprietary fundamental and quantitative fund research in its fund selection process. Factors considered when investing in underlying funds include fund performance, a fund manager's experience and investment style, fund company infrastructure, and fund characteristics such as expense ratio, asset size, and portfolio turnover.
<R>The fund may invest in affiliated U.S. equity funds ( i.e., Fidelity funds) and non-affiliated U.S. equity funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork ® and in non-affiliated ETFs. Underlying funds include both funds managed by FMR (an affiliated company that, together with Strategic Advisers, is part of Fidelity Investments) or an affiliate and funds managed by investment advisers other than Fidelity. Fidelity may receive service fees that typically are at an annual rate of up to 0.40% of a non-affiliated underlying fund's average daily net assets attributable to purchases through Fidelity's FundsNetwork, though such fees may be higher or lower, or may be charged as transaction and/or account fees. In addition, the fund may invest in ETFs in transactions not occurring through Fidelity's FundsNetwork.</R>
Strategic Advisers generally identifies U.S. equity funds by reference to a fund's name, policies, or classification by a third-party ranking or ratings organization. Whether an underlying fund is a U.S. equity fund is determined at the time of investment. Investment in funds whose name, policies or classification change after purchase continue to be considered investments in U.S. equity funds for purposes of the 80% policy.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
<R>Strategic Advisers may actively adjust the allocation of the fund's assets at any time. For current information on fund holdings, please call 1-800-544-3455 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com. For information on the underlying funds, see the underlying funds' prospectuses. A copy of any underlying Fidelity fund's prospectus is available at www.fidelity.com or www.advisor.fidelity.com. For a copy of any other underlying fund's prospectus, visit the web site of the company that manages or sponsors that underlying fund.</R>
In addition, the fund may have indirect exposure to derivatives through its investments in underlying funds.
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on the performance of the underlying funds in which it invests. The ability of the fund to meet its investment objective is directly related to its allocation among underlying funds and the ability of those funds to meet their investment objectives.
If Strategic Advisers' allocation strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective. The portfolio manager's evaluations and assumptions in selecting underlying funds may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.
When your shares are sold they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
Investing in Other Funds. Regulatory restrictions may limit the amount that one fund can invest in another, and in certain cases further limit investments to the extent a fund's shares are already held by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The fund bears all risks of investment strategies employed by the underlying funds. The fund does not control the investments of the underlying funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the fund would not engage in directly. Aggregation of underlying fund holdings may result in indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase volatility.
Stock Market Volatility. The value of equity securities fluctuates in response to issuer, political, market, and economic developments. Fluctuations can be dramatic over the short as well as long term, and different parts of the market and different types of equity securities can react differently to these developments. For example, large cap stocks can react differently from small cap stocks, "growth" stocks can react differently from "value" stocks, and stocks selected using quantitative or technical analysis can react differently than stocks selected using fundamental analysis. Issuer, political, or economic developments can affect a single issuer, issuers within an industry or economic sector or geographic region, or the market as a whole. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact the market as a whole. Terrorism and related geo-political risks have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
Prospectus
<R> Foreign Exposure. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; withholding or other taxes; trading, settlement, custodial, and other operational risks; and the less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets. All of these factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and potentially less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can perform differently from the U.S. market.</R>
<R>Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers or providers in, or foreign exchange rates with, a different country or region.</R>
Industry Exposure. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry or a group of related industries, and the securities of companies in that industry or group of industries could react similarly to these or other developments. In addition, from time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry or a group of related industries as a whole, and these companies can be sensitive to adverse economic, regulatory, or financial developments.
Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's value. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers.
Investing in ETFs. ETFs may trade in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) at prices below the value of their underlying portfolios and may not be liquid. An ETF that is not actively managed cannot sell poorly performing stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in its index or other benchmark. ETFs that track an index are subject to tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to its index or other benchmark).
<R> Quantitative Investing. The value of securities selected using quantitative analysis can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis. The factors used in quantitative analysis and the weight placed on those factors may not be predictive of a security's value. In addition, factors that affect a security's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model.</R>
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
<R>In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser, if any, may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
The following policy is fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The following policy is subject to change only upon 60 days' prior notice to shareholders:
The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of U.S. corporations and in shares of other U.S. equity funds.
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates the fund's NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing the fund's NAV.
NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) are valued at their respective NAVs. Securities issued by ETFs are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations or official closing prices. For an explanation of the circumstances under which the underlying funds will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the underlying funds' prospectuses and statements of additional information (SAIs). The fund's NAV is calculated using the values of the underlying funds in which it invests.
Prospectus
To the extent that underlying fund assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some underlying fund assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Prospectus
THE FUND IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
Shares of the fund can be purchased only through certain discretionary investment programs offered by Strategic Advisers. If you are not currently a Strategic Advisers client, please call 1-800-544-3455 (9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday) for more information. Strategic Advisers charges fees for its discretionary investment programs. For more information on these fees, please refer to the "Buying and Selling Information" section of the SAI.
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase orders.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
Because investments in the fund can be made only by Strategic Advisers on behalf of its clients, the potential for excessive or short-term disruptive purchases and sales is reduced. Accordingly, the Board of Trustees has not adopted policies and procedures designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares and the fund accommodates frequent trading.
The fund has no exchange privilege with any other fund. The fund does not place a limit on purchases or sales of fund shares by Strategic Advisers. The fund reserves the right, but does not have the obligation, to reject any purchase transaction at any time. In addition, the fund reserves the right to impose restrictions on disruptive, excessive, or short-term trading.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its NAV. The fund's shares are sold without a sales charge.
Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
Provided the fund receives an order to buy shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to buy shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV.
Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
Prospectus
Provided the fund receives an order to sell shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to sell shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.
Redemptions may be suspended or payment dates postponed when the NYSE is closed (other than weekends or holidays), when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as permitted by the SEC.
Redemption proceeds may be paid in underlying fund shares, securities, or other property rather than in cash if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund.
When you terminate your relationship with Strategic Advisers, your shares may be sold at the NAV next calculated, in which case Strategic Advisers would send the redemption proceeds to you.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, redemption requests may be suspended, restricted, canceled, or processed and the proceeds may be withheld.
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
The fund normally pays dividends and capital gain distributions in April and December.
Dividends and capital gain distributions may be reinvested in additional shares of the fund or paid in cash.
As with any investment, your investment in the fund could have tax consequences for you. If you are not investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account, you should consider these tax consequences.
Taxes on distributions. Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes.
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including dividends and distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable to you as ordinary income, while certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of long-term capital gains, are taxable to you generally as capital gains. A percentage of certain distributions of dividends may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
If Strategic Advisers buys shares on your behalf when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Any taxable distributions you receive from the fund will normally be taxable to you when you receive them, regardless of your distribution option.
Taxes on transactions. Your redemptions may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on your investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of your shares and the price you receive when you sell them.
Prospectus
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
<R> Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. The address of Strategic Advisers and its affiliates, unless otherwise indicated below, is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R>As of December 31, 2012, Strategic Advisers had approximately $320.7 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
As the manager, Strategic Advisers has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
<R>Strategic Advisers currently employs a fund of funds investment structure for the fund. As a result, no portion of the fund's assets has been allocated to a sub-adviser. However, Strategic Advisers may allocate assets to one or more sub-advisers in the future, pursuant to the terms of the Exemptive Order described above.</R>
Robert Vick is portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since January 2010. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1989, Mr. Vick has worked as a systems manager, senior quantitative analyst, senior vice president of Quantitative Investment Research, and portfolio manager.
The SAI provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by the portfolio manager.
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
The fund pays a management fee to Strategic Advisers. The management fee is calculated and paid to Strategic Advisers every month.
The fund's management fee is calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers, if any, based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets. The fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.95% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets through September 30, 2015.</R>
<R>For the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid a management fee of 0.00% of the fund's average net assets, after waiver and/or reimbursement.</R>
In the event Strategic Advisers retains one or more sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers will pay each of the fund's sub-advisers the fee (as described above) payable to that sub-adviser.
<R>The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract for the fund is available in the fund's annual report for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013.</R>
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, agree to reimburse the fund for, or waive, management fees and other expenses above a specified limit. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid by the fund if expenses fall below the specified limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Reimbursement or waiver arrangements can decrease expenses and boost performance.
FDC distributes the fund's shares.
The fund has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) with respect to its shares that recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, service-providers, and administrators, that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Affiliates of Strategic Advisers may receive service fees or distribution fees or both with respect to underlying funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork.
If payments made by Strategic Advisers to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of the fund's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
Prospectus
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
Prospectus
The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the financial history of the fund's shares for the past 5 years. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of the fund. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in shares of the fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial highlights and financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report. A free copy of the annual report is available upon request.
<R> Years ended February 28, |
2013 |
2012 E |
2011 |
2010 |
2009 </R> |
Selected Per-Share Data |
|
|
|
|
|
<R> Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 10.14 |
$ 10.46 |
$ 8.42 |
$ 5.35 |
$ 9.54 </R> |
Income from Investment Operations |
|
|
|
|
|
<R> Net investment income (loss) B |
.14 |
.08 |
.08 |
.07 |
.09 </R> |
<R> Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
1.06 |
.13 |
2.05 |
3.07 |
(4.16 ) </R> |
<R> Total from investment operations |
1.20 |
.21 |
2.13 |
3.14 |
(4.07 ) </R> |
<R> Distributions from net investment income |
(.12) |
(.08) |
(.07) |
(.06) |
(.10) </R> |
<R> Distributions from net realized gain |
(.42 ) |
(.45 ) |
(.02 ) |
(.01 ) |
(.03 ) </R> |
<R> Total distributions |
(.54 ) |
(.53 ) |
(.09 ) |
(.07 ) |
(.12 ) F </R> |
<R> Net asset value, end of period |
$ 10.80 |
$ 10.14 |
$ 10.46 |
$ 8.42 |
$ 5.35 </R> |
<R> Total Return A |
12.36% |
2.40% |
25.36% |
58.71% |
(42.95)% </R> |
Ratios to Average Net Assets C |
|
|
|
|
|
<R> Expenses before reductions |
.33% |
.29% |
.26% |
.25% |
.25% </R> |
<R> Expenses net of fee waivers, if any |
.08% |
.04% |
.01% |
.00% |
.00% </R> |
<R> Expenses net of all reductions |
.06% |
.03% |
.01% |
.00% |
.00% </R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) |
1.34% |
.83% |
.91% |
.91% |
1.18% </R> |
Supplemental Data |
|
|
|
|
|
<R> Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$ 3,989,872 |
$ 2,951,210 |
$ 2,789,647 |
$ 866,715 |
$ 272,958 </R> |
<R> Portfolio turnover rate D |
92% |
121% |
70% |
45% |
35% </R> |
A Total returns would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reduced during the applicable periods shown.
B Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.
C Expense ratios reflect operating expenses of the Fund. Expenses before reductions do not reflect amounts reimbursed by the investment adviser or reductions from brokerage service arrangements or reductions from other expense offset arrangements and do not represent the amount paid by the Fund during periods when reimbursements or reductions occur. Expenses net of fee waivers reflect expenses after reimbursement by the investment adviser but prior to reductions from brokerage service arrangements or other expense offset arrangements. Expenses net of all reductions represent the net expenses paid by the Fund. Fees and expenses of the Underlying Funds are not included in the Fund's annualized ratios. The Fund indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the Underlying Funds.
D Amounts do not include the portfolio activity of any Underlying Funds.
E For the year ended February 29.
<R> F Total distributions of $.12 per share is comprised of distributions from net investment income of $.095 and distributions from net realized gain of $.025 per share. </R>
Prospectus
Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index is a float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index of all equity securities of U.S. headquartered companies with readily available price data.
Prospectus
Notes
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account. For individual investors opening an account: When you open an account, you will be asked for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow Fidelity to identify you. You may also be asked to provide documents that may help to establish your identity, such as your driver's license. For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account such as name, residential address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity. |
You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.
For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call 1-800-544-3455. In addition, you may visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number, 811-21991 |
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design, and FundsNetwork are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R>1.912879.103 SUO-PRO-0413</R>
Strategic Advisers ® U.S. Opportunity Fund (FUSOX)
A Fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
Offered exclusively to certain clients of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) - not available for sale to the general public .
This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. Portions of the fund's annual report are incorporated herein. The annual report is supplied with this SAI.
<R>To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated April 29, 2013, or an annual report, please call Fidelity at 1-800-544-3455 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com.</R>
<R>SUO-PTB-0413
1.912880.104</R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
|
PAGE |
Investment Policies and Limitations |
|
<R>Portfolio Transactions |
|
<R>Valuation |
|
<R>Buying and Selling Information |
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<R>Distributions and Taxes |
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<R>Trustees and Officers |
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<R>Control of Investment Adviser |
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<R>Management Contract |
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<R>Proxy Voting Guidelines |
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<R>Distribution Services |
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<R>Transfer and Service Agent Agreements |
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<R>Description of the Trust |
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<R>Fund Holdings Information |
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<R>Financial Statements |
80 </R> |
<R>Appendix |
80 </R> |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not with respect to 75% of the fund's total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except in connection with the insurance program established by the fund pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission or as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry (provided that investments in other investment companies shall not be considered an investment in any particular industry for purposes of this investment limitation).
<R>For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities, Strategic Advisers looks through to the U.S. Government securities.</R>
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The acquisitions of loans and loan participations excluded from the fund's lending limitation discussed above are only those loans and loan participations considered securities within the meaning of the 1940 Act.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, and provided that transactions in futures contracts and options are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 10% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 10% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
<R>To the extent that the fund acquires the shares of an underlying fund in accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, the underlying fund is not obligated to redeem its shares in an amount exceeding 1% of its shares outstanding during any period of less than 30 days. Those underlying fund shares will not be treated as illiquid securities for purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation described above to the extent that the fund is able to dispose of such securities by distributing them in kind to redeeming shareholders. (See "Securities of Other Investment Companies" on page 60 .)</R>
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to lend assets other than securities to other parties, except by (a) lending money (up to 15% of the fund's net assets) to a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) assuming any unfunded commitments in connection with the acquisition of loans, loan participations, or other forms of debt instruments. (This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities, to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.)
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
<R>For the fund's limitations on futures and options transactions, see the section entitled "Futures, Options, and Swaps" on page 55 .</R>
Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitations, the underlying funds in which the fund may invest have adopted certain investment limitations that may be more or less restrictive than those listed above, thereby permitting the fund to engage indirectly in investment strategies that are prohibited under the investment limitations listed above. The investment limitations of each underlying fund are set forth in its registration statement.
In accordance with its investment program as set forth in the prospectus, the fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in any one underlying Fidelity fund. Although the fund does not intend to concentrate its investments in a particular industry, the fund may indirectly concentrate in a particular industry or group of industries through its investments in one or more underlying funds.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
Strategic Advisers ® U.S. Opportunity Fund may have exposure to instruments, techniques, and risks either directly or indirectly through an investment in an underlying fund. An underlying fund may invest in the same or other types of instruments and its adviser may employ the same or other types of techniques. Strategic Advisers ® U.S. Opportunity Fund's performance will be affected by the instruments, techniques, and risks associated with an underlying fund, in proportion to the amount of assets that the fund allocates to that underlying fund.
On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "a fund" or "the fund" may relate to Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund or an underlying fund, and references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to Strategic Advisers (or its affiliates) or an adviser of an underlying fund.
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of short-term bond or money market funds, including (for Fidelity funds and other advisory clients only) shares of Fidelity central funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.
<R> Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Notice of Exclusion. The trust, on behalf of the Fidelity fund to which this SAI relates, has filed with the National Futures Association a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the CFTC promulgated thereunder, with respect to the fund's operation. Accordingly, neither the fund nor its adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or a CPO. However, the CFTC has adopted certain rule amendments that significantly affect the continued availability of this exclusion, and may subject advisers to funds to regulation by the CFTC. As of the date of this SAI, the adviser does not expect to register as a CPO of the fund. However, there is no certainty that a fund or its adviser will be able to rely on an exclusion in the future as the fund's investments change over time. A fund may determine not to use investment strategies that trigger additional CFTC regulation or may determine to operate subject to CFTC regulation, if applicable. If a fund or its adviser operates subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.</R>
Common Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock, although related proceedings can take time to resolve and results can be unpredictable.
Convertible Securities are bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption or conversion, the fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
Debt Securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay interest but are sold at a deep discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, and mortgage and other asset-backed securities.
<R> Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments. An ETF may seek to replicate the performance of a specified index or may be actively managed.</R>
Typically, ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks (typically, 50,000 shares) often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.
Some of the risks of investing in an ETF that tracks an index are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
<R> ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their intraday indicative value. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater.</R>
Exposure to Foreign and Emerging Markets. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Foreign investments involve risks relating to local political, economic, regulatory, or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments, and may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Such actions may include expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. Additionally, governmental issuers of foreign debt securities may be unwilling to pay interest and repay principal when due and may require that the conditions for payment be renegotiated. There is no assurance that a fund's adviser will be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies and of dividends and interest paid with respect to such securities will fluctuate based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar.
It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for foreign securities will be on an exchange or in over-the-counter (OTC) markets located outside of the United States. Foreign stock markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign security trading, settlement and custodial practices (including those involving securities settlement where fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment) are often less developed than those in U.S. markets, and may result in increased investment or valuation risk or substantial delays in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of, or breach of duty by, a foreign broker-dealer, securities depository, or foreign subcustodian. In addition, the costs associated with foreign investments, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions, and custodial costs, are generally higher than with U.S. investments.
Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors than U.S. markets. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Adequate public information on foreign issuers may not be available, and it may be difficult to secure dividends and information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. OTC markets tend to be less regulated than stock exchange markets and, in certain countries, may be totally unregulated. Regulatory enforcement may be influenced by economic or political concerns, and investors may have difficulty enforcing their legal rights in foreign countries.
Some foreign securities impose restrictions on transfer within the United States or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than foreign securities of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks include foreign exchange risk as well as the political and economic risks of the underlying issuer's country.
The risks of foreign investing may be magnified for investments in emerging markets. Security prices in emerging markets can be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
Foreign Currency Transactions. A fund may conduct foreign currency transactions on a spot ( i.e., cash) or forward basis ( i.e., by entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies). Although foreign exchange dealers generally do not charge a fee for such conversions, they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the counterparty desire to resell that currency to the dealer. Forward contracts are customized transactions that require a specific amount of a currency to be delivered at a specific exchange rate on a specific date or range of dates in the future. Forward contracts are generally traded in an interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The parties to a forward contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated currency exchange.
The following discussion summarizes the principal currency management strategies involving forward contracts that could be used by a fund. A fund may also use swap agreements, indexed securities, and options and futures contracts relating to foreign currencies for the same purposes. Forward contracts not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying currency. All of these instruments and transactions are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default.
<R>A "settlement hedge" or "transaction hedge" is designed to protect a fund against an adverse change in foreign currency values between the date a security denominated in a foreign currency is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in an underlying security transaction for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars "locks in" the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used to protect a fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected.</R>
<R>A fund may also use forward contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in a foreign currency. For example, if a fund owned securities denominated in pounds sterling, it could enter into a forward contract to sell pounds sterling in return for U.S. dollars to hedge against possible declines in the pound's value. Such a hedge, sometimes referred to as a "position hedge," would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. A fund could also attempt to hedge the position by selling another currency expected to perform similarly to the pound sterling. This type of hedge, sometimes referred to as a "proxy hedge," could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield, or efficiency, but generally would not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a direct hedge into U.S. dollars. Proxy hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated.</R>
A fund may enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a "cross-hedge," will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if a fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. A fund may cross-hedge its U.S. dollar exposure in order to achieve a representative weighted mix of the major currencies in its benchmark index and/or to cover an underweight country or region exposure in its portfolio. Cross-hedges protect against losses resulting from a decline in the hedged currency, but will cause a fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases.
<R>Successful use of currency management strategies will depend on an adviser's skill in analyzing currency values. Currency management strategies may substantially change a fund's investment exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and could result in losses to a fund if currencies do not perform as an adviser anticipates. For example, if a currency's value rose at a time when a fund had hedged its position by selling that currency in exchange for dollars, the fund would not participate in the currency's appreciation. If a fund hedges currency exposure through proxy hedges, the fund could realize currency losses from both the hedge and the security position if the two currencies do not move in tandem. Similarly, if a fund increases its exposure to a foreign currency and that currency's value declines, the fund will realize a loss. Foreign currency transactions involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that a fund's hedging strategies will be ineffective. Moreover, it is impossible to precisely forecast the market value of portfolio securities at the expiration of a foreign currency forward contract. Accordingly, a fund may be required to buy or sell additional currency on the spot market (and bear the expenses of such transaction), if an adviser's predictions regarding the movement of foreign currency or securities markets prove inaccurate.</R>
<R>A fund may be required to limit its hedging transactions in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options in order to maintain its classification as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Hedging transactions could result in the application of the mark-to-market provisions of the Code, which may cause an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a fund and could affect whether dividends paid by a fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. A fund will cover its exposure to foreign currency transactions with liquid assets in compliance with applicable requirements. There is no assurance that an adviser's use of currency management strategies will be advantageous to a fund or that it will employ currency management strategies at appropriate times.</R>
Options and Futures Relating to Foreign Currencies. Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges (and have margin requirements) and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The underlying instrument of a currency option may be a foreign currency, which generally is purchased or delivered in exchange for U.S. dollars, or may be a futures contract. The purchaser of a currency call obtains the right to purchase the underlying currency, and the purchaser of a currency put obtains the right to sell the underlying currency.
<R>The uses and risks of currency options and futures are similar to options and futures relating to securities or indexes, as discussed below. A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and may purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. Currency options may also be purchased or written in conjunction with each other or with currency futures or forward contracts. Currency futures and options values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates, but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated security from a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of a fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the fund's investments exactly over time.</R>
<R>Currency options traded on U.S. or other exchanges may be subject to position limits which may limit the ability of the fund to reduce foreign currency risk using such options.</R>
Foreign Repurchase Agreements. Foreign repurchase agreements involve an agreement to purchase a foreign security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price in either U.S. dollars or foreign currency. Unlike typical U.S. repurchase agreements, foreign repurchase agreements may not be fully collateralized at all times. The value of a security purchased by a fund may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to repurchase the security. In the event of default by the counterparty, a fund may suffer a loss if the value of the security purchased is less than the agreed-upon repurchase price, or if the fund is unable to successfully assert a claim to the collateral under foreign laws. As a result, foreign repurchase agreements may involve higher credit risks than repurchase agreements in U.S. markets, as well as risks associated with currency fluctuations. In addition, as with other emerging market investments, repurchase agreements with counterparties located in emerging markets or relating to emerging markets may involve issuers or counterparties with lower credit ratings than typical U.S. repurchase agreements.
Fund's Rights as an Investor. Fidelity funds do not intend to direct or administer the day-to-day operations of any company. A fund may, however, exercise its rights as a shareholder or lender and may communicate its views on important matters of policy to a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders, and holders of a company's other securities when such matters could have a significant effect on the value of the fund's investment in the company. The activities in which a fund may engage, either individually or in conjunction with others, may include, among others, supporting or opposing proposed changes in a company's corporate structure or business activities; seeking changes in a company's directors or management; seeking changes in a company's direction or policies; seeking the sale or reorganization of the company or a portion of its assets; supporting or opposing third-party takeover efforts; supporting the filing of a bankruptcy petition; or foreclosing on collateral securing a security. This area of corporate activity is increasingly prone to litigation and it is possible that a fund could be involved in lawsuits related to such activities. Such activities will be monitored with a view to mitigating, to the extent possible, the risk of litigation against a fund and the risk of actual liability if a fund is involved in litigation. No guarantee can be made, however, that litigation against a fund will not be undertaken or liabilities incurred. The fund's proxy voting guidelines are included in this SAI.
<R> Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. If a fund invests a significant portion of its assets in derivatives, its investment exposure could far exceed the value of its portfolio securities and its investment performance could be primarily dependent upon securities it does not own.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.</R>
The limitations on the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps, and the fund's policies regarding futures contracts, options, and swaps may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts.
<R> Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts and the price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities or baskets of securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indexes (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indexes of securities prices (including foreign indexes for funds that seek foreign exposure). Futures on indexes and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out by offsetting purchases or sales of futures contracts before then if a liquid market is available. A fund may realize a gain or loss by closing out its futures contracts.</R>
<R>The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the underlying instrument. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.</R>
<R>The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by a fund, but is instead a settlement between a fund and the FCM of the amount one would owe the other if the fund's contract expired. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is also required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.</R>
<R>Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement, and margin procedures that are different from those for U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may not involve a clearing mechanism or related guarantees and may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to a fund. Because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuation.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.</R>
<R>If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
<R>Futures contracts on U.S. Government securities historically have reacted to an increase or decrease in interest rates in a manner similar to the manner in which the underlying U.S. Government securities reacted. To the extent, however, that a fund enters into such futures contracts, the value of these futures contracts will not vary in direct proportion to the value of the fund's holdings of U.S. Government securities. Thus, the anticipated spread between the price of the futures contract and the hedged security may be distorted due to differences in the nature of the markets. The spread also may be distorted by differences in initial and variation margin requirements, the liquidity of such markets and the participation of speculators in such markets.</R>
<R> Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, baskets of assets or securities, indexes of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). Options may be traded on an exchange or OTC. The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. Depending on the terms of the contract, upon exercise, an option may require physical delivery of the underlying instrument or may be settled through cash payments. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.</R>
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
<R>The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right (but not the obligation) to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.</R>
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
<R>Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer should mitigate the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.</R>
<R>Where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price to close out the put or call option on the secondary market may move more or less than the price of the related security.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for exchange-traded options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.</R>
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
<R>A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps (swaptions), which are generally options on interest rate swaps. An option on a swap gives a party the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, a fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes (sells) an option on a swap than it will incur when it purchases an option on a swap. When a fund purchases an option on a swap, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when a fund writes an option on a swap, upon exercise of the option the fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement. A fund that writes an option on a swap receives the premium and bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the preset rate on the underlying interest rate swap. Whether a fund's use of options on swaps will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend on the adviser's ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Options on swaps may involve risks similar to those discussed below in "Swap Agreements."</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
<R> Swap Agreements. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term. Most swap agreements are currently traded over-the-counter. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange one or more payments based, for example, on the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, indexes, or other financial or economic interests). The gross payments to be exchanged between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.</R>
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness.
<R>A fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. In order to cover its outstanding obligations to a swap counterparty, a fund would generally be required to provide margin or collateral for the benefit of that counterparty. If a counterparty to a swap transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited temporarily or permanently in exercising its right to the return of related fund assets designated as margin or collateral in an action against the counterparty.</R>
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<R>Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that an adviser will not accurately forecast market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other economic factors in establishing swap positions for a fund. If an adviser attempts to use a swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, a fund may be exposed to the risk that the swap will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment, which could cause substantial losses for a fund. While hedging strategies involving swap instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Swaps are complex and often valued subjectively.</R>
Illiquid Securities cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity fund's adviser determines the liquidity of the fund's investments and, through reports from the fund's adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid securities.
Various factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments, including (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
Increasing Government Debt. The total public debt of the United States and other countries around the globe as a percent of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented.
A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt cost higher and cause a country to sell additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In the worst case, unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns.
On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States one level to "AA+" from "AAA." While Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the United States' short-term sovereign credit rating as "A-1+," there is no guarantee that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services will not decide to lower this rating in the future. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services stated that its decision was prompted by its view on the rising public debt burden and its perception of greater policymaking uncertainty. The market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government may be adversely affected by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services decisions to downgrade the long-term sovereign credit rating of the United States.
<R> Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indexes, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.</R>
<R>Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indexes. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.</R>
Indexed securities may have principal payments as well as coupon payments that depend on the performance of one or more interest rates. Their coupon rates or principal payments may change by several percentage points for every 1% interest rate change.
Mortgage-indexed securities, for example, could be structured to replicate the performance of mortgage securities and the characteristics of direct ownership.
Inflation-protected securities, for example, can be indexed to a measure of inflation, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Commodity-indexed securities, for example, can be indexed to a commodities index such as the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return SM .
Gold-indexed securities typically provide for a maturity value that depends on the price of gold, resulting in a security whose price tends to rise and fall together with gold prices.
Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Insolvency of Issuers, Counterparties, and Intermediaries. Issuers of fund portfolio securities or counterparties to fund transactions that become insolvent or declare bankruptcy can pose special investment risks. In each circumstance, risk of loss, valuation uncertainty, increased illiquidity, and other unpredictable occurrences may negatively impact an investment. Each of these risks may be amplified in foreign markets, where security trading, settlement, and custodial practices can be less developed than those in the U.S. markets, and bankruptcy laws differ from those of the U.S.
As a general matter, if the issuer of a fund portfolio security is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock have priority over the claims of common stock owners. These events can negatively impact the value of the issuer's securities and the results of related proceedings can be unpredictable.
If a counterparty to a fund transaction, such as a swap transaction, a short sale, a borrowing, or other complex transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise rights to obtain the return of related fund assets or in exercising other rights against the counterparty. In addition, insolvency and liquidation proceedings take time to resolve, which can limit or preclude a fund's ability to terminate a transaction or obtain related assets or collateral in a timely fashion. Uncertainty may also arise upon the insolvency of a securities or commodities intermediary such as a broker-dealer or futures commission merchant with which a fund has pending transactions. If an intermediary becomes insolvent, while securities positions and other holdings may be protected by U.S. or foreign laws, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these protections are available to specific trades based on the circumstances. Receiving the benefit of these protections can also take time to resolve, which may result in illiquid positions.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a Fidelity fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) or its affiliates. A Fidelity fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. A Fidelity fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
<R> Investments by Large Shareholders. A fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by large shareholders. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a fund's portfolio. In addition, when investors own a substantial portion of a fund's shares, a large redemption could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the fund's shares. When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful. A high volume of redemption requests can impact a fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments.</R>
Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. Direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve a risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a fund supply additional cash to a borrower on demand. A fund may acquire loans by buying an assignment of all or a portion of the loan from a lender or by purchasing a loan participation from a lender or other purchaser of a participation.
Lenders and purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of foreign countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.
Direct lending and investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the lender/purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary.
A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest.
Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate lenders/purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a lender/purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
For a Fidelity fund that limits the amount of total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry, the fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require a fund, in appropriate circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for these purposes. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
Because the risk of default is higher for lower-quality debt securities, research and credit analysis are an especially important part of managing securities of this type. Such analysis may focus on relative values based on factors such as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earnings prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer, in an attempt to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved, or is expected to improve in the future.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Precious Metals. Precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, at times have been subject to substantial price fluctuations over short periods of time and may be affected by unpredictable monetary and political policies such as currency devaluations or revaluations, economic and social conditions within a country, trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries. The prices of gold and other precious metals, however, are less subject to local and company-specific factors than securities of individual companies. As a result, precious metals may be more or less volatile in price than securities of companies engaged in precious metals-related businesses. Investments in precious metals can present concerns such as delivery, storage and maintenance, possible illiquidity, and the unavailability of accurate market valuations. Although precious metals can be purchased in any form, including bullion and coins, a Fidelity fund intends to purchase only those forms of precious metals that are readily marketable and that can be stored in accordance with custody regulations applicable to mutual funds. A fund may incur higher custody and transaction costs for precious metals than for securities. Also, precious metals investments do not pay income.
For a fund to qualify as a regulated investment company under current federal tax law, gains from selling precious metals may not exceed 10% of the fund's gross income for its taxable year. This tax requirement could cause a fund to hold or sell precious metals or securities when it would not otherwise do so.
Preferred Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Equity real estate investment trusts own real estate properties, while mortgage real estate investment trusts make construction, development, and long-term mortgage loans. Their value may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property of the trusts, the creditworthiness of the issuer, property taxes, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements, such as those relating to the environment. Both types of trusts are dependent upon management skill, are not diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers, self-liquidation, and the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
<R> Reforms and Government Intervention in the Financial Markets. Economic downturns can trigger various economic, legal, budgetary, tax, and regulatory reforms across the globe. Instability in the financial markets in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn led the U.S. Government and other governments to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility, and in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Reforms are ongoing and their effects are uncertain. Federal, state, local, foreign, and other governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which a fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Reforms may also change the way in which a fund is regulated and could limit or preclude a fund's ability to achieve its investment objective or engage in certain strategies. Also, while reforms generally are intended to strengthen markets, systems, and public finances, they could affect fund expenses and the value of fund investments.</R>
The value of a fund's holdings is also generally subject to the risk of future local, national, or global economic disturbances based on unknown weaknesses in the markets in which a fund invests. In the event of such a disturbance, the issuers of securities held by a fund may experience significant declines in the value of their assets and even cease operations, or may receive government assistance accompanied by increased restrictions on their business operations or other government intervention. In addition, it is not certain that the U.S. Government or foreign governments will intervene in response to a future market disturbance and the effect of any such future intervention cannot be predicted.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its right to liquidate assets related to a repurchase agreement with an insolvent counterparty. A Fidelity fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities Lending. Securities lending allows a fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The fund seeks to maintain the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased.
Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies (which include business development companies (BDCs)), unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. For certain investment companies, such as BDCs, these expenses may be significant. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.
The securities of closed-end funds may be leveraged. As a result, a fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. An investment in securities of closed-end funds that use leverage may expose a fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the fund's long-term returns on such securities will be diminished.
The extent to which a fund can invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws.
Short Sales. Short sales involve the market sale of a security a fund has borrowed from a prime broker with which it has a contractual relationship, with the expectation that the security will underperform either the market or the securities that the fund holds long. A fund closes a short sale by purchasing the same security at the current market price and delivering it to the prime broker.
Until a fund closes out a short position, the fund is obligated to pay the prime broker (from which it borrowed the security sold short) interest as well as any dividends that accrue during the period of the loan. While a short position is outstanding, a fund must also pledge a portion of its assets to the prime broker as collateral for the borrowed security. The collateral will be marked to market daily.
Short positions create a risk that a fund will be required to cover them by buying the security at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the fund. A short position in a security poses more risk than holding the same security long. Because a short position loses value as the security's price increases, the loss on a short sale is theoretically unlimited. The loss on a long position is limited to what a fund originally paid for the security together with any transaction costs. A fund may not always be able to borrow a security the fund seeks to sell short at a particular time or at an acceptable price. As a result, a fund may be unable to fully implement its investment strategy due to a lack of available stocks or for other reasons. It is possible that the market value of the securities a fund holds in long positions will decline at the same time that the market value of the securities the fund has sold short increases, thereby increasing the fund's potential volatility. Because a fund may be required to pay dividends, interest, premiums and other expenses in connection with a short sale, any benefit for the fund resulting from the short sale will be decreased, and the amount of any ultimate gain will be decreased or of any loss will be increased, by the amount of such expenses.
A fund may also enter into short sales against the box. Short sales "against the box" are short sales of securities that a fund owns or has the right to obtain (equivalent in kind or amount to the securities sold short). If a fund enters into a short sale against the box, it will be required to set aside securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short (or securities convertible or exchangeable into such securities) and will be required to hold such securities while the short sale is outstanding. A fund will incur transaction costs, including interest expenses, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales against the box.
Sources of Liquidity or Credit Support. Issuers may employ various forms of credit and liquidity enhancements, including letters of credit, guarantees, swaps, puts, and demand features, and insurance provided by domestic or foreign entities such as banks and other financial institutions. An adviser and its affiliates may rely on their evaluation of the credit of the issuer or the credit of the liquidity or credit enhancement provider in determining whether to purchase or hold a security supported by such enhancement. In evaluating the credit of a foreign bank or other foreign entities, factors considered may include whether adequate public information about the entity is available and whether the entity may be subject to unfavorable political or economic developments, currency controls, or other government restrictions that might affect its ability to honor its commitment. Changes in the credit quality of the issuer and/or entity providing the enhancement could affect the value of the security or a fund's share price.
Sovereign Debt Obligations are issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies, including debt of Latin American nations or other developing countries. Sovereign debt may be in the form of conventional securities or other types of debt instruments such as loans or loan participations. Sovereign debt of developing countries may involve a high degree of risk, and may be in default or present the risk of default. Governmental entities responsible for repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal and pay interest when due, and may require renegotiation or rescheduling of debt payments. In addition, prospects for repayment of principal and payment of interest may depend on political as well as economic factors. Although some sovereign debt, such as Brady Bonds, is collateralized by U.S. Government securities, repayment of principal and payment of interest is not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument ( e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
<R> Temporary Defensive Policies. </R>
<R> In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, a fund may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If a fund does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund reserves the right to invest without limitation in preferred stocks and investment-grade debt instruments for temporary, defensive purposes.
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments which entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss.
Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities (normally, shares of underlying funds) are placed on behalf of the fund by Strategic Advisers, (either itself or through its affiliates), pursuant to authority contained in the management contract.
Strategic Advisers may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
<R>The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in affiliated funds, but it may incur such costs when it invests in non-affiliated funds and if it invests directly in other types of securities, such as ETFs.</R>
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review Strategic Advisers' and its affiliates' performance of their respective responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Strategic Advisers, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Strategic Advisers or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.</R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Strategic Advisers or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services Strategic Advisers or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Strategic Advisers' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Strategic Advisers or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.</R>
Research Contracts. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Strategic Advisers or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) who have entered into arrangements with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
<R>Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), with whom they are under common control, provided Strategic Advisers or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade-execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.</R>
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Strategic Advisers to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
Commissions Paid
A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
<R>For the fiscal periods ended February 28, 2013 and February 29, 2012, the fund's portfolio turnover rates were 92% and 121%, respectively. Variations in turnover rate may be due to a fluctuating volume of shareholder purchase and redemption orders, market conditions, and/or changes in Strategic Advisers' investment outlook.</R>
<R>The following table shows the total amount of brokerage commissions paid by the fund, comprising commissions paid on securities and/or futures transactions, as applicable, for the fiscal years ended February 28, 2013, February 29, 2012, and February 28, 2011. The total amount of brokerage commissions paid is stated as a dollar amount and a percentage of the fund's average net assets.</R>
Fiscal Year
|
|
Dollar
|
Percentage of
|
<R>2013 |
|
$ 1,612,270 |
0.05%</R> |
2012 + |
|
$ 469,784 |
0.02% |
2011 |
|
$ 6,893 |
0.00% |
<R> |
|
|
</R> |
+ Fiscal year ended February 29.
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid no brokerage commissions to firms for providing research or brokerage services.</R>
The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. The NAV of the fund is computed by adding the value of the fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting its liabilities, and dividing the result by the number of shares outstanding.
The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for pricing, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers has established the Strategic Advisers Fair Value Committee (Strategic Advisers Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities. The Strategic Advisers Committee may rely on information and recommendations provided by affiliates of Strategic Advisers in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, including the fair valuation of securities.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) held by the fund are valued at their respective NAVs. If an underlying fund's NAV is unavailable, shares of that underlying fund will be fair valued in good faith by the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by the fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity non-money market fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
<R>Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques.</R>
Short-term securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less for which market quotations and information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates current value.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
<R>Prices described above are obtained from pricing services that have been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available and the funds may use more than one of these services. The funds may also discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time. Strategic Advisers engages in oversight activities with respect to the fund's pricing services, which includes, among other things, testing the prices provided by pricing services prior to calculation of a fund's NAV, conducting periodic due diligence meetings, and periodically reviewing the methodologies and inputs used by these services.</R>
<R>Foreign securities and instruments are valued in their local currency following the methodologies described above. Foreign securities, instruments and currencies are translated to U.S. dollars, based on foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by a pricing service as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which uses a proprietary model to determine the exchange rate. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at an interpolated rate based on days to maturity between the closest preceding and subsequent settlement period reported by the third party pricing service.</R>
The Board of Trustees of the underlying Fidelity funds has ultimate responsibility for pricing portfolio securities and assets held by those funds, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee and the Strategic Advisers Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and ADRs, market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. This technique involves initially valuing an instrument at its cost as adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount rather than its current market value. The amortized cost value of an instrument may be higher or lower than the price a money market fund would receive if it sold the instrument.
At such intervals as they deem appropriate, the Trustees of an underlying Fidelity money market fund consider the extent to which NAV calculated using market valuations would deviate from the $1.00 per share calculated using amortized cost valuation. If the Trustees believe that a deviation from a money market fund's amortized cost per share may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Trustees have agreed to take such corrective action, if any, as they deem appropriate to eliminate or reduce, to the extent reasonably practicable, the dilution or unfair results. Such corrective action could include selling portfolio instruments prior to maturity to realize capital gains or losses or to shorten average portfolio maturity; withholding dividends; redeeming shares in kind; establishing NAV by using available market quotations; and such other measures as the Trustees may deem appropriate.
BUYING AND SELLING INFORMATION
Shares of the fund are offered only to certain clients of Strategic Advisers that have granted Strategic Advisers discretionary investment authority. If you are not currently a Strategic Advisers client, please call 1-800-544-3455 for more information.
Investors participating in a Strategic Advisers discretionary investment program are charged an annual advisory fee based on a percentage of the average market value of assets in their account. The stated fee is then reduced by a credit reflecting the amount of fees, if any, received by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates from mutual funds for investment management or certain other services.
The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the fund's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
Dividends. A portion of the fund's income may qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, but it is unlikely that all of the fund's income will qualify for the deduction. A portion of the fund's dividends, when distributed to individual shareholders, may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
Capital Gain Distributions. The fund's long-term capital gain distributions, including amounts attributable to an underlying fund's long-term capital gain distributions, are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.
Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. As a general matter, if, at the close of its fiscal year, more than 50% of the fund's total assets is invested in securities of foreign issuers, the fund may elect to pass through eligible foreign taxes paid and thereby allow shareholders to take a deduction or, if they meet certain holding period requirements with respect to fund shares, a credit on their individual tax returns. In addition, if at the close of each quarter of its fiscal year at least 50% of the fund's total assets is represented by interests in other regulated investment companies, the same rules will apply to any foreign tax credits that underlying funds pass through to the fund. The amount of foreign taxes paid by the fund will be reduced to the extent that the fund lends securities over the dividend record date. Special rules may apply to the credit for individuals who receive dividends qualifying for the long-term capital gains tax rate.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
<R>The Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and executive officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. If the interests of the fund and an underlying Fidelity fund were to diverge, a conflict of interest could arise and affect how the Trustees and Member of the Advisory Board fulfill their fiduciary duties to the affected funds. Strategic Advisers has structured the fund to avoid these potential conflicts, although there may be situations where a conflict of interest is unavoidable. In such instances, Strategic Advisers, the Trustees, and Member of the Advisory Board would take reasonable steps to minimize and, if possible, eliminate the conflict. Except for Mary C. Farrell, each of the Trustees oversees 26 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. Ms. Farrell oversees 20 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.</R>
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. The executive officers and Advisory Board Member hold office without limit in time, except that any officer and Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
<R>Each Trustee who is not an interested person of the trust and the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) is referred to herein as an Independent Trustee.</R>
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Fund's Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also engage professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates with experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. Additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, may be considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. Roger T. Servison is an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) and currently serves as Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Ralph F. Cox serves as the lead Independent Trustee and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
<R>Fidelity funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees asset allocation funds as well as the Fidelity enhanced index funds. Other boards oversee Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds and Fidelity's equity and high income funds. The fund may invest in Fidelity funds overseen by such other Boards. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues.</R>
The Trustees primarily operate as a full Board, but also operate in committees, to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board has charged Strategic Advisers and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through Strategic Advisers, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. Board oversight of different aspects of the fund's activities is exercised primarily through the full Board, but also through the Audit and Compliance Committee. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees."
Interested Trustees *:
<R>Correspondence intended for each Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
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<R>Roger T. Servison (1945)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Servison is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Servison serves as President of Strategic New Business Development for Fidelity Investments and serves as a Director of Strategic Advisers. Previously, Mr. Servison oversaw Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company (2005-2006) and Strategic Advisers (2005-2007). Mr. Servison also served as President and a Director of Fidelity Brokerage Services (Japan), LLC (1994-2004). |
<R>Derek L. Young (1964)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Mr. Young is Vice President of Fidelity's Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present), President and a Director of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2011-present), President of Fidelity Global Asset Allocation (GAA) (2011-present), and Vice Chairman of Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2011-present). Previously, Mr. Young served as Chief Investment Officer of GAA (2009-2011) and as a portfolio manager. |
* Trustees have been determined to be "Interested Trustees" by virtue of, among other things, their affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with Strategic Advisers.
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees :
Correspondence intended for each Independent Trustee (that is, the Trustees other than the Interested Trustees) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
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<R>Peter C. Aldrich (1944)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Aldrich is a Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Director of the funds of BlackRock Realty Group (2006-present). Previously, Mr. Aldrich served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010), a Managing Member of Poseidon, LLC (foreign private investment, 1998-2004), and Chairman and Managing Member of AEGIS, LLC (foreign private investment, 1997-2004). Mr. Aldrich also served as Faculty Chairman of The Research Council on Global Investment of The Conference Board (business and professional education non-profit, 1999-2004). Mr. Aldrich is a Member of the Boards of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and an Overseer of the Longy School of Music. |
<R>Amy Butte Liebowitz (1968)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011</R> Ms. Butte Liebowitz was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of TILE Financial (financial internet service, 2008-2012). Previously, Ms. Butte Liebowitz served as the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of MF Global (broker-dealer, 2006-2008), and Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange (2004-2006). Ms. Butte Liebowitz is a member of the Boards of Directors of Accion International and the New York Women's Forum, as well as an alumna of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader program. |
<R>Ralph F. Cox (1932)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Cox is President of RABAR Enterprises (management consulting for the petroleum industry). Mr. Cox is a Director of Abraxas Petroleum (exploration and production). Mr. Cox is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Business and Engineering Schools of Texas A&M University and the Engineering School of University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Mr. Cox served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010) and as an Advisory Director of CH2M Hill Companies (engineering, 1981-2011). Mr. Ralph F. Cox and Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. are not related. |
<R>Mary C. Farrell (1949)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2013</R> Ms. Farrell is a Director of the W.R. Berkley Corporation (insurance provider) and President (2009-present) and Director (2006-present) of the Howard Gilman Foundation (charitable organization). Previously, Ms. Farrell was Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at UBS Wealth Management USA and Co-Head of UBS Wealth Management Investment Strategy & Research Group (2003-2005). Ms. Farrell also served as Investment Strategist at PaineWebber (1982-2000) and UBS PaineWebber (2000-2002). Ms. Farrell also serves as Trustee on the Board of Overseers of the New York University Stern School of Business, the Board of Trustees of Yale-New Haven Hospital and is a member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II. |
<R>Karen Kaplan (1960)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Ms. Kaplan is President of Hill Holliday (advertising and specialized marketing, 2007-present). Ms. Kaplan is a Director of DSM (dba Delta Dental and DentaQuest) (2004-present), Director of Vera Bradley (2012-present), Member of the Board of Governors of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston (2010-present), Member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference for Women (2008-present), Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (2006-present), Board of Directors of Jobs for Massachusetts (2012-present), National Association of Corporate Directors Chapter (2012-present), and Board of Directors of the Post Office Square Trust (2012-present). She is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, an action oriented community of the most effective CEOs, heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, and non-governmental leaders in the world. Previously, Ms. Kaplan served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010), President of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2008-2010), Treasurer of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2002-2006), Vice Chair of the Board of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2003-2010), Director of United Way of Massachusetts Bay (2004-2006), Director of ADVO (direct mail marketing, 2003-2007), and Director of Tweeter Home Entertainment Group (2006-2007). |
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Member and Executive Officers :
<R>Correspondence intended for each executive officer and Howard E. Cox, Jr. may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupation</R> |
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<R>Howard E. Cox, Jr. (1944)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II. Mr. Cox is a Member of the Advisory Board of Devonshire Investors (2009-present). Mr. Cox serves as an Advisory Partner of Greylock (venture capital) and a Director of Stryker Corporation (medical products and services). Previously, Mr. Cox served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010) and a Member of the Secretary of Defense's Business Board of Directors (2008-2010). Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. and Mr. Ralph F. Cox are not related. |
<R>Kenneth B. Robins (1969)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 President and Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Robins also serves as President and Treasurer of other Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds (2008-present) and Assistant Treasurer of other Fidelity Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present). Mr. Robins is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Robins served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2005-2008) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2006-2008). |
<R>Marc Bryant (1966)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of the fund. Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Fidelity Investments. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Mr. Bryant served as a Senior Vice President and the Head of Global Retail Legal for AllianceBernstein L.P. (2006-2010), and as the General Counsel for ProFund Advisors LLC (2001-2006). |
<R>Elizabeth Paige Baumann (1968)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer of the fund. Ms. Baumann also serves as AML Officer of the Fidelity funds (2012-present) and The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2012-present), Chief AML Officer of FMR LLC (2012-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Baumann served as Vice President and Deputy Anti-Money Laundering Officer (2007-2012). |
<R>Nicholas E. Steck (1964)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the fund. Mr. Steck serves as Senior Vice President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. During the period 2002 to 2009, Mr. Steck served as a Compliance Officer of FMR, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc., FMR LLC, Fidelity Research & Analysis (U.K.) Inc., Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. |
<R>Laura M. Doherty (1969)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Compliance Officer of the fund. Ms. Doherty also serves as Senior Vice President of the Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Doherty served as a Vice President in Fidelity's Corporate Audit department (1998-2008). |
<R>Adrien E. Deberghes (1967)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Deberghes also serves as Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) and Deputy Treasurer (2008-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Deberghes served as Senior Vice President of Mutual Fund Administration at State Street Corporation (2007-2008), Senior Director of Mutual Fund Administration at Investors Bank & Trust (2005-2007), and Director of Finance for Dunkin' Brands (2000-2005). |
<R>Stephanie J. Dorsey (1969)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Ms. Dorsey also serves as President and Treasurer (2013-present) and Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Dorsey served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2008-2013), Treasurer (2004-2008) of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds and Vice President (2004-2008) of JPMorgan Chase Bank. |
<R>Jonathan Davis (1968)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Davis is also Assistant Treasurer of certain Fidelity funds. Mr. Davis is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2003-2010). |
<R>Margaret A. Carey (1973)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 </R> Assistant Secretary of the fund. Ms. Carey also serves as Assistant Secretary of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present), Vice President, Associate General Counsel (2007-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). |
Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established two committees to supplement the work of the Board as a whole. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
<R>The Audit and Compliance Committee is composed of Ms. Butte Liebowitz (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, Mr. Ralph Cox, and Mses. Farrell and Kaplan. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The committee determines whether at least one member of the committee is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined in rules promulgated by the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The committee normally meets in conjunction with in person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee meets separately periodically with the fund's Treasurer, the fund's Chief Financial Officer, the fund's CCO, personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and the fund's outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the fund for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the fund and the fund's service providers, (ii) the financial reporting processes of the fund, (iii) the independence, objectivity and qualification of the auditors to the fund, (iv) the annual audits of the fund's financial statements, and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the fund. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations (Auditor Independence Regulations) of the SEC. In furtherance of the foregoing, the committee has adopted (and may from time to time amend or supplement) and provides oversight of policies and procedures for non-audit engagements by outside auditors of the fund. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the fund and for resolving disagreements between the fund and any outside auditor regarding the fund's financial reporting, and has sole authority to hire and fire any auditor. Auditors of the fund report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the fund and any service providers consistent with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Ethics and Independence Rule 3526, Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence. The committee will discuss with the outside auditors any such disclosed relationships and their impact on the auditor's independence and objectivity. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the Auditor Independence Regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the fund's service providers' internal controls and reviews with management, internal auditors, and outside auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of the fund's and service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the fund's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the fund's or service provider's internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will review with counsel any legal matters that may have a material impact on the fund's financial statements and any material reports or inquiries received from regulators or governmental agencies. The committee reviews at least annually a report from the outside auditor describing (i) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control review, peer review, or PCAOB examination of the auditing firm and (ii) any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm since the most recent report and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the fund's financial reporting process and will receive reports from an outside auditor relating to (i) critical accounting policies and practices used by the fund, (ii) alternative accounting treatments that the auditor has discussed with Strategic Advisers, and (iii) other material written communications between the auditor and Strategic Advisers (as determined by the auditor). The committee will discuss with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the fund. The committee will review with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC (to the extent relevant) the results of audits of the fund's financial statements. The committee will review periodically the fund's major internal controls exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. The committee also oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the fund and its service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee of the Board of Trustees or reserved to the Board itself. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the fund. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO and, if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports on significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the fund's compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1 and quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of Mr. Ralph Cox (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, and Mses. Butte Liebowitz, Farrell, and Kaplan. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the code of ethics and any supplemental policies regarding personal securities transactions applicable to the Independent Trustees. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the fund's or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the fund's expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the fund, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012 (or as of March 31, 2013 for Ms. Farrell, Trustee as of March 5, 2013).</R>
Interested Trustees |
||
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Roger T. Servison |
Derek L. Young |
Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
none |
none |
<R></R>
<R>Independent Trustees</R> |
|||||
<R>
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Peter C. Aldrich |
Mary C. Farrell |
Amy Butte Liebowitz |
Ralph F. Cox |
Karen Kaplan</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund |
$50,001 - $100,000 |
none |
none |
over $100,000 |
none</R> |
<R>
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
over $100,000 |
none |
none |
over $100,000 |
none</R> |
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board for his or her services for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, or calendar year ended December 31, 2012, as applicable.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Compensation Table 1</R> |
||||||
<R>
AGGREGATE
|
Peter C.
|
Mary C.
|
Amy
|
Ralph F.
|
Karen
|
</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund |
$ 7,711 |
$ 0 |
$ 7,711 |
$ 7,711 |
$ 7,711 |
</R> |
<R>
TOTAL COMPENSATION
|
$ 137,500 |
$ 0 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
</R> |
1 Roger T. Servison, Howard E. Cox, Jr., and Derek L. Young are interested persons and are compensated by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate (including FMR).
<R> 2 Effective March 5, 2013, Ms. Farrell serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II.</R>
<R> A Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, for 26 funds of two trusts.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and officers of the fund owned, in the aggregate, less than 1% of the fund's total outstanding shares.</R>
<R>FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of Strategic Advisers. The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Abigail P. Johnson family, directly or through trusts, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.</R>
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
Strategic Advisers (the Investment Adviser), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and the fund have adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that sets forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establishes procedures for personal investing, and restricts certain transactions. Employees subject to the code of ethics, including Fidelity investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.
The fund has entered into a management contract with Strategic Advisers, pursuant to which Strategic Advisers furnishes investment advisory and other services.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Strategic Advisers has not currently retained any sub-advisers to manage a portion of the fund's assets.
Management and Sub-Advisory Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, Strategic Advisers acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, directs the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. Strategic Advisers is authorized, in its discretion, to allocate the fund's assets pursuant to its investment strategy. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates provide the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensate all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of Strategic Advisers, and compensate all personnel of the fund or Strategic Advisers performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to Strategic Advisers and the fees payable to the transfer agent and pricing and bookkeeping agent, the fund pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by those parties. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders; however, under the terms of the fund's transfer agent agreement, the transfer agent bears these costs. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.
Management Fees. For the services of Strategic Advisers under the management contract, the fund pays Strategic Advisers a monthly management fee calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers, if any, based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets; provided, however, that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.95% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the fund until September 30, 2015. The fee waiver by Strategic Advisers will increase the fund's returns.</R>
The following table shows the amount of management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers for the past three fiscal years and the amount of waivers reducing management fees for the fund.
+ Fiscal year ended February 29.
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of the fund's operating expenses. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Expense reimbursements by Strategic Advisers will increase the fund's returns, and repayment of the reimbursement by the fund will decrease its returns.
Robert Vick is an employee of Strategic Advisers, a subsidiary of FMR LLC and an affiliate of FMR. Strategic Advisers is the adviser to the fund.
<R>Mr. Vick is the portfolio manager of the fund and receives compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Strategic Advisers or at the election of the portfolio manager.</R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of a broad range of Strategic Advisers funds and accounts, including the fund. Accounts may include model portfolios designed for asset allocation, retirement planning, or tax-sensitive goals. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s), and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with the portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and peer group. A subjective component of the bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Strategic Advisers. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of his fund is based on the fund's pre-tax investment performance measured against the Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index SM , and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund within the Morningstar ® Large Blend Category. The portfolio manager may be compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Strategic Advisers' parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.</R>
<R></R>
<R>The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Vick as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
3 |
13 |
1</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 4,636 |
$ 40 |
$ 5</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund ($3,987 (in millions) assets managed). The amount of assets managed of the fund reflects trades and other assets as of the close of the business day prior to the fund's fiscal year-end.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Vick was $100,001 - $500,000.</R>
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of the fund, after consultation with Strategic Advisers. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Strategic Advisers and its affiliates and by the Independent Trustees of the fund, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. The funds in the trust generally intend to vote shares of underlying funds using echo voting procedures (that is, in the same proportion as the holders of all other shares of the particular underlying fund).
B. Any proposals not covered by paragraph A above or other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate Strategic Advisers analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review and approval by the General Counsel or Compliance Officer of FMR or the General Counsel of FMR LLC.
To view a fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, visit www.fidelity.com/proxyvotingresults or visit the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.
<R>The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. The principal business address of FDC is 100 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by Strategic Advisers.</R>
The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan with respect to shares of the fund (the Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a mutual fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows the fund and Strategic Advisers to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.
Under the Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to Strategic Advisers is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Plan. The Plan specifically recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Plan provides that Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers or FDC), that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Prior to approving the Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Plan will benefit the fund and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Plan does not authorize payments by the fund other than those made to Strategic Advisers under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Plan gives Strategic Advisers and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of shares of the fund, additional sales of shares of the fund or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
<R>The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (FIIOC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers, which is located at 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services for the fund.</R>
For providing transfer agency services, FIIOC receives an account fee and an asset-based fee with respect to assets managed by one or more sub-advisers and assets invested in non-affiliated ETFs. For retail accounts, these fees are based on fund type. For certain institutional accounts, these fees are based on size of position and fund type. For institutional retirement accounts, these fees are based on account type and fund type. The account fee is billed monthly on a pro rata basis at one-twelfth of the applicable annual rate as of the end of each calendar month. The asset-based fee is calculated and paid monthly on the basis of average daily net assets. For assets invested in underlying Fidelity funds, each underlying Fidelity fund pays its respective transfer agent (either FIIOC or an affiliate of FIIOC) fees based, in part, on the number of positions in and assets of the fund invested in such underlying Fidelity fund.
FIIOC also may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
<R>The fund has entered into a service agent agreement with Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers (or an agent, including an affiliate). Under the terms of the agreement, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for the fund and maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records.</R>
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
The annual rates for pricing and bookkeeping services for the fund are 0.0104% of the first $500 million of average net assets, 0.0062% of average net assets between $500 million and $3.5 billion, 0.0041% of average net assets between $3.5 billion and $25 billion, and 0.0019% of average net assets in excess of $25 billion, plus a 20% surcharge.
Pricing and bookkeeping fees paid by the fund to FSC for the past three fiscal years are shown in the following table.
<R> Fund |
2013 |
2012 |
2011</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund |
$ 266,330 |
$ 229,677 |
$ 107,200</R> |
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
<R> Trust Organization. Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund is a fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, an open-end management investment company created under an initial trust instrument dated March 8, 2006. Currently, there are 20 funds offered in the trust: Strategic Advisers Core Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.</R>
The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds.
Shareholder Liability. The trust is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that, except to the extent otherwise provided in the Trust Instrument, shareholders shall be entitled to the same limitations of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit organized under the general corporation law of Delaware. The courts of some states, however, may decline to apply Delaware law on this point. The Trust Instrument contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust. The Trust Instrument provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Trust Instrument further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of each fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Trust Instrument also provides that each fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which Delaware law does not apply, no contractual limitation of liability was in effect, and a fund is unable to meet its obligations. Strategic Advisers believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is extremely remote.
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. As a shareholder, you are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value you own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
<R></R>
The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodians. State Street Bank and Trust Company, 1776 Heritage Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as special purpose custodians of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions.
Strategic Advisers, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Member of the Advisory Board, and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by Strategic Advisers. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of Strategic Advisers, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 125 High Street, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit, tax, and related services.
<R> </R>
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized Strategic Advisers, in consultation with FMR, to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
Other registered investment companies that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers may be subject to different portfolio holdings disclosure policies, and neither Strategic Advisers nor the Board exercises control over such policies or disclosure. In addition, separate account clients of Strategic Advisers have access to their portfolio holdings and are not subject to the fund's portfolio holdings disclosure policies. Some of the funds that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers and some of the separate accounts managed by Strategic Advisers have investment objectives and strategies that are substantially similar or identical to the fund's and, therefore, potentially substantially similar, and in certain cases nearly identical, portfolio holdings as the fund.
The fund will provide a full list of holdings monthly on www.fidelity.com 30 days after the month-end (excluding high income security holdings, which generally will be presented collectively monthly and included in a list of full holdings 60 days after its fiscal quarter-end).
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations.
<R> The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the activities associated with managing Fidelity funds to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons Strategic Advisers believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include, but are not limited to: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics (including portfolio managers of affiliated funds of funds); contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.</R>
<R> Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, (ii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iii) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. Strategic Advisers relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.</R>
<R>At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day) and DocuLynx Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day).</R>
Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, Strategic Advisers desired to make such an arrangement, it would seek prior Board approval and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
<R>The fund's financial statements and financial highlights for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, and report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the fund's annual report and are incorporated herein by reference. Total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table may differ from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the financial highlights because total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table include any acquired fund fees and expenses, whereas the ratios of expenses in the financial highlights do not, except to the extent any acquired fund fees and expenses relate to an entity, such as a wholly-owned subsidiary, with which a fund's financial statements are consolidated. Acquired funds include other investment companies in which the fund has invested, if and to the extent it is permitted to do so. Total annual operating expenses in the prospectus fee table and the financial highlights do not include any expenses associated with investments in certain structured or synthetic products that may rely on the exception from the definition of "investment company" provided by section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
Fund /Ticker
Strategic Advisers ® Income Opportunities Fund /FPIOX
Offered exclusively to certain clients of Strategic Advisers, Inc. - not available for sale to the general public
Prospectus
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
Fund Summary |
Strategic Advisers ® Income Opportunities Fund |
|
Fund Basics |
Investment Details |
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Valuing Shares |
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Shareholder Information |
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares |
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Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions |
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Tax Consequences |
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Fund Services |
Fund Management |
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Fund Distribution |
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Appendix |
Financial Highlights |
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Additional Information about the Index |
Prospectus
<R>
Fund:
Strategic
Advisers
®
Income Opportunities Fund
</R>
The fund seeks a high level of current income. The fund may also seek capital appreciation.
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy and hold shares of the fund.
Shareholder fees
|
None |
Annual fund operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Management fee B |
0.25% |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees |
None |
Other expenses |
0.02% |
Acquired fund fees and expenses (fees and expenses of underlying funds) |
0.86% |
Total annual fund operating expenses A |
1.13% |
Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement B |
0.25% |
Total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement A |
0.88% |
A Differs from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the Financial Highlights section of the prospectus because of acquired fund fees and expenses.
<R> B Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) has contractually agreed that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.75% of the fund's average daily net assets. In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets. This arrangement will remain in effect through September 30, 2015. Strategic Advisers may not terminate this arrangement without the approval of the Board of Trustees. </R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
1 year |
$ 90 |
<R> 3 years |
$ 292 </R> |
<R> 5 years |
$ 557 </R> |
<R> 10 years |
$ 1,314 </R> |
<R>The fund will not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of affiliated funds but may incur transaction costs when buying or selling non-affiliated funds and other types of securities (including non-affiliated exchange traded funds) directly (or "turns over" its portfolio). If the fund were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs and could result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example and would affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 27% of the average value of its portfolio.</R>
Prospectus
An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
The following information is intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the fund. The information illustrates the changes in the performance of the fund's shares from year to year and compares the performance of the fund's shares to the performance of a securities market index over various periods of time. The index description appears in the Additional Information about the Index section of the prospectus. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future performance.
Visit www.fidelity.com for updated return information.
<R> Calendar Years |
|
|
|
|
|
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 </R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
|
-27.56% |
53.83% |
15.03% |
2.00% |
15.25% </R> |
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
During the periods shown in the chart: |
Returns |
Quarter ended |
Highest Quarter Return |
20.39% |
June 30, 2009 |
Lowest Quarter Return |
-19.51% |
December 31, 2008 |
<R> Year-to-Date Return |
3.10% |
March31, 2013 </R> |
<R>After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, but do not reflect the impact of state or local taxes. Actual after-tax returns may differ depending on your individual circumstances. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your shares in a retirement account or in another tax-deferred arrangement.</R>
<R></R>
Prospectus
<R>
For the periods ended
|
Past 1
|
Past 5
|
Life of
|
<R> Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund |
|
|
</R> |
<R> Return Before Taxes |
15.25% |
8.54% |
7.89% </R> |
<R> Return After Taxes on Distributions |
12.71% |
5.78% |
5.14% </R> |
<R> Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
9.83% |
5.60% |
5.04% </R> |
<R>
The BofA Merrill Lynch
SM
US High Yield Constrained Index
|
15.55% |
10.14% |
9.41% </R> |
A From September 27, 2007.
Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) is the fund's manager.
Gregory Pappas (portfolio manager) has managed the fund since September 2007.
The fund is not available for sale to the general public.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its net asset value per share (NAV). Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV. Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
The fund has no minimum investment requirement.
Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state or local taxes, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account (in which case you may be taxed later, upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).
The fund, Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Investment Objective
The fund seeks a high level of current income. The fund may also seek capital appreciation.
Principal Investment Strategies
The fund normally invests primarily in income-producing debt securities, preferred stocks, and convertible securities, with an emphasis on lower-quality debt securities. The fund may also invest in non-income producing securities, including defaulted securities and common stocks. The fund may invest in companies whose financial condition is troubled or uncertain and that may be involved in bankruptcy proceedings, reorganizations or financial restructurings.
The fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers in addition to securities of domestic issuers.
The fund implements its investment strategies by investing indirectly in securities through one or more underlying funds, which in turn invest directly in securities.
Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of underlying funds at any time.
Strategic Advisers allocates assets among underlying funds according to an allocation strategy designed to achieve portfolio characteristics similar to those of The BofA Merrill Lynch US High Yield Constrained Index.
Strategic Advisers pursues a disciplined, benchmark-driven approach to portfolio construction and monitors and adjusts allocations to underlying funds as necessary to favor those underlying funds that Strategic Advisers believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the fund's investment objective.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among underlying funds, Strategic Advisers relies on proprietary fundamental and quantitative fund research in its fund selection process. Factors considered when investing in underlying funds include fund performance, a fund manager's experience and investment style, fund company infrastructure, and fund characteristics such as expense ratio, asset size, and portfolio turnover.
<R>The fund may invest in affiliated high yield funds ( i.e., Fidelity funds) and non-affiliated high yield funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork ® and in non-affiliated ETFs. Underlying funds include both funds managed by FMR (an affiliated company that, together with Strategic Advisers, is part of Fidelity Investments) or an affiliate and funds managed by investment advisers other than Fidelity. Fidelity may receive service fees that typically are at an annual rate of up to 0.40% of a non-affiliated underlying fund's average daily net assets attributable to purchases through Fidelity's FundsNetwork, though such fees may be higher or lower, or may be charged as transaction and/or account fees. In addition, the fund may invest in ETFs in transactions not occurring through Fidelity's FundsNetwork.</R>
Strategic Advisers generally identifies high yield funds by reference to a fund's name, policies, or classification by a third-party ranking or ratings organization.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
<R>Strategic Advisers may actively adjust the allocation of the fund's assets at any time. For current information on fund holdings, please call 1-800-544-3455 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com. For information on the underlying funds, see the underlying funds' prospectuses. A copy of any underlying Fidelity fund's prospectus is available at www.fidelity.com or www.advisor.fidelity.com. For a copy of any other underlying fund's prospectus, visit the web site of the company that manages or sponsors that underlying fund.</R>
In addition, the fund may have indirect exposure to derivatives through its investments in underlying funds.
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on the performance of the underlying funds in which it invests. The ability of the fund to meet its investment objective is directly related to its allocation among underlying funds and the ability of those funds to meet their investment objectives.
If Strategic Advisers' allocation strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective. The portfolio manager's evaluations and assumptions in selecting underlying funds may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.
When your shares are sold they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
Investing in Other Funds. Regulatory restrictions may limit the amount that one fund can invest in another, and in certain cases further limit investments to the extent a fund's shares are already held by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The fund bears all risks of investment strategies employed by the underlying funds. The fund does not control the investments of the underlying funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the fund would not engage in directly. Aggregation of underlying fund holdings may result in indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase volatility.
Stock Market Volatility. The value of equity securities fluctuates in response to issuer, political, market, and economic developments. Fluctuations can be dramatic over the short as well as long term, and different parts of the market and different types of equity securities can react differently to these developments. For example, large cap stocks can react differently from small cap stocks, "growth" stocks can react differently from "value" stocks, and stocks selected using quantitative or technical analysis can react differently than stocks selected using fundamental analysis. Issuer, political, or economic developments can affect a single issuer, issuers within an industry or economic sector or geographic region, or the market as a whole. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact the market as a whole. Terrorism and related geo-political risks have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
Prospectus
Floating Rate Loan Trading. The value of the collateral securing a floating rate loan can decline, be insufficient to meet the obligations of the borrower, or be difficult to liquidate. As a result, a floating rate loan may not be fully collateralized and can decline significantly in value. Floating rate loans generally are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale. The liquidity of floating rate loans, including the volume and frequency of secondary market trading in such loans, varies significantly over time and among individual floating rate loans. For example, if the credit quality of a floating rate loan unexpectedly declines significantly, secondary market trading in that floating rate loan can also decline for a period of time. During periods of infrequent trading, valuing a floating rate loan can be more difficult, and buying and selling a floating rate loan at an acceptable price can be more difficult and delayed. Difficulty in selling a floating rate loan can result in a loss.
<R> Interest Rate Changes. Debt securities have varying levels of sensitivity to changes in interest rates. In general, the price of a debt security can fall when interest rates rise and can rise when interest rates fall. Securities with longer maturities and mortgage securities can be more sensitive to interest rate changes. In other words, the longer the maturity of a security, the greater the impact a change in interest rates could have on the security's price. In addition, short-term and long-term interest rates do not necessarily move in the same amount or the same direction. Short-term securities tend to react to changes in short-term interest rates, and long-term securities tend to react to changes in long-term interest rates. Inflation-protected debt securities may react differently from other types of debt securities and tend to react to changes in "real" interest rates. Real interest rates represent nominal (stated) interest rates reduced by the expected impact of inflation. In general, the price of an inflation-protected debt security can fall when real interest rates rise, and can rise when real interest rates fall. Interest payments on inflation-protected debt securities can be unpredictable and will vary as the principal and/or interest is adjusted for inflation.</R>
<R></R>
<R> Foreign Exposure. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; withholding or other taxes; trading, settlement, custodial, and other operational risks; and the less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets. All of these factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and potentially less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can perform differently from the U.S. market.</R>
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
<R></R>
<R>Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers or providers in, or foreign exchange rates with, a different country or region.</R>
Industry Exposure. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry or a group of related industries, and the securities of companies in that industry or group of industries could react similarly to these or other developments. In addition, from time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry or a group of related industries as a whole, and these companies can be sensitive to adverse economic, regulatory, or financial developments.
Prepayment. Many types of debt securities, including mortgage securities, inflation-protected debt securities, and floating rate loans, are subject to prepayment risk. Prepayment risk occurs when the issuer of a security can repay principal prior to the security's maturity. Securities subject to prepayment can offer less potential for gains during a declining interest rate environment and similar or greater potential for loss in a rising interest rate environment. In addition, the potential impact of prepayment features on the price of a debt security can be difficult to predict and result in greater volatility.
<R> Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's credit quality or value. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers. Lower-quality debt securities (those of less than investment-grade quality, also referred to as high yield debt securities) and certain types of other securities tend to be particularly sensitive to these changes.</R>
<R>Lower-quality debt securities and certain types of other securities involve greater risk of default or price changes due to changes in the credit quality of the issuer. The value of lower-quality debt securities and certain types of other securities often fluctuates in response to company, political, or economic developments and can decline significantly over short as well as long periods of time or during periods of general or regional economic difficulty. Lower-quality debt securities can be thinly traded or have restrictions on resale, making them difficult to sell at an acceptable price, and often are considered to be speculative. The default rate for lower-quality debt securities is likely to be higher during economic recessions or periods of high interest rates.</R>
Prospectus
Investing in ETFs. ETFs may trade in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) at prices below the value of their underlying portfolios and may not be liquid. An ETF that is not actively managed cannot sell poorly performing stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in its index or other benchmark. ETFs that track an index are subject to tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to its index or other benchmark).
<R>In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser, if any, may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
<R>The following policies are fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:</R>
The fund seeks a high level of current income. The fund may also seek capital appreciation.
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates the fund's NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing the fund's NAV.
NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) are valued at their respective NAVs. Securities issued by ETFs are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations or official closing prices. For an explanation of the circumstances under which the underlying funds will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the underlying funds' prospectuses and statements of additional information (SAIs). The fund's NAV is calculated using the values of the underlying funds in which it invests.
To the extent that underlying fund assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some underlying fund assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Prospectus
THE FUND IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
Shares of the fund can be purchased only through certain discretionary investment programs offered by Strategic Advisers. If you are not currently a Strategic Advisers client, please call 1-800-544-3455 (9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday) for more information. Strategic Advisers charges fees for its discretionary investment programs. For more information on these fees, please refer to the "Buying and Selling Information" section of the SAI.
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase orders.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
Because investments in the fund can be made only by Strategic Advisers on behalf of its clients, the potential for excessive or short-term disruptive purchases and sales is reduced. Accordingly, the Board of Trustees has not adopted policies and procedures designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares and the fund accommodates frequent trading.
The fund has no exchange privilege with any other fund. The fund does not place a limit on purchases or sales of fund shares by Strategic Advisers. The fund reserves the right, but does not have the obligation, to reject any purchase transaction at any time. In addition, the fund reserves the right to impose restrictions on disruptive, excessive, or short-term trading.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its NAV. The fund's shares are sold without a sales charge.
Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
Provided the fund receives an order to buy shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to buy shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV.
Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Provided the fund receives an order to sell shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to sell shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.
Redemptions may be suspended or payment dates postponed when the NYSE is closed (other than weekends or holidays), when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as permitted by the SEC.
Redemption proceeds may be paid in underlying fund shares, securities, or other property rather than in cash if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund.
When you terminate your relationship with Strategic Advisers, your shares may be sold at the NAV next calculated, in which case Strategic Advisers would send the redemption proceeds to you.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, redemption requests may be suspended, restricted, canceled, or processed and the proceeds may be withheld.
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
The fund normally declares dividends daily and pays them monthly. The fund normally pays capital gain distributions in April and December.
Dividends and capital gain distributions may be reinvested in additional shares of the fund or paid in cash.
As with any investment, your investment in the fund could have tax consequences for you. If you are not investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account, you should consider these tax consequences.
Taxes on distributions. Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes.
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including dividends and distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable to you as ordinary income, while certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of long-term capital gains, are taxable to you generally as capital gains. A percentage of certain distributions of dividends may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
If Strategic Advisers buys shares on your behalf when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.
Prospectus
Any taxable distributions you receive from the fund will normally be taxable to you when you receive them, regardless of your distribution option.
Taxes on transactions. Your redemptions may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on your investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of your shares and the price you receive when you sell them.
Prospectus
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
<R> Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. The address of Strategic Advisers and its affiliates, unless otherwise indicated below, is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R>As of December 31, 2012, Strategic Advisers had approximately $320.7 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
As the manager, Strategic Advisers has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
<R>Strategic Advisers currently employs a fund of funds investment structure for the fund. As a result, no portion of the fund's assets has been allocated to a sub-adviser. However, Strategic Advisers may allocate assets to one or more sub-advisers in the future, pursuant to the terms of the Exemptive Order described above.</R>
<R>Gregory Pappas is portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since September 2007. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1990, Mr. Pappas has worked as a senior fund analyst, fixed income strategist, and portfolio manager.</R>
The SAI provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by the portfolio manager.
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.
Prospectus
The fund pays a management fee to Strategic Advisers. The management fee is calculated and paid to Strategic Advisers every month.
The fund's management fee is calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers, if any, based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets. The fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.75% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets through September 30, 2015.</R>
<R>For the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid a management fee of 0.00% of the fund's average net assets, after waiver and/or reimbursement.</R>
In the event Strategic Advisers retains one or more sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers will pay each of the fund's sub-advisers the fee (as described above) payable to that sub-adviser.
<R>The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract for the fund is available in the fund's annual report for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013.</R>
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, agree to reimburse the fund for, or waive, management fees and other expenses above a specified limit. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid by the fund if expenses fall below the specified limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Reimbursement or waiver arrangements can decrease expenses and boost performance.
FDC distributes the fund's shares.
The fund has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) with respect to its shares that recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, service-providers, and administrators, that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Affiliates of Strategic Advisers may receive service fees or distribution fees or both with respect to underlying funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork.
If payments made by Strategic Advisers to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of the fund's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
Prospectus
<R>The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the financial history of the fund's shares for the past 5 years. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of the fund. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in shares of the fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial highlights and financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report. A free copy of the annual report is available upon request.</R>
<R> Years ended February 28, |
2013 |
2012 E |
2011 |
2010 |
2009 </R> |
Selected Per-Share Data |
|
|
|
|
|
<R> Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 9.81 |
$ 10.10 |
$ 9.19 |
$ 6.52 |
$ 9.27 </R> |
Income from Investment Operations |
|
|
|
|
|
<R> Net investment income (loss) B |
.595 |
.657 |
.699 |
.648 |
.660 </R> |
<R> Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
.430 |
(.286 ) |
.910 |
2.684 |
(2.753 ) </R> |
<R> Total from investment operations |
1.025 |
.371 |
1.609 |
3.332 |
(2.093 ) </R> |
<R> Distributions from net investment income |
(.595) |
(.653) |
(.687) |
(.652) |
(.657) </R> |
<R> Distributions from net realized gain |
(.030 ) |
(.008 ) |
(.012 ) |
(.010 ) |
- </R> |
<R> Total distributions |
(.625 ) |
(.661 ) |
(.699 ) |
(.662 ) |
(.657 ) </R> |
<R> Net asset value, end of period |
$ 10.21 |
$ 9.81 |
$ 10.10 |
$ 9.19 |
$ 6.52 </R> |
<R> Total Return A |
10.82% |
4.00% |
18.17% |
52.61% |
(23.54)% </R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
</R> |
|
<R> |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> Ratios to Average Net Assets C |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> Expenses before reductions |
.27% |
.27% |
.27% |
.25% |
.26% </R> |
<R> Expenses net of fee waivers, if any |
.02% |
.02% |
.01% |
.00% |
.00% </R> |
<R> Expenses net of all reductions |
.02% |
.02% |
.01% |
.00% |
.00% </R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) |
6.01% |
6.82% |
7.27% |
7.88% |
8.31% </R> |
Supplemental Data |
|
|
|
|
|
<R> Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$ 3,769,123 |
$ 2,954,875 |
$ 2,047,371 |
$ 768,753 |
$ 481,952 </R> |
<R> Portfolio turnover rate D |
27% |
2% |
2% |
32% |
6% </R> |
<R></R>
A Total returns would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reduced during the applicable periods shown.
Prospectus
Appendix - continued
B Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.
<R></R>
<R> C Expense ratios reflect operating expenses of the Fund. Expenses before reductions do not reflect amounts reimbursed by the investment adviser or reductions from expense offset arrangements and do not represent the amount paid by the Fund during periods when reimbursements or reductions occur. Expenses net of fee waivers reflect expenses after reimbursement by the investment adviser but prior to reductions from expense offset arrangements. Expenses net of all reductions represent the net expenses paid by the Fund. Fees and expenses of the Underlying Funds are not included in the Fund's annualized ratios. The Fund indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the Underlying Funds. </R>
D Amounts do not include the portfolio activity of any Underlying Funds.
E For the year ended February 29.
Prospectus
<R> The BofA Merrill Lynch US High Yield Constrained Index is a modified market capitalization-weighted index of US dollar denominated below investment grade corporate debt publicly issued in the US domestic market. Qualifying securities must have a below investment grade rating (based on an average of Moody's, S&P and Fitch). The country of risk of qualifying issuers must be an FX-G10 member, a Western European nation, or a territory of the US or a Western European nation. The FX-G10 includes all Euro members, the US, Japan, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway and Sweden. In addition, qualifying securities must have at least one year remaining to final maturity, a fixed coupon schedule and at least $100 million in outstanding face value. Defaulted securities are excluded. The index contains all securities of The BofA Merrill Lynch US High Yield Index but caps issuer exposure at 2%.</R>
Prospectus
Notes
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account. For individual investors opening an account: When you open an account, you will be asked for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow Fidelity to identify you. You may also be asked to provide documents that may help to establish your identity, such as your driver's license. For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account such as name, residential address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity. |
You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.
For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call 1-800-544-3455. In addition, you may visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number, 811-21991 |
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design, and FundsNetwork are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R>1.912887.103 SRQ-PRO-0413</R>
Strategic Advisers ® Income Opportunities Fund (FPIOX)
<R> A Fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II </R>
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
Offered exclusively to certain clients of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) - not available for sale to the general public .
This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. Portions of the fund's annual report are incorporated herein. The annual report is supplied with this SAI.
<R>To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated April 29, 2013, or an annual report, please call Fidelity at 1-800-544-3455 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com.</R>
<R>SRQ-PTB-0413
1.912888.104</R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
|
PAGE |
Investment Policies and Limitations |
|
<R>Portfolio Transactions |
|
<R>Valuation |
|
<R>Buying and Selling Information |
|
<R>Distributions and Taxes |
|
<R>Trustees and Officers |
|
<R>Control of Investment Adviser |
|
<R>Management Contract |
|
<R>Proxy Voting Guidelines |
|
<R>Distribution Services |
|
<R>Transfer and Service Agent Agreements |
|
<R>Description of the Trust |
|
<R>Fund Holdings Information |
|
<R>Financial Statements |
128 </R> |
<R>Appendix |
128 </R> |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not with respect to 75% of the fund's total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except in connection with the insurance program established by the fund pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission or as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry (provided that investments in other investment companies shall not be considered an investment in any particular industry for purposes of this investment limitation).
<R>For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities, Strategic Advisers looks through to the U.S. Government securities.</R>
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The acquisitions of loans and loan participations excluded from the fund's lending limitation discussed above are only those loans and loan participations considered securities within the meaning of the 1940 Act.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, and provided that transactions in futures contracts, options, and swaps are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 10% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 10% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
<R>To the extent that the fund acquires the shares of an underlying fund in accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, the underlying fund is not obligated to redeem its shares in an amount exceeding 1% of its shares outstanding during any period of less than 30 days. Those underlying fund shares will not be treated as illiquid securities for purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation described above to the extent that the fund is able to dispose of such securities by distributing them in kind to redeeming shareholders. (See "Securities of Other Investment Companies" on page 110 .)</R>
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to lend assets other than securities to other parties, except by (a) lending money (up to 15% of the fund's net assets) to a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) assuming any unfunded commitments in connection with the acquisition of loans, loan participations, or other forms of debt instruments. (This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities, to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.)
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
<R>For the fund's limitations on futures and options transactions, see the section entitled "Futures, Options, and Swaps" on page 102 .</R>
Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitations, the underlying funds in which the fund may invest have adopted certain investment limitations that may be more or less restrictive than those listed above, thereby permitting the fund to engage indirectly in investment strategies that are prohibited under the investment limitations listed above. The investment limitations of each underlying fund are set forth in its registration statement.
In accordance with its investment program as set forth in the prospectus, the fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in any one underlying Fidelity fund. Although the fund does not intend to concentrate its investments in a particular industry, the fund may indirectly concentrate in a particular industry or group of industries through its investments in one or more underlying funds.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
Strategic Advisers ® Income Opportunities Fund may have exposure to instruments, techniques, and risks either directly or indirectly through an investment in an underlying fund. An underlying fund may invest in the same or other types of instruments and its adviser may employ the same or other types of techniques. Strategic Advisers ® Income Opportunities Fund's performance will be affected by the instruments, techniques, and risks associated with an underlying fund, in proportion to the amount of assets that the fund allocates to that underlying fund.
On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "a fund" or "the fund" may relate to Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund or an underlying fund, and references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to Strategic Advisers (or its affiliates) or an adviser of an underlying fund.
Asset-Backed Securities represent interests in pools of mortgages, loans, receivables, or other assets. Payment of interest and repayment of principal may be largely dependent upon the cash flows generated by the assets backing the securities and, in certain cases, supported by letters of credit, surety bonds, or other credit enhancements. Asset-backed security values may also be affected by other factors including changes in interest rates, the availability of information concerning the pool and its structure, the creditworthiness of the servicing agent for the pool, the originator of the loans or receivables, or the entities providing the credit enhancement. In addition, these securities may be subject to prepayment risk.
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of short-term bond or money market funds, including (for Fidelity funds and other advisory clients only) shares of Fidelity central funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.
<R> Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Notice of Exclusion. The trust, on behalf of the Fidelity fund to which this SAI relates, has filed with the National Futures Association a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the CFTC promulgated thereunder, with respect to the fund's operation. Accordingly, neither the fund nor its adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or a CPO. However, the CFTC has adopted certain rule amendments that significantly affect the continued availability of this exclusion, and may subject advisers to funds to regulation by the CFTC. As of the date of this SAI, the adviser does not expect to register as a CPO of the fund. However, there is no certainty that a fund or its adviser will be able to rely on an exclusion in the future as the fund's investments change over time. A fund may determine not to use investment strategies that trigger additional CFTC regulation or may determine to operate subject to CFTC regulation, if applicable. If a fund or its adviser operates subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.</R>
Common Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock, although related proceedings can take time to resolve and results can be unpredictable.
Convertible Securities are bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption or conversion, the fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
Debt Securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay interest but are sold at a deep discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, and mortgage and other asset-backed securities.
Dollar-Weighted Average Maturity is derived by multiplying the value of each investment by the time remaining to its maturity, adding these calculations, and then dividing the total by the value of a fund's portfolio. An obligation's maturity is typically determined on a stated final maturity basis, although there are some exceptions to this rule.
Under certain circumstances, a fund may invest in nominally long-term securities that have maturity shortening features of shorter-term securities, and the maturities of these securities may be deemed to be earlier than their ultimate maturity dates by virtue of an existing demand feature or an adjustable interest rate. Under other circumstances, if it is probable that the issuer of an instrument will take advantage of a maturity-shortening device, such as a call, refunding, or redemption provision, the date on which the instrument will probably be called, refunded, or redeemed may be considered to be its maturity date. The maturities of mortgage securities, including collateralized mortgage obligations, and some asset-backed securities are determined on a weighted average life basis, which is the average time for principal to be repaid. For a mortgage security, this average time is calculated by estimating the timing of principal payments, including unscheduled prepayments, during the life of the mortgage. The weighted average life of these securities is likely to be substantially shorter than their stated final maturity.
<R> Duration is a measure of a bond's price sensitivity to a change in its yield. For example, if a bond has a 5-year duration and its yield rises 1%, the bond's value is likely to fall about 5%. Similarly, if a bond fund has a 5-year average duration and the yield on each of the bonds held by the fund rises 1%, the fund's value is likely to fall about 5%. For funds with exposure to foreign markets, there are many reasons why all of the bond holdings do not experience the same yield changes. These reasons include: the bonds are spread off of different yield curves around the world and these yield curves do not move in tandem; the shapes of these yield curves change; and sector and issuer yield spreads change. Other factors can influence a bond fund's performance and share price. Accordingly, a bond fund's actual performance will likely differ from the example.</R>
<R> Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments. An ETF may seek to replicate the performance of a specified index or may be actively managed.</R>
Typically, ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks (typically, 50,000 shares) often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.
Some of the risks of investing in an ETF that tracks an index are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
<R> ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their intraday indicative value. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater.</R>
Exposure to Foreign and Emerging Markets. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Foreign investments involve risks relating to local political, economic, regulatory, or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments, and may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Such actions may include expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. Additionally, governmental issuers of foreign debt securities may be unwilling to pay interest and repay principal when due and may require that the conditions for payment be renegotiated. There is no assurance that a fund's adviser will be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies and of dividends and interest paid with respect to such securities will fluctuate based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar.
It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for foreign securities will be on an exchange or in over-the-counter (OTC) markets located outside of the United States. Foreign stock markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign security trading, settlement and custodial practices (including those involving securities settlement where fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment) are often less developed than those in U.S. markets, and may result in increased investment or valuation risk or substantial delays in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of, or breach of duty by, a foreign broker-dealer, securities depository, or foreign subcustodian. In addition, the costs associated with foreign investments, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions, and custodial costs, are generally higher than with U.S. investments.
Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors than U.S. markets. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Adequate public information on foreign issuers may not be available, and it may be difficult to secure dividends and information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. OTC markets tend to be less regulated than stock exchange markets and, in certain countries, may be totally unregulated. Regulatory enforcement may be influenced by economic or political concerns, and investors may have difficulty enforcing their legal rights in foreign countries.
Some foreign securities impose restrictions on transfer within the United States or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than foreign securities of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks include foreign exchange risk as well as the political and economic risks of the underlying issuer's country.
The risks of foreign investing may be magnified for investments in emerging markets. Security prices in emerging markets can be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
Floating Rate Loans and Other Debt Securities. Floating rate loans consist generally of obligations of companies or other entities (collectively, "borrowers") incurred for the purpose of reorganizing the assets and liabilities of a borrower (recapitalization); acquiring another company (acquisition); taking over control of a company (leveraged buyout); temporary financing (bridge loan); or refinancings, internal growth, or other general business purposes. Floating rate loans are often obligations of borrowers who are highly leveraged.
Floating rate loans may be structured to include both term loans, which are generally fully funded at the time of the making of the loan, and revolving credit facilities, which would require additional investments upon the borrower's demand. A revolving credit facility may require a purchaser to increase its investment in a floating rate loan at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
Floating rate loans may be acquired by direct investment as a lender, as a participation interest (which represents a fractional interest in a floating rate loan) issued by a lender or other financial institution, or as an assignment of the portion of a floating rate loan previously attributable to a different lender.
A floating rate loan offered as part of the original lending syndicate typically is purchased at par value. As part of the original lending syndicate, a purchaser generally earns a yield equal to the stated interest rate. In addition, members of the original syndicate typically are paid a commitment fee. In secondary market trading, floating rate loans may be purchased or sold above, at, or below par, which can result in a yield that is below, equal to, or above the stated interest rate, respectively. At certain times when reduced opportunities exist for investing in new syndicated floating rate loans, floating rate loans may be available only through the secondary market. There can be no assurance that an adequate supply of floating rate loans will be available for purchase.
Historically, floating rate loans have not been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or any state securities commission or listed on any securities exchange. As a result, the amount of public information available about a specific floating rate loan historically has been less extensive than if the floating rate loan were registered or exchange-traded.
Purchasers of floating rate loans and other forms of debt securities depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the security may be adversely affected. Floating rate loans and other debt securities that are fully secured provide more protections than unsecured securities in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Some floating rate loans and other debt securities are not rated by any nationally recognized statistical rating organization. In connection with the restructuring of a floating rate loan or other debt security outside of bankruptcy court in a negotiated work-out or in the context of bankruptcy proceedings, equity securities or junior debt securities may be received in exchange for all or a portion of an interest in the security.
Floating rate debt securities include other forms of indebtedness of borrowers such as notes and bonds, securities with fixed rate interest payments in conjunction with a right to receive floating rate interest payments, and shares of other investment companies. These instruments are generally subject to the same risks as floating rate loans but are often more widely issued and traded.
Foreign Currency Transactions. A fund may conduct foreign currency transactions on a spot ( i.e., cash) or forward basis ( i.e., by entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies). Although foreign exchange dealers generally do not charge a fee for such conversions, they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the counterparty desire to resell that currency to the dealer. Forward contracts are customized transactions that require a specific amount of a currency to be delivered at a specific exchange rate on a specific date or range of dates in the future. Forward contracts are generally traded in an interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The parties to a forward contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated currency exchange.
The following discussion summarizes the principal currency management strategies involving forward contracts that could be used by a fund. A fund may also use swap agreements, indexed securities, and options and futures contracts relating to foreign currencies for the same purposes. Forward contracts not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying currency. All of these instruments and transactions are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default.
<R>A "settlement hedge" or "transaction hedge" is designed to protect a fund against an adverse change in foreign currency values between the date a security denominated in a foreign currency is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in an underlying security transaction for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars "locks in" the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used to protect a fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected.</R>
<R>A fund may also use forward contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in a foreign currency. For example, if a fund owned securities denominated in pounds sterling, it could enter into a forward contract to sell pounds sterling in return for U.S. dollars to hedge against possible declines in the pound's value. Such a hedge, sometimes referred to as a "position hedge," would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. A fund could also attempt to hedge the position by selling another currency expected to perform similarly to the pound sterling. This type of hedge, sometimes referred to as a "proxy hedge," could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield, or efficiency, but generally would not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a direct hedge into U.S. dollars. Proxy hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated.</R>
A fund may enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a "cross-hedge," will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if a fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. A fund may cross-hedge its U.S. dollar exposure in order to achieve a representative weighted mix of the major currencies in its benchmark index and/or to cover an underweight country or region exposure in its portfolio. Cross-hedges protect against losses resulting from a decline in the hedged currency, but will cause a fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases.
<R>Successful use of currency management strategies will depend on an adviser's skill in analyzing currency values. Currency management strategies may substantially change a fund's investment exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and could result in losses to a fund if currencies do not perform as an adviser anticipates. For example, if a currency's value rose at a time when a fund had hedged its position by selling that currency in exchange for dollars, the fund would not participate in the currency's appreciation. If a fund hedges currency exposure through proxy hedges, the fund could realize currency losses from both the hedge and the security position if the two currencies do not move in tandem. Similarly, if a fund increases its exposure to a foreign currency and that currency's value declines, the fund will realize a loss. Foreign currency transactions involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that a fund's hedging strategies will be ineffective. Moreover, it is impossible to precisely forecast the market value of portfolio securities at the expiration of a foreign currency forward contract. Accordingly, a fund may be required to buy or sell additional currency on the spot market (and bear the expenses of such transaction), if an adviser's predictions regarding the movement of foreign currency or securities markets prove inaccurate.</R>
<R>A fund may be required to limit its hedging transactions in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options in order to maintain its classification as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Hedging transactions could result in the application of the mark-to-market provisions of the Code, which may cause an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a fund and could affect whether dividends paid by a fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. A fund will cover its exposure to foreign currency transactions with liquid assets in compliance with applicable requirements. There is no assurance that an adviser's use of currency management strategies will be advantageous to a fund or that it will employ currency management strategies at appropriate times.</R>
Options and Futures Relating to Foreign Currencies. Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges (and have margin requirements) and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The underlying instrument of a currency option may be a foreign currency, which generally is purchased or delivered in exchange for U.S. dollars, or may be a futures contract. The purchaser of a currency call obtains the right to purchase the underlying currency, and the purchaser of a currency put obtains the right to sell the underlying currency.
<R>The uses and risks of currency options and futures are similar to options and futures relating to securities or indexes, as discussed below. A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and may purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. Currency options may also be purchased or written in conjunction with each other or with currency futures or forward contracts. Currency futures and options values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates, but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated security from a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of a fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the fund's investments exactly over time.</R>
<R>Currency options traded on U.S. or other exchanges may be subject to position limits which may limit the ability of the fund to reduce foreign currency risk using such options.</R>
Foreign Repurchase Agreements. Foreign repurchase agreements involve an agreement to purchase a foreign security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price in either U.S. dollars or foreign currency. Unlike typical U.S. repurchase agreements, foreign repurchase agreements may not be fully collateralized at all times. The value of a security purchased by a fund may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to repurchase the security. In the event of default by the counterparty, a fund may suffer a loss if the value of the security purchased is less than the agreed-upon repurchase price, or if the fund is unable to successfully assert a claim to the collateral under foreign laws. As a result, foreign repurchase agreements may involve higher credit risks than repurchase agreements in U.S. markets, as well as risks associated with currency fluctuations. In addition, as with other emerging market investments, repurchase agreements with counterparties located in emerging markets or relating to emerging markets may involve issuers or counterparties with lower credit ratings than typical U.S. repurchase agreements.
Fund's Rights as an Investor. Fidelity funds do not intend to direct or administer the day-to-day operations of any company. A fund may, however, exercise its rights as a shareholder or lender and may communicate its views on important matters of policy to a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders, and holders of a company's other securities when such matters could have a significant effect on the value of the fund's investment in the company. The activities in which a fund may engage, either individually or in conjunction with others, may include, among others, supporting or opposing proposed changes in a company's corporate structure or business activities; seeking changes in a company's directors or management; seeking changes in a company's direction or policies; seeking the sale or reorganization of the company or a portion of its assets; supporting or opposing third-party takeover efforts; supporting the filing of a bankruptcy petition; or foreclosing on collateral securing a security. This area of corporate activity is increasingly prone to litigation and it is possible that a fund could be involved in lawsuits related to such activities. Such activities will be monitored with a view to mitigating, to the extent possible, the risk of litigation against a fund and the risk of actual liability if a fund is involved in litigation. No guarantee can be made, however, that litigation against a fund will not be undertaken or liabilities incurred. The fund's proxy voting guidelines are included in this SAI.
<R> Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. If a fund invests a significant portion of its assets in derivatives, its investment exposure could far exceed the value of its portfolio securities and its investment performance could be primarily dependent upon securities it does not own.</R>
Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.
The limitations on the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps, and the fund's policies regarding futures contracts, options, and swaps may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts.
<R> Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts and the price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities or baskets of securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indexes (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indexes of securities prices (including foreign indexes for funds that seek foreign exposure). Futures on indexes and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out by offsetting purchases or sales of futures contracts before then if a liquid market is available. A fund may realize a gain or loss by closing out its futures contracts.</R>
<R>The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the underlying instrument. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.</R>
<R>The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by a fund, but is instead a settlement between a fund and the FCM of the amount one would owe the other if the fund's contract expired. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is also required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.</R>
<R>Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement, and margin procedures that are different from those for U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may not involve a clearing mechanism or related guarantees and may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to a fund. Because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuation.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.</R>
<R>If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
<R>Futures contracts on U.S. Government securities historically have reacted to an increase or decrease in interest rates in a manner similar to the manner in which the underlying U.S. Government securities reacted. To the extent, however, that a fund enters into such futures contracts, the value of these futures contracts will not vary in direct proportion to the value of the fund's holdings of U.S. Government securities. Thus, the anticipated spread between the price of the futures contract and the hedged security may be distorted due to differences in the nature of the markets. The spread also may be distorted by differences in initial and variation margin requirements, the liquidity of such markets and the participation of speculators in such markets.</R>
<R> Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, baskets of assets or securities, indexes of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). Options may be traded on an exchange or OTC. The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. Depending on the terms of the contract, upon exercise, an option may require physical delivery of the underlying instrument or may be settled through cash payments. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.</R>
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
<R>The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right (but not the obligation) to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.</R>
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
<R>Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer should mitigate the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.</R>
<R>Where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price to close out the put or call option on the secondary market may move more or less than the price of the related security.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for exchange-traded options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.</R>
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
<R>A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps (swaptions), which are generally options on interest rate swaps. An option on a swap gives a party the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, a fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes (sells) an option on a swap than it will incur when it purchases an option on a swap. When a fund purchases an option on a swap, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when a fund writes an option on a swap, upon exercise of the option the fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement. A fund that writes an option on a swap receives the premium and bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the preset rate on the underlying interest rate swap. Whether a fund's use of options on swaps will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend on the adviser's ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Options on swaps may involve risks similar to those discussed below in "Swap Agreements."</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
<R> Swap Agreements. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term. Most swap agreements are currently traded over-the-counter. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange one or more payments based, for example, on the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, indexes, or other financial or economic interests). The gross payments to be exchanged between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.</R>
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness.
<R>A fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. In order to cover its outstanding obligations to a swap counterparty, a fund would generally be required to provide margin or collateral for the benefit of that counterparty. If a counterparty to a swap transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited temporarily or permanently in exercising its right to the return of related fund assets designated as margin or collateral in an action against the counterparty.</R>
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<R>Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that an adviser will not accurately forecast market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other economic factors in establishing swap positions for a fund. If an adviser attempts to use a swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, a fund may be exposed to the risk that the swap will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment, which could cause substantial losses for a fund. While hedging strategies involving swap instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Swaps are complex and often valued subjectively.</R>
Illiquid Securities cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity fund's adviser determines the liquidity of the fund's investments and, through reports from the fund's adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid securities.
Various factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments, including (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
Increasing Government Debt. The total public debt of the United States and other countries around the globe as a percent of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented.
A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt cost higher and cause a country to sell additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In the worst case, unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns.
On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States one level to "AA+" from "AAA." While Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the United States' short-term sovereign credit rating as "A-1+," there is no guarantee that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services will not decide to lower this rating in the future. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services stated that its decision was prompted by its view on the rising public debt burden and its perception of greater policymaking uncertainty. The market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government may be adversely affected by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services decisions to downgrade the long-term sovereign credit rating of the United States.
<R> Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indexes, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.</R>
<R>Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indexes. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.</R>
Indexed securities may have principal payments as well as coupon payments that depend on the performance of one or more interest rates. Their coupon rates or principal payments may change by several percentage points for every 1% interest rate change.
Mortgage-indexed securities, for example, could be structured to replicate the performance of mortgage securities and the characteristics of direct ownership.
Inflation-protected securities, for example, can be indexed to a measure of inflation, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
<R>Commodity-indexed securities, for example, can be indexed to a commodities index such as the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return SM .</R>
Gold-indexed securities typically provide for a maturity value that depends on the price of gold, resulting in a security whose price tends to rise and fall together with gold prices.
Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Insolvency of Issuers, Counterparties, and Intermediaries. Issuers of fund portfolio securities or counterparties to fund transactions that become insolvent or declare bankruptcy can pose special investment risks. In each circumstance, risk of loss, valuation uncertainty, increased illiquidity, and other unpredictable occurrences may negatively impact an investment. Each of these risks may be amplified in foreign markets, where security trading, settlement, and custodial practices can be less developed than those in the U.S. markets, and bankruptcy laws differ from those of the U.S.
As a general matter, if the issuer of a fund portfolio security is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock have priority over the claims of common stock owners. These events can negatively impact the value of the issuer's securities and the results of related proceedings can be unpredictable.
If a counterparty to a fund transaction, such as a swap transaction, a short sale, a borrowing, or other complex transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise rights to obtain the return of related fund assets or in exercising other rights against the counterparty. In addition, insolvency and liquidation proceedings take time to resolve, which can limit or preclude a fund's ability to terminate a transaction or obtain related assets or collateral in a timely fashion. Uncertainty may also arise upon the insolvency of a securities or commodities intermediary such as a broker-dealer or futures commission merchant with which a fund has pending transactions. If an intermediary becomes insolvent, while securities positions and other holdings may be protected by U.S. or foreign laws, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these protections are available to specific trades based on the circumstances. Receiving the benefit of these protections can also take time to resolve, which may result in illiquid positions.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the SEC, a Fidelity fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) or its affiliates. A Fidelity fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. A Fidelity fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
<R> Investments by Large Shareholders. A fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by large shareholders. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a fund's portfolio. In addition, when investors own a substantial portion of a fund's shares, a large redemption could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the fund's shares. When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful. A high volume of redemption requests can impact a fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments.</R>
Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. Direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve a risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a fund supply additional cash to a borrower on demand. A fund may acquire loans by buying an assignment of all or a portion of the loan from a lender or by purchasing a loan participation from a lender or other purchaser of a participation.
Lenders and purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of foreign countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.
Direct lending and investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the lender/purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary.
A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest.
Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate lenders/purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a lender/purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
For a Fidelity fund that limits the amount of total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry, the fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require a fund, in appropriate circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for these purposes. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
Because the risk of default is higher for lower-quality debt securities, research and credit analysis are an especially important part of managing securities of this type. Such analysis may focus on relative values based on factors such as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earnings prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer, in an attempt to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved, or is expected to improve in the future.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Mortgage Securities are issued by government and non-government entities such as banks, mortgage lenders, or other institutions. A mortgage security is an obligation of the issuer backed by a mortgage or pool of mortgages or a direct interest in an underlying pool of mortgages. Some mortgage securities, such as collateralized mortgage obligations (or "CMOs"), make payments of both principal and interest at a range of specified intervals; others make semiannual interest payments at a predetermined rate and repay principal at maturity (like a typical bond). Mortgage securities are based on different types of mortgages, including those on commercial real estate or residential properties. Stripped mortgage securities are created when the interest and principal components of a mortgage security are separated and sold as individual securities. In the case of a stripped mortgage security, the holder of the "principal-only" security (PO) receives the principal payments made by the underlying mortgage, while the holder of the "interest-only" security (IO) receives interest payments from the same underlying mortgage.
Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs are pass-through securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, respectively. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which guarantee payment of interest and repayment of principal on Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs, respectively, are federally chartered corporations supervised by the U.S. Government that act as governmental instrumentalities under authority granted by Congress. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are authorized to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to meet their obligations. Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.
The value of mortgage securities may change due to shifts in the market's perception of issuers and changes in interest rates. In addition, regulatory or tax changes may adversely affect the mortgage securities market as a whole. Non-government mortgage securities may offer higher yields than those issued by government entities, but also may be subject to greater price changes than government issues. Mortgage securities are subject to prepayment risk, which is the risk that early principal payments made on the underlying mortgages, usually in response to a reduction in interest rates, will result in the return of principal to the investor, causing it to be invested subsequently at a lower current interest rate. Alternatively, in a rising interest rate environment, mortgage security values may be adversely affected when prepayments on underlying mortgages do not occur as anticipated, resulting in the extension of the security's effective maturity and the related increase in interest rate sensitivity of a longer-term instrument. The prices of stripped mortgage securities tend to be more volatile in response to changes in interest rates than those of non-stripped mortgage securities.
A fund may seek to earn additional income by using a trading strategy (commonly known as "mortgage dollar rolls" or "reverse mortgage dollar rolls") that involves selling (or buying) mortgage securities, realizing a gain or loss, and simultaneously agreeing to purchase (or sell) mortgage securities on a later date at a set price. During the period between the sale and repurchase in a mortgage dollar roll transaction, a fund will not be entitled to receive interest and principal payments on the securities sold but will invest the proceeds of the sale in other securities that are permissible investments for the fund. During the period between the purchase and subsequent sale in a reverse mortgage dollar roll transaction, a fund is entitled to interest and principal payments on the securities purchased. Losses may arise due to changes in the value of the securities or if the counterparty does not perform under the terms of the agreement. If the counterparty files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, a fund's right to repurchase or sell securities may be limited. This trading strategy may increase interest rate exposure and result in an increased portfolio turnover rate which increases costs and may increase taxable gains.
Precious Metals. Precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, at times have been subject to substantial price fluctuations over short periods of time and may be affected by unpredictable monetary and political policies such as currency devaluations or revaluations, economic and social conditions within a country, trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries. The prices of gold and other precious metals, however, are less subject to local and company-specific factors than securities of individual companies. As a result, precious metals may be more or less volatile in price than securities of companies engaged in precious metals-related businesses. Investments in precious metals can present concerns such as delivery, storage and maintenance, possible illiquidity, and the unavailability of accurate market valuations. Although precious metals can be purchased in any form, including bullion and coins, a Fidelity fund intends to purchase only those forms of precious metals that are readily marketable and that can be stored in accordance with custody regulations applicable to mutual funds. A fund may incur higher custody and transaction costs for precious metals than for securities. Also, precious metals investments do not pay income.
For a fund to qualify as a regulated investment company under current federal tax law, gains from selling precious metals may not exceed 10% of the fund's gross income for its taxable year. This tax requirement could cause a fund to hold or sell precious metals or securities when it would not otherwise do so.
Preferred Securities represent an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Real estate investment trusts issue debt securities to fund the purchase and/or development of commercial properties. The value of these debt securities may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property owned by the trusts, the creditworthiness of the trusts, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements. Real estate investment trusts are dependent upon management skill and the cash flow generated by the properties owned by the trusts. Real estate investment trusts are at the risk of the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
<R> Reforms and Government Intervention in the Financial Markets. Economic downturns can trigger various economic, legal, budgetary, tax, and regulatory reforms across the globe. Instability in the financial markets in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn led the U.S. Government and other governments to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility, and in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Reforms are ongoing and their effects are uncertain. Federal, state, local, foreign, and other governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which a fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Reforms may also change the way in which a fund is regulated and could limit or preclude a fund's ability to achieve its investment objective or engage in certain strategies. Also, while reforms generally are intended to strengthen markets, systems, and public finances, they could affect fund expenses and the value of fund investments.</R>
The value of a fund's holdings is also generally subject to the risk of future local, national, or global economic disturbances based on unknown weaknesses in the markets in which a fund invests. In the event of such a disturbance, the issuers of securities held by a fund may experience significant declines in the value of their assets and even cease operations, or may receive government assistance accompanied by increased restrictions on their business operations or other government intervention. In addition, it is not certain that the U.S. Government or foreign governments will intervene in response to a future market disturbance and the effect of any such future intervention cannot be predicted.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its right to liquidate assets related to a repurchase agreement with an insolvent counterparty. A Fidelity fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities Lending. Securities lending allows a fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The fund seeks to maintain the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased.
<R> Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies (which include business development companies (BDCs)), unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. For certain investment companies, such as BDCs, these expenses may be significant. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.</R>
The securities of closed-end funds may be leveraged. As a result, a fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. An investment in securities of closed-end funds that use leverage may expose a fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the fund's long-term returns on such securities will be diminished.
The extent to which a fund can invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws.
Short Sales. Short sales involve the market sale of a security a fund has borrowed from a prime broker with which it has a contractual relationship, with the expectation that the security will underperform either the market or the securities that the fund holds long. A fund closes a short sale by purchasing the same security at the current market price and delivering it to the prime broker.
Until a fund closes out a short position, the fund is obligated to pay the prime broker (from which it borrowed the security sold short) interest as well as any dividends that accrue during the period of the loan. While a short position is outstanding, a fund must also pledge a portion of its assets to the prime broker as collateral for the borrowed security. The collateral will be marked to market daily.
Short positions create a risk that a fund will be required to cover them by buying the security at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the fund. A short position in a security poses more risk than holding the same security long. Because a short position loses value as the security's price increases, the loss on a short sale is theoretically unlimited. The loss on a long position is limited to what a fund originally paid for the security together with any transaction costs. A fund may not always be able to borrow a security the fund seeks to sell short at a particular time or at an acceptable price. As a result, a fund may be unable to fully implement its investment strategy due to a lack of available stocks or for other reasons. It is possible that the market value of the securities a fund holds in long positions will decline at the same time that the market value of the securities the fund has sold short increases, thereby increasing the fund's potential volatility. Because a fund may be required to pay dividends, interest, premiums and other expenses in connection with a short sale, any benefit for the fund resulting from the short sale will be decreased, and the amount of any ultimate gain will be decreased or of any loss will be increased, by the amount of such expenses.
A fund may also enter into short sales against the box. Short sales "against the box" are short sales of securities that a fund owns or has the right to obtain (equivalent in kind or amount to the securities sold short). If a fund enters into a short sale against the box, it will be required to set aside securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short (or securities convertible or exchangeable into such securities) and will be required to hold such securities while the short sale is outstanding. A fund will incur transaction costs, including interest expenses, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales against the box.
Sources of Liquidity or Credit Support. Issuers may employ various forms of credit and liquidity enhancements, including letters of credit, guarantees, swaps, puts, and demand features, and insurance provided by domestic or foreign entities such as banks and other financial institutions. An adviser and its affiliates may rely on their evaluation of the credit of the issuer or the credit of the liquidity or credit enhancement provider in determining whether to purchase or hold a security supported by such enhancement. In evaluating the credit of a foreign bank or other foreign entities, factors considered may include whether adequate public information about the entity is available and whether the entity may be subject to unfavorable political or economic developments, currency controls, or other government restrictions that might affect its ability to honor its commitment. Changes in the credit quality of the issuer and/or entity providing the enhancement could affect the value of the security or a fund's share price.
Sovereign Debt Obligations are issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies, including debt of Latin American nations or other developing countries. Sovereign debt may be in the form of conventional securities or other types of debt instruments such as loans or loan participations. Sovereign debt of developing countries may involve a high degree of risk, and may be in default or present the risk of default. Governmental entities responsible for repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal and pay interest when due, and may require renegotiation or rescheduling of debt payments. In addition, prospects for repayment of principal and payment of interest may depend on political as well as economic factors. Although some sovereign debt, such as Brady Bonds, is collateralized by U.S. Government securities, repayment of principal and payment of interest is not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
Stripped Securities are the separate income or principal components of a debt security. The risks associated with stripped securities are similar to those of other debt securities, although stripped securities may be more volatile, and the value of certain types of stripped securities may move in the same direction as interest rates. U.S. Treasury securities that have been stripped by a Federal Reserve Bank are obligations issued by the U.S. Treasury.
Privately stripped government securities are created when a dealer deposits a U.S. Treasury security or other U.S. Government security with a custodian for safekeeping. The custodian issues separate receipts for the coupon payments and the principal payment, which the dealer then sells.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument ( e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
<R> Temporary Defensive Policies. </R>
<R> In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, a fund may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If a fund does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund reserves the right to invest without limitation in investment-grade securities for temporary, defensive purposes.
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Variable and Floating Rate Securities provide for periodic adjustments in the interest rate paid on the security. Variable rate securities provide for a specified periodic adjustment in the interest rate, while floating rate securities have interest rates that change whenever there is a change in a designated benchmark rate or the issuer's credit quality, sometimes subject to a cap or floor on such rate. Some variable or floating rate securities are structured with put features that permit holders to demand payment of the unpaid principal balance plus accrued interest from the issuers or certain financial intermediaries. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of a variable or floating rate security, a fund's adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments which entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss.
Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
When-Issued and Forward Purchase or Sale Transactions involve a commitment to purchase or sell specific securities at a predetermined price or yield in which payment and delivery take place after the customary settlement period for that type of security. Typically, no interest accrues to the purchaser until the security is delivered.
When purchasing securities pursuant to one of these transactions, the purchaser assumes the rights and risks of ownership, including the risks of price and yield fluctuations and the risk that the security will not be issued as anticipated. Because payment for the securities is not required until the delivery date, these risks are in addition to the risks associated with a fund's investments. If a fund remains substantially fully invested at a time when a purchase is outstanding, the purchases may result in a form of leverage. When a fund has sold a security pursuant to one of these transactions, the fund does not participate in further gains or losses with respect to the security. If the other party to a delayed-delivery transaction fails to deliver or pay for the securities, a fund could miss a favorable price or yield opportunity or suffer a loss.
A fund may renegotiate a when-issued or forward transaction and may sell the underlying securities before delivery, which may result in capital gains or losses for the fund.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities (normally, shares of underlying funds) are placed on behalf of the fund by Strategic Advisers, (either itself or through its affiliates), pursuant to authority contained in the management contract.
Strategic Advisers may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
<R>The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in affiliated funds, but it may incur such costs when it invests in non-affiliated funds and if it invests directly in other types of securities, such as ETFs.</R>
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review Strategic Advisers' and its affiliates' performance of their respective responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Strategic Advisers, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Strategic Advisers or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.</R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Strategic Advisers or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services Strategic Advisers or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Strategic Advisers' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Strategic Advisers or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.</R>
Research Contracts. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Strategic Advisers or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) who have entered into arrangements with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
<R>Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), with whom they are under common control, provided Strategic Advisers or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade-execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.</R>
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Strategic Advisers to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
Commissions Paid
A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
<R>For the fiscal periods ended February 28, 2013 and February 29, 2012, the fund's portfolio turnover rates were 27% and 2%, respectively. Variations in turnover rate may be due to a fluctuating volume of shareholder purchase and redemption orders, market conditions, and/or changes in Strategic Advisers' investment outlook.</R>
<R>For the fiscal years ended February 28, 2013, February 29, 2012, and February 28, 2011, the fund paid no brokerage commissions.</R>
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid no brokerage commissions to firms for providing research or brokerage services.</R>
The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. The NAV of the fund is computed by adding the value of the fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting its liabilities, and dividing the result by the number of shares outstanding.
The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for pricing, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers has established the Strategic Advisers Fair Value Committee (Strategic Advisers Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities. The Strategic Advisers Committee may rely on information and recommendations provided by affiliates of Strategic Advisers in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, including the fair valuation of securities.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) held by the fund are valued at their respective NAVs. If an underlying fund's NAV is unavailable, shares of that underlying fund will be fair valued in good faith by the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by the fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity non-money market fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
<R>Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques.</R>
Short-term securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less for which market quotations and information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates current value.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
<R>Prices described above are obtained from pricing services that have been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available and the funds may use more than one of these services. The funds may also discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time. Strategic Advisers engages in oversight activities with respect to the fund's pricing services, which includes, among other things, testing the prices provided by pricing services prior to calculation of a fund's NAV, conducting periodic due diligence meetings, and periodically reviewing the methodologies and inputs used by these services.</R>
<R>Foreign securities and instruments are valued in their local currency following the methodologies described above. Foreign securities, instruments and currencies are translated to U.S. dollars, based on foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by a pricing service as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which uses a proprietary model to determine the exchange rate. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at an interpolated rate based on days to maturity between the closest preceding and subsequent settlement period reported by the third party pricing service.</R>
The Board of Trustees of the underlying Fidelity funds has ultimate responsibility for pricing portfolio securities and assets held by those funds, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee and the Strategic Advisers Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and ADRs, market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. This technique involves initially valuing an instrument at its cost as adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount rather than its current market value. The amortized cost value of an instrument may be higher or lower than the price a money market fund would receive if it sold the instrument.
At such intervals as they deem appropriate, the Trustees of an underlying Fidelity money market fund consider the extent to which NAV calculated using market valuations would deviate from the $1.00 per share calculated using amortized cost valuation. If the Trustees believe that a deviation from a money market fund's amortized cost per share may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Trustees have agreed to take such corrective action, if any, as they deem appropriate to eliminate or reduce, to the extent reasonably practicable, the dilution or unfair results. Such corrective action could include selling portfolio instruments prior to maturity to realize capital gains or losses or to shorten average portfolio maturity; withholding dividends; redeeming shares in kind; establishing NAV by using available market quotations; and such other measures as the Trustees may deem appropriate.
BUYING AND SELLING INFORMATION
Shares of the fund are offered only to certain clients of Strategic Advisers that have granted Strategic Advisers discretionary investment authority. If you are not currently a Strategic Advisers client, please call 1-800-544-3455 for more information.
Investors participating in a Strategic Advisers discretionary investment program are charged an annual advisory fee based on a percentage of the average market value of assets in their account. The stated fee is then reduced by a credit reflecting the amount of fees, if any, received by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates from mutual funds for investment management or certain other services.
The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the fund's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
Dividends. A portion of the fund's income may qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, but it is unlikely that all of the fund's income will qualify for the deduction. A portion of the fund's dividends, when distributed to individual shareholders, may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
Capital Gain Distributions. The fund's long-term capital gain distributions, including amounts attributable to an underlying fund's long-term capital gain distributions, are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.
Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. As a general matter, if, at the close of its fiscal year, more than 50% of the fund's total assets is invested in securities of foreign issuers, the fund may elect to pass through eligible foreign taxes paid and thereby allow shareholders to take a deduction or, if they meet certain holding period requirements with respect to fund shares, a credit on their individual tax returns. In addition, if at the close of each quarter of its fiscal year at least 50% of the fund's total assets is represented by interests in other regulated investment companies, the same rules will apply to any foreign tax credits that underlying funds pass through to the fund. The amount of foreign taxes paid by the fund will be reduced to the extent that the fund lends securities over the dividend record date. Special rules may apply to the credit for individuals who receive dividends qualifying for the long-term capital gains tax rate.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
<R>The Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and executive officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. If the interests of the fund and an underlying Fidelity fund were to diverge, a conflict of interest could arise and affect how the Trustees and Member of the Advisory Board fulfill their fiduciary duties to the affected funds. Strategic Advisers has structured the fund to avoid these potential conflicts, although there may be situations where a conflict of interest is unavoidable. In such instances, Strategic Advisers, the Trustees, and Member of the Advisory Board would take reasonable steps to minimize and, if possible, eliminate the conflict. Except for Mary C. Farrell, each of the Trustees oversees 26 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. Ms. Farrell oversees 20 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.</R>
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. The executive officers and Advisory Board Member hold office without limit in time, except that any officer and Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
<R>Each Trustee who is not an interested person of the trust and the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) is referred to herein as an Independent Trustee.</R>
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Fund's Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also engage professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates with experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. Additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, may be considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. Roger T. Servison is an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) and currently serves as Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Ralph F. Cox serves as the lead Independent Trustee and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
<R>Fidelity funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees asset allocation funds as well as the Fidelity enhanced index funds. Other boards oversee Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds and Fidelity's equity and high income funds. The fund may invest in Fidelity funds overseen by such other Boards. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues.</R>
The Trustees primarily operate as a full Board, but also operate in committees, to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board has charged Strategic Advisers and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through Strategic Advisers, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. Board oversight of different aspects of the fund's activities is exercised primarily through the full Board, but also through the Audit and Compliance Committee. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees."
Interested Trustees *:
<R>Correspondence intended for each Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
|
<R>Roger T. Servison (1945)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Servison is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Servison serves as President of Strategic New Business Development for Fidelity Investments and serves as a Director of Strategic Advisers. Previously, Mr. Servison oversaw Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company (2005-2006) and Strategic Advisers (2005-2007). Mr. Servison also served as President and a Director of Fidelity Brokerage Services (Japan), LLC (1994-2004). |
<R>Derek L. Young (1964)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Mr. Young is Vice President of Fidelity's Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present), President and a Director of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2011-present), President of Fidelity Global Asset Allocation (GAA) (2011-present), and Vice Chairman of Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2011-present). Previously, Mr. Young served as Chief Investment Officer of GAA (2009-2011) and as a portfolio manager. |
* Trustees have been determined to be "Interested Trustees" by virtue of, among other things, their affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with Strategic Advisers.
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees :
Correspondence intended for each Independent Trustee (that is, the Trustees other than the Interested Trustees) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
|
<R>Peter C. Aldrich (1944)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Aldrich is a Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Director of the funds of BlackRock Realty Group (2006-present). Previously, Mr. Aldrich served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010), a Managing Member of Poseidon, LLC (foreign private investment, 1998-2004), and Chairman and Managing Member of AEGIS, LLC (foreign private investment, 1997-2004). Mr. Aldrich also served as Faculty Chairman of The Research Council on Global Investment of The Conference Board (business and professional education non-profit, 1999-2004). Mr. Aldrich is a Member of the Boards of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and an Overseer of the Longy School of Music. |
<R>Amy Butte Liebowitz (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011</R> Ms. Butte Liebowitz was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of TILE Financial (financial internet service, 2008-2012). Previously, Ms. Butte Liebowitz served as the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of MF Global (broker-dealer, 2006-2008), and Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange (2004-2006). Ms. Butte Liebowitz is a member of the Boards of Directors of Accion International and the New York Women's Forum, as well as an alumna of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader program. |
<R>Ralph F. Cox (1932)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Cox is President of RABAR Enterprises (management consulting for the petroleum industry). Mr. Cox is a Director of Abraxas Petroleum (exploration and production). Mr. Cox is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Business and Engineering Schools of Texas A&M University and the Engineering School of University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Mr. Cox served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010) and as an Advisory Director of CH2M Hill Companies (engineering, 1981-2011). Mr. Ralph F. Cox and Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. are not related. |
<R>Mary C. Farrell (1949)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2013</R> Ms. Farrell is a Director of the W.R. Berkley Corporation (insurance provider) and President (2009-present) and Director (2006-present) of the Howard Gilman Foundation (charitable organization). Previously, Ms. Farrell was Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at UBS Wealth Management USA and Co-Head of UBS Wealth Management Investment Strategy & Research Group (2003-2005). Ms. Farrell also served as Investment Strategist at PaineWebber (1982-2000) and UBS PaineWebber (2000-2002). Ms. Farrell also serves as Trustee on the Board of Overseers of the New York University Stern School of Business, the Board of Trustees of Yale-New Haven Hospital and is a member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II. |
<R>Karen Kaplan (1960)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Ms. Kaplan is President of Hill Holliday (advertising and specialized marketing, 2007-present). Ms. Kaplan is a Director of DSM (dba Delta Dental and DentaQuest) (2004-present), Director of Vera Bradley (2012-present), Member of the Board of Governors of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston (2010-present), Member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference for Women (2008-present), Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (2006-present), Board of Directors of Jobs for Massachusetts (2012-present), National Association of Corporate Directors Chapter (2012-present), and Board of Directors of the Post Office Square Trust (2012-present). She is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, an action oriented community of the most effective CEOs, heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, and non-governmental leaders in the world. Previously, Ms. Kaplan served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010), President of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2008-2010), Treasurer of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2002-2006), Vice Chair of the Board of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2003-2010), Director of United Way of Massachusetts Bay (2004-2006), Director of ADVO (direct mail marketing, 2003-2007), and Director of Tweeter Home Entertainment Group (2006-2007). |
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Member and Executive Officers :
<R>Correspondence intended for each executive officer and Howard E. Cox, Jr. may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupation</R> |
|
<R>Howard E. Cox, Jr. (1944)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II. Mr. Cox is a Member of the Advisory Board of Devonshire Investors (2009-present). Mr. Cox serves as an Advisory Partner of Greylock (venture capital) and a Director of Stryker Corporation (medical products and services). Previously, Mr. Cox served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010) and a Member of the Secretary of Defense's Business Board of Directors (2008-2010). Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. and Mr. Ralph F. Cox are not related. |
<R>Kenneth B. Robins (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 President and Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Robins also serves as President and Treasurer of other Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds (2008-present) and Assistant Treasurer of other Fidelity Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present). Mr. Robins is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Robins served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2005-2008) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2006-2008). |
<R>Marc Bryant (1966)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of the fund. Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Fidelity Investments. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Mr. Bryant served as a Senior Vice President and the Head of Global Retail Legal for AllianceBernstein L.P. (2006-2010), and as the General Counsel for ProFund Advisors LLC (2001-2006). |
<R>Elizabeth Paige Baumann (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer of the fund. Ms. Baumann also serves as AML Officer of the Fidelity funds (2012-present) and The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2012-present), Chief AML Officer of FMR LLC (2012-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Baumann served as Vice President and Deputy Anti-Money Laundering Officer (2007-2012). |
<R>Nicholas E. Steck (1964)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the fund. Mr. Steck serves as Senior Vice President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. During the period 2002 to 2009, Mr. Steck served as a Compliance Officer of FMR, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc., FMR LLC, Fidelity Research & Analysis (U.K.) Inc., Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. |
<R>Laura M. Doherty (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Compliance Officer of the fund. Ms. Doherty also serves as Senior Vice President of the Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Doherty served as a Vice President in Fidelity's Corporate Audit department (1998-2008). |
<R>Adrien E. Deberghes (1967)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Deberghes also serves as Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) and Deputy Treasurer (2008-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Deberghes served as Senior Vice President of Mutual Fund Administration at State Street Corporation (2007-2008), Senior Director of Mutual Fund Administration at Investors Bank & Trust (2005-2007), and Director of Finance for Dunkin' Brands (2000-2005). |
<R>Stephanie J. Dorsey (1969)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Ms. Dorsey also serves as President and Treasurer (2013-present) and Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Dorsey served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2008-2013), Treasurer (2004-2008) of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds and Vice President (2004-2008) of JPMorgan Chase Bank. |
<R>Jonathan Davis (1968)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Davis is also Assistant Treasurer of certain Fidelity funds. Mr. Davis is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2003-2010). |
<R>Margaret A. Carey (1973)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 </R> Assistant Secretary of the fund. Ms. Carey also serves as Assistant Secretary of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present), Vice President, Associate General Counsel (2007-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). |
Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established two committees to supplement the work of the Board as a whole. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
<R>The Audit and Compliance Committee is composed of Ms. Butte Liebowitz (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, Mr. Ralph Cox, and Mses. Farrell and Kaplan. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The committee determines whether at least one member of the committee is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined in rules promulgated by the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The committee normally meets in conjunction with in person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee meets separately periodically with the fund's Treasurer, the fund's Chief Financial Officer, the fund's CCO, personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and the fund's outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the fund for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the fund and the fund's service providers, (ii) the financial reporting processes of the fund, (iii) the independence, objectivity and qualification of the auditors to the fund, (iv) the annual audits of the fund's financial statements, and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the fund. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations (Auditor Independence Regulations) of the SEC. In furtherance of the foregoing, the committee has adopted (and may from time to time amend or supplement) and provides oversight of policies and procedures for non-audit engagements by outside auditors of the fund. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the fund and for resolving disagreements between the fund and any outside auditor regarding the fund's financial reporting, and has sole authority to hire and fire any auditor. Auditors of the fund report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the fund and any service providers consistent with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Ethics and Independence Rule 3526, Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence. The committee will discuss with the outside auditors any such disclosed relationships and their impact on the auditor's independence and objectivity. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the Auditor Independence Regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the fund's service providers' internal controls and reviews with management, internal auditors, and outside auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of the fund's and service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the fund's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the fund's or service provider's internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will review with counsel any legal matters that may have a material impact on the fund's financial statements and any material reports or inquiries received from regulators or governmental agencies. The committee reviews at least annually a report from the outside auditor describing (i) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control review, peer review, or PCAOB examination of the auditing firm and (ii) any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm since the most recent report and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the fund's financial reporting process and will receive reports from an outside auditor relating to (i) critical accounting policies and practices used by the fund, (ii) alternative accounting treatments that the auditor has discussed with Strategic Advisers, and (iii) other material written communications between the auditor and Strategic Advisers (as determined by the auditor). The committee will discuss with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the fund. The committee will review with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC (to the extent relevant) the results of audits of the fund's financial statements. The committee will review periodically the fund's major internal controls exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. The committee also oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the fund and its service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee of the Board of Trustees or reserved to the Board itself. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the fund. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO and, if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports on significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the fund's compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1 and quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of Mr. Ralph Cox (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, and Mses. Butte Liebowitz, Farrell, and Kaplan. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the code of ethics and any supplemental policies regarding personal securities transactions applicable to the Independent Trustees. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the fund's or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the fund's expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the fund, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012 (or as of March 31, 2013 for Ms. Farrell, Trustee as of March 5, 2013).</R>
Interested Trustees |
||
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Roger T. Servison |
Derek L. Young |
Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
none |
none |
<R></R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board for his or her services for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, or calendar year ended December 31, 2012, as applicable.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Compensation Table 1</R> |
||||||
<R>
AGGREGATE
|
Peter C.
|
Mary C.
|
Amy Butte
|
Ralph F.
|
Karen
|
</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund |
$ 9,185 |
$ 0 |
$ 9,185 |
$ 9,185 |
$ 9,185 |
</R> |
<R>
TOTAL COMPENSATION
|
$ 137,500 |
$ 0 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
</R> |
1 Roger T. Servison, Howard E. Cox, Jr., and Derek L. Young are interested persons and are compensated by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate (including FMR).
<R> 2 Effective March 5, 2013, Ms. Farrell serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II.</R>
<R> A Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, for 26 funds of two trusts.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and officers of the fund owned, in the aggregate, less than 1% of the fund's total outstanding shares.</R>
<R>FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of Strategic Advisers. The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Abigail P. Johnson family, directly or through trusts, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.</R>
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
Strategic Advisers (the Investment Adviser), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and the fund have adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that sets forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establishes procedures for personal investing, and restricts certain transactions. Employees subject to the code of ethics, including Fidelity investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.
The fund has entered into a management contract with Strategic Advisers, pursuant to which Strategic Advisers furnishes investment advisory and other services.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Strategic Advisers has not currently retained any sub-advisers to manage a portion of the fund's assets.
Management and Sub-Advisory Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, Strategic Advisers acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, directs the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. Strategic Advisers is authorized, in its discretion, to allocate the fund's assets pursuant to its investment strategy. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates provide the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensate all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of Strategic Advisers, and compensate all personnel of the fund or Strategic Advisers performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to Strategic Advisers and the fees payable to the transfer agent and pricing and bookkeeping agent, the fund pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by those parties. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders; however, under the terms of the fund's transfer agent agreement, the transfer agent bears these costs. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.
Management Fees. For the services of Strategic Advisers under the management contract, the fund pays Strategic Advisers a monthly management fee calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers, if any, based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets; provided, however, that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.75% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the fund until September 30, 2015. The fee waiver by Strategic Advisers will increase the fund's returns.</R>
The following table shows the amount of management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers for the past three fiscal years and the amount of waivers reducing management fees for the fund.
<R> Fund |
Fiscal Years
|
Amount of
|
Management Fees
|
<R>Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund |
2013 |
$ 9,571,027 |
$ 0</R> |
<R> |
2012 + |
$ 6,552,209 |
$ 0</R> |
|
2011 |
$ 3,598,442 |
$ 0 |
<R> |
|
|
</R> |
+ Fiscal year ended February 29.
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of the fund's operating expenses. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Expense reimbursements by Strategic Advisers will increase the fund's returns, and repayment of the reimbursement by the fund will decrease its returns.
Gregory Pappas is an employee of Strategic Advisers, a subsidiary of FMR LLC and an affiliate of FMR. Strategic Advisers is the adviser to the fund.
<R>Mr. Pappas is the portfolio manager of the fund and receives compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Strategic Advisers or at the election of the portfolio manager.</R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of a broad range of Strategic Advisers funds and accounts, including the fund. Accounts may include model portfolios designed for asset allocation, retirement planning, or tax-sensitive goals. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s), and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with the portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and peer group. A subjective component of the bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Strategic Advisers. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of his fund is based on the fund's pre-tax investment performance measured against The BofA Merrill Lynch SM US High Yield Constrained Index, and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund within the Morningstar ® High Yield Bond Category. The portfolio manager may be compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Strategic Advisers' parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates. </R>
<R></R>
<R>The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics. </R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Pappas as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
5 |
180 |
none</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 21,931 |
$ 42,166 |
none</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund ($3,749 (in millions) assets managed). The amount of assets managed of the fund reflects trades and other assets as of the close of the business day prior to the fund's fiscal year-end.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Pappas was $50,001 - $100,000.</R>
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of the fund, after consultation with Strategic Advisers. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Strategic Advisers and its affiliates and by the Independent Trustees of the fund, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. The funds in the trust generally intend to vote shares of underlying funds using echo voting procedures (that is, in the same proportion as the holders of all other shares of the particular underlying fund).
B. Any proposals not covered by paragraph A above or other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate Strategic Advisers analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review and approval by the General Counsel or Compliance Officer of FMR or the General Counsel of FMR LLC.
To view a fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, visit www.fidelity.com/proxyvotingresults or visit the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.
<R>The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. The principal business address of FDC is 100 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by Strategic Advisers.</R>
The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan with respect to shares of the fund (the Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a mutual fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows the fund and Strategic Advisers to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.
Under the Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to Strategic Advisers is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Plan. The Plan specifically recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Plan provides that Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers or FDC), that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Prior to approving the Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Plan will benefit the fund and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Plan does not authorize payments by the fund other than those made to Strategic Advisers under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Plan gives Strategic Advisers and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of shares of the fund, additional sales of shares of the fund or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
<R>The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (FIIOC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers, which is located at 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services for the fund.</R>
For providing transfer agency services, FIIOC receives an account fee and an asset-based fee with respect to assets managed by one or more sub-advisers and assets invested in non-affiliated ETFs. For retail accounts, these fees are based on fund type. For certain institutional accounts, these fees are based on size of position and fund type. For institutional retirement accounts, these fees are based on account type and fund type. The account fee is billed monthly on a pro rata basis at one-twelfth of the applicable annual rate as of the end of each calendar month. The asset-based fee is calculated and paid monthly on the basis of average daily net assets. For assets invested in underlying Fidelity funds, each underlying Fidelity fund pays its respective transfer agent (either FIIOC or an affiliate of FIIOC) fees based, in part, on the number of positions in and assets of the fund invested in such underlying Fidelity fund.
FIIOC also may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
<R>The fund has entered into a service agent agreement with Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers (or an agent, including an affiliate). Under the terms of the agreement, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for the fund and maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records.</R>
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
The annual rates for pricing and bookkeeping services for the fund are 0.0104% of the first $500 million of average net assets, 0.0062% of average net assets between $500 million and $3.5 billion, 0.0041% of average net assets between $3.5 billion and $25 billion, and 0.0019% of average net assets in excess of $25 billion, plus a 20% surcharge.
Pricing and bookkeeping fees paid by the fund to FSC for the past three fiscal years are shown in the following table.
<R> Fund |
2013 |
2012 |
2011</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund |
$ 301,407 |
$ 220,168 |
$ 85,198</R> |
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
<R> Trust Organization. Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund is a fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, an open-end management investment company created under an initial trust instrument dated March 8, 2006. Currently, there are 20 funds offered in the trust: Strategic Advisers Core Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.</R>
The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds.
Shareholder Liability. The trust is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that, except to the extent otherwise provided in the Trust Instrument, shareholders shall be entitled to the same limitations of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit organized under the general corporation law of Delaware. The courts of some states, however, may decline to apply Delaware law on this point. The Trust Instrument contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust. The Trust Instrument provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Trust Instrument further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of each fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Trust Instrument also provides that each fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which Delaware law does not apply, no contractual limitation of liability was in effect, and a fund is unable to meet its obligations. Strategic Advisers believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is extremely remote.
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. As a shareholder, you are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value you own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
<R></R>
The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodians. State Street Bank and Trust Company, 1776 Heritage Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as special purpose custodians of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions.
Strategic Advisers, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Member of the Advisory Board, and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by Strategic Advisers. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of Strategic Advisers, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 125 High Street, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit, tax, and related services.
<R> </R>
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized Strategic Advisers, in consultation with FMR, to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
Other registered investment companies that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers may be subject to different portfolio holdings disclosure policies, and neither Strategic Advisers nor the Board exercises control over such policies or disclosure. In addition, separate account clients of Strategic Advisers have access to their portfolio holdings and are not subject to the fund's portfolio holdings disclosure policies. Some of the funds that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers and some of the separate accounts managed by Strategic Advisers have investment objectives and strategies that are substantially similar or identical to the fund's and, therefore, potentially substantially similar, and in certain cases nearly identical, portfolio holdings as the fund.
<R>The fund will provide a full list of holdings monthly on www.fidelity.com 30 days after the month-end (excluding high income security holdings, which generally will be presented collectively monthly and included in a list of full holdings 60 days after its fiscal quarter-end).</R>
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations.
<R> The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the activities associated with managing Fidelity funds to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons Strategic Advisers believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include, but are not limited to: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics (including portfolio managers of affiliated funds of funds); contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.</R>
<R> Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, (ii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iii) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. Strategic Advisers relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.</R>
<R>At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day) and DocuLynx Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day).</R>
Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, Strategic Advisers desired to make such an arrangement, it would seek prior Board approval and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
<R>The fund's financial statements and financial highlights for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, and report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the fund's annual report and are incorporated herein by reference. Total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table may differ from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the financial highlights because total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table include any acquired fund fees and expenses, whereas the ratios of expenses in the financial highlights do not, except to the extent any acquired fund fees and expenses relate to an entity, such as a wholly-owned subsidiary, with which a fund's financial statements are consolidated. Acquired funds include other investment companies in which the fund has invested, if and to the extent it is permitted to do so. Total annual operating expenses in the prospectus fee table and the financial highlights do not include any expenses associated with investments in certain structured or synthetic products that may rely on the exception from the definition of "investment company" provided by section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
Fund /Ticker
Strategic Advisers ® International II Fund /FUSIX
Offered exclusively to certain clients of Strategic Advisers, Inc. - not available for sale to the general public
Prospectus
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
Fund Summary |
Strategic Advisers ® International II Fund |
|
Fund Basics |
Investment Details |
|
|
Valuing Shares |
|
Shareholder Information |
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares |
|
|
Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions |
|
|
Tax Consequences |
|
Fund Services |
Fund Management |
|
|
Fund Distribution |
|
Appendix |
Financial Highlights |
|
|
Additional Information about the Index |
Prospectus
Fund:
Strategic Advisers
®
International II Fund
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy and hold shares of the fund.
Shareholder fees
|
None |
Annual fund operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
<R> Management fee (fluctuates based on the fund's allocation among underlying funds and sub-advisers) B |
0.41% </R> |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees |
None |
<R> Other expenses |
0.14% </R> |
<R> Acquired fund fees and expenses (fees and expenses of underlying funds) |
0.67% </R> |
<R> Total annual fund operating expenses A |
1.22% </R> |
Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement B |
0.25% |
<R> Total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement A |
0.97% </R> |
A Differs from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the Financial Highlights section of the prospectus because of acquired fund fees and expenses.
<R> B Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) has contractually agreed that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.00% of the fund's average daily net assets. In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets. This arrangement will remain in effect through September 30, 2015. Strategic Advisers may not terminate this arrangement without the approval of the Board of Trustees. </R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
<R> 1 year |
$ 99 </R> |
<R> 3 years |
$ 320 </R> |
<R> 5 years |
$ 605 </R> |
<R> 10 years |
$ 1,417 </R> |
<R>The fund will not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of underlying funds, but it will incur transaction costs when it buys and sells other types of securities directly (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 29% of the average value of its portfolio.</R>
Prospectus
<R> Pursuant to an exemptive order granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) is permitted, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees, to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement. </R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following information is intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the fund. The information illustrates the changes in the performance of the fund's shares from year to year and compares the performance of the fund's shares to the performance of a securities market index over various periods of time. The index description appears in the Additional Information about the Index section of the prospectus. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future performance.
Visit www.fidelity.com for updated return information.
<R> Calendar Years |
|
|
|
|
|
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 </R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
|
-45.29% |
30.98% |
10.62% |
-15.28% |
20.95% </R> |
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
During the periods shown in the chart: |
Returns |
Quarter ended |
Highest Quarter Return |
25.15% |
June 30, 2009 |
Lowest Quarter Return |
-21.51% |
December 31, 2008 |
<R> Year-to-Date Return |
4.96% |
March 31, 2013 </R> |
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, but do not reflect the impact of state or local taxes. Actual after-tax returns may differ depending on your individual circumstances. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your shares in a retirement account or in another tax-deferred arrangement. Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares may be higher than other returns for the same period due to a tax benefit of realizing a capital loss upon the sale of fund shares.
Prospectus
<R></R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
<R>
For the periods ended
|
Past 1
|
Past 5
|
Life of
|
<R> Strategic Advisers International II Fund |
|
|
</R> |
<R> Return Before Taxes |
20.95% |
-4.07% |
-1.51% </R> |
<R> Return After Taxes on Distributions |
20.69% |
-4.48% |
-2.00% </R> |
<R> Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
14.24% |
-3.43% |
-1.33% </R> |
<R>
MSCI
®
EAFE
®
Index
|
17.48% |
-3.54% |
-1.44% </R> |
A From March 8, 2007.
<R>Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis) has been retained to serve as sub-adviser for the fund.</R>
Wilfred Chilangwa (lead portfolio manager) has managed the fund since March 2007.
Cesar Hernandez (co-manager) and H.B. King (co-manager) have managed Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets since September 2010.
The fund is not available for sale to the general public.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its net asset value per share (NAV). Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV. Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
The fund has no minimum investment requirement.
Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state or local taxes, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account (in which case you may be taxed later, upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).
The fund, Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Investment Objective
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
Principal Investment Strategies
The fund normally invests primarily in non-U.S. securities, including securities of issuers located in emerging markets. The fund normally invests primarily in common stocks.
The fund allocates investments across different countries and regions.
The fund implements its investment strategies by investing directly in securities through one or more sub-advisers or indirectly in securities through one or more underlying funds, which in turn invest directly in securities.
Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of underlying funds or sub-advisers at any time.
Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds and sub-advisers to attempt to diversify the fund's portfolio in terms of market capitalization, investment style, and geographic region.
Strategic Advisers pursues a disciplined, benchmark-driven approach to portfolio construction, and monitors and adjusts allocations to underlying funds and sub-advisers as necessary to favor those underlying funds and sub-advisers that Strategic Advisers believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the fund's investment objective.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among underlying funds, Strategic Advisers relies on proprietary fundamental and quantitative fund research in its fund selection process. Factors considered when investing in underlying funds include fund performance, a fund manager's experience and investment style, and fund characteristics such as expense ratio, asset size, and portfolio turnover.
<R>Strategic Advisers may actively adjust the allocation of the fund's assets at any time. For current information on fund holdings, please call 1-800-544-3455 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com. For information on the underlying funds, see the underlying funds' prospectuses. A copy of any underlying fund's prospectus is available at www.fidelity.com or www.advisor.fidelity.com.</R>
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers considers a variety of factors including, but not limited to, a sub-adviser's investment approach, the characteristics of a sub-adviser's typical investment portfolio, and a sub-adviser's performance patterns in different market environments.
Common types of investment approaches that a sub-adviser may use in selecting investments for a fund include, but are not limited to, quantitative analysis, fundamental analysis, or a combination of both approaches. Quantitative analysis refers to programmatic models that analyze such factors as growth potential, valuation, liquidity, and investment risk based on data inputs. Fundamental analysis involves a bottom-up assessment of a company's potential for success in light of factors including its financial condition, earnings outlook, strategy, management, industry position, and economic and market conditions.
Prospectus
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
The fund may also use various techniques, such as buying and selling futures contracts, to increase or decrease its exposure to changing security prices or other factors that affect security values. The fund may also enter into foreign currency forward contracts for hedging purposes. In addition, the fund may have indirect exposure to derivatives through its investments in underlying funds.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Description of Principal Security Types
In addition to investing in underlying funds, the fund may invest directly in the following principal security types:
Equity securities represent an ownership interest, or the right to acquire an ownership interest, in an issuer. Different types of equity securities provide different voting and dividend rights and priority in the event of the bankruptcy of the issuer. Equity securities include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, and warrants.
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on the performance of the underlying funds and securities in which it invests and on changes in market conditions and interest rates and in response to other economic, political, or financial developments. The fund's reaction to these developments will be affected by the types of underlying funds and securities in which the fund invests, the financial condition, industry and economic sector, and geographic location of an issuer, and the fund's level of investment in the securities of that underlying fund or issuer.
If Strategic Advisers' or a sub-adviser's allocation strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective. The portfolio managers' evaluations and assumptions in selecting underlying funds or individual securities may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
When your shares are sold they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
Investing in Other Funds. The fund bears all risks of investment strategies employed by the underlying funds. The fund does not control the investments of the underlying funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the fund would not engage in directly. Aggregation of underlying fund holdings may result in indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase volatility.
Stock Market Volatility. The value of equity securities fluctuates in response to issuer, political, market, and economic developments. Fluctuations can be dramatic over the short as well as long term, and different parts of the market and different types of equity securities can react differently to these developments. For example, large cap stocks can react differently from small cap stocks, "growth" stocks can react differently from "value" stocks, and stocks selected using quantitative or technical analysis can react differently than stocks selected using fundamental analysis. Issuer, political, or economic developments can affect a single issuer, issuers within an industry or economic sector or geographic region, or the market as a whole. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact the market as a whole. Terrorism and related geo-political risks have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
<R> Foreign Exposure. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; withholding or other taxes; trading, settlement, custodial, and other operational risks; and the less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets. All of these factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and potentially less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can perform differently from the U.S. market.</R>
Investing in emerging markets can involve risks in addition to and greater than those generally associated with investing in more developed foreign markets. The extent of economic development; political stability; market depth, infrastructure, and capitalization; and regulatory oversight can be less than in more developed markets. Emerging market economies can be subject to greater social, economic, regulatory, and political uncertainties. All of these factors can make emerging market securities more volatile and potentially less liquid than securities issued in more developed markets.
Prospectus
<R>Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers or providers in, or foreign exchange rates with, a different country or region.</R>
<R> Geographic Exposure. Social, political, and economic conditions and changes in regulatory, tax, or economic policy in a country or region could significantly affect the market in that country or region. From time to time, a small number of companies and industries may represent a large portion of the market in a particular country or region, and these companies and industries can be sensitive to adverse social, political, economic, currency, or regulatory developments. Similarly, from time to time, an underlying fund may invest a large portion of its assets in the securities of issuers located in a single country or a limited number of countries. If an underlying fund invests in this manner, there is a higher risk that social, political, economic, tax (such as a tax on foreign investments or financial transactions), currency, or regulatory developments in those countries may have a significant impact on the underlying fund's investment performance.</R>
Industry Exposure. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry or a group of related industries, and the securities of companies in that industry or group of industries could react similarly to these or other developments. In addition, from time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry or a group of related industries as a whole, and these companies can be sensitive to adverse economic, regulatory, or financial developments.
Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's value. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers. Smaller issuers can have more limited product lines, markets, or financial resources.
Quantitative Investing. The value of securities selected using quantitative analysis can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis. The factors used in quantitative analysis and the weight placed on those factors may not be predictive of a security's value. In addition, factors that affect a security's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model.
<R>In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser, if any, may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
The following policy is fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates the fund's NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing the fund's NAV.
NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the SEC.
To the extent that the fund's assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some of the fund's assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Shares of underlying funds are valued at their respective NAVs. For an explanation of the circumstances under which the underlying funds will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the underlying funds' prospectuses and statements of additional information (SAIs). The fund's NAV is calculated using the values of the underlying funds in which it invests. Other assets include securities that are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations or official closing prices. Certain short-term securities are valued on the basis of amortized cost. If market quotations or official closing prices are not readily available or, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, are deemed unreliable for a security, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before the fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Arbitrage opportunities may exist when trading in a portfolio security or securities is halted and does not resume before a fund calculates its NAV. These arbitrage opportunities may enable short-term traders to dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Securities trading in overseas markets present time zone arbitrage opportunities when events affecting portfolio security values occur after the close of the overseas markets but prior to the close of the U.S. market. Fair valuation of a fund's portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that fair value pricing policies will prevent dilution of a fund's NAV by short-term traders.
Prospectus
Fair value pricing is based on subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value of a security may differ materially from the value that would be realized if the security were sold.
Prospectus
THE FUND IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
Shares of the fund can be purchased only through certain discretionary investment programs offered by Strategic Advisers. If you are not currently a Strategic Advisers client, please call 1-800-544-3455 (9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday) for more information. Strategic Advisers charges fees for its discretionary investment programs. For more information on these fees, please refer to the "Buying and Selling Information" section of the SAI.
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase orders.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
Because investments in the fund can be made only by Strategic Advisers on behalf of its clients, the potential for excessive or short-term disruptive purchases and sales is reduced. Accordingly, the Board of Trustees has not adopted policies and procedures designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares and the fund accommodates frequent trading.
The fund has no exchange privilege with any other fund. The fund does not place a limit on purchases or sales of fund shares by Strategic Advisers. The fund reserves the right, but does not have the obligation, to reject any purchase transaction at any time. In addition, the fund reserves the right to impose restrictions on disruptive, excessive, or short-term trading.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its NAV. The fund's shares are sold without a sales charge.
Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
Provided the fund receives an order to buy shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to buy shares of an underlying fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV.
Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
Prospectus
Provided the fund receives an order to sell shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to sell shares of an underlying fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.
Redemptions may be suspended or payment dates postponed when the NYSE is closed (other than weekends or holidays), when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as permitted by the SEC.
Redemption proceeds may be paid in underlying fund shares, securities, or other property rather than in cash if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund.
When you terminate your relationship with Strategic Advisers, your shares may be sold at the NAV next calculated, in which case Strategic Advisers would send the redemption proceeds to you.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, redemption requests may be suspended, restricted, canceled, or processed and the proceeds may be withheld.
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
The fund normally pays dividends and capital gain distributions in April and December.
Dividends and capital gain distributions may be reinvested in additional shares of the fund or paid in cash.
As with any investment, your investment in the fund could have tax consequences for you. If you are not investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account, you should consider these tax consequences.
Taxes on distributions. Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes.
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including dividends and distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable to you as ordinary income, while certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of long-term capital gains, are taxable to you generally as capital gains. A percentage of certain distributions of dividends may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
If Strategic Advisers buys shares on your behalf when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Any taxable distributions you receive from the fund will normally be taxable to you when you receive them, regardless of your distribution option.
Taxes on transactions. Your redemptions may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on your investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of your shares and the price you receive when you sell them.
Prospectus
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
The fund employs a multi-manager and a fund of funds investment structure. Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of sub-advisers or underlying funds.
<R> Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. The address of Strategic Advisers and its affiliates, unless otherwise indicated below, is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
Each underlying fund is managed by FMR or an affiliate.
<R>As of December 31, 2012, Strategic Advisers had approximately $320.7 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
<R>As of December 31, 2012, FMR had approximately $1.0 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
As the manager, Strategic Advisers has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
As the manager for the underlying funds, FMR is responsible for choosing each fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
<R> Pyramis , at 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. Pyramis is an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. As of December 31, 2012, Pyramis had approximately $31.7 billion in discretionary assets under management. Pyramis provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
Strategic Advisers
Wilfred Chilangwa is lead portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since March 2007. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1997, Mr. Chilangwa has worked as a senior fund analyst, an international strategist, and a portfolio manager.
Pyramis
Cesar Hernandez, CFA, is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since September 2010. Mr. Hernandez developed the Select International discipline at Fidelity and is responsible for managing the Select International and the Select Global strategies. Mr. Hernandez joined Fidelity Investments as a portfolio manager in 1989.
H.B. King, CFA, is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since September 2010. Mr. King is responsible for the International Value strategy and is a member of the International Value portfolio management team. Mr. King joined Pyramis as a portfolio manager in 2005.
The SAI provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by the portfolio managers.
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
The fund pays a management fee to Strategic Advisers. The management fee is calculated and paid to Strategic Advisers every month.
The fund's management fee is calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets. Because the fund's management fee rate may fluctuate, the fund's management fee may be higher or lower in the future. The fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.00% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets through September 30, 2015.</R>
<R>For the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid a management fee of 0.16% of the fund's average net assets, after waiver and/or reimbursement.</R>
In return for the services of the fund's sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers will pay each of the fund's sub-advisers the fee (as described above) payable to that sub-adviser.
<R>The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract and sub-advisory agreement for the fund is available in the fund's annual report for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013.</R>
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, agree to reimburse the fund for, or waive, management fees and other expenses above a specified limit. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid by the fund if expenses fall below the specified limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Reimbursement or waiver arrangements can decrease expenses and boost performance.
FDC distributes the fund's shares.
The fund has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) with respect to its shares that recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, service-providers, and administrators, that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Prospectus
If payments made by Strategic Advisers to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of the fund's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
Prospectus
<R>The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the financial history of the fund's shares for the past 5 years. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of the fund. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in shares of the fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial highlights and financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report. A free copy of the annual report is available upon request.</R>
<R> Years ended February 28, |
2013 |
2012 E |
2011 |
2010 |
2009 </R> |
Selected Per-Share Data |
|
|
|
|
|
<R> Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 7.26 |
$ 8.12 |
$ 6.79 |
$ 4.44 |
$ 9.95 </R> |
Income from Investment Operations |
|
|
|
|
|
<R> Net investment income (loss) B |
.14 |
.12 |
.10 |
.12 |
.12 </R> |
<R> Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
.64 |
(.86 ) |
1.37 |
2.36 |
(5.03 ) </R> |
<R> Total from investment operations |
.78 |
(.74 ) |
1.47 |
2.48 |
(4.91 ) </R> |
<R> Distributions from net investment income |
(.14) |
(.12) |
(.11) |
(.11) |
(.10) </R> |
<R> Distributions from net realized gain |
(.02 ) |
- F |
(.04 ) |
(.02 ) |
(.50 ) </R> |
<R> Total distributions |
(.16 ) |
(.12 ) |
(.14 ) G |
(.13 ) |
(.60 ) </R> |
<R> Net asset value, end of period |
$ 7.88 |
$ 7.26 |
$ 8.12 |
$ 6.79 |
$ 4.44 </R> |
<R> Total Return A |
10.89% |
(8.91)% |
21.75% |
55.82% |
(52.13)% </R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
</R> |
|
<R> |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> Ratios to Average Net Assets C |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> Expenses before reductions |
.55% |
.51% |
.33% |
.25% |
.25% </R> |
<R> Expenses net of fee waivers, if any |
.30% |
.26% |
.08% |
.00% |
.00% </R> |
<R> Expenses net of all reductions |
.27% |
.25% |
.08% |
.00% |
.00% </R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) |
1.87% |
1.66% |
1.38% |
1.86% |
1.63% </R> |
Supplemental Data |
|
|
|
|
|
<R> Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$ 821,211 |
$ 857,774 |
$ 920,440 |
$ 757,540 |
$ 277,980 </R> |
<R> Portfolio turnover rate D |
29% |
38% |
48% |
13% |
20% </R> |
<R></R>
A Total returns would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reduced during the applicable periods shown.
B Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.
<R></R>
<R> C Expense ratios reflect operating expenses of the Fund. Expenses before reductions do not reflect amounts reimbursed by the investment adviser or reductions from brokerage service arrangements or reductions from other expense offset arrangements and do not represent the amount paid by the Fund during periods when reimbursements or reductions occur. Expenses net of fee waivers reflect expenses after reimbursement by the investment adviser but prior to reductions from brokerage service arrangements or other expense offset arrangements. Expenses net of all reductions represent the net expenses paid by the Fund. Fees and expenses of the Underlying Funds are not included in the Fund's annualized ratios. The Fund indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the Underlying Funds. </R>
Prospectus
D Amounts do not include the portfolio activity of any Underlying Funds.
E For the year ended February 29.
F Amount represents less than $.01 per share.
G Total distributions of $.14 per share is comprised of distributions from net investment income of $.105 and distributions from net realized gain of $.035 per share.
<R> MSCI ® EAFE ® Index is a market capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the investable equity market performance for global investors of developed markets, excluding the U.S. & Canada. Index returns are adjusted for tax withholding rates applicable to U.S. based mutual funds organized as Massachusetts business trusts.</R>
Prospectus
Notes
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account. For individual investors opening an account: When you open an account, you will be asked for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow Fidelity to identify you. You may also be asked to provide documents that may help to establish your identity, such as your driver's license. For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account such as name, residential address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity. |
You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.
For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call 1-800-544-3455. In addition, you may visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number, 811-21991 |
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
<R>Strategic Advisers and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R>1.912845.103 SIL-PRO-0413</R>
Strategic Advisers ® International II Fund (FUSIX)
A Fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
Offered exclusively to certain clients of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) - not available for sale to the general public.
This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. Portions of the fund's annual report are incorporated herein. The annual report is supplied with this SAI.
<R>To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated April 29, 2013, or an annual report, please call Fidelity at 1-800-544-3455 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com.</R>
<R>SIL-PTB-0413
1.912846.104</R>
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Investment Policies and Limitations |
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<R>Special Geographic Considerations |
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<R>Portfolio Transactions |
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<R>Valuation |
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<R>Buying and Selling Information |
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<R>Distributions and Taxes |
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<R>Trustees and Officers |
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<R>Control of Investment Advisers |
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<R>Management Contract |
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<R>Proxy Voting Guidelines |
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<R>Distribution Services |
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<R>Transfer and Service Agent Agreements |
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<R>Description of the Trust |
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<R>Fund Holdings Information |
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<R>Financial Statements |
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<R>Appendix |
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INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not with respect to 75% of the fund's total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except in connection with the insurance program established by the fund pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission or as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry (provided that investments in other investment companies shall not be considered an investment in any particular industry for purposes of this investment limitation).
<R>For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities, Strategic Advisers looks through to the U.S. Government securities.</R>
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The acquisitions of loans and loan participations excluded from the fund's lending limitation discussed above are only those loans and loan participations considered securities within the meaning of the 1940 Act.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, and provided that transactions in futures contracts and options are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 15% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
<R>To the extent that the fund acquires the shares of an underlying fund in accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, the underlying fund is not obligated to redeem its shares in an amount exceeding 1% of its shares outstanding during any period of less than 30 days. Those underlying fund shares will not be treated as illiquid securities for purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation described above to the extent that the fund is able to dispose of such securities by distributing them in kind to redeeming shareholders. (See "Securities of Other Investment Companies" on page 158 .)</R>
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to lend assets other than securities to other parties, except by (a) lending money (up to 15% of the fund's net assets) to a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) assuming any unfunded commitments in connection with the acquisition of loans, loan participations, or other forms of debt instruments. (This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities, to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.)
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
<R>For the fund's limitations on futures and options transactions, see the section entitled "Futures, Options, and Swaps" on page 150 .</R>
Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitations, the underlying funds in which the fund may invest have adopted certain investment limitations that may be more or less restrictive than those listed above, thereby permitting the fund to engage indirectly in investment strategies that are prohibited under the investment limitations listed above. The investment limitations of each underlying fund are set forth in its registration statement.
In accordance with its investment program as set forth in the prospectus, the fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in any one underlying Fidelity fund. Although the fund does not intend to concentrate its investments in a particular industry, the fund may indirectly concentrate in a particular industry or group of industries through its investments in one or more underlying funds.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
Strategic Advisers ® International II Fund may have exposure to instruments, techniques, and risks either directly or indirectly through an investment in an underlying fund. An underlying fund may invest in the same or other types of instruments and its adviser may employ the same or other types of techniques. Strategic Advisers ® International II Fund's performance will be affected by the instruments, techniques, and risks associated with an underlying fund, in proportion to the amount of assets that the fund allocates to that underlying fund.
On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "a fund" or "the fund" may relate to Strategic Advisers International II Fund or an underlying fund, and references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to Strategic Advisers (or its affiliates) or a sub-adviser of Strategic Advisers International II Fund, or an adviser of an underlying fund.
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of short-term bond or money market funds, including (for Fidelity funds and other advisory clients only) shares of Fidelity central funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.
<R> Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Notice of Exclusion. The trust, on behalf of the Fidelity fund to which this SAI relates, has filed with the National Futures Association a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the CFTC promulgated thereunder, with respect to the fund's operation. Accordingly, neither the fund nor its adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or a CPO. However, the CFTC has adopted certain rule amendments that significantly affect the continued availability of this exclusion, and may subject advisers to funds to regulation by the CFTC. As of the date of this SAI, the adviser does not expect to register as a CPO of the fund. However, there is no certainty that a fund or its adviser will be able to rely on an exclusion in the future as the fund's investments change over time. A fund may determine not to use investment strategies that trigger additional CFTC regulation or may determine to operate subject to CFTC regulation, if applicable. If a fund or its adviser operates subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.</R>
Common Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock, although related proceedings can take time to resolve and results can be unpredictable.
Convertible Securities are bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption or conversion, the fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
Country or Geographic Region. Various factors may be considered in determining whether an investment is tied economically to a particular country or region, including: whether the investment is issued or guaranteed by a particular government or any of its agencies, political subdivisions, or instrumentalities; whether the investment has its primary trading market in a particular country or region; whether the issuer is organized under the laws of, derives at least 50% of its revenues from, or has at least 50% of its assets in a particular country or region; whether the investment is included in an index representative of a particular country or region; and whether the investment is exposed to the economic fortunes and risks of a particular country or region.
Debt Securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay interest but are sold at a deep discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, and mortgage and other asset-backed securities.
<R> Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments. An ETF may seek to replicate the performance of a specific index or may be actively managed.</R>
Typically, ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks (typically, 50,000 shares) often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.
Some of the risks of investing in an ETF that tracks an index are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
<R> ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their intraday indicative value. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater.</R>
Exposure to Foreign and Emerging Markets. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Foreign investments involve risks relating to local political, economic, regulatory, or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments, and may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Such actions may include expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. Additionally, governmental issuers of foreign debt securities may be unwilling to pay interest and repay principal when due and may require that the conditions for payment be renegotiated. There is no assurance that a fund's adviser will be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies and of dividends and interest paid with respect to such securities will fluctuate based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar. From time to time, a fund may invest a large portion of its assets in the securities of issuers located in a single country or a limited number of countries. If a fund invests in this manner, there is a higher risk that social, political, economic, tax (such as a tax on foreign investments), or regulatory developments in those countries may have a significant impact on the fund's investment performance.
It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for foreign securities will be on an exchange or in over-the-counter (OTC) markets located outside of the United States. Foreign stock markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign security trading, settlement and custodial practices (including those involving securities settlement where fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment) are often less developed than those in U.S. markets, and may result in increased investment or valuation risk or substantial delays in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of, or breach of duty by, a foreign broker-dealer, securities depository, or foreign subcustodian. In addition, the costs associated with foreign investments, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions, and custodial costs, are generally higher than with U.S. investments.
Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors than U.S. markets. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Adequate public information on foreign issuers may not be available, and it may be difficult to secure dividends and information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. OTC markets tend to be less regulated than stock exchange markets and, in certain countries, may be totally unregulated. Regulatory enforcement may be influenced by economic or political concerns, and investors may have difficulty enforcing their legal rights in foreign countries.
Some foreign securities impose restrictions on transfer within the United States or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than foreign securities of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks include foreign exchange risk as well as the political and economic risks of the underlying issuer's country.
The risks of foreign investing may be magnified for investments in emerging markets. Security prices in emerging markets can be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
Foreign Currency Transactions. A fund may conduct foreign currency transactions on a spot ( i.e., cash) or forward basis ( i.e., by entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies). Although foreign exchange dealers generally do not charge a fee for such conversions, they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the counterparty desire to resell that currency to the dealer. Forward contracts are customized transactions that require a specific amount of a currency to be delivered at a specific exchange rate on a specific date or range of dates in the future. Forward contracts are generally traded in an interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The parties to a forward contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated currency exchange.
The following discussion summarizes the principal currency management strategies involving forward contracts that could be used by a fund. A fund may also use swap agreements, indexed securities, and options and futures contracts relating to foreign currencies for the same purposes. Forward contracts not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying currency. All of these instruments and transactions are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default.
<R>A "settlement hedge" or "transaction hedge" is designed to protect a fund against an adverse change in foreign currency values between the date a security denominated in a foreign currency is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in an underlying security transaction for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars "locks in" the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used to protect a fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected.</R>
<R>A fund may also use forward contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in a foreign currency. For example, if a fund owned securities denominated in pounds sterling, it could enter into a forward contract to sell pounds sterling in return for U.S. dollars to hedge against possible declines in the pound's value. Such a hedge, sometimes referred to as a "position hedge," would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. A fund could also attempt to hedge the position by selling another currency expected to perform similarly to the pound sterling. This type of hedge, sometimes referred to as a "proxy hedge," could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield, or efficiency, but generally would not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a direct hedge into U.S. dollars. Proxy hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated.</R>
A fund may enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a "cross-hedge," will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if a fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. A fund may cross-hedge its U.S. dollar exposure in order to achieve a representative weighted mix of the major currencies in its benchmark index and/or to cover an underweight country or region exposure in its portfolio. Cross-hedges protect against losses resulting from a decline in the hedged currency, but will cause a fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases.
<R>Successful use of currency management strategies will depend on an adviser's skill in analyzing currency values. Currency management strategies may substantially change a fund's investment exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and could result in losses to a fund if currencies do not perform as an adviser anticipates. For example, if a currency's value rose at a time when a fund had hedged its position by selling that currency in exchange for dollars, the fund would not participate in the currency's appreciation. If a fund hedges currency exposure through proxy hedges, the fund could realize currency losses from both the hedge and the security position if the two currencies do not move in tandem. Similarly, if a fund increases its exposure to a foreign currency and that currency's value declines, the fund will realize a loss. Foreign currency transactions involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that a fund's hedging strategies will be ineffective. Moreover, it is impossible to precisely forecast the market value of portfolio securities at the expiration of a foreign currency forward contract. Accordingly, a fund may be required to buy or sell additional currency on the spot market (and bear the expenses of such transaction), if an adviser's predictions regarding the movement of foreign currency or securities markets prove inaccurate.</R>
<R>A fund may be required to limit its hedging transactions in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options in order to maintain its classification as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Hedging transactions could result in the application of the mark-to-market provisions of the Code, which may cause an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a fund and could affect whether dividends paid by a fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. A fund will cover its exposure to foreign currency transactions with liquid assets in compliance with applicable requirements. There is no assurance that an adviser's use of currency management strategies will be advantageous to a fund or that it will employ currency management strategies at appropriate times.</R>
Options and Futures Relating to Foreign Currencies. Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges (and have margin requirements) and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The underlying instrument of a currency option may be a foreign currency, which generally is purchased or delivered in exchange for U.S. dollars, or may be a futures contract. The purchaser of a currency call obtains the right to purchase the underlying currency, and the purchaser of a currency put obtains the right to sell the underlying currency.
<R>The uses and risks of currency options and futures are similar to options and futures relating to securities or indexes, as discussed below. A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and may purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. Currency options may also be purchased or written in conjunction with each other or with currency futures or forward contracts. Currency futures and options values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates, but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated security from a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of a fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the fund's investments exactly over time.</R>
<R>Currency options traded on U.S. or other exchanges may be subject to position limits which may limit the ability of the fund to reduce foreign currency risk using such options.</R>
Foreign Repurchase Agreements. Foreign repurchase agreements involve an agreement to purchase a foreign security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price in either U.S. dollars or foreign currency. Unlike typical U.S. repurchase agreements, foreign repurchase agreements may not be fully collateralized at all times. The value of a security purchased by a fund may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to repurchase the security. In the event of default by the counterparty, a fund may suffer a loss if the value of the security purchased is less than the agreed-upon repurchase price, or if the fund is unable to successfully assert a claim to the collateral under foreign laws. As a result, foreign repurchase agreements may involve higher credit risks than repurchase agreements in U.S. markets, as well as risks associated with currency fluctuations. In addition, as with other emerging market investments, repurchase agreements with counterparties located in emerging markets or relating to emerging markets may involve issuers or counterparties with lower credit ratings than typical U.S. repurchase agreements.
Fund's Rights as an Investor. Fidelity funds do not intend to direct or administer the day-to-day operations of any company. A fund may, however, exercise its rights as a shareholder or lender and may communicate its views on important matters of policy to a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders, and holders of a company's other securities when such matters could have a significant effect on the value of the fund's investment in the company. The activities in which a fund may engage, either individually or in conjunction with others, may include, among others, supporting or opposing proposed changes in a company's corporate structure or business activities; seeking changes in a company's directors or management; seeking changes in a company's direction or policies; seeking the sale or reorganization of the company or a portion of its assets; supporting or opposing third-party takeover efforts; supporting the filing of a bankruptcy petition; or foreclosing on collateral securing a security. This area of corporate activity is increasingly prone to litigation and it is possible that a fund could be involved in lawsuits related to such activities. Such activities will be monitored with a view to mitigating, to the extent possible, the risk of litigation against a fund and the risk of actual liability if a fund is involved in litigation. No guarantee can be made, however, that litigation against a fund will not be undertaken or liabilities incurred. The fund's proxy voting guidelines are included in this SAI.
<R> Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. If a fund invests a significant portion of its assets in derivatives, its investment exposure could far exceed the value of its portfolio securities and its investment performance could be primarily dependent upon securities it does not own.</R>
Strategic Advisers International II Fund will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.
The limitations on the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps, and the fund's policies regarding futures contracts, options, and swaps may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts.
<R> Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts and the price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities or baskets of securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indexes (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indexes of securities prices (including foreign indexes for funds that seek foreign exposure). Futures on indexes and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out by offsetting purchases or sales of futures contracts before then if a liquid market is available. A fund may realize a gain or loss by closing out its futures contracts.</R>
<R>The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the underlying instrument. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.</R>
<R>The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by a fund, but is instead a settlement between a fund and the FCM of the amount one would owe the other if the fund's contract expired. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is also required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.</R>
<R>Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement, and margin procedures that are different from those for U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may not involve a clearing mechanism or related guarantees and may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to a fund. Because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuation.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.</R>
<R>If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
<R>Futures contracts on U.S. Government securities historically have reacted to an increase or decrease in interest rates in a manner similar to the manner in which the underlying U.S. Government securities reacted. To the extent, however, that a fund enters into such futures contracts, the value of these futures contracts will not vary in direct proportion to the value of the fund's holdings of U.S. Government securities. Thus, the anticipated spread between the price of the futures contract and the hedged security may be distorted due to differences in the nature of the markets. The spread also may be distorted by differences in initial and variation margin requirements, the liquidity of such markets and the participation of speculators in such markets.</R>
<R> Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, baskets of assets or securities, indexes of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). Options may be traded on an exchange or OTC. The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. Depending on the terms of the contract, upon exercise, an option may require physical delivery of the underlying instrument or may be settled through cash payments. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.</R>
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
<R>The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right (but not the obligation) to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.</R>
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
<R>Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer should mitigate the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.</R>
<R>Where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price to close out the put or call option on the secondary market may move more or less than the price of the related security.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for exchange-traded options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.</R>
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
<R>A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps (swaptions), which are generally options on interest rate swaps. An option on a swap gives a party the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, a fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes (sells) an option on a swap than it will incur when it purchases an option on a swap. When a fund purchases an option on a swap, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when a fund writes an option on a swap, upon exercise of the option the fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement. A fund that writes an option on a swap receives the premium and bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the preset rate on the underlying interest rate swap. Whether a fund's use of options on swaps will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend on the adviser's ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Options on swaps may involve risks similar to those discussed below in "Swap Agreements."</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
<R> Swap Agreements. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term. Most swap agreements are currently traded over-the-counter. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange one or more payments based, for example, on the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, indexes, or other financial or economic interests). The gross payments to be exchanged between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.</R>
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness.
<R>A fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. In order to cover its outstanding obligations to a swap counterparty, a fund would generally be required to provide margin or collateral for the benefit of that counterparty. If a counterparty to a swap transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited temporarily or permanently in exercising its right to the return of related fund assets designated as margin or collateral in an action against the counterparty.</R>
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<R>Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that an adviser will not accurately forecast market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other economic factors in establishing swap positions for a fund. If an adviser attempts to use a swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, a fund may be exposed to the risk that the swap will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment, which could cause substantial losses for a fund. While hedging strategies involving swap instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Swaps are complex and often valued subjectively.</R>
Illiquid Securities cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity fund's adviser determines the liquidity of the fund's investments and, through reports from the fund's adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid securities.
Various factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments, including (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
Increasing Government Debt. The total public debt of the United States and other countries around the globe as a percent of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented.
A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt cost higher and cause a country to sell additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In the worst case, unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns.
On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States one level to "AA+" from "AAA." While Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the United States' short-term sovereign credit rating as "A-1+," there is no guarantee that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services will not decide to lower this rating in the future. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services stated that its decision was prompted by its view on the rising public debt burden and its perception of greater policymaking uncertainty. The market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government may be adversely affected by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services decisions to downgrade the long-term sovereign credit rating of the United States.
<R> Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indexes, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.</R>
<R>Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indexes. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.</R>
Indexed securities may have principal payments as well as coupon payments that depend on the performance of one or more interest rates. Their coupon rates or principal payments may change by several percentage points for every 1% interest rate change.
Mortgage-indexed securities, for example, could be structured to replicate the performance of mortgage securities and the characteristics of direct ownership.
Inflation-protected securities, for example, can be indexed to a measure of inflation, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Commodity-indexed securities, for example, can be indexed to a commodities index such as the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return SM .
Gold-indexed securities typically provide for a maturity value that depends on the price of gold, resulting in a security whose price tends to rise and fall together with gold prices.
Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Insolvency of Issuers, Counterparties, and Intermediaries. Issuers of fund portfolio securities or counterparties to fund transactions that become insolvent or declare bankruptcy can pose special investment risks. In each circumstance, risk of loss, valuation uncertainty, increased illiquidity, and other unpredictable occurrences may negatively impact an investment. Each of these risks may be amplified in foreign markets, where security trading, settlement, and custodial practices can be less developed than those in the U.S. markets, and bankruptcy laws differ from those of the U.S.
As a general matter, if the issuer of a fund portfolio security is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock have priority over the claims of common stock owners. These events can negatively impact the value of the issuer's securities and the results of related proceedings can be unpredictable.
If a counterparty to a fund transaction, such as a swap transaction, a short sale, a borrowing, or other complex transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise rights to obtain the return of related fund assets or in exercising other rights against the counterparty. In addition, insolvency and liquidation proceedings take time to resolve, which can limit or preclude a fund's ability to terminate a transaction or obtain related assets or collateral in a timely fashion. Uncertainty may also arise upon the insolvency of a securities or commodities intermediary such as a broker-dealer or futures commission merchant with which a fund has pending transactions. If an intermediary becomes insolvent, while securities positions and other holdings may be protected by U.S. or foreign laws, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these protections are available to specific trades based on the circumstances. Receiving the benefit of these protections can also take time to resolve, which may result in illiquid positions.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a Fidelity fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) or its affiliates. A Fidelity fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. A Fidelity fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
<R> Investments by Large Shareholders. A fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by large shareholders. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a fund's portfolio. In addition, when investors own a substantial portion of a fund's shares, a large redemption could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the fund's shares. When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful. A high volume of redemption requests can impact a fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments.</R>
Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. Direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve a risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a fund supply additional cash to a borrower on demand. A fund may acquire loans by buying an assignment of all or a portion of the loan from a lender or by purchasing a loan participation from a lender or other purchaser of a participation.
Lenders and purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of foreign countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.
Direct lending and investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the lender/purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary.
A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest.
Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate lenders/purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a lender/purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
For a Fidelity fund that limits the amount of total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry, the fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require a fund, in appropriate circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for these purposes. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
Because the risk of default is higher for lower-quality debt securities, research and credit analysis are an especially important part of managing securities of this type. Such analysis may focus on relative values based on factors such as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earnings prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer, in an attempt to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved, or is expected to improve in the future.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Precious Metals. Precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, at times have been subject to substantial price fluctuations over short periods of time and may be affected by unpredictable monetary and political policies such as currency devaluations or revaluations, economic and social conditions within a country, trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries. The prices of gold and other precious metals, however, are less subject to local and company-specific factors than securities of individual companies. As a result, precious metals may be more or less volatile in price than securities of companies engaged in precious metals-related businesses. Investments in precious metals can present concerns such as delivery, storage and maintenance, possible illiquidity, and the unavailability of accurate market valuations. Although precious metals can be purchased in any form, including bullion and coins, a Fidelity fund intends to purchase only those forms of precious metals that are readily marketable and that can be stored in accordance with custody regulations applicable to mutual funds. A fund may incur higher custody and transaction costs for precious metals than for securities. Also, precious metals investments do not pay income.
For a fund to qualify as a regulated investment company under current federal tax law, gains from selling precious metals may not exceed 10% of the fund's gross income for its taxable year. This tax requirement could cause a fund to hold or sell precious metals or securities when it would not otherwise do so.
Preferred Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Equity real estate investment trusts own real estate properties, while mortgage real estate investment trusts make construction, development, and long-term mortgage loans. Their value may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property of the trusts, the creditworthiness of the issuer, property taxes, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements, such as those relating to the environment. Both types of trusts are dependent upon management skill, are not diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers, self-liquidation, and the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
<R> Reforms and Government Intervention in the Financial Markets. Economic downturns can trigger various economic, legal, budgetary, tax, and regulatory reforms across the globe. Instability in the financial markets in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn led the U.S. Government and other governments to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility, and in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Reforms are ongoing and their effects are uncertain. Federal, state, local, foreign, and other governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which a fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Reforms may also change the way in which a fund is regulated and could limit or preclude a fund's ability to achieve its investment objective or engage in certain strategies. Also, while reforms generally are intended to strengthen markets, systems, and public finances, they could affect fund expenses and the value of fund investments.</R>
The value of a fund's holdings is also generally subject to the risk of future local, national, or global economic disturbances based on unknown weaknesses in the markets in which a fund invests. In the event of such a disturbance, the issuers of securities held by a fund may experience significant declines in the value of their assets and even cease operations, or may receive government assistance accompanied by increased restrictions on their business operations or other government intervention. In addition, it is not certain that the U.S. Government or foreign governments will intervene in response to a future market disturbance and the effect of any such future intervention cannot be predicted.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its right to liquidate assets related to a repurchase agreement with an insolvent counterparty. A Fidelity fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities Lending. Securities lending allows a fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The fund seeks to maintain the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased.
<R> Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies (which include business development companies (BDCs)), unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. For certain investment companies, such as BDCs, these expenses may be significant. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.</R>
The securities of closed-end funds may be leveraged. As a result, a fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. An investment in securities of closed-end funds that use leverage may expose a fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the fund's long-term returns on such securities will be diminished.
The extent to which a fund can invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws.
Short Sales. Short sales involve the market sale of a security a fund has borrowed from a prime broker with which it has a contractual relationship, with the expectation that the security will underperform either the market or the securities that the fund holds long. A fund closes a short sale by purchasing the same security at the current market price and delivering it to the prime broker.
Until a fund closes out a short position, the fund is obligated to pay the prime broker (from which it borrowed the security sold short) interest as well as any dividends that accrue during the period of the loan. While a short position is outstanding, a fund must also pledge a portion of its assets to the prime broker as collateral for the borrowed security. The collateral will be marked to market daily.
Short positions create a risk that a fund will be required to cover them by buying the security at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the fund. A short position in a security poses more risk than holding the same security long. Because a short position loses value as the security's price increases, the loss on a short sale is theoretically unlimited. The loss on a long position is limited to what a fund originally paid for the security together with any transaction costs. A fund may not always be able to borrow a security the fund seeks to sell short at a particular time or at an acceptable price. As a result, a fund may be unable to fully implement its investment strategy due to a lack of available stocks or for other reasons. It is possible that the market value of the securities a fund holds in long positions will decline at the same time that the market value of the securities the fund has sold short increases, thereby increasing the fund's potential volatility. Because a fund may be required to pay dividends, interest, premiums and other expenses in connection with a short sale, any benefit for the fund resulting from the short sale will be decreased, and the amount of any ultimate gain will be decreased or of any loss will be increased, by the amount of such expenses.
A fund may also enter into short sales against the box. Short sales "against the box" are short sales of securities that a fund owns or has the right to obtain (equivalent in kind or amount to the securities sold short). If a fund enters into a short sale against the box, it will be required to set aside securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short (or securities convertible or exchangeable into such securities) and will be required to hold such securities while the short sale is outstanding. A fund will incur transaction costs, including interest expenses, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales against the box.
Sources of Liquidity or Credit Support. Issuers may employ various forms of credit and liquidity enhancements, including letters of credit, guarantees, swaps, puts, and demand features, and insurance provided by domestic or foreign entities such as banks and other financial institutions. An adviser and its affiliates may rely on their evaluation of the credit of the issuer or the credit of the liquidity or credit enhancement provider in determining whether to purchase or hold a security supported by such enhancement. In evaluating the credit of a foreign bank or other foreign entities, factors considered may include whether adequate public information about the entity is available and whether the entity may be subject to unfavorable political or economic developments, currency controls, or other government restrictions that might affect its ability to honor its commitment. Changes in the credit quality of the issuer and/or entity providing the enhancement could affect the value of the security or a fund's share price.
Sovereign Debt Obligations are issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies, including debt of Latin American nations or other developing countries. Sovereign debt may be in the form of conventional securities or other types of debt instruments such as loans or loan participations. Sovereign debt of developing countries may involve a high degree of risk, and may be in default or present the risk of default. Governmental entities responsible for repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal and pay interest when due, and may require renegotiation or rescheduling of debt payments. In addition, prospects for repayment of principal and payment of interest may depend on political as well as economic factors. Although some sovereign debt, such as Brady Bonds, is collateralized by U.S. Government securities, repayment of principal and payment of interest is not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument ( e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
<R> Temporary Defensive Policies. </R>
<R> In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, a fund may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If a fund does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Strategic Advisers International II Fund reserves the right to invest without limitation in preferred stocks and investment-grade debt instruments for temporary, defensive purposes.
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments which entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss.
Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
<R> SPECIAL GEOGRAPHIC CONSIDERATIONS</R>
<R> Emerging Markets. Investing in companies domiciled in emerging market countries may be subject to potentially higher risks than investments in developed countries. These risks include: (i) less social, political, and economic stability; (ii) greater illiquidity and price volatility due to smaller or limited local capital markets for such securities, or low or non-existent trading volumes; (iii) foreign exchanges and broker-dealers may be subject to less scrutiny and regulation by local authorities; (iv) local governments may decide to seize or confiscate securities held by foreign investors and/or local governments may decide to suspend or limit an issuer's ability to make dividend or interest payments; (v) local governments may limit or entirely restrict repatriation of invested capital, profits, and dividends; (vi) capital gains may be subject to local taxation, including on a retroactive basis; (vii) issuers facing restrictions on dollar or euro payments imposed by local governments may attempt to make dividend or interest payments to foreign investors in the local currency; (viii) investors may experience difficulty in enforcing legal claims related to the securities and/or local judges may favor the interests of the issuer over those of foreign investors; (ix) bankruptcy judgments may only be permitted to be paid in the local currency; (x) limited public information regarding the issuer may result in greater difficulty in determining market valuations of the securities, and (xi) infrequent financial reporting, substandard disclosure, and differences in accounting standards may make it difficult to ascertain the financial health of an issuer. In addition, unlike developed countries, many emerging countries' economic growth highly depends on exports and inflows of external capital, making them more vulnerable to the downturns of the world economy. The recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for their exports and tightened international credit supplies and, as a result, many emerging countries faced significant economic difficulties and some countries fell into recession.</R>
<R>Many emerging market countries suffer from uncertainty and corruption in their legal frameworks. Legislation may be difficult to interpret and laws may be too new to provide any precedential value. Laws regarding foreign investment and private property may be weak or non-existent. Sudden changes in governments may result in policies that are less favorable to investors such as policies designed to expropriate or nationalize "sovereign" assets. Certain emerging market countries in the past have expropriated large amounts of private property, in many cases with little or no compensation, and there can be no assurance that such expropriation will not occur in the future.</R>
<R>Many emerging market countries in which a fund may invest lack the social, political, and economic stability characteristic of the U.S. Political instability among emerging market countries can be common and may be caused by an uneven distribution of wealth, social unrest, labor strikes, civil wars, and religious oppression. Economic instability in emerging market countries may take the form of: (i) high interest rates; (ii) high levels of inflation, including hyperinflation; (iii) high levels of unemployment or underemployment; (iv) changes in government economic and tax policies, including confiscatory taxation (or taxes on foreign investments); and (v) imposition of trade barriers.</R>
<R>Currencies of emerging market countries are subject to significantly greater risks than currencies of developed countries. Some emerging market currencies may not be internationally traded or may be subject to strict controls by local governments, resulting in undervalued or overvalued currencies. Some emerging market countries have experienced balance of payment deficits and shortages in foreign exchange reserves. As a result, some governments have responded by restricting currency conversions. Future restrictive exchange controls could prevent or restrict a company's ability to make dividend or interest payments in the original currency of the obligation (usually U.S. dollars). In addition, even though the currencies of some emerging market countries may be convertible into U.S. dollars, the conversion rates may be artificial to their actual market values.</R>
<R>Governments of many emerging market countries have become overly reliant on the international capital markets and other forms of foreign credit to finance large public spending programs which cause huge budget deficits. Often, interest payments have become too overwhelming for these governments to meet, as these payments may represent a large percentage of a country's total GDP. Accordingly, these foreign obligations have become the subject of political debate and served as fuel for political parties of the opposition, which pressure governments not to make payments to foreign creditors, but instead to use these funds for social programs. Either due to an inability to pay or submission to political pressure, the governments have been forced to seek a restructuring of their loan and/or bond obligations, have declared a temporary suspension of interest payments, or have defaulted on their outstanding debt obligations. These events have adversely affected the values of securities issued by the governments and corporations domiciled in these emerging market countries and have negatively affected not only their cost of borrowing, but their ability to borrow in the future as well.</R>
<R>In addition to their over-reliance on international capital markets, many emerging economies are also highly dependent on international trade and exports, including exports of oil and other commodities. As a result, these economies are particularly vulnerable to downturns of the world economy. The recent global financial crisis tightened international credit supplies and weakened global demand for their exports and, as a result, certain of these economies faced significant difficulties and some economies fell into recession. Although certain economies in emerging market countries have recently shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. The reduced demand for exports and lack of available capital for investment resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy may limit recovery by emerging market countries.</R>
<R> </R>
<R> Canada. </R>
<R> Political. Canada's parliamentary system of government is, in general, stable. Quebec does have a "separatist" opposition party whose objective is to achieve sovereignty and increased self-governing legal and financial powers for the province. To date, referendums on Quebec sovereignty have been defeated. If a referendum about the independence of Quebec were successful, the Canadian federal government may be obliged to negotiate with Quebec.</R>
Economic. Canada is a major producer of commodities such as forest products, metals, agricultural products, and energy related products like oil, gas, and hydroelectricity. Accordingly, changes in the supply and demand of base commodity resources and industrial and precious metals and materials, both domestically and internationally, can have a significant effect on Canadian market performance.
<R>The U.S. is Canada's largest trading partner and developments in economic policy and U.S. market conditions have a significant impact on the Canadian economy. The expanding economic and financial integration of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico through the North American Free Trade Agreement may make the Canadian economy and securities market more sensitive to North American trade patterns. However, growth in developing countries overseas, particularly China, may change the composition of Canada's trade and foreign investment composition in the near future.</R>
<R>In recent years, economic growth slowed down in certain sectors of the Canadian economy. The Canadian economy suffered from a recession due, in part, to the recent global financial crisis. The weaker economy resulted in lower tax collections and increased support being provided to Canadians through government programs, which increased the Canadian budget deficit. While the Canadian economy has shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. Growth forecasts remain modest due to ongoing fiscal consolidation, the effects of the economic slowdown in the U.S., and weakened demand for Canadian exports and investment as a result of the European crisis. Furthermore, the strength of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar may negatively affect Canada's ability to export, which could limit Canada's economic recovery.</R>
<R> </R>
<R> Europe. The European Union (EU) is an intergovernmental and supranational union of most Western European countries and a growing number of Eastern European countries, each known as a member state. One of the key activities of the EU is the establishment and administration of a common single market, consisting of, among other things, a common trade policy. In order to pursue this goal, member states established, among other things, the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), which sets out different stages and commitments that member states need to follow to achieve greater economic policy coordination and monetary cooperation, including the adoption of a single currency, the euro. While all EU member states participate in the economic union, only certain EU member states have adopted the euro as their currency. When a member state adopts the euro as its currency, the member state no longer controls its own monetary policies. Instead, the authority to direct monetary policy is exercised by the European Central Bank.</R>
<R>While economic and monetary convergence in the EU may offer new opportunities for those investing in the region, investors should be aware that the success of the EU is not wholly assured. European countries can be significantly affected by the tight fiscal and monetary controls that the EMU imposes on its members or with which candidates for EMU membership are required to comply. Europe must grapple with a number of challenges, any one of which could threaten the survival of this monumental undertaking. The countries adopting the euro must adjust to a unified monetary system, the absence of exchange rate flexibility, and the loss of economic sovereignty. Europe's economies are diverse, its governments are decentralized, and its cultures differ widely. Unemployment in some European countries has historically been higher than in the U.S. and could pose political risk. Many EU nations are susceptible to high economic risks associated with high levels of debt, notably due to investments in sovereign debts of European countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the Republic of Ireland. One or more member states might exit the EU, placing its currency and banking system in jeopardy. The EU currently faces major issues involving its membership, structure, procedures and policies; including the adoption, abandonment or adjustment of the new constitutional treaty, the EU's enlargement to the south and east, and resolution of the EU's problematic fiscal and democratic accountability. Efforts of the member states to continue to unify their economic and monetary policies may increase the potential for similarities in the movements of European markets and reduce the benefit of diversification within the region.</R>
<R> Political. The EU has been extending its influence to the east. It has accepted several Eastern European countries as new members, and has plans to accept several more in the medium-term. It is hoped that membership for these states will help cement economic and political stability in the region. For these countries, membership serves as a strong political impetus to employ tight fiscal and monetary policies. Nevertheless, new member states that were former Soviet satellites remain burdened to various extents by the inherited inefficiencies of centrally planned economies similar to what existed under the former Soviet Union. Further expansion of the EU has long-term economic benefits, but certain European countries are not viewed as currently suitable for membership, especially the troubled economies of countries further east. Also, as the EU continues to enlarge, the candidate countries' accessions may grow more controversial. Some member states may repudiate certain candidate countries joining the EU upon concerns about the possible economic, immigration, and cultural implications that may result from such enlargement. The current and future status of the EU therefore continues to be the subject of political controversy, with widely differing views both within and between member states. Also, Russia may be opposed to the expansion of the EU to members of the former Soviet bloc and may, at times, take actions that could negatively impact EU economic activity.</R>
It is possible that the gap between rich and poor within the EU's member countries, and particularly among new members that have not met the requirements for joining the EMU may increase, and that realigning traditional alliances could alter trading relationships and potentially provoke divisive socioeconomic splits.
<R>In the transition to the single economic system, significant political decisions will be made that may affect the market regulation, subsidization, and privatization across all industries, from agricultural products to telecommunications.</R>
<R> Economic. As economic conditions across member states may vary widely, there is continued concern about national-level support for the euro and the accompanying coordination of fiscal and wage policy among EMU member countries. Member countries must maintain tight control over inflation, public debt, and budget deficits in order to qualify for participation in the euro. These requirements severely limit EMU member countries' ability to implement monetary policy to address regional economic conditions.</R>
<R>The recent global financial crisis brought several small economies in Europe to the brink of bankruptcy and many other economies into recession and weakened the banking and financial sectors of many European countries. As a result, the governments of many European countries are now facing a serious economic crisis as high levels of public debt and substantial budget deficits hinder economic growth in the region and threaten the continued viability of the EMU. Due to these large public deficits, some European issuers have had difficulty accessing capital and may be dependent on emergency assistance from European governments and institutions to avoid defaulting on their outstanding debt obligations. The availability of such assistance, however, may be contingent on an issuer's implementation of certain reforms or reaching a required level of performance, which may increase the possibility of default. Such prospects have injected significant volatility into European markets, which may reduce the liquidity or value of a fund's investments in the region. Likewise, the high levels of public debt raise the possibility that certain European issuers may be forced to restructure their debt obligations, which could cause a fund to lose the value of its investments in any such issuer.</R>
<R>As European policy makers take unprecedented steps to respond to the ongoing economic crisis in the region, there is an increased risk that regulatory uncertainty could have a negative effect on the value of a fund's investments in the region. For example, the French parliament recently adopted a financial transactions tax that imposes a tax on, among other transactions, acquisitions of equities in listed companies that have their registered offices in France and that exceed a specified market capitalization. The European Commission has proposed plans for an EU-wide financial transactions tax to take effect in 2014, although it remains unclear whether such a tax will be agreed upon by EU member countries. Moreover, governments across the EMU are facing increasing opposition to certain crisis response measures. For example, efforts to reduce public spending in certain countries have been countered by large-scale protests. As a result, many governments in the region have collapsed or been voted out of office. Leaders in some of these countries have openly questioned the sustainability of the EMU, which raises the risk that certain member states will abandon the euro or that the euro may cease to exist as a single currency in its current form. Any such occurrence would likely have wide-ranging effects on global markets that are difficult to predict. However, these effects would likely have a negative impact on a fund's investments in the region.</R>
<R>Furthermore, the ongoing economic crisis has limited the prospect of short-term growth and economic recovery in the region, which raises the risk that Europe will fall into another recession. Economic challenges facing the region include high levels of public debt, significant rates of unemployment, aging populations, over-regulation of non-financial businesses, persistent trade deficits, rigid labor markets, and inability to access credit. Although certain of these challenges may weigh more heavily on some European economies than others, the economic integration of the region increases the likelihood that recession in one country may spread to others. Should Europe fall into another recession, the value of a fund's investments in the region may be affected.</R>
<R> Currency. Investing in euro-denominated (or other European currencies-denominated) securities entails risk of being exposed to a currency that may not fully reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the disparate European economies. In addition, many European countries rely heavily upon export-dependent businesses and any strength in the exchange rate between the euro and the U.S. dollar can have either a positive or a negative effect upon corporate profits and the performance of EU investments. Currencies have become more volatile, subjecting a fund's foreign investments to additional risks.</R>
<R> Nordic Countries. The Nordic countries relate to European integration in different ways. Norway and Iceland are outside the EU, although they are members of the European Economic Area. Denmark, Finland, and Sweden are all EU members, but only Finland has adopted the euro as its currency. Faced with stronger global competition, the Nordic countries - Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden - have had to scale down their historically generous welfare programs, resulting in drops in domestic demand and increased unemployment. Major industries in the region, such as forestry, agriculture, and oil, are heavily resource-dependent and face pressure as a result of high labor costs. Economic growth in many Nordic countries continues to be constrained by tight labor markets and adverse European and global economic conditions. Although certain Nordic countries have recently exhibited signs of economic growth, any such growth may be limited by the European crisis and the weakened global economy.</R>
Eastern Europe. Investing in the securities of Eastern European issuers is highly speculative and involves risks not usually associated with investing in the more developed markets of Western Europe. Political and economic reforms are too recent to establish a definite trend away from centrally planned economies and state-owned industries. Investments in Eastern European countries may involve risks of nationalization, expropriation, and confiscatory taxation.
<R>Many Eastern European countries continue to move towards market economies at different paces with appropriately different characteristics. Most Eastern European markets suffer from thin trading activity, dubious investor protections, and often a dearth of reliable corporate information. Information and transaction costs, differential taxes, and sometimes political or transfer risk give a comparative advantage to the domestic investor rather than the foreign investor. In addition, these markets are particularly sensitive to social, political, economic, and currency events in Western Europe and Russia and may suffer heavy losses as a result of their trading and investment links to these economies and currencies. Additionally, Russia may attempt to assert its influence in the region through economic or even military measures, as it did with Georgia in the summer of 2008.</R>
In some of the countries of Eastern Europe, there is no stock exchange or formal market for securities. Such countries may also have government exchange controls, currencies with no recognizable market value relative to the established currencies of Western market economies, little or no experience in trading in securities, no accounting or financial reporting standards, a lack of banking and securities infrastructure to handle such trading and a legal tradition that does not recognize rights in private property. Credit and debt issues and other economic difficulties affecting Western Europe and its financial institutions can negatively affect Eastern European countries.
<R>Eastern European economies may also be particularly susceptible to the international credit market due to their reliance on bank related inflows of foreign capital. The recent global financial crisis restricted international credit supplies and several Eastern European economies faced significant credit and economic crises. Although some Eastern European economies are expanding again, major challenges are still present as a result of their continued dependence on the Western European zone for credit and trade. Accordingly, the European crisis may present serious risks for Eastern European economies, which may have a negative effect on a fund's investments in the region.</R>
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<R> Japan. Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, emphasis on education, and a comparatively small defense allocation have helped Japan advance with extraordinary speed to become one of the largest economic powers along with the U.S. and the EU. Despite its impressive history, investors face special risks when investing in Japan.</R>
<R> Economic. For three decades from the 1960s through the 1980s, Japan's overall real economic growth had been spectacular. However, growth slowed markedly in the 1990s and Japan's economy fell into a long recession. After a few years of mild recovery in the mid-2000s, the Japanese economy fell into another recession as a result of the recent global financial crisis.</R>
While Japan experienced an increase in exports relative to recent years, the rate of export growth has since slowed and the rapid appreciation in the value of the yen has negatively impacted Japan's exports. This economic recession was likely compounded by Japan's massive government debt, the aging and shrinking of the population, an unstable financial sector, low domestic consumption, and certain corporate structural weaknesses, which remain some of the major long-term problems of the Japanese economy.
<R>Overseas trade is important to Japan's economy and Japan's economic growth is significantly driven by its exports. Japan has few natural resources and must export to pay for its imports of these basic requirements. Meanwhile, Japan's aging and shrinking population increases the cost of the country's pension and public welfare system and lowers domestic demand, making Japan more dependent on exports to sustain its economy. Therefore, any developments that negatively affect Japan's exports could present risks to a fund's investments in Japan. For example, domestic or foreign trade sanctions or other protectionist measures could harm Japan's economy. Likewise, any escalation of tensions with China or South Korea over disputed territorial claims may adversely impact Japan's trading relationship with two of its largest trading partners. Furthermore, reduced demand for Japan's exports resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy could present additional risks to a fund's investments in Japan.</R>
<R>Japan's recovery from the recession has been affected by economic distress resulting from the earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck northeastern Japan in March 2011 causing major damage along the coast, including damage to nuclear power plants in the region. Following the earthquake, Japan's financial markets fluctuated dramatically. The government injected capital into the economy and proposed plans for massive spending on reconstruction efforts in disaster-affected areas in order to stimulate economic growth. The full extent of the natural disaster's impact on Japan's economy and foreign investment in Japan is difficult to estimate. The risks of natural disasters of varying degrees, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, and the resulting damage, continue to exist.</R>
A pressing need to sustain Japan's economic recovery and improve its economic growth is the task of overhauling the nation's financial institutions. Banks, in particular, may have to reform themselves to become more competitive. Successful financial sector reform would contribute to Japan's economic recovery at home and would benefit other economies in Asia. Internal conflict over the proper way to reform the banking system continues to exist. Currently, Japanese banks are facing difficulties generating profits. Currency fluctuations may also significantly affect Japan's economy.
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<R> Asia Pacific Region (ex Japan). Many countries in the region have historically faced political uncertainty, corruption, military intervention, and social unrest. Examples include military threats on the Korean peninsula and along the Taiwan Strait, the ethnic, sectarian, and separatist violence found in Indonesia, and the nuclear arms threats between India and Pakistan. To the extent that such events continue in the future, they can be expected to have a negative effect on economic and securities market conditions in the region. In addition, the Asia Pacific geographic region has historically been prone to natural disasters. The occurrence of a natural disaster in the region could negatively impact the economy of any country in the region.</R>
<R> Economic. The economies of many countries in the region are heavily dependent on international trade and are accordingly affected by protective trade barriers and the economic conditions of their trading partners, principally, the U.S., Japan, China, and the European Union. The countries in this region are also heavily dependent on exports and are thus particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. High food, fuel and other commodities' prices, as well as volatile capital inflows, may pose challenges to countries in this region in the near future. The recent global financial crisis spread to the region, significantly lowering its exports and foreign investments in the region, which are driving forces of its economic growth. In addition, the economic crisis also significantly affected consumer confidence and local stock markets. Although the economies of many countries in the region have recently shown signs of recovery from the crisis, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. Furthermore, any such recovery may be limited or hindered by the reduced demand for exports and lack of available capital for investment resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy.</R>
<R> The Republic of Korea (South Korea). Investors should be aware that investing in South Korea involves risks not typically associated with investing in the U.S. securities markets. Although relations between North Korea and South Korea had begun to improve in the past few years, recent developments are troubling. As a result, these relations still remain tense and the possibility of military action between the two countries still exists.</R>
<R> Corporate and financial sector restructuring initiated by the Korean government, in conjunction with the IMF, after the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis can be expected to continue, but its full impact cannot be predicted yet. The Korean economy's reliance on international trade makes it highly sensitive to fluctuations in international commodity prices, currency exchange rates and government regulation, and vulnerable to downturns of the world economy. For example, the recent global financial crisis led to large capital outflows from South Korea, which caused the deterioration of the country's currency, domestic asset markets, and credit conditions. The South Korean economy began showing signs of recovery from this downturn in 2009. Although South Korea's initial recovery was faster than many other developed nations, South Korea's growth has since slowed and any continued recovery may be gradual as the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for South Korean exports. The South Korean economy's long-term challenges include a rapidly aging population, inflexible labor market, and overdependence on exports to drive economic growth.</R>
<R> China Region. As with all transition economies, China's ability to develop and sustain a credible legal, regulatory, monetary, and socioeconomic system could influence the course of outside investment. Hong Kong is closely tied to China, economically and through China's 1997 acquisition of the country as a Special Autonomous Region (SAR).</R>
<R> Hong Kong's success depends, in large part, on its ability to retain the legal, financial, and monetary systems that it currently has in place, which allows economic freedom and market expansion. Although many Taiwanese companies heavily invest in China, a state of hostility continues to exist between China and Taiwan, which Beijing has long deemed a part of China and has made a nationalist cause of recovering it. Taiwan's political stability and ability to sustain its economic growth could be significantly affected by its political and economic relationship with China.</R>
<R>The recent global financial crisis caused a marked slowdown in economic growth in the region, leading local governments, especially the Chinese government, to take unprecedented steps to shore up economic growth and prevent widespread unemployment. Although China has experienced economic growth in recent years, recent economic data shows that growth is slowing. Demand for Chinese exports by Western countries, including the U.S. and Europe, may weaken due to the effects of relatively limited economic growth in those countries resulting from the financial crisis in the United States and the crisis in Europe. However, the Chinese government continues to maintain certain of these measures and may introduce more in the future, including measures intended to increase growth and to contain social unrest, which is an increasing risk.</R>
In addition to the risks inherent in investing in the emerging markets, the risks of investing in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan merit special consideration.
People's Republic of China. The government of the People's Republic of China is dominated by the one-party rule of the Chinese Communist Party.
China's economy has transitioned from a rigidly central-planned state-run economy to one that has been only partially reformed by more market-oriented policies. Although the Chinese government has implemented economic reform measures, reduced state ownership of companies and established better corporate governance practices, a substantial portion of productive assets in China are still owned by the Chinese government. The government continues to exercise significant control over regulating industrial development and, ultimately, control over China's economic growth through the allocation of resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies.
<R>At times, China's economy has been subject to the risks of overheating, which leads to the government's attempt to slow down the pace of growth through administrative measures. The recent global financial crisis, however, changed this course for some time, as China's economic growth slowed, due, in part, to weakened demand for its exports and reduced foreign investments in the country. The Chinese economy then showed strong signs of recovery from this slowed growth, but a recovery of China's trading partners may also be necessary to sustain China's continued growth and measures to control growth may be adopted again. In the short term, China's economy faces problems of inflation and local government debt, which swelled in recent years as a result of certain economic stimulus policies. Furthermore, the economy faces the prospect of prolonged weakness in demand for Chinese exports as its major trading partners, such as the United States, Japan, and Europe, continue to experience economic uncertainty stemming from the global financial crisis and European crisis, among other things. Over the long term, China's aging infrastructure, worsening environmental conditions and rapidly widening urban and rural income gap, which all carry political and economic implications, are among the country's major challenges. In addition, tensions resulting from China's territorial claims in the region may present risks to diplomatic and trade relations with certain of China's regional trade partners. Any escalation of these tensions could further reduce international demand for Chinese goods and services, which could have a negative effect on a fund's investments in the securities of Chinese issuers.</R>
As with all transition economies, China's ability to develop and sustain a credible legal, regulatory, monetary, and socioeconomic system could influence the course of outside investment. The Chinese legal system, in particular, constitutes a significant risk factor for investors. The Chinese legal system is based on statutes. Since the late 1970s, Chinese legislative bodies have promulgated laws and regulations dealing with various economic matters such as foreign investment, corporate organization and governance, commerce, taxation, and trade. However, these laws are relatively new and published court decisions based on these laws are limited and non-binding. The interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations are uncertain.
<R>China continues to limit direct foreign investments generally in industries deemed important to national interests. Foreign investment in domestic securities are also subject to substantial restrictions. Some believe that China's currency is undervalued. Currency fluctuations could significantly affect China and its trading partners. China continues to exercise control over the value of its currency, rather than allowing the value of the currency to be determined by market forces. This type of currency regime may experience sudden and significant currency adjustments, which may adversely impact investment returns.</R>
<R> Hong Kong. In 1997, Great Britain handed over control of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China. Since that time, Hong Kong has been governed by a semi-constitution known as the Basic Law, which guarantees a high degree of autonomy in certain matters until 2047, while defense and foreign affairs are the responsibility of the central government in Beijing. The chief executive of Hong Kong is appointed by the Chinese government. However, Hong Kong is able to participate in international organizations and agreements and it continues to function as an international financial center, with no exchange controls, free convertibility of the Hong Kong dollar and free inward and outward movement of capital. The Basic Law also guarantees existing freedoms, including the freedom of speech, assembly, press, and religion, as well as the right to strike and travel. Business ownership, private property, the right of inheritance and foreign investment are also protected by law. By treaty, China has committed to preserve Hong Kong's autonomy until 2047. Nevertheless, if China were to exert its authority so as to alter the economic, political, or legal structures or the existing social policy of Hong Kong, investor and business confidence in Hong Kong could be negatively affected, which in turn could negatively affect markets and business performance.</R>
<R>The global financial crisis forced Hong Kong's economy into a recession. Recently, however, Hong Kong's economy has shown signs of recovery from this recession. This recovery can be attributed, in large part, to the combined efforts of both China and Hong Kong to shore up domestic economic growth. As these measures continue to take effect, their long-term impact on the growth of Hong Kong's economy is unpredictable. However, Hong Kong's recovery has raised concerns about possible overheating in certain sectors of its economy, such as its real estate market, which could limit Hong Kong's future growth. In addition, because of Hong Kong's heavy reliance on international trade and global financial markets, Hong Kong remains exposed to significant risks as a result of the European crisis and weakened global economy. The negative effects of the European downturn on the global economy could push Hong Kong into another recession. Likewise, due to Hong Kong's close political and economic ties with China, any economic stagnation on the mainland could have a negative impact on Hong Kong's economy.</R>
<R> Taiwan. For decades, a state of hostility has existed between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China. Beijing has long deemed Taiwan a part of the "one China" and has made a nationalist cause of recovering it. In the past, China has staged frequent military provocations off the coast of Taiwan and made threats of full-scale military action. Foreign trade has been the engine of rapid growth in Taiwan and has transformed the island into one of Asia's great exporting nations. As an export-oriented economy, Taiwan depends on an open world trade regime and remains vulnerable to downturns in the world economy. Taiwanese companies continue to compete mostly on price, producing generic products or branded merchandise on behalf of multinational companies. Accordingly, these businesses can be particularly vulnerable to currency volatility and increasing competition from neighboring lower-cost countries. Moreover, many Taiwanese companies are heavily invested in mainland China and other countries throughout Southeast Asia, making them susceptible to political events and economic crises in these parts of the region. Significantly, Taiwan and China recently entered into agreements covering banking, securities, and insurance. Closer economic links with the mainland may bring greater opportunities for the Taiwanese economy, but also poses new challenges. For example, foreign direct investment in China has resulted in Chinese import substitution away from Taiwan's exports and a restriction of potential job creation in Taiwan. As a result of the recent global financial crisis, the demand for exports decreased and Taiwan entered into a recession. Although Taiwan's economy has recently shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. In addition, the effects of the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for Taiwan's exports, which could force its economy into another recession.</R>
<R> India. The value of a fund's investments in Indian securities may be affected by, among other things, political developments, rapid changes in government regulation, state intervention in private enterprise, nationalization or expropriation of foreign assets, legal uncertainty, high rates of inflation or interest rates, currency volatility, and civil unrest. In addition, any escalation of tensions with Pakistan may have a negative impact on a fund's investments in India. Likewise, political, social and economic disruptions caused by domestic sectarian violence or terrorist attacks may also present risks to a fund's investments in India.</R>
<R>The Indian economy is heavily dependent on exports and is vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. Recently, the Indian economy began showing signs of recovery from the effects of the global financial crisis. However, this recovery may be limited by the European crisis and weakened global economy. In the event that India's economic recovery slows, a fund's investments in Indian securities may be harmed.</R>
<R>Furthermore, restrictions or controls applicable to foreign investment in the securities of issuers in India may also adversely affect a fund's investments within the country. The availability of financial instruments with exposure to Indian financial markets may be substantially limited by restrictions on foreign investors. Foreign investors are required to observe certain investment restrictions, including limits on shareholdings, which may impede a fund's ability to invest in certain issuers or to fully pursue its investment objective. These restrictions may also have the effect of reducing demand for, or limiting the liquidity of, such investments. There can be no assurance that the Indian government will not impose restrictions on foreign capital remittances abroad or otherwise modify the exchange control regime applicable to foreign investors in such a way that may adversely affect the ability of a fund to repatriate their income and capital.</R>
<R>Shares of many Indian issuers are held by a limited number of persons and financial institutions, which may limit the number of shares available for investment. In addition, further issuances of securities by Indian issuers in which a fund has invested could dilute the investments of existing shareholders and could adversely affect the market price of such securities. Sales of securities by such issuer's major shareholders may also significantly and adversely affect other shareholders. Moreover, a limited number of issuers represent a disproportionately large percentage of market capitalization and trading value in India.</R>
<R> Indonesia. Indonesia has restored financial stability and pursued sober fiscal policies since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, but many economic development problems remain, including high unemployment, a fragile banking sector, endemic corruption, inadequate infrastructure, a poor investment climate, inflationary pressures and unequal resource distribution among regions. These problems may limit the country's ability to contain the severe and negative impact of the recent global financial crisis on its economy. In addition, Indonesia continues to be at risk of ethnic, sectarian, and separatist violence. Furthermore, slow budgetary disbursements have created challenges for government programs related to infrastructure, secondary education, and certain social policies. Rises in global commodity prices may also present risks to Indonesia's growth potential. Keys to future growth remain internal reform, peaceful resolution of internal conflicts, bolstering the confidence of international and domestic investors, and strong global economic growth.</R>
<R> Thailand. Thailand has a well-developed infrastructure and a free-enterprise economy, which is welcoming to certain foreign investment. Increased consumption and investment spending and strong export industries continue to sustain economic growth. Moreover, Bangkok has pursued preferential trade agreements with a variety of partners in an effort to boost exports and maintain high growth, and in 2004 began negotiations on a free trade agreement with the U.S. However, weakening fiscal discipline, separatist violence in the south, the intervention by the military in civilian spheres, and continued political instability may cause additional risks for investments in Thailand. In addition, natural disasters may affect economic growth in the country. For example, in late 2011, historic floods devastated industrial areas north of Bangkok, which severely harmed Thailand's manufacturing sector and reduced the country's economic growth. Although the Thai economy may already be showing signs of recovery from this disaster, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as demand for Thai goods and services could decline due to the effects of the European sovereign debt crisis and weakened global economy.</R>
<R> Philippines. Because of its relatively low dependence on exports and high domestic rates of consumption, as well as substantial remittances received from large overseas populations, the Philippines was one of the few countries in Asia to navigate the recent global financial crisis without falling into recession. Although the economy of the Philippines has shown signs of growth in recent years, there can be no assurances that such growth will continue. Reduced demand for exports from the Philippines as a result of the European crisis and weakened global economy, as well as lower remittances from Filipino immigrants abroad, may negatively impact economic growth in the Philippines. Furthermore, certain weaknesses in the economy, such as inadequate infrastructure, high poverty rates, uneven wealth distribution, low fiscal revenues, endemic corruption, inconsistent regulation, unpredictable taxation, unreliable judicial processes, and the appropriation of foreign assets may present risks to a fund's investments in the Philippines. In addition, investments in the Philippines are subject to risks arising from political or social unrest, including threats from military coups, terrorist groups and separatist movements. Likewise, the Philippines is prone to natural disasters such as typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes and flooding, which may also present risks to a fund's investments in the Philippines.</R>
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<R> Latin America. As an emerging market, Latin America historically suffered from social, political, and economic instability. For investors, this has meant additional risk caused by periods of regional conflict, political corruption, totalitarianism, protectionist measures, nationalization, hyperinflation, debt crises, sudden and large currency devaluation, and intervention by the military in civilian and economic spheres. For example, at times the government of Brazil has imposed a tax on foreign investment in Brazilian stocks and bonds, which may affect the value of a fund's investments in the securities of Brazilian issuers. However, in some Latin American countries, a move to sustainable democracy and a more mature and accountable political environment is under way. Domestic economies have been deregulated, privatization of state-owned companies is almost completed and foreign trade restrictions have been relaxed.</R>
<R> Nonetheless, to the extent that events such as those listed above continue in the future, they could reverse favorable trends toward market and economic reform, privatization, and removal of trade barriers, and result in significant disruption in securities markets in the region. In addition, recent favorable economic performance in much of the region has led to a concern regarding government overspending in certain Latin American countries. Investors in the region continue to face a number of potential risks. Certain Latin American countries depend heavily on exports to the U.S. and investments from a small number of countries. Accordingly, these countries may be sensitive to fluctuations in demand, exchange rates and changes in market conditions associated with those countries. The economic growth of most Latin American countries is highly dependent on commodity exports and the economies of certain Latin American countries, particularly Mexico and Venezuela, are highly dependent on oil exports. As a result, these economies are particularly susceptible to fluctuations in the price of oil and other commodities and currency fluctuations. The recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for oil and other commodities and, as a result, Latin American countries faced significant economic difficulties that led certain countries into recession. If global economic conditions worsen, prices for Latin American commodities may experience increased volatility and demand may continue to decrease. Although certain of these countries have recently shown signs of recovery, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. In addition, prolonged economic difficulties may have negative effects on the transition to a more stable democracy in some Latin American countries. In certain countries, political risk, including nationalization risk, is high.</R>
<R>A number of Latin American countries are among the largest debtors of developing countries and have a long history of reliance on foreign debt and default. The majority of the region's economies have become highly dependent upon foreign credit and loans from external sources to fuel their state-sponsored economic plans. Historically, government profligacy and ill-conceived plans for modernization have exhausted these resources with little benefit accruing to the economy. Most countries have been forced to restructure their loans or risk default on their debt obligations. In addition, interest on the debt is subject to market conditions and may reach levels that would impair economic activity and create a difficult and costly environment for borrowers. Accordingly, these governments may be forced to reschedule or freeze their debt repayment, which could negatively affect local markets. Because of their dependence on foreign credit and loans, a number of Latin American economies faced significant economic difficulties and some economies fell into recession as the recent global financial crisis tightened international credit supplies. While the region has recently shown signs of economic improvement, recovery from past economic downturns in Latin America has historically been slow, and any such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. The European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for exports from Latin America and limit the availability of foreign credit for some countries in the region. As a result, a fund's investments in Latin American securities could be harmed if economic recovery in the region is limited.</R>
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<R> Russia. Investing in Russian securities is highly speculative and involves significant risks and special considerations not typically associated with investing in the securities markets of the U.S. and most other developed countries.</R>
Political. Over the past century, Russia has experienced political and economic turbulence and has endured decades of communist rule under which tens of millions of its citizens were collectivized into state agricultural and industrial enterprises. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's government has been faced with the daunting task of stabilizing its domestic economy, while transforming it into a modern and efficient structure able to compete in international markets and respond to the needs of its citizens. However, to date, many of the country's economic reform initiatives have floundered as the proceeds of IMF and other economic assistance have been squandered or stolen. In this environment, there is always the risk that the nation's government will abandon the current program of economic and political reform and replace it with radically different political and economic policies that would be detrimental to the interests of foreign and private investors.
In the last few years, as significant income from oil and commodity exports has boosted Russia's economy, Russia's government has begun to make bolder steps to re-assert its regional geopolitical influence (including military steps). Such steps may increase tensions between Russia and its neighbors and Western countries and may negatively affect economic growth.
Economic. Many of Russia's businesses have failed to mobilize the available factors of production because the country's privatization program virtually ensured the predominance of the old management teams that are largely non-market-oriented in their management approach. Poor accounting standards, inept management, pervasive corruption, insider trading and crime, and inadequate regulatory protection for the rights of investors all pose a significant risk, particularly to foreign investors. In addition, there is the risk that the Russian tax system will not be reformed to prevent inconsistent, retroactive, and/or exorbitant taxation, or, in the alternative, the risk that a reformed tax system may result in the inconsistent and unpredictable enforcement of the new tax laws.
Compared to most national stock markets, the Russian securities market suffers from a variety of problems not encountered in more developed markets. There is little long-term historical data on the Russian securities market because it is relatively new and a substantial proportion of securities transactions in Russia are privately negotiated outside of stock exchanges. The inexperience of the Russian securities market and the limited volume of trading in securities in the market may make obtaining accurate prices on portfolio securities from independent sources more difficult than in more developed markets. Additionally, there is little solid corporate information available to investors. As a result, it may be difficult to assess the value or prospects of an investment in Russian companies.
<R>Because of the recent formation of the Russian securities market as well as the underdeveloped state of the banking and telecommunications systems, settlement, clearing and registration of securities transactions are subject to significant risks. Ownership of shares (except where shares are held through depositories that meet the requirements of the 1940 Act) is defined according to entries in the company's share register and normally evidenced by extracts from the register or by formal share certificates. However, these services are carried out by the companies themselves or by registrars located throughout Russia. These registrars are not necessarily subject to effective state supervision nor are they licensed with any governmental entity and it is possible for a fund to lose its registration through fraud, negligence, or even mere oversight. While a fund will endeavor to ensure that its interest continues to be appropriately recorded either itself or through a custodian or other agent inspecting the share register and by obtaining extracts of share registers through regular confirmations, these extracts have no legal enforceability and it is possible that subsequent illegal amendment or other fraudulent act may deprive a fund of its ownership rights or improperly dilute its interests. In addition, while applicable Russian regulations impose liability on registrars for losses resulting from their errors, it may be difficult for a fund to enforce any rights it may have against the registrar or issuer of the securities in the event of loss of share registration. Furthermore, significant delays or problems may occur in registering the transfer of securities, which could cause a fund to incur losses due to a counterparty's failure to pay for securities the fund has delivered or the fund's inability to complete its contractual obligations because of theft or other reasons. A recently enacted law authorizes the establishment of a centralized securities depository (CSD), which, in effect, will become the exclusive settlement organization for publicly traded Russian companies and investment funds in Russia. Once the CSD is fully functional, it should enhance the efficiency and transparency of the Russian securities market.</R>
<R>The Russian economy is heavily dependent upon the export of a range of commodities including most industrial metals, forestry products, oil, and gas. Accordingly, it is strongly affected by international commodity prices and is particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. As the recent global financial crisis caused price volatility in commodities, especially oil, many sectors in the Russian economy fell into turmoil, pushing the whole economy into recession. In addition, prior to the global financial crisis, Russia's economic policy encouraged excessive foreign currency borrowing as high oil prices increased investor appetite for Russian financial assets. As a result of this credit boom, Russia reached alarming debt levels and suffered from the effects of tight credit markets. Although the country is still plagued by high debt levels, the Russian economy has recently shown signs of recovery from the recession. However, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as Russia continues to face significant economic challenges. In the near term, the fallout from the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for Russian exports such as oil and gas, which could limit Russia's economic recovery. Over the long-term, Russia faces challenges including a shrinking workforce, a high level of corruption, and difficulty in accessing capital for smaller, non-energy companies and poor infrastructure in need of large investments.</R>
<R> Currency. Foreign investors also face a high degree of currency risk when investing in Russian securities and a lack of available currency hedging instruments. In a surprise move in August 1998, Russia devalued the ruble, defaulted on short-term domestic bonds, and imposed a moratorium on the repayment of its international debt and the restructuring of the repayment terms. These actions have negatively affected Russian borrowers' ability to access international capital markets and have had a damaging impact on the Russian economy. In light of these and other government actions, foreign investors could face the possibility of further devaluations. In addition, there is the risk that the government may impose capital controls on foreign portfolio investments in the event of extreme financial or political crisis. Such capital controls could prevent the sale of a portfolio of foreign assets and the repatriation of investment income and capital. Such risks have led to heightened scrutiny of Russian liquidity conditions, which in turn creates a heightened risk of the repatriation of ruble assets by nervous foreign investors. The recent economic turmoil in Russia caused the Russian ruble to depreciate as unemployment levels increased and global demand for oil exports decreased. As the global economy faces another economic crisis, the Russian central bank may need to manage bank liquidity carefully to avoid undue pressures on Russia's banks and other financial institutions and the ruble.</R>
<R> </R>
<R> The Middle East and Africa. Investing in Middle Eastern and African securities is highly speculative and involves significant risks and special considerations not typically associated with investing in the securities markets of the U.S. and most other developed countries.</R>
<R> Political. Many Middle Eastern and African countries historically have suffered from political instability. Despite a growing trend towards democratization, especially in Africa, significant political risks continue to affect some Middle Eastern and African countries. These risks may include substantial government control over the private sector, corrupt leaders, civil unrest, suppression of opposition parties that can lead to further dissidence and militancy, fixed elections, terrorism, coups, and war. Recently, several countries in the Middle East and North Africa have experienced pro-democracy movements that resulted in swift regime changes. In some cases, these movements have led to armed conflict involving local factions, regional allies or international forces. These changes, in the short term, have affected the status and speed of economic reforms in the region. Because many Middle East and African nations have a history of dictatorship, military intervention, and corruption, there can be no guarantee that recent movements toward a more democratic process will continue. Therefore, the long-term effects of the ongoing regime changes are largely unpredictable. In addition, there is an increasing risk that historical animosities, border disputes, or defense concerns may lead to further armed conflict in the region. In all regions, if such developments were to occur, it could have a negative effect on economic growth and reverse favorable trends toward economic and market reform, privatization, and the removal of trade barriers. Such developments could also result in significant disruptions in securities markets, which may have wider consequences for the global economy.</R>
<R> Economic. Middle Eastern and African countries historically have suffered from economic instability. Underdeveloped infrastructure, high unemployment rates, a comparatively unskilled labor force, and inconsistent access to capital have contributed to economic instability in the region. Furthermore, certain Middle Eastern and African markets may face a higher concentration of market capitalization, greater illiquidity and greater price volatility than that found in more developed markets of Western Europe or the U.S. Additionally, certain countries in the region have a history of nationalizing or expropriating foreign assets, which could cause a fund to lose the value of its investments in those countries. Despite a growing trend towards economic diversification, many Middle Eastern and African economies remain heavily dependent upon a limited range of commodities. These include gold, silver, copper, cocoa, diamonds, natural gas and petroleum. These economies are greatly affected by international commodity prices and are particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. As the recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for oil, gas, and other commodities, some countries in the region faced significant economic difficulties and many countries have been forced to scale down their infrastructure development and the size of their public welfare systems, which could have long-term economic, social, and political implications. Although certain economies in Africa and the Middle East have recently shown signs of recovery from the recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for exports from the region.</R>
<R></R>
<R>The largest economy in Africa is South Africa. The country has a two-tiered, developing economy with one tier similar to that of a developed country and the second tier having only the most basic infrastructure. High interest rates, power shortages, and weakening commodities prices, along with the recent economic crisis, caused South Africa to enter a recession in 2009 for the first time in 18 years. The South African Government, both before and during the recession, implemented policies designed to reduce trade and investment restrictions and privatize certain industries. However, ethnic and civil conflicts, the HIV health crisis, uncertainty surrounding government policy, and political instability have led to uneven wealth distribution within the country and may cause additional risks for investments in South Africa. These problems likely compounded the economic difficulties that South Africa faced as the negative effects of the global financial crisis spread to the country. Although the South African economy has recently shown signs of recovery, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as political, social, and labor unrest could affect the South African economy. In addition, reduced demand for South African exports due to the European crisis and weakened global economy may limit any such recovery.</R>
Currency. Certain Middle Eastern and African countries have currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar or euro, rather than at levels determined by market forces. This type of currency regime may experience sudden and significant currency adjustments, which may adversely impact investment returns.
To the extent that Strategic Advisers grants investment management authority over an allocated portion of the fund's assets to a sub-adviser (see the section entitled "Management Contract"), that sub-adviser is authorized to provide the services described in the respective sub-advisory agreement, and in accordance with the policies described in this section.
Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities are placed on behalf of the fund by Strategic Advisers (either directly or through its affiliates) or a sub-adviser, pursuant to authority contained in the management contract and the respective sub-advisory agreement.
Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in underlying funds, but it may incur such costs when it invests directly in other types of securities.
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review Strategic Advisers' and its affiliates' and each sub-adviser's performance of their respective responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
Strategic Advisers.
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Strategic Advisers, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Strategic Advisers or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.</R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Strategic Advisers or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services Strategic Advisers or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Strategic Advisers' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Strategic Advisers or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.</R>
Research Contracts. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Strategic Advisers or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) who have entered into arrangements with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
<R>Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), with whom they are under common control, provided Strategic Advisers or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade-execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.</R>
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Strategic Advisers to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
<R> Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis). </R>
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Pyramis or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Pyramis, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Pyramis or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Pyramis' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Pyramis or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and character of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Pyramis and/or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for lessening or avoiding market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Pyramis and/or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Pyramis and/or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Pyramis and/or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Pyramis or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker is generally the same as the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Pyramis and/or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Pyramis) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Pyramis or its affiliates.
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. Pyramis or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Pyramis' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. </R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Pyramis or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in their investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Pyramis or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefits to Pyramis. Pyramis' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these products or services with their own resources. However, the trading desks of Pyramis and its affiliates are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services that Pyramis or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Pyramis or its affiliates or might not have an explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Pyramis or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Pyramis' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Pyramis or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Pyramis or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Pyramis' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Pyramis or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Pyramis or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Pyramis, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Pyramis or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Pyramis or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Pyramis or its affiliates.</R>
<R> Research Contracts. Pyramis or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Pyramis or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Pyramis or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Pyramis or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Pyramis or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Pyramis' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately ( e.g., with hard dollars), rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Pyramis' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.</R>
Commission Recapture
Pyramis or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Pyramis) who have entered into arrangements with Pyramis or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
Pyramis or its affiliates may be authorized to place portfolio transactions with Fidelity Capital Markets (FCM), a division of NFS, an affiliated broker-dealer of Pyramis and its affiliates, or other broker-dealers with whom they are under common control, and use CrossStream, an alternative trading system operated by NFS, if they reasonably believe the quality of the transaction is comparable to what it would be with other qualified broker-dealers. With respect to trades that are executed by Pyramis' affiliates, Pyramis and such affiliate seek to ensure that the trade execution obtained is comparable to that of unaffiliated brokers and that the continued use of such affiliate is appropriate. In addition, Pyramis or its affiliates may place trades with broker-dealers that use NFS as a clearing agent.
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Securities Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Pyramis or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers or may engage a third party to do so.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Pyramis or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Pyramis or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Pyramis to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
Commissions Paid
A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
<R>For the fiscal periods ended February 28, 2013 and February 29, 2012, the fund's portfolio turnover rates were 29% and 38%, respectively. Variations in turnover rate may be due to a fluctuating volume of shareholder purchase and redemption orders, market conditions, and/or changes in Strategic Advisers' investment outlook.</R>
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund held securities issued by one or more of its regular brokers or dealers or a parent company of its regular brokers or dealers. The following table shows the aggregate value of the securities of the regular broker or dealer or parent company held by the fund as of the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013.</R>
<R>The following table shows the total amount of brokerage commissions paid by the fund, comprising commissions paid on securities and/or futures transactions, as applicable, for the fiscal years ended February 28, 2013, February 29, 2012, and February 28, 2011. The total amount of brokerage commissions paid is stated as a dollar amount and a percentage of the fund's average net assets.</R>
Fiscal Year
|
|
Dollar
|
Percentage of
|
<R>2013 |
|
$ 539,210 |
0.07%</R> |
2012 + |
|
$ 463,604 |
0.06% |
2011 |
|
$ 317,952 |
0.04% |
<R> |
|
|
</R> |
+ Fiscal year ended February 29.
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid $486,152 in brokerage commissions to firms that may have provided research or brokerage services involving approximately $357,951,156 of transactions.</R>
The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. The NAV of the fund is computed by adding the value of the fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting its liabilities, and dividing the result by the number of shares outstanding.
The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for pricing, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers has established the Strategic Advisers Fair Value Committee (Strategic Advisers Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities. The Strategic Advisers Committee may rely on information and recommendations provided by affiliates of Strategic Advisers in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, including the fair valuation of securities.
Shares of underlying funds held by the fund are valued at their respective NAVs.
Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by the fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity non-money market fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
<R>Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques.</R>
Short-term securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less for which market quotations and information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates current value.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
<R>Prices described above are obtained from pricing services that have been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available and the funds may use more than one of these services. The funds may also discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time. Strategic Advisers engages in oversight activities with respect to the fund's pricing services, which includes, among other things, testing the prices provided by pricing services prior to calculation of a fund's NAV, conducting periodic due diligence meetings, and periodically reviewing the methodologies and inputs used by these services.</R>
<R>Foreign securities and instruments are valued in their local currency following the methodologies described above. Foreign securities, instruments and currencies are translated to U.S. dollars, based on foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by a pricing service as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which uses a proprietary model to determine the exchange rate. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at an interpolated rate based on days to maturity between the closest preceding and subsequent settlement period reported by the third party pricing service.</R>
The Board of Trustees of the underlying Fidelity funds has ultimate responsibility for pricing portfolio securities and assets held by those funds, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee and the Strategic Advisers Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and ADRs, market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. This technique involves initially valuing an instrument at its cost as adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount rather than its current market value. The amortized cost value of an instrument may be higher or lower than the price a money market fund would receive if it sold the instrument.
At such intervals as they deem appropriate, the Trustees of an underlying Fidelity money market fund consider the extent to which NAV calculated using market valuations would deviate from the $1.00 per share calculated using amortized cost valuation. If the Trustees believe that a deviation from a money market fund's amortized cost per share may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Trustees have agreed to take such corrective action, if any, as they deem appropriate to eliminate or reduce, to the extent reasonably practicable, the dilution or unfair results. Such corrective action could include selling portfolio instruments prior to maturity to realize capital gains or losses or to shorten average portfolio maturity; withholding dividends; redeeming shares in kind; establishing NAV by using available market quotations; and such other measures as the Trustees may deem appropriate.
BUYING AND SELLING INFORMATION
Shares of the fund are offered only to certain clients of Strategic Advisers that have granted Strategic Advisers discretionary investment authority. If you are not currently a Strategic Advisers client, please call 1-800-544-3455 for more information.
Investors participating in a Strategic Advisers discretionary investment program are charged an annual advisory fee based on a percentage of the average market value of assets in their account. The stated fee is then reduced by a credit reflecting the amount of fees, if any, received by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates from mutual funds for investment management or certain other services.
The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the fund's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
<R> Dividends. Because the fund may invest significantly in foreign securities and/or in underlying funds that invest significantly in foreign securities, corporate shareholders should not expect fund dividends to qualify for the dividends-received deduction. However, a portion of the fund's dividends, when distributed to individual shareholders, may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met). Short-term capital gains are taxable at ordinary income tax rates.</R>
Capital Gain Distributions. The fund's long-term capital gain distributions, including amounts attributable to an underlying fund's long-term capital gain distributions, are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the fund had an aggregate capital loss carryforward of approximately $40,351,217. This loss carryforward, of which $22,399,113 will expire on February 28, 2018, and $17,952,104 of which will not expire, is available to offset future capital gains. Under provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and related regulations, a fund must use losses that do not expire before it uses losses that do expire, and a fund's ability to utilize its capital loss carryforwards in a given year or in total may be limited.</R>
Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.
Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. As a general matter, if, at the close of its fiscal year, more than 50% of the fund's total assets is invested in securities of foreign issuers, the fund may elect to pass through eligible foreign taxes paid and thereby allow shareholders to take a deduction or, if they meet certain holding period requirements with respect to fund shares, a credit on their individual tax returns. In addition, if at the close of each quarter of its fiscal year at least 50% of the fund's total assets is represented by interests in other regulated investment companies, the same rules will apply to any foreign tax credits that underlying funds pass through to the fund. The amount of foreign taxes paid by the fund will be reduced to the extent that the fund lends securities over the dividend record date. Special rules may apply to the credit for individuals who receive dividends qualifying for the long-term capital gains tax rate.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
<R>The Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and executive officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. If the interests of the fund and an underlying Fidelity fund were to diverge, a conflict of interest could arise and affect how the Trustees and Member of the Advisory Board fulfill their fiduciary duties to the affected funds. Strategic Advisers has structured the fund to avoid these potential conflicts, although there may be situations where a conflict of interest is unavoidable. In such instances, Strategic Advisers, the Trustees, and Member of the Advisory Board would take reasonable steps to minimize and, if possible, eliminate the conflict. Except for Mary C. Farrell, each of the Trustees oversees 26 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. Ms. Farrell oversees 20 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.</R>
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. The executive officers and Advisory Board Member hold office without limit in time, except that any officer and Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
<R>Each Trustee who is not an interested person of the trust and the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) is referred to herein as an Independent Trustee.</R>
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Fund's Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also engage professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates with experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. Additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, may be considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. Roger T. Servison is an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) and currently serves as Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Ralph F. Cox serves as the lead Independent Trustee and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
<R>Fidelity funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees asset allocation funds as well as the Fidelity enhanced index funds. Other boards oversee Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds and Fidelity's equity and high income funds. The fund may invest in Fidelity funds overseen by such other Boards. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues.</R>
The Trustees primarily operate as a full Board, but also operate in committees, to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board has charged Strategic Advisers and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through Strategic Advisers, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. Board oversight of different aspects of the fund's activities is exercised primarily through the full Board, but also through the Audit and Compliance Committee. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees."
Interested Trustees *:
<R>Correspondence intended for each Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
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<R>Roger T. Servison (1945)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Servison is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Servison serves as President of Strategic New Business Development for Fidelity Investments and serves as a Director of Strategic Advisers. Previously, Mr. Servison oversaw Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company (2005-2006) and Strategic Advisers (2005-2007). Mr. Servison also served as President and a Director of Fidelity Brokerage Services (Japan), LLC (1994-2004). |
<R>Derek L. Young (1964)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Mr. Young is Vice President of Fidelity's Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present), President and a Director of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2011-present), President of Fidelity Global Asset Allocation (GAA) (2011-present), and Vice Chairman of Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2011-present). Previously, Mr. Young served as Chief Investment Officer of GAA (2009-2011) and as a portfolio manager. |
* Trustees have been determined to be "Interested Trustees" by virtue of, among other things, their affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with Strategic Advisers.
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees :
Correspondence intended for each Independent Trustee (that is, the Trustees other than the Interested Trustees) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
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<R>Peter C. Aldrich (1944)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Aldrich is a Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Director of the funds of BlackRock Realty Group (2006-present). Previously, Mr. Aldrich served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010), a Managing Member of Poseidon, LLC (foreign private investment, 1998-2004), and Chairman and Managing Member of AEGIS, LLC (foreign private investment, 1997-2004). Mr. Aldrich also served as Faculty Chairman of The Research Council on Global Investment of The Conference Board (business and professional education non-profit, 1999-2004). Mr. Aldrich is a Member of the Boards of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and an Overseer of the Longy School of Music. |
<R>Amy Butte Liebowitz (1968)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011</R> Ms. Butte Liebowitz was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of TILE Financial (financial internet service, 2008-2012). Previously, Ms. Butte Liebowitz served as the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of MF Global (broker-dealer, 2006-2008), and Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange (2004-2006). Ms. Butte Liebowitz is a member of the Boards of Directors of Accion International and the New York Women's Forum, as well as an alumna of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader program. |
<R>Ralph F. Cox (1932)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Cox is President of RABAR Enterprises (management consulting for the petroleum industry). Mr. Cox is a Director of Abraxas Petroleum (exploration and production). Mr. Cox is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Business and Engineering Schools of Texas A&M University and the Engineering School of University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Mr. Cox served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010) and as an Advisory Director of CH2M Hill Companies (engineering, 1981-2011). Mr. Ralph F. Cox and Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. are not related. |
<R>Mary C. Farrell (1949)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2013</R> Ms. Farrell is a Director of the W.R. Berkley Corporation (insurance provider) and President (2009-present) and Director (2006-present) of the Howard Gilman Foundation (charitable organization). Previously, Ms. Farrell was Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at UBS Wealth Management USA and Co-Head of UBS Wealth Management Investment Strategy & Research Group (2003-2005). Ms. Farrell also served as Investment Strategist at PaineWebber (1982-2000) and UBS PaineWebber (2000-2002). Ms. Farrell also serves as Trustee on the Board of Overseers of the New York University Stern School of Business, the Board of Trustees of Yale-New Haven Hospital and is a member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II. |
<R>Karen Kaplan (1960)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Ms. Kaplan is President of Hill Holliday (advertising and specialized marketing, 2007-present). Ms. Kaplan is a Director of DSM (dba Delta Dental and DentaQuest) (2004-present), Director of Vera Bradley (2012-present), Member of the Board of Governors of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston (2010-present), Member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference for Women (2008-present), Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (2006-present), Board of Directors of Jobs for Massachusetts (2012-present), National Association of Corporate Directors Chapter (2012-present), and Board of Directors of the Post Office Square Trust (2012-present). She is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, an action oriented community of the most effective CEOs, heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, and non-governmental leaders in the world. Previously, Ms. Kaplan served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010), President of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2008-2010), Treasurer of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2002-2006), Vice Chair of the Board of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2003-2010), Director of United Way of Massachusetts Bay (2004-2006), Director of ADVO (direct mail marketing, 2003-2007), and Director of Tweeter Home Entertainment Group (2006-2007). |
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Member and Executive Officers :
<R>Correspondence intended for each executive officer and Howard E. Cox, Jr. may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupation</R> |
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<R>Howard E. Cox, Jr. (1944)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II. Mr. Cox is a Member of the Advisory Board of Devonshire Investors (2009-present). Mr. Cox serves as an Advisory Partner of Greylock (venture capital) and a Director of Stryker Corporation (medical products and services). Previously, Mr. Cox served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010) and a Member of the Secretary of Defense's Business Board of Directors (2008-2010). Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. and Mr. Ralph F. Cox are not related. |
<R>Kenneth B. Robins (1969)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 President and Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Robins also serves as President and Treasurer of other Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds (2008-present) and Assistant Treasurer of other Fidelity Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present). Mr. Robins is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Robins served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2005-2008) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2006-2008). |
<R>Marc Bryant (1966)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of the fund. Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Fidelity Investments. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Mr. Bryant served as a Senior Vice President and the Head of Global Retail Legal for AllianceBernstein L.P. (2006-2010), and as the General Counsel for ProFund Advisors LLC (2001-2006). |
<R>Elizabeth Paige Baumann (1968)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer of the fund. Ms. Baumann also serves as AML Officer of the Fidelity funds (2012-present) and The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2012-present), Chief AML Officer of FMR LLC (2012-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Baumann served as Vice President and Deputy Anti-Money Laundering Officer (2007-2012). |
<R>Nicholas E. Steck (1964)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the fund. Mr. Steck serves as Senior Vice President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. During the period 2002 to 2009, Mr. Steck served as a Compliance Officer of FMR, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc., FMR LLC, Fidelity Research & Analysis (U.K.) Inc., Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. |
<R>Laura M. Doherty (1969)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Compliance Officer of the fund. Ms. Doherty also serves as Senior Vice President of the Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Doherty served as a Vice President in Fidelity's Corporate Audit department (1998-2008). |
<R>Adrien E. Deberghes (1967)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Deberghes also serves as Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) and Deputy Treasurer (2008-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Deberghes served as Senior Vice President of Mutual Fund Administration at State Street Corporation (2007-2008), Senior Director of Mutual Fund Administration at Investors Bank & Trust (2005-2007), and Director of Finance for Dunkin' Brands (2000-2005). |
<R>Stephanie J. Dorsey (1969)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Ms. Dorsey also serves as President and Treasurer (2013-present) and Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Dorsey served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2008-2013), Treasurer (2004-2008) of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds and Vice President (2004-2008) of JPMorgan Chase Bank. |
<R>Jonathan Davis (1968)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Davis is also Assistant Treasurer of certain Fidelity funds. Mr. Davis is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2003-2010). |
<R>Margaret A. Carey (1973)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 </R> Assistant Secretary of the fund. Ms. Carey also serves as Assistant Secretary of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present), Vice President, Associate General Counsel (2007-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). |
Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established two committees to supplement the work of the Board as a whole. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
<R>The Audit and Compliance Committee is composed of Ms. Butte Liebowitz (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, Mr. Ralph Cox, and Mses. Farrell and Kaplan. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The committee determines whether at least one member of the committee is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined in rules promulgated by the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The committee normally meets in conjunction with in person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee meets separately periodically with the fund's Treasurer, the fund's Chief Financial Officer, the fund's CCO, personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and the fund's outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the fund for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the fund and the fund's service providers, (ii) the financial reporting processes of the fund, (iii) the independence, objectivity and qualification of the auditors to the fund, (iv) the annual audits of the fund's financial statements, and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the fund. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations (Auditor Independence Regulations) of the SEC. In furtherance of the foregoing, the committee has adopted (and may from time to time amend or supplement) and provides oversight of policies and procedures for non-audit engagements by outside auditors of the fund. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the fund and for resolving disagreements between the fund and any outside auditor regarding the fund's financial reporting, and has sole authority to hire and fire any auditor. Auditors of the fund report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the fund and any service providers consistent with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Ethics and Independence Rule 3526, Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence. The committee will discuss with the outside auditors any such disclosed relationships and their impact on the auditor's independence and objectivity. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the Auditor Independence Regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the fund's service providers' internal controls and reviews with management, internal auditors, and outside auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of the fund's and service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the fund's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the fund's or service provider's internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will review with counsel any legal matters that may have a material impact on the fund's financial statements and any material reports or inquiries received from regulators or governmental agencies. The committee reviews at least annually a report from the outside auditor describing (i) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control review, peer review, or PCAOB examination of the auditing firm and (ii) any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm since the most recent report and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the fund's financial reporting process and will receive reports from an outside auditor relating to (i) critical accounting policies and practices used by the fund, (ii) alternative accounting treatments that the auditor has discussed with Strategic Advisers, and (iii) other material written communications between the auditor and Strategic Advisers (as determined by the auditor). The committee will discuss with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the fund. The committee will review with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC (to the extent relevant) the results of audits of the fund's financial statements. The committee will review periodically the fund's major internal controls exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. The committee also oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the fund and its service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee of the Board of Trustees or reserved to the Board itself. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the fund. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO and, if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports on significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the fund's compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1 and quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of Mr. Ralph Cox (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, and Mses. Butte Liebowitz, Farrell, and Kaplan. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the code of ethics and any supplemental policies regarding personal securities transactions applicable to the Independent Trustees. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the fund's or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the fund's expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the fund, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012 (or as of March 31, 2013 for Ms. Farrell, Trustee as of March 5, 2013).</R>
Interested Trustees |
||
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Roger T. Servison |
Derek L. Young |
Strategic Advisers International II Fund |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
none |
none |
<R></R>
<R>Independent Trustees</R> |
|||||
<R>
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Peter C. Aldrich |
Mary C. Farrell |
Amy Butte Liebowitz |
Ralph F. Cox |
Karen Kaplan</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers International II Fund |
none |
none |
none |
over $100,000 |
none</R> |
<R>
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
over $100,00 |
none |
none |
over $100,000 |
none</R> |
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board for his or her services for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, or calendar year ended December 31, 2012, as applicable.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Compensation Table 1</R> |
||||||
<R>
AGGREGATE
|
Peter C.
|
Mary C.
|
Amy
|
Ralph F.
|
Karen
|
</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers International II Fund |
$ 1,850 |
$ 0 |
$ 1,850 |
$ 1,850 |
$ 1,850 |
</R> |
<R>
TOTAL COMPENSATION
|
$ 137,500 |
$ 0 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
</R> |
1 Roger T. Servison, Howard E. Cox, Jr., and Derek L. Young are interested persons and are compensated by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate (including FMR).
<R> 2 Effective March 5, 2013, Ms. Farrell serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II.</R>
<R> A Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, for 26 funds of two trusts.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and officers of the fund owned, in the aggregate, less than 1% of the fund's total outstanding shares.</R>
CONTROL OF INVESTMENT ADVISERS
<R>FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of Strategic Advisers and Pyramis. The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Abigail P. Johnson family, directly or through trusts, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.</R>
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
Pyramis is a registered investment adviser. FMR LLC is the ultimate parent company of Pyramis. Information regarding the ownership of FMR LLC is disclosed above.
Strategic Advisers, Pyramis (the Investment Advisers), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and the fund have adopted codes of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that set forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establish procedures for personal investing, and restrict certain transactions. Employees subject to the codes of ethics, including the Investment Advisers' investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.
The fund has entered into a management contract with Strategic Advisers, pursuant to which Strategic Advisers furnishes investment advisory and other services.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Strategic Advisers has retained Pyramis to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. The sub-adviser does not sponsor the fund.
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
Management and Sub-Advisory Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, Strategic Advisers acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, directs the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. Strategic Advisers is authorized, in its discretion, to allocate the fund's assets pursuant to its investment strategy. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates provide the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensate all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of Strategic Advisers, and compensate all personnel of the fund or Strategic Advisers performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
Under its respective sub-advisory agreement, and subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, each sub-adviser directs the investment of its allocated portion of the fund's assets in accordance with the fund's investment objective, policies and limitations.
Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to Strategic Advisers and the fees payable to the transfer agent and pricing and bookkeeping agent, the fund pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by those parties. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders; however, under the terms of the fund's transfer agent agreement, the transfer agent bears these costs. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.
Management Fees. For the services of Strategic Advisers under the management contract, the fund pays Strategic Advisers a monthly management fee calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets; provided, however, that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.00% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the fund until September 30, 2015. The fee waiver by Strategic Advisers will increase the fund's returns.</R>
The following table shows the amount of management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers for the past three fiscal years and the amount of waivers reducing management fees for the fund.
+ Fiscal year ended February 29.
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of the fund's operating expenses. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Expense reimbursements by Strategic Advisers will increase the fund's returns, and repayment of the reimbursement by the fund will decrease its returns.
<R> Sub-Adviser - Pyramis. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Pyramis pursuant to which Pyramis may provide investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Pyramis fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Pyramis pursuant to a separately negotiated investment mandate (a "Strategy"). The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Pyramis under a particular Strategy based on the following rate schedules:</R>
Select International: |
|||||
<R>0.45% of the first $200 million in assets;</R> |
|||||
<R>0.40% of the next $450 million in assets; and</R> |
|||||
<R>0.350% on any amount in excess of $650 million in assets</R> |
|||||
International Value: |
|||||
<R>0.45% of the first $200 million in assets;</R> |
|||||
<R>0.40% of the next $450 million in assets; and</R> |
|||||
<R>0.350% on any amount in excess of $650 million in assets</R> |
Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Pyramis pursuant to that Strategy.
The following table shows the amount of sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to Pyramis for the past three fiscal years.
A Annualized.
+ Fiscal year ended February 29.
<R>Differences between the amount of the management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers and the aggregate amount of the sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to Pyramis may be due to expense estimates, which are accrued in the period to which they relate and adjusted when actual amounts are known.</R>
Portfolio Manager Compensation - Strategic Advisers.
Wilfred Chilangwa is an employee of Strategic Advisers, a subsidiary of FMR LLC and an affiliate of FMR. Strategic Advisers is the adviser to the fund.
<R>Mr. Chilangwa is the lead portfolio manager of the fund and receives compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Strategic Advisers or at the election of the portfolio manager.</R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group (which may be a customized peer group developed by Strategic Advisers) assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of a broad range of Strategic Advisers funds and accounts, including the fund. Accounts may include model portfolios designed for asset allocation, retirement planning, or tax-sensitive goals. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s), and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with the portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and peer group. A subjective component of the bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Strategic Advisers. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of his fund is based on the fund's pre-tax investment performance measured against the MSCI ® EAFE ® Index (net MA tax), and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund within the customized Morningstar ® International Fidelity Category. The portfolio manager may be compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Strategic Advisers' parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.</R>
<R></R>
<R>The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Chilangwa as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
5 |
184 |
none</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 16,438 |
$ 16,673 |
none</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International II Fund ($821 (in millions) assets managed). The amount of assets managed of the fund reflects trades and other assets as of the close of the business day prior to the fund's fiscal year-end.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International II Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Chilangwa was $10,001 - $50,000.</R>
Portfolio Manager Compensation - Pyramis.
<R>Cesar Hernandez and H.B. King are co-portfolio managers of Pyramis' allocated portion of the fund's assets and receive compensation for their services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio managers compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of each portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Pyramis or at the election of the portfolio manager.</R>
Each portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and experience at FMR, Pyramis or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of each portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, if applicable, and (ii) the investment performance of other Pyramis equity funds and accounts. The pre-tax investment performance of each portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to the portfolio manager's tenure on those fund(s) and account(s) and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over the portfolio manager's tenure. Each component is calculated separately over each portfolio manager's tenure on those fund(s) and account(s) over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with each portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index, and peer group, if applicable. A smaller, subjective component of each portfolio manager's bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to and leadership within the Pyramis investment platform.
<R>The portion of Mr. Hernandez's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of Pyramis' Select International strategy is based on the pre-tax investment performance of the strategy measured against the MSCI ® EAFE ® Index. The portion of Mr. King's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of Pyramis' International Value strategy is based on the pre-tax investment performance of the strategy measured against the MSCI EAFE Index, and the pre-tax investment performance of the strategy within the eVestment Alliance EAFE Large Cap Core Universe. Each portfolio manager also is compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of Pyramis Global Advisors Holdings Corp, Pyramis' parent company. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of Pyramis and its affiliates.</R>
A portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, a portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. A portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as a portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by FMR or an affiliate. A portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. For example, a portfolio manager may manage other funds or accounts that engage in short sales, and could sell short a security for such other fund or account that the fund also trades or holds. Although Pyramis monitors such transactions to attempt to ensure equitable treatment of both the fund and a fund or account that engages in short sales, there can be no assurance that the price of a security held by the fund would not be impacted as a result. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Hernandez as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International II Fund ($288 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International II Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Hernandez was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. King as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
2 |
2 |
none</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 168 |
$ 112 |
none</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International II Fund ($288 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International II Fund beneficially owned by Mr. King was none.</R>
Proxy Voting - Strategic Advisers.
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of the fund, after consultation with Strategic Advisers. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Strategic Advisers and its affiliates and by the Independent Trustees of the fund, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. The funds in the trust generally intend to vote shares of underlying funds using echo voting procedures (that is, in the same proportion as the holders of all other shares of the particular underlying fund).
B. Any proposals not covered by paragraph A above or other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate Strategic Advisers analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review and approval by the General Counsel or Compliance Officer of FMR or the General Counsel of FMR LLC.
Sub-Adviser:
Proxy voting policies and procedures are used by the sub-adviser to determine how to vote proxies relating to the securities held by its allocated portion of the fund's assets. The proxy voting policies and procedures used by the sub-adviser are described below.
Proxy Voting - Pyramis.
I. General Principles
A. Voting of shares will be conducted in a manner consistent with the best interests of clients as follows: (i) securities of a portfolio company will generally be voted in a manner consistent with the Guidelines; and (ii) voting will be done without regard to any other Pyramis or Fidelity companies' relationship, business or otherwise, with that portfolio company.
B. FMR Investment Proxy Research votes proxies on behalf of Pyramis' clients. Like other Pyramis employees, FMR Investment Proxy Research employees have a fiduciary duty to never place their own personal interest ahead of the interests of Pyramis's clients and are instructed to avoid actual and apparent conflicts of interest. In the event of a conflict of interest, FMR Investment Proxy Research employees, like other Pyramis employees, will escalate to their managers or the Ethics Office, as appropriate, in accordance with Fidelity's corporate policy on conflicts of interest. A conflict of interest arises when there are factors that may prompt one to question whether a Fidelity and/or Pyramis employee is acting solely on the best interests of Pyramis, Fidelity and their customers. Employees are expected to avoid situations that could present even the appearance of a conflict between their interests and the interests of Pyramis and its customers.
C. Except as set forth herein, Pyramis will generally vote in favor of routine management proposals.
D. Non-routine proposals will generally be voted in accordance with the Guidelines.
E. Non-routine proposals not covered by the Guidelines or involving other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review by an attorney within FMR's General Counsel's office and a member of senior management within FMR Investment Proxy Research. A significant pattern of such proposals or other special circumstances will be referred to Pyramis' Senior Compliance Officer or his designee.
F. Pyramis will vote on shareholder proposals not specifically addressed by the Guidelines based on an evaluation of a proposal's likelihood to enhance the economic returns or profitability of the portfolio company or to maximize shareholder value. Where information is not readily available to analyze the economic impact of the proposal, Pyramis will generally abstain.
G. Many Pyramis accounts invest in voting securities issued by companies that are domiciled outside the United States and are not listed on a U.S. securities exchange. Corporate governance standards, legal or regulatory requirements and disclosure practices in foreign countries can differ from those in the United States. When voting proxies relating to non-U.S. securities, Pyramis will generally evaluate proposals in the context of the Guidelines and where applicable and feasible, take into consideration differing laws, regulations and practices in the relevant foreign market in determining how to vote shares.
H. In certain non-U.S. jurisdictions, shareholders voting shares of a portfolio company may be restricted from trading the shares for a period of time around the shareholder meeting date. Because such trading restrictions can hinder portfolio management and could result in a loss of liquidity for a client, Pyramis will generally not vote proxies in circumstances where such restrictions apply. In addition, certain non-U.S. jurisdictions require voting shareholders to disclose current share ownership on a fund-by-fund basis. When such disclosure requirements apply, Pyramis will generally not vote proxies in order to safeguard fund holdings information.
I. Where a management-sponsored proposal is inconsistent with the Guidelines, Pyramis may receive a company's commitment to modify the proposal or its practice to conform to the Guidelines, and Pyramis will generally support management based on this commitment. If a company subsequently does not abide by its commitment, Pyramis will generally withhold authority for the election of directors at the next election.
II. Definitions (as used in this document)
A. <R>Anti-Takeover Provision - includes fair price amendments; classified boards; "blank check" preferred stock; Golden Parachutes; supermajority provisions; Poison Pills; restricting the right to call special meetings; provisions restricting the right of shareholders to set board size; and any other provision that eliminates or limits shareholder rights.</R>
B. Golden Parachute - Employment contracts, agreements, or policies that include an excise tax gross-up provision; single trigger for cash incentives; or may result in a lump sum payment of cash and acceleration of equity that may total more than three times annual compensation (salary and bonus) in the event of a termination following a change in control.
C. Greenmail - payment of a premium to repurchase shares from a shareholder seeking to take over a company through a proxy contest or other means.
D. Sunset Provision - a condition in a charter or plan that specifies an expiration date.
E. Permitted Bid Feature - a provision suspending the application of a Poison Pill, by shareholder referendum, in the event a potential acquirer announces a bona fide offer for all outstanding shares.
F. Poison Pill - a strategy employed by a potential take-over/target company to make its stock less attractive to an acquirer. Poison Pills are generally designed to dilute the acquirer's ownership and value in the event of a take-over.
G. <R>Large-Capitalization Company - a company included in the Russell 1000 ® Index or the Russell Global ex-U.S. Large Cap Index.</R>
H. <R>Small-Capitalization Company - a company not included in the Russell 1000 ® Index or the Russell Global ex-U.S. Large Cap Index that is not a Micro-Capitalization Company.</R>
I. Micro-Capitalization Company - a company with a market capitalization under US $300 million.
J. Evergreen Provision - a feature which provides for an automatic increase in the shares available for grant under an equity award plan on a regular basis.
III. Directors
A. Incumbent Directors
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of incumbent and nominee directors except where one or more such directors clearly appear to have failed to exercise reasonable judgment. Pyramis will also generally withhold authority for the election of all directors or directors on responsible committees if:
1. An Anti-Takeover Provision was introduced, an Anti-Takeover Provision was extended, or a new Anti-Takeover Provision was adopted upon the expiration of an existing Anti-Takeover Provision, without shareholder approval except as set forth below.
With respect to Poison Pills, however, Pyramis will consider not withholding authority on the election of directors if all of the following conditions are met when a Poison Pill is introduced, extended, or adopted:
a. The Poison Pill includes a Sunset Provision of less than five years;
b. The Poison Pill includes a Permitted Bid Feature;
c. The Poison Pill is linked to a business strategy that will result in greater value for the shareholders; and
d. Shareholder approval is required to reinstate the Poison Pill upon expiration.
Pyramis will also consider not withholding authority on the election of directors when one or more of the conditions above are not met if a board is willing to strongly consider seeking shareholder ratification of, or adding above conditions noted a. and b. to an existing Poison Pill. In such a case, if the company does not take appropriate action prior to the next annual shareholder meeting, Pyramis will withhold authority on the election of directors.
2. The company refuses, upon request by Pyramis, to amend the Poison Pill to allow Pyramis to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
3. Within the last year and without shareholder approval, a company's board of directors or compensation committee has repriced outstanding options, exchanged outstanding options for equity, or tendered cash for outstanding options.
4. <R>Executive compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as: (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether, in the case of stock awards, the restriction period was less than three years for non-performance based awards, and less than one year for performance-based awards; (iv) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restrictions; and (v) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.</R>
5. To gain Pyramis' support on a proposal, the company made a commitment to modify a proposal or practice to conform to the Guidelines and the company has failed to act on that commitment.
6. The director attended fewer than 75% of the aggregate number of meetings of the board or its committees on which the director served during the company's prior fiscal year, absent extenuating circumstances.
7. The board is not composed of a majority of independent directors.
B. Indemnification
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of charter and by-law amendments expanding the indemnification of directors and/or limiting their liability for breaches of care unless Pyramis is otherwise dissatisfied with the performance of management or the proposal is accompanied by Anti-Takeover Provisions.
C. Independent Chairperson
Pyramis will generally vote against shareholder proposals calling for or recommending the appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson. However, Pyramis will consider voting for such proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson appears likely to further the interests of shareholders and to promote effective oversight of management by the board of directors.
D. Majority Director Elections
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals calling for directors to be elected by an affirmative majority of votes cast in a board election, provided that the proposal allows for plurality voting standard in the case of contested elections (i.e., where there are more nominees than board seats). Pyramis may consider voting against such shareholder proposals where a company's board has adopted an alternative measure, such as a director resignation policy, that provides a meaningful alternative to the majority voting standard and appropriately addresses situations where an incumbent director fails to receive the support of a majority of the votes cast in an uncontested election.
IV. Compensation
A. Executive Compensation
1. Advisory votes on executive compensation
a. Pyramis will generally vote for proposals to ratify executive compensation unless such compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as, among other things, (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether, in the case of stock awards, the restriction period was less than three years for non-performance-based awards, and less than one year for performance-based awards; (iv) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restrictions; and (v) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.
b. Pyramis will generally vote against proposals to ratify Golden Parachutes.
2. Frequency of advisory vote on executive compensation
Pyramis will generally support annual advisory votes on executive compensation.
B. Equity Award Plans (including stock options, restricted stock awards, and other stock awards).
Pyramis will generally vote against equity award plans or amendments to authorize additional shares under such plans if:
1. (a) The company's average three year burn rate is greater than 1.5% for a Large-Capitalization Company, 2.5% for a Small-Capitalization Company or 3.5% for a Micro-Capitalization Company; and (b) there were no circumstances specific to the company or the plans that lead Pyramis to conclude that the burn rate is acceptable.
2. In the case of stock option plans, (a) the offering price of options is less than 100% of fair market value on the date of grant, except that the offering price may be as low as 85% of fair market value if the discount is expressly granted in lieu of salary or cash bonus; (b) the plan's terms allow repricing of underwater options; or (c) the board/committee has repriced options outstanding under the plan in the past two years without shareholder approval.
3. The plan includes an Evergreen Provision.
4. The plan provides for the acceleration of vesting of equity awards even though an actual change in control may not occur.
C. Equity Exchanges and Repricing
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of a management proposal to exchange, reprice or tender for cash, outstanding options if the proposed exchange, repricing, or tender offer is consistent with the interests of shareholders, taking into account such factors as:
1. Whether the proposal excludes senior management and directors;
2. Whether the exchange or repricing proposal is value neutral to shareholders based upon an acceptable pricing model;
3. The company's relative performance compared to other companies within the relevant industry or industries;
4. Economic and other conditions affecting the relevant industry or industries in which the company competes; and
5. Any other facts or circumstances relevant to determining whether an exchange or repricing proposal is consistent with the interests of shareholders.
D. Employee Stock Purchase Plans
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of employee stock purchase plans if the minimum stock purchase price is equal to or greater than 85% of the stock's fair market value and the plan constitutes a reasonable effort to encourage broad based participation in the company's equity. In the case of non-U.S. company stock purchase plans, Pyramis may permit a lower minimum stock purchase price equal to the prevailing "best practices" in the relevant non-U.S. market, provided that the minimum stock purchase price must be at least 75% of the stock's fair market value.
E. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of non-leveraged ESOPs. For leveraged ESOPs, Pyramis may examine the company's state of incorporation, existence of supermajority vote rules in the charter, number of shares authorized for the ESOP, and number of shares held by insiders. Pyramis may also examine where the ESOP shares are purchased and the dilution effect of the purchase. Pyramis will generally vote against leveraged ESOPs if all outstanding loans are due immediately upon change in control.
F. Bonus Plans and Tax Deductibility Proposals
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of cash and stock incentive plans that are submitted for shareholder approval in order to qualify for favorable tax treatment under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, provided that the plan includes well defined and appropriate performance criteria, and with respect to any cash component, that the maximum award per participant is clearly stated and is not unreasonable or excessive.
V. Anti-Takeover Provisions
Pyramis will generally vote against a proposal to adopt or approve the adoption of an Anti-Takeover Provision unless:
A. The Poison Pill includes the following features:
1. A Sunset Provision of no greater than five years;
2. Linked to a business strategy that is expected to result in greater value for the shareholders;
3. Requires shareholder approval to be reinstated upon expiration or if amended;
4. Contains a Permitted Bid Feature; and
5. Allows Pyramis accounts to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
B. An Anti-Greenmail proposal that does not include other Anti-Takeover Provisions; or
C. It is a fair price amendment that considers a two-year price history or less.
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of a proposal to eliminate an Anti-Takeover Provisions unless:
D. In the case of proposals to declassify a board of directors, Pyramis will generally vote against such a proposal if the issuer's Articles of Incorporation or applicable statutes include a provision whereby a majority of directors may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by written consent, or other reasonable procedures, by a majority of shareholders entitled to vote for the election of directors.
E. In the case of shareholder proposals regarding shareholders' right to call special meetings, Pyramis generally will vote against each proposal if the threshold required to call a special meeting is less than 25% of the outstanding stock.
F. In the case of proposals regarding shareholders' right to act by written consent, Pyramis will generally vote against each proposal if it does not include appropriate mechanisms for implementation including, among other things, that at least 25% of the outstanding stock request that the company establish a record date determining which shareholders are entitled to act and that consents be solicited from all shareholders.
VI. Capital Structure/Incorporation
A. Increases in Common Stock
Pyramis will generally vote against a provision to increase a company's common stock if such increase will result in a total number of authorized shares greater than three times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares, including stock options, except in the case of real estate investment trusts, where an increase that will result in a total number of authorized shares up to five times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares is generally acceptable.
B. New Classes of Shares
Pyramis will generally vote against the introduction of new classes of stock with differential voting rights.
C. Cumulative Voting Rights
Pyramis will generally vote against the introduction and in favor of the elimination of cumulative voting rights.
D. Acquisition or Business Combination Statutes
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposed amendments to a company's certificate of incorporation or by-laws that enable the company to opt out of the control shares acquisition or business combination statutes.
E. Incorporation or Reincorporation in Another State or Country
Pyramis will generally vote for management proposals calling for, or recommending that, a portfolio company reincorporate in another state or country if, on balance, the economic and corporate governance factors in the proposed jurisdiction appear reasonably likely to be better aligned with shareholder interests, taking into account the corporate laws of the current and proposed jurisdictions and any changes to the company's current and proposed governing documents. Pyramis will consider supporting such shareholder proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, remaining incorporated in the current jurisdiction appears misaligned with shareholder interests.
VII. Shares of Investment Companies
A. <R>If applicable, when a Pyramis account invests in an underlying Fidelity Fund with public shareholders, an exchange traded fund (ETF), or non-affiliated fund, Pyramis will vote in the same proportion as all other voting shareholders of such underlying fund or class ("echo voting"). Pyramis may choose not to vote if "echo voting" is not operationally feasible.</R>
B. Certain Pyramis accounts may invest in shares of underlying Fidelity Funds, which are held exclusively by Fidelity Funds or accounts managed by FMR or an affiliate. Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals recommended by the underlying funds' Board of Trustees.
VIII. Other
A. Voting Process
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals to adopt confidential voting and independent vote tabulation practices.
B. Regulated Industries
Voting of shares in securities of any regulated industry (e.g. U.S. banking) organization shall be conducted in a manner consistent with conditions that may be specified by the industry's regulator (e.g. the Federal Reserve Board) for a determination under applicable law (e.g. federal banking law) that no client or group of clients has acquired control of such organization.
To view a fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, visit www.fidelity.com/proxyvotingresults or visit the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.
<R>The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. The principal business address of FDC is 100 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by Strategic Advisers.</R>
The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan with respect to shares of the fund (the Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a mutual fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows the fund and Strategic Advisers to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.
Under the Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to Strategic Advisers is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Plan. The Plan specifically recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Plan provides that Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers or FDC), that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Prior to approving the Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Plan will benefit the fund and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Plan does not authorize payments by the fund other than those made to Strategic Advisers under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Plan gives Strategic Advisers and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of shares of the fund, additional sales of shares of the fund or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
<R>The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (FIIOC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers, which is located at 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services for the fund.</R>
For providing transfer agency services, FIIOC receives an account fee and an asset-based fee with respect to assets managed by one or more sub-advisers and assets invested in non-affiliated ETFs. For retail accounts, these fees are based on fund type. For certain institutional accounts, these fees are based on size of position and fund type. For institutional retirement accounts, these fees are based on account type and fund type. The account fee is billed monthly on a pro rata basis at one-twelfth of the applicable annual rate as of the end of each calendar month. The asset-based fee is calculated and paid monthly on the basis of average daily net assets. For assets invested in underlying Fidelity funds, each underlying Fidelity fund pays its respective transfer agent (either FIIOC or an affiliate of FIIOC) fees based, in part, on the number of positions in and assets of the fund invested in such underlying Fidelity fund.
FIIOC also may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
<R>The fund has entered into a service agent agreement with Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers (or an agent, including an affiliate). Under the terms of the agreement, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for the fund and maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records.</R>
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
The annual rates for pricing and bookkeeping services for the fund are 0.0518% of the first $500 million of average net assets, 0.0415% of average net assets between $500 million and $3.5 billion, 0.0041% of average net assets between $3.5 billion and $25 billion, and 0.0019% of average net assets in excess of $25 billion.
Pricing and bookkeeping fees paid by the fund to FSC for the past three fiscal years are shown in the following table.
<R> Fund |
2013 |
2012 |
2011</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers International II Fund |
$ 376,094 |
$ 398,398 |
$ 185,398</R> |
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
<R> Trust Organization. Strategic Advisers International II Fund is a fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, an open-end management investment company created under an initial trust instrument dated March 8, 2006. Currently, there are 20 funds offered in the trust: Strategic Advisers Core Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.</R>
The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds.
Shareholder Liability. The trust is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that, except to the extent otherwise provided in the Trust Instrument, shareholders shall be entitled to the same limitations of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit organized under the general corporation law of Delaware. The courts of some states, however, may decline to apply Delaware law on this point. The Trust Instrument contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust. The Trust Instrument provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Trust Instrument further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of each fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Trust Instrument also provides that each fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which Delaware law does not apply, no contractual limitation of liability was in effect, and a fund is unable to meet its obligations. Strategic Advisers believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is extremely remote.
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. As a shareholder, you are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value you own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
<R></R>
The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodians. State Street Bank and Trust Company, 1776 Heritage Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as special purpose custodians of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions.
Strategic Advisers, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Member of the Advisory Board, and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by Strategic Advisers. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of Strategic Advisers, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 125 High Street, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit, tax, and related services.
<R> </R>
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized Strategic Advisers, in consultation with FMR, to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
Other registered investment companies that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be subject to different portfolio holdings disclosure policies, and neither Strategic Advisers nor the Board exercises control over such policies or disclosure. In addition, separate account clients of Strategic Advisers and the sub-advisers have access to their portfolio holdings and are not subject to the fund's portfolio holdings disclosure policies. Some of the funds that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser and some of the separate accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser have investment objectives and strategies that are substantially similar or identical to the fund's and, therefore, potentially substantially similar, and in certain cases nearly identical, portfolio holdings as the fund.
The fund will provide a full list of holdings monthly on www.fidelity.com 30 days after the month-end (excluding high income security holdings, which generally will be presented collectively monthly and included in a list of full holdings 60 days after its fiscal quarter-end).
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations.
<R> The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the activities associated with managing Fidelity funds to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons Strategic Advisers believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include, but are not limited to: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics (including portfolio managers of affiliated funds of funds); contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.</R>
<R> Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, (ii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iii) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. Strategic Advisers relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.</R>
<R>At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day) and DocuLynx Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day).</R>
Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, Strategic Advisers desired to make such an arrangement, it would seek prior Board approval and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
<R> FINANCIAL STATEMENTS</R>
<R>The fund's financial statements and financial highlights for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, and report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the fund's annual report and are incorporated herein by reference. Total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table may differ from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the financial highlights because total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table include any acquired fund fees and expenses, whereas the ratios of expenses in the financial highlights do not, except to the extent any acquired fund fees and expenses relate to an entity, such as a wholly-owned subsidiary, with which a fund's financial statements are consolidated. Acquired funds include other investment companies in which the fund has invested, if and to the extent it is permitted to do so. Total annual operating expenses in the prospectus fee table and the financial highlights do not include any expenses associated with investments in certain structured or synthetic products that may rely on the exception from the definition of "investment company" provided by section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R></R>
<R> Strategic Advisers ® Emerging Markets Fund of Funds </R>
<R> Class /Ticker </R>
<R> Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds /FLILX </R>
<R>In this prospectus, the term "shares" (as it relates to the fund) means the class of shares offered through this prospectus.</R>
Prospectus
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
Fund Summary |
Strategic Advisers ® Emerging Markets Fund of Funds |
|
Fund Basics |
Investment Details |
|
|
Valuing Shares |
|
Shareholder Information |
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares |
|
|
Exchanging Shares |
|
|
Features and Policies |
|
|
Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions |
|
|
Tax Consequences |
|
Fund Services |
Fund Management |
|
|
Fund Distribution |
|
<R> Appendix |
Financial Highlights </R> |
Prospectus
<R>
Fund
/Class:
Strategic Advisers
®
Emerging Markets Fund of Funds
/Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds</R>
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy, hold, or sell shares of the fund.
<R></R>
<R>
Shareholder fees
|
</R> |
<R> Redemption fee on shares held less than 90 days (as a % of amount redeemed) |
1.50% </R> |
<R>
Annual class operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
</R>
<R> Management fee B |
0.30% </R> |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees |
None |
<R> Other expenses |
0.84% </R> |
<R> Acquired fund fees and expenses (fees and expenses of underlying funds) |
1.12% </R> |
<R> Total annual operating expenses A |
2.26% </R> |
<R> Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement B |
1.04% </R> |
<R> Total annual operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement A |
1.22% </R> |
<R> A Differs from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the Financial Highlights section of the prospectus because of acquired fund fees and expenses. As a result, the total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement in the fee table exceed the contractual expense limitation of the class. </R>
<R> B Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) has contractually agreed that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.25% of the fund's average daily net assets. Strategic Advisers has also contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets. In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to reimburse the fund to the extent that total operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, extraordinary expenses, sub-advisory fees, and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any), as a percentage of its average net assets, exceed 0.10%. These arrangements will remain in effect through April 30, 2014. Strategic Advisers may not terminate these arrangements without the approval of the Board of Trustees. </R>
<R></R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
<R> 1 year |
$ 124 </R> |
<R> 3 years |
$ 589 </R> |
<R> 5 years |
$ 1,098 </R> |
<R> 10 years |
$ 2,500 </R> |
<R>The fund will not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of affiliated funds but may incur transaction costs when buying or selling non-affiliated funds and other types of securities (including non-affiliated exchange traded funds) directly (or "turns over" its portfolio). If the fund were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs and could result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example and would affect the fund's performance. For the period from May 2, 2012 to February 28, 2013, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 8% (annualized) of the average value of its portfolio.</R>
Prospectus
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
Performance history will be available for the fund after the fund has been in operation for one calendar year.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) is the fund's manager. Acadian Asset Management LLC (Acadian) and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis) have been retained to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. Acadian and Pyramis have not currently been allocated a portion of the fund's assets to manage.</R>
<R>Wilfred Chilangwa (portfolio manager) has managed the fund since May 2012.</R>
Shares of the fund generally are available only to: (i) employer-sponsored retirement plans (including profit sharing, 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), and similar plans) for which an affiliate of Strategic Advisers provides recordkeeping services; and (ii) Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund accounts held by individuals who currently own shares of the fund originally held in an employer sponsored retirement plan. You may buy or sell shares in various ways:
The price to buy one share of the fund is its net asset value per share (NAV). Your shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after your investment is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable. Your shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
There is no purchase minimum for fund shares.
Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state or local taxes, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account (in which case you may be taxed later, upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).
The fund, Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Investment Objective
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
Principal Investment Strategies
<R>The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of issuers in emerging markets and other investments that are tied economically to emerging markets and in shares of other emerging markets equity funds. Emerging markets include countries that have an emerging stock market as defined by MSCI ® , countries or markets with low- to middle-income economies as classified by the World Bank, and other countries or markets with similar emerging characteristics. Emerging markets tend to have relatively low gross national product per capita compared to the world's major economies and may have the potential for rapid economic growth. The fund normally invests primarily in common stocks.</R>
The fund allocates investments across different emerging market countries.
The fund implements its investment strategies by investing indirectly in securities through one or more underlying funds, which in turn invest directly in securities.
Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of underlying funds at any time.
Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds to attempt to diversify the fund's portfolio in terms of market capitalization, investment style, and geographic region.
Strategic Advisers pursues a disciplined, benchmark-driven approach to portfolio construction, and monitors and adjusts allocations to underlying funds as necessary to favor those underlying funds that Strategic Advisers believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the fund's investment objective.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among underlying funds, Strategic Advisers relies on proprietary fundamental and quantitative fund research in its fund selection process. Factors considered when investing in underlying funds include fund performance, a fund manager's experience and investment style, fund company infrastructure, and fund characteristics such as expense ratio, asset size, and portfolio turnover.
<R>The fund may invest in affiliated emerging markets funds ( i.e., Fidelity funds) and non-affiliated emerging markets funds that typically participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork ® , non-affiliated ETFs, and closed-end funds. Underlying funds include both funds managed by FMR (an affiliated company that, together with Strategic Advisers, is part of Fidelity Investments) or an affiliate and funds managed by investment advisers other than Fidelity. Fidelity may receive service fees that typically are at an annual rate of up to 0.40% of a non-affiliated underlying fund's average daily net assets attributable to purchases through Fidelity's FundsNetwork, though such fees may be higher or lower, or may be charged as transaction and/or account fees. In situations where a fund or strategy is not available for purchase through Fidelity's FundsNetwork, the fund may elect to purchase such fund through other means. In addition, the fund may invest in ETFs in transactions not occurring through Fidelity's FundsNetwork.</R>
Prospectus
Strategic Advisers generally identifies emerging markets funds by reference to a fund's name, policies, or classification by a third-party ranking or ratings organization. Whether an underlying fund is an emerging markets fund is determined at the time of investment. Investments in funds whose names, policies or classifications change after purchase continue to be considered investments in emerging markets funds for purposes of the 80% policy.
<R>Strategic Advisers may actively adjust the allocation of the fund's assets at any time. For current information on fund holdings, please call 1-800-835-5095 (plan accounts) or 1-800-544-3455 (all other accounts) or visit the web site at www.401k.com (plan accounts) or www.fidelity.com (all other accounts). For information on the underlying funds, see the underlying funds' prospectuses. A copy of any underlying Fidelity fund's prospectus is available at www.fidelity.com or www.advisor.fidelity.com. For a copy of any other underlying fund's prospectus, visit the web site of the company that manages or sponsors that underlying fund.</R>
In addition, the fund may have indirect exposure to derivatives through its investments in underlying funds.
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on the performance of the underlying funds in which it invests. The ability of the fund to meet its investment objective is directly related to its allocation among underlying funds and the ability of those funds to meet their investment objectives.
If Strategic Advisers' allocation strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective. The portfolio manager's evaluations and assumptions in selecting underlying funds may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.
When your shares are sold they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
Investing in Other Funds. Regulatory restrictions may limit the amount that one fund can invest in another, and in certain cases further limit investments to the extent a fund's shares are already held by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The fund bears all risks of investment strategies employed by the underlying funds. The fund does not control the investments of the underlying funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the fund would not engage in directly. Aggregation of underlying fund holdings may result in indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase volatility.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Stock Market Volatility. The value of equity securities fluctuates in response to issuer, political, market, and economic developments. Fluctuations can be dramatic over the short as well as long term, and different parts of the market and different types of equity securities can react differently to these developments. For example, large cap stocks can react differently from small cap stocks, "growth" stocks can react differently from "value" stocks, and stocks selected using quantitative or technical analysis can react differently than stocks selected using fundamental analysis. Issuer, political, or economic developments can affect a single issuer, issuers within an industry or economic sector or geographic region, or the market as a whole. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact the market as a whole. Terrorism and related geo-political risks have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
<R> Foreign and Emerging Market Risk. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; withholding or other taxes; trading, settlement, custodial, and other operational risks; and the less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets. All of these factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and potentially less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can perform differently from the U.S. market.</R>
Investing in emerging markets can involve risks in addition to and greater than those generally associated with investing in more developed foreign markets. The extent of economic development; political stability; market depth, infrastructure, and capitalization; and regulatory oversight can be less than in more developed markets. Emerging market economies can be subject to greater social, economic, regulatory, and political uncertainties. All of these factors can make emerging market securities more volatile and potentially less liquid than securities issued in more developed markets.
<R>Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers or providers in, or foreign exchange rates with, a different country or region.</R>
<R> Geographic Exposure. Social, political, and economic conditions and changes in regulatory, tax, or economic policy in a country or region could significantly affect the market in that country or region. From time to time, a small number of companies and industries may represent a large portion of the market in a particular country or region, and these companies and industries can be sensitive to adverse social, political, economic, currency, or regulatory developments. Similarly, from time to time, an underlying fund may invest a large portion of its assets in the securities of issuers located in a single country or a limited number of countries. If an underlying fund invests in this manner, there is a higher risk that social, political, economic, tax (such as a tax on foreign investments or financial transactions), currency, or regulatory developments in those countries may have a significant impact on the underlying fund's investment performance.</R>
Prospectus
Industry Exposure. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry or a group of related industries, and the securities of companies in that industry or group of industries could react similarly to these or other developments. In addition, from time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry or a group of related industries as a whole, and these companies can be sensitive to adverse economic, regulatory, or financial developments.
Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's value. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers.
<R> Investing in ETFs and Closed-End Funds. ETFs and closed-end funds may trade in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) at prices below the value of their underlying portfolios and may not be liquid. An ETF that is not actively managed cannot sell poorly performing stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in its index or other benchmark. ETFs that track an index are subject to tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to its index or other benchmark).</R>
Quantitative Investing. The value of securities selected using quantitative analysis can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis. The factors used in quantitative analysis and the weight placed on those factors may not be predictive of a security's value. In addition, factors that affect a security's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model.
<R>In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser, if any, may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
The following policy is fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The following policy is subject to change only upon 60 days' prior notice to shareholders:
The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of issuers in emerging markets and other investments that are tied economically to emerging markets and in shares of other emerging markets equity funds.
A number of factors are considered in determining whether an investment is tied economically to a particular country or region, including: the source of government guarantees (if any); the primary trading market; the issuer's domicile, sources of revenue, and location of assets; whether the investment is included in an index representative of a particular country or region; and whether the investment is exposed to the economic fortunes and risks of a particular country or region.
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
<R>The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates the fund's NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing the fund's NAV. Fidelity calculates net asset value separately for each class of shares of a multiple class fund.</R>
<R>NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).</R>
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) are valued at their respective NAVs. Securities issued by ETFs are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations or official closing prices. For an explanation of the circumstances under which the underlying funds will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the underlying funds' prospectuses and statements of additional information (SAIs). The fund's NAV is calculated using the values of the underlying funds in which it invests.
To the extent that underlying fund assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some underlying fund assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Prospectus
THE FUND IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO CERTAIN EMPLOYER-SPONSORED RETIREMENT PLANS AND FIDELITY BROKERAGE OR MUTUAL FUND ACCOUNTS. PLEASE SEE "FUND SUMMARY - PURCHASE AND SALE OF SHARES" ABOVE FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS.
Fidelity Investments was established in 1946 to manage one of America's first mutual funds. Today, Fidelity is one of the world's largest providers of financial services.
In addition to its mutual fund business, the company operates one of America's leading brokerage firms, Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC. Fidelity is also a leader in providing tax-advantaged retirement plans for individuals investing on their own or through their employer.
Subject to the purchase and sale requirements stated in this prospectus, you may buy or sell shares of a fund through a Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity mutual fund account. If you buy or sell shares of a fund (other than by exchange) through a Fidelity brokerage account, your transactions generally involve your Fidelity brokerage core (a settlement vehicle included as part of your Fidelity brokerage account).
If you do not currently have a Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity mutual fund account and would like to invest in a fund, you may need to complete an application. For more information about a Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity mutual fund account, please visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com, call 1-800-FIDELITY, or visit a Fidelity Investor Center (call 1-800-544-9797 for the center nearest you).
<R>You may also buy or sell shares of the fund through a retirement account (such as an IRA or an account funded through salary deductions) or an investment professional. Retirement specialists are available at 1-800-544-4774 to answer your questions about Fidelity retirement products. If you buy or sell shares of a fund through a retirement account or an investment professional, the procedures for buying, selling, and exchanging shares of the fund and the account features, policies, and fees may differ from those discussed in this prospectus. Fees in addition to those discussed in this prospectus may also apply. For example, you may be charged a transaction fee if you buy or sell shares of the fund through a non-Fidelity broker or other investment professional.</R>
You should include the following information with any order to buy, sell, or exchange shares:
Certain methods of contacting Fidelity, such as by telephone or electronically, may be unavailable or delayed (for example, during periods of unusual market activity). In addition, the level and type of service available may be restricted based on criteria established by Fidelity.
Prospectus
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase or exchange, including transactions deemed to represent excessive trading, at any time.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
<R>The Board of Trustees has adopted policies designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares. Excessive trading activity in the fund is measured by the number of roundtrip transactions in a shareholder's account and each class of a multiple class fund is treated separately. A roundtrip transaction occurs when a shareholder sells fund shares (including exchanges) within 30 days of the purchase date.</R>
<R>Shareholders with two or more roundtrip transactions in a single fund within a rolling 90-day period will be blocked from making additional purchases or exchange purchases of the fund for 85 days. Shareholders with four or more roundtrip transactions across all Fidelity funds within any rolling 12-month period will be blocked for at least 85 days from additional purchases or exchange purchases across all Fidelity funds. Any roundtrip within 12 months of the expiration of a multi-fund block will initiate another multi-fund block. Repeat offenders may be subject to long-term or permanent blocks on purchase or exchange purchase transactions in any account under the shareholder's control at any time. In addition to enforcing these roundtrip limitations, the fund may in its discretion restrict, reject, or cancel any purchases or exchanges that, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, may be disruptive to the management of the fund or otherwise not be in the fund's interests.</R>
The following transactions are exempt from the fund's excessive trading policy described above: (i) transactions of $1,000 or less, (ii) systematic withdrawal and/or contribution programs, (iii) mandatory retirement distributions, and (iv) transactions initiated by a plan sponsor or sponsors of certain employee benefit plans or other related accounts. In addition, the fund's excessive trading policy does not apply to transactions initiated by the trustee or adviser to a donor-advised charitable gift fund, qualified fund of fund(s), or other strategy funds. A qualified fund of fund(s) is a mutual fund, qualified tuition program, or other strategy fund consisting of qualified plan assets that either applies the fund's excessive trading policies to shareholders at the fund of fund(s) level, or demonstrates that the fund of fund(s) has an investment strategy coupled with policies designed to control frequent trading that are reasonably likely to be effective as determined by the fund's Treasurer.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Omnibus accounts, in which shares are held in the name of an intermediary on behalf of multiple investors, are a common form of holding shares among retirement plans and financial intermediaries such as brokers, advisers, and third-party administrators. Individual trades in omnibus accounts are often not disclosed to the fund, making it difficult to determine whether a particular shareholder is engaging in excessive trading. Excessive trading in omnibus accounts is likely to go undetected by the fund and may increase costs to the fund and disrupt its portfolio management.
Under policies adopted by the Board of Trustees, intermediaries will be permitted to apply the fund's excessive trading policy (described above), or their own excessive trading policy if approved by Strategic Advisers. In these cases, the fund will typically not request or receive individual account data but will rely on the intermediary to monitor trading activity in good faith in accordance with its or the fund's policies. Reliance on intermediaries increases the risk that excessive trading may go undetected. For other intermediaries, the fund will generally monitor trading activity at the omnibus account level to attempt to identify disruptive trades. The fund may request transaction information, as frequently as daily, from any intermediary at any time, and may apply the fund's policy to transactions that exceed thresholds established by the Board of Trustees. The fund may prohibit purchases of fund shares by an intermediary or by some or all of any intermediary's clients. There is no assurance that Strategic Advisers will request data with sufficient frequency to detect or deter excessive trading in omnibus accounts effectively.
If you purchase or sell fund shares through a financial intermediary, you may wish to contact the intermediary to determine the policies applicable to your account.
For employer-sponsored retirement plans, only participant directed exchanges count toward the roundtrip limits. Employer-sponsored retirement plan participants whose activity triggers a purchase or exchange block will be permitted one trade every calendar quarter. In the event of a block, employer and participant contributions and loan repayments by the participant may still be invested in the fund.
The fund will monitor aggregate trading activity of adviser transactions to attempt to identify excessive trading in qualified wrap programs, as defined below. Excessive trading by an adviser will lead to fund blocks and the wrap program will lose its qualified status. Adviser transactions will not be matched with client-directed transactions unless the wrap program ceases to be a qualified wrap program (but all client-directed transactions will be subject to the fund's excessive trading policy). A qualified wrap program is: (i) a program whose adviser certifies that it has investment discretion over $100 million or more in client assets invested in mutual funds at the time of the certification, (ii) a program in which the adviser directs transactions in the accounts participating in the program in concert with changes in a model portfolio, and (iii) managed by an adviser who agrees to give Strategic Advisers sufficient information to permit Strategic Advisers to identify the individual accounts in the wrap program.
Prospectus
The fund reserves the right at any time to restrict purchases or exchanges or impose conditions that are more restrictive on excessive or disruptive trading than those stated in this prospectus. The fund's Treasurer is authorized to suspend the fund's policies during periods of severe market turbulence or national emergency. The fund reserves the right to modify its policies at any time without prior notice.
The fund does not knowingly accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares by investors, except to the extent permitted by the policies described above.
In addition to these policies, the fund imposes a short-term redemption fee on redemptions from the fund, which is discussed in "Selling Shares." As described in "Valuing Shares," the fund also uses fair value pricing to help reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders. There is no assurance that the fund's excessive trading policy will be effective, or will successfully detect or deter excessive or disruptive trading.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its NAV. The fund's shares are sold without a sales charge.
Your shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after your investment is received in proper form.
<R>The fund has authorized certain intermediaries to accept orders to buy shares on its behalf. When authorized intermediaries receive an order in proper form, the order is considered as being placed with the fund, and shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after the order is received by the authorized intermediary. Orders by funds of funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.</R>
<R>Provided the fund receives an order to buy shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to buy shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.</R>
There is no minimum balance or purchase minimum for investments through Portfolio Advisory Services, a mutual fund or a qualified tuition program for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager, certain Fidelity retirement accounts funded through salary deduction, or fund positions opened with the proceeds of distributions from such retirement accounts or from a Fidelity systematic withdrawal service. In addition, the fund may waive or lower purchase minimums in other circumstances.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
If your payment is not received and collected, your purchase may be canceled and you could be liable for any losses or fees the fund or Fidelity has incurred.
Certain financial institutions that have entered into sales agreements with FDC may enter confirmed purchase orders on behalf of customers by phone, with payment to follow no later than the time when fund shares are priced on the following business day. If payment is not received by that time, the order will be canceled and the financial institution could be held liable for resulting fees or losses.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.
If you sell your shares after holding them less than 90 days, a 1.50% short-term redemption fee may be deducted from the redemption amount. For this purpose, shares held longest will be treated as being redeemed first and shares held shortest as being redeemed last. The fees are paid to the fund, not Strategic Advisers, and are designed to help offset the brokerage commissions, market impact, and other costs associated with short-term shareholder trading.
<R>The short-term redemption fee does not apply to: (i) redemptions of shares acquired by reinvesting dividends and distributions; (ii) rollovers, transfers, and changes of account registration within the fund, or transfers between classes of a multiple class fund (if applicable) as long as the money never leaves the fund; and (iii) redemptions in kind.</R>
The fund also permits waivers of the short-term redemption fee for the following transactions:
The application of short-term redemption fees and waivers may vary among intermediaries and certain intermediaries may not apply the waivers listed above. If you purchase or sell fund shares through an intermediary, you should contact your intermediary for more information on whether the short-term redemption fee will be applied to redemptions of your shares.
Prospectus
The fund reserves the right to modify or eliminate the short-term redemption fee or waivers at any time. Investment advisers or their affiliates may pay short-term redemption fees on behalf of investors in managed accounts. Unitized group accounts consisting of qualified plan assets may be treated as a single account for redemption fee purposes.
Fidelity seeks to identify intermediaries that hold fund shares in omnibus accounts and will refuse their purchase orders if they do not agree to track and remit short-term redemption fees based on the transactions of underlying investors. There are no assurances that Fidelity will successfully identify all intermediaries or that the intermediaries will properly assess short-term redemption fees.
Your shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
<R>The fund has authorized certain intermediaries to accept orders to sell shares on its behalf. When authorized intermediaries receive an order in proper form, the order is considered as being placed with the fund, and shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after the order is received by the authorized intermediary, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable. Orders by funds of funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.</R>
<R>Provided the fund receives an order to sell shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to sell shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.</R>
A signature guarantee is designed to protect you and Fidelity from fraud. Fidelity may require that your request be made in writing and include a signature guarantee in certain circumstances, such as:
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
You should be able to obtain a signature guarantee from a bank, broker (including Fidelity Investor Centers), dealer, credit union (if authorized under state law), securities exchange or association, clearing agency, or savings association. A notary public cannot provide a signature guarantee.
When you place an order to sell shares, note the following:
An exchange involves the redemption of all or a portion of the shares of one fund and the purchase of shares of another fund.
If you hold your shares of the fund through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, your shares of the fund may be exchanged into shares of any class of a Fidelity fund available through your plan. If you hold your shares of the fund through a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, your shares of the fund may be exchanged into shares of other Fidelity funds.
However, you should note the following policies and restrictions governing exchanges:
Prospectus
The fund may terminate or modify exchange privileges in the future.
Other funds may have different exchange restrictions and minimums, and may impose redemption fees of up to 2.00% of the amount exchanged. Check each fund's prospectus for details.
<R>The following features may be available to buy and sell shares of the fund or to move money to and from your account, if you are investing through a Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity mutual fund account. Please visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com or call 1-800-544-6666 for more information.</R>
Electronic Funds Transfer: electronic money movement through the Automated Clearing House • To transfer money between a bank account and a Fidelity brokerage account or Fidelity mutual fund account. • You can use electronic funds transfer to: - Make periodic (automatic) purchases of Fidelity fund shares or payments to your Fidelity brokerage account. - Make periodic (automatic) redemptions of Fidelity fund shares or withdrawals from your Fidelity brokerage account. |
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<R> Wire: electronic money movement through the Federal Reserve wire system </R>
• To transfer money between a bank account and a Fidelity brokerage account or Fidelity mutual fund account.
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<R> Automatic Transactions: periodic (automatic) transactions </R> • To directly deposit all or a portion of your compensation from your employer (or the U.S. Government, in the case of Social Security) into a Fidelity brokerage account or Fidelity mutual fund account. • To make contributions from a Fidelity mutual fund account to a Fidelity mutual fund IRA. • To sell shares of a Fidelity money market fund and simultaneously to buy shares of another Fidelity fund in a Fidelity mutual fund account. |
The following policies apply to you as a shareholder.
Statements that Fidelity sends to you include the following:
<R></R>
Electronic copies of most financial reports and prospectuses are available at Fidelity's web site. To participate in Fidelity's electronic delivery program, call Fidelity or visit Fidelity's web site for more information.
You may initiate many transactions by telephone or electronically. Fidelity will not be responsible for any loss, cost, expense, or other liability resulting from unauthorized transactions if it follows reasonable security procedures designed to verify the identity of the investor. Fidelity will request personalized security codes or other information, and may also record calls. For transactions conducted through the Internet, Fidelity recommends the use of an Internet browser with 128-bit encryption. You should verify the accuracy of your confirmation statements upon receipt and notify Fidelity immediately of any discrepancies in your account activity. If you do not want the ability to sell and exchange by telephone, call Fidelity for instructions. Additional documentation may be required from corporations, associations, and certain fiduciaries.
You may also be asked to provide additional information in order for Fidelity to verify your identity in accordance with requirements under anti-money laundering regulations. Accounts may be restricted and/or closed, and the monies withheld, pending verification of this information or as otherwise required under these and other federal regulations.
Prospectus
If you hold your shares of the fund in a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, Fidelity may deduct a small balance maintenance fee of $12.00 from a fund balance with a value of less than $2,000 in shares. It is expected that fund balances will be valued after November 1 but prior to December 31 of each calendar year. Fund positions opened after September 30 will not be subject to the fee for that calendar year. The fee, which is payable to Fidelity, is designed to offset in part the relatively higher costs of servicing smaller fund positions. This fee will not be deducted from fund positions opened after January 1 of that calendar year if those positions use certain regular investment plans.
If your fund balance falls below $2,000 worth of shares ($500 for fund balances in Fidelity Simplified Employee Pension-IRA and Keogh accounts, and Non-Fidelity Prototype Retirement accounts) for any reason, including solely due to declines in NAV, and you do not increase your balance, Fidelity may sell all of your shares and send the proceeds to you after providing you with at least 30 days' notice to reestablish the minimum balance. Your shares will be sold at the NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable, on the day Fidelity closes your fund position. Certain fund positions are not subject to these balance requirements and will not be closed for failure to maintain a minimum balance.
Fidelity may charge a fee for certain services, such as providing historical account documents.
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
The fund normally pays dividends and capital gain distributions in April and December.
If you hold your shares of the fund through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, all dividends and capital gains distributions paid will be automatically reinvested. If you hold your shares of the fund in a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, when you open an account, specify on your application how you want to receive your distributions. The following distribution options are available for shares of the fund:
1. Reinvestment Option. Your dividends and capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional shares of the fund. If you do not indicate a choice on your application, you will be assigned this option.
2. Income-Earned Option. Your capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional shares of the fund. Your dividends will be paid in cash.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
3. Cash Option. Your dividends and capital gain distributions will be paid in cash.
4. Directed Dividends ® Option. Your dividends will be automatically invested in shares of another identically registered Fidelity fund. Your capital gain distributions will be automatically invested in shares of another identically registered Fidelity fund, automatically reinvested in additional shares of the fund, or paid in cash.
If the distribution option you prefer is not listed on your account application, or if you want to change your current distribution option, visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com or call 1-800-544-6666 for more information.
If you elect to receive distributions paid in cash by check and the U.S. Postal Service does not deliver your checks, your distribution option may be converted to the Reinvestment Option. You will not receive interest on amounts represented by uncashed distribution checks.
If your dividend check(s) remains uncashed for more than six months, your check(s) may be invested in additional shares of the fund at the NAV next calculated on the day of the investment.
As with any investment, your investment in the fund could have tax consequences for you. If you are not investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account, you should consider these tax consequences.
Taxes on distributions. If you hold your shares of the fund through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, distributions by the fund to tax-advantaged retirement plan accounts are not taxable currently. If you hold your shares of the fund in a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes.
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including dividends and distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable to you as ordinary income, while certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of long-term capital gains, are taxable to you generally as capital gains. A percentage of certain distributions of dividends may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
<R>If you buy shares when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.</R>
Any taxable distributions you receive from the fund will normally be taxable to you when you receive them, regardless of your distribution option.
Taxes on transactions. If you hold your shares of the fund through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, exchanges within a tax-advantaged retirement plan account will not result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. Please consult your tax advisor regarding the tax treatment of distributions from a tax-advantaged retirement plan account. If you hold your shares of the fund in a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, your redemptions, including exchanges, may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on your investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of your shares and the price you receive when you sell them.
Prospectus
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
<R> Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. The address of Strategic Advisers and its affiliates, unless otherwise indicated below, is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R>As of December 31, 2012, Strategic Advisers had approximately $320.7 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
As the manager, Strategic Advisers has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
<R>The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers has currently retained Acadian, at 260 Franklin Street, Boston, MA 02110, and Pyramis, at 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917 to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. Strategic Advisers currently employs a fund of funds investment structure for the fund. As a result, no portion of the fund's assets has been allocated to a sub-adviser. However, Strategic Advisers may allocate assets to one or more sub-advisers in the future, pursuant to the terms of the Exemptive Order described above.</R>
<R> Strategic Advisers </R>
<R>Wilfred Chilangwa is portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since May 2012. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1997, Mr. Chilangwa has worked as a senior fund analyst, an international strategist, and a portfolio manager.</R>
The SAI provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by the portfolio manager.
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.
Prospectus
The fund pays a management fee to Strategic Advisers. The management fee is calculated and paid to Strategic Advisers every month.
The fund's management fee is calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers, if any, based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets. Because the fund's management fee rate may fluctuate, the fund's management fee may be higher or lower in the future. The fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.25% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets through April 30, 2014.</R>
In return for the services of the fund's sub-advisers, if any, Strategic Advisers will pay each of the fund's sub-advisers, if any, the fee payable to that sub-adviser.
<R>The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract and sub-advisory agreements for the fund is available in the fund's semi-annual report for the fiscal period ended August 31, 2012 and in the fund's annual report for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, agree to reimburse a class for, or waive, management fees and other expenses above a specified limit. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid by a class if expenses fall below the specified limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.</R>
Reimbursement or waiver arrangements can decrease expenses and boost performance.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, approximately 89.88% of the fund's total outstanding shares were held by Strategic Advisers and/or another entity or entities of which FMR LLC is the ultimate parent.</R>
<R>The fund is composed of multiple classes of shares. All classes of the fund have a common investment objective and investment portfolio.</R>
FDC distributes the fund's shares.
<R>Intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), may receive from Strategic Advisers, FMR, FDC, and/or their affiliates compensation for providing recordkeeping and administrative services, as well as other retirement plan expenses, and compensation for services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund. These payments are described in more detail in this section and in the SAI.</R>
The fund has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) with respect to its shares that recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, service-providers, and administrators, that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
Affiliates of Strategic Advisers may receive service fees or distribution fees or both with respect to underlying funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork.
<R>If payments made by Strategic Advisers to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of a class's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.</R>
From time to time, FDC may offer special promotional programs to investors who purchase shares of Fidelity funds. For example, FDC may offer merchandise, discounts, vouchers, or similar items to investors who purchase shares of certain Fidelity funds during certain periods. To determine if you qualify for any such programs, contact Fidelity or visit our web site at www.fidelity.com.
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
Prospectus
<R>The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the financial history of the fund's shares for the period of operations. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of the fund. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in shares of the fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial highlights and financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report. A free copy of the annual report is available upon request.</R>
<R> Period ended February 28, |
2013 E </R> |
<R> Selected Per-Share Data |
</R> |
<R> Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 10.00 </R> |
<R> Income from Investment Operations |
</R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) D |
.14 </R> |
<R> Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
.53 </R> |
<R> Total from investment operations |
.67 </R> |
<R> Distributions from net investment income |
(.14 ) </R> |
<R> Redemption fees added to paid in capital D |
- H </R> |
<R> Net asset value, end of period |
$ 10.53 </R> |
<R> Total Return B, C |
6.71% </R> |
<R> Ratios to Average Net Assets F |
</R> |
<R> Expenses before reductions |
1.14% A </R> |
<R> Expenses net of fee waivers, if any |
.10% A </R> |
<R> Expenses net of all reductions |
.10% A </R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) |
1.71% A </R> |
<R> Supplemental Data |
</R> |
<R> Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$ 9,475 </R> |
<R> Portfolio turnover rate G |
8% A </R> |
<R> A Annualized </R>
<R> B Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized. </R>
<R> C Total returns would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reduced during the applicable periods shown. </R>
<R> D Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period. </R>
<R> E For the period May 2, 2012 (commencement of operations) to February 28, 2013. </R>
<R> F Expense ratios reflect operating expenses of the class. Expenses before reductions do not reflect amounts reimbursed by the investment adviser or reductions from brokerage service arrangements or reductions from other expense offset arrangements and do not represent the amount paid by the class during periods when reimbursements or reductions occur. Expense ratios before reductions for start-up periods may not be representative of longer-term operating periods. Expenses net of fee waivers reflect expenses after reimbursement by the investment adviser but prior to reductions from brokerage service arrangements or other expense offset arrangements. Expenses net of all reductions represent the net expenses paid by the class. Fees and expenses of the Underlying Funds are not included in the class' annualized ratios. The class indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the Underlying Funds. </R>
<R> G Amount does not include the portfolio activity of any Underlying Funds. </R>
Prospectus
<R> H Amount represents less than $.01 per share. </R>
Prospectus
Notes
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account. For individual investors opening an account: When you open an account, you will be asked for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow Fidelity to identify you. You may also be asked to provide documents that may help to establish your identity, such as your driver's license. For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account such as name, residential address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity. |
<R>You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.</R>
<R>For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call 1-800-835-5095 (plan accounts) or 1-800-544-3455 (all other accounts). In addition, you may visit the web site at www.401k.com (plan accounts) or www.fidelity.com (all other accounts) for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.</R>
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number, 811-21991 |
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design, FundsNetwork, FAST, and Directed Dividends are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R>1.938029.102 RMF-PRO-0413</R>
Strategic Advisers ® Emerging Markets Fund of Funds
Class /Ticker
F /FSWPX
Class F shares of the fund are available for purchase only by mutual funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager.
Prospectus
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R>
</R>
Fund Summary |
Strategic Advisers ® Emerging Markets Fund of Funds |
|
<R> Fund Basics |
Investment Details </R> |
|
<R> |
Valuing Shares </R> |
|
<R> Shareholder Information |
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares </R> |
|
<R> |
Account Policies </R> |
|
<R> |
Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions </R> |
|
<R> |
Tax Consequences </R> |
|
<R> Fund Services |
Fund Management </R> |
|
<R> |
Fund Distribution </R> |
|
<R> Appendix |
Financial Highlights </R> |
Prospectus
Fund
/Class:
Strategic Advisers
®
Emerging Markets Fund of Funds
/F
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy, hold, or sell shares of the fund.
Shareholder fees
|
|
||||||
Redemption fee on shares held less than 90 days (as a % of amount redeemed) |
1.50% |
Annual class operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
<R> Management fee B |
0.30% </R> |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees |
None |
<R> Other expenses A |
0.83% </R> |
<R> Acquired fund fees and expenses (fees and expenses of underlying funds) A |
1.12% </R> |
<R> Total annual operating expenses |
2.25% </R> |
<R> Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement B |
0.30% </R> |
<R> Total annual operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement |
1.95% </R> |
<R></R>
<R> A Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. </R>
<R> B Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) has contractually agreed that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.25% of the fund's average daily net assets. Strategic Advisers has also contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets. This arrangement will remain in effect through April 30, 2014. Strategic Advisers may not terminate this arrangement without the approval of the Board of Trustees. </R>
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
<R> 1 year |
$ 198 </R> |
<R> 3 years |
$ 669 </R> |
<R> 5 years |
$ 1,173 </R> |
<R> 10 years |
$ 2,558 </R> |
<R>The fund will not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of affiliated funds but may incur transaction costs when buying or selling non-affiliated funds and other types of securities (including non-affiliated exchange traded funds) directly (or "turns over" its portfolio). If the fund were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs and could result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example and would affect the fund's performance. For the period from May 2, 2012 to February 28, 2013, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 8% (annualized) of the average value of its portfolio.</R>
Prospectus
An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
Performance history will be available for the fund after the fund has been in operation for one calendar year.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) is the fund's manager. Acadian Asset Management LLC (Acadian) and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis) have been retained to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. Acadian and Pyramis have not currently been allocated a portion of the fund's assets to manage.</R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
Wilfred Chilangwa (portfolio manager) has managed the fund since May 2012.
Class F shares are not available for sale to the general public.
The fund offers Class F shares only to certain other mutual funds managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.
The price to buy one share of Class F is its net asset value per share (NAV). Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of Class F is its NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable. Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
There is no purchase minimum for Class F shares.
Distributions received from the fund are subject to federal income tax and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state or local taxes, unless invested through a tax-advantaged retirement account (in which case the distributions may be taxed later, upon withdrawal of the investment from such account).
The fund, Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Investment Objective
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
Principal Investment Strategies
<R>The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of issuers in emerging markets and other investments that are tied economically to emerging markets and in shares of other emerging markets equity funds. Emerging markets include countries that have an emerging stock market as defined by MSCI ® , countries or markets with low- to middle-income economies as classified by the World Bank, and other countries or markets with similar emerging characteristics. Emerging markets tend to have relatively low gross national product per capita compared to the world's major economies and may have the potential for rapid economic growth. The fund normally invests primarily in common stocks.</R>
The fund allocates investments across different emerging market countries.
The fund implements its investment strategies by investing indirectly in securities through one or more underlying funds, which in turn invest directly in securities.
Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of underlying funds at any time.
Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds to attempt to diversify the fund's portfolio in terms of market capitalization, investment style, and geographic region.
Strategic Advisers pursues a disciplined, benchmark-driven approach to portfolio construction, and monitors and adjusts allocations to underlying funds as necessary to favor those underlying funds that Strategic Advisers believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the fund's investment objective.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among underlying funds, Strategic Advisers relies on proprietary fundamental and quantitative fund research in its fund selection process. Factors considered when investing in underlying funds include fund performance, a fund manager's experience and investment style, fund company infrastructure, and fund characteristics such as expense ratio, asset size, and portfolio turnover.
<R>The fund may invest in affiliated emerging markets funds ( i.e., Fidelity funds) and non-affiliated emerging markets funds that typically participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork ® , non-affiliated ETFs, and closed-end funds. Underlying funds include both funds managed by FMR (an affiliated company that, together with Strategic Advisers, is part of Fidelity Investments) or an affiliate and funds managed by investment advisers other than Fidelity. Fidelity may receive service fees that typically are at an annual rate of up to 0.40% of a non-affiliated underlying fund's average daily net assets attributable to purchases through Fidelity's FundsNetwork, though such fees may be higher or lower, or may be charged as transaction and/or account fees. In situations where a fund or strategy is not available for purchase through Fidelity's FundsNetwork, the fund may elect to purchase such fund through other means. In addition, the fund may invest in ETFs in transactions not occurring through Fidelity's FundsNetwork.</R>
Prospectus
Strategic Advisers generally identifies emerging markets funds by reference to a fund's name, policies, or classification by a third-party ranking or ratings organization. Whether an underlying fund is an emerging markets fund is determined at the time of investment. Investments in funds whose names, policies or classifications change after purchase continue to be considered investments in emerging markets funds for purposes of the 80% policy.
<R>Strategic Advisers may actively adjust the allocation of the fund's assets at any time. For current information on fund holdings, please call 1-800-835-5095 or visit the web site at www.401k.com. For information on the underlying funds, see the underlying funds' prospectuses. A copy of any underlying Fidelity fund's prospectus is available at www.fidelity.com or www.advisor.fidelity.com. For a copy of any other underlying fund's prospectus, visit the web site of the company that manages or sponsors that underlying fund.</R>
In addition, the fund may have indirect exposure to derivatives through its investments in underlying funds.
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on the performance of the underlying funds in which it invests. The ability of the fund to meet its investment objective is directly related to its allocation among underlying funds and the ability of those funds to meet their investment objectives.
If Strategic Advisers' allocation strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective. The portfolio manager's evaluations and assumptions in selecting underlying funds may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.
When your shares are sold they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
Investing in Other Funds. Regulatory restrictions may limit the amount that one fund can invest in another, and in certain cases further limit investments to the extent a fund's shares are already held by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The fund bears all risks of investment strategies employed by the underlying funds. The fund does not control the investments of the underlying funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the fund would not engage in directly. Aggregation of underlying fund holdings may result in indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase volatility.
Stock Market Volatility. The value of equity securities fluctuates in response to issuer, political, market, and economic developments. Fluctuations can be dramatic over the short as well as long term, and different parts of the market and different types of equity securities can react differently to these developments. For example, large cap stocks can react differently from small cap stocks, "growth" stocks can react differently from "value" stocks, and stocks selected using quantitative or technical analysis can react differently than stocks selected using fundamental analysis. Issuer, political, or economic developments can affect a single issuer, issuers within an industry or economic sector or geographic region, or the market as a whole. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact the market as a whole. Terrorism and related geo-political risks have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
<R> Foreign and Emerging Market Risk. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; withholding or other taxes; trading, settlement, custodial, and other operational risks; and the less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets. All of these factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and potentially less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can perform differently from the U.S. market.</R>
Investing in emerging markets can involve risks in addition to and greater than those generally associated with investing in more developed foreign markets. The extent of economic development; political stability; market depth, infrastructure, and capitalization; and regulatory oversight can be less than in more developed markets. Emerging market economies can be subject to greater social, economic, regulatory, and political uncertainties. All of these factors can make emerging market securities more volatile and potentially less liquid than securities issued in more developed markets.
Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers or providers in, or foreign exchange rates with, a different country or region.
Geographic Exposure. Social, political, and economic conditions and changes in regulatory, tax, or economic policy in a country or region could significantly affect the market in that country or region. From time to time, a small number of companies and industries may represent a large portion of the market in a particular country or region, and these companies and industries can be sensitive to adverse social, political, economic, currency, or regulatory developments. Similarly, from time to time, an underlying fund may invest a large portion of its assets in the securities of issuers located in a single country or a limited number of countries. If an underlying fund invests in this manner, there is a higher risk that social, political, economic, tax (such as a tax on foreign investments or financial transactions), currency, or regulatory developments in those countries may have a significant impact on the underlying fund's investment performance.
Prospectus
Industry Exposure. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry or a group of related industries, and the securities of companies in that industry or group of industries could react similarly to these or other developments. In addition, from time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry or a group of related industries as a whole, and these companies can be sensitive to adverse economic, regulatory, or financial developments.
Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's value. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers.
Investing in ETFs and Closed-End Funds. ETFs and closed-end funds may trade in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) at prices below the value of their underlying portfolios and may not be liquid. An ETF that is not actively managed cannot sell poorly performing stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in its index or other benchmark. ETFs that track an index are subject to tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to its index or other benchmark).
Quantitative Investing. The value of securities selected using quantitative analysis can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis. The factors used in quantitative analysis and the weight placed on those factors may not be predictive of a security's value. In addition, factors that affect a security's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model.
<R>In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser, if any, may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
The following policy is fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The following policy is subject to change only upon 60 days' prior notice to shareholders:
The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of issuers in emerging markets and other investments that are tied economically to emerging markets and in shares of other emerging markets equity funds.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
A number of factors are considered in determining whether an investment is tied economically to a particular country or region, including: the source of government guarantees (if any); the primary trading market; the issuer's domicile, sources of revenue, and location of assets; whether the investment is included in an index representative of a particular country or region; and whether the investment is exposed to the economic fortunes and risks of a particular country or region.
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
A class's NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates the class's NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing the class's NAV.
<R>NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).</R>
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) are valued at their respective NAVs. Securities issued by ETFs are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations or official closing prices. For an explanation of the circumstances under which the underlying funds will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the underlying funds' prospectuses and statements of additional information (SAIs). The fund's NAV is calculated using the values of the underlying funds in which it invests.
To the extent that underlying fund assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some underlying fund assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Prospectus
CLASS F SHARES ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase or exchange, including transactions deemed to represent excessive trading, at any time.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
The Board of Trustees has adopted policies designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares. Excessive trading activity in the fund is measured by the number of roundtrip transactions in a shareholder's account and each class of a multiple class fund is treated separately. A roundtrip transaction occurs when a shareholder sells fund shares (including exchanges) within 30 days of the purchase date.
Shareholders with two or more roundtrip transactions in a single fund within a rolling 90-day period will be blocked from making additional purchases or exchange purchases of the fund for 85 days. Shareholders with four or more roundtrip transactions across all Fidelity funds within any rolling 12-month period will be blocked for at least 85 days from additional purchases or exchange purchases across all Fidelity funds. Any roundtrip within 12 months of the expiration of a multi-fund block will initiate another multi-fund block. Repeat offenders may be subject to long-term or permanent blocks on purchase or exchange purchase transactions in any account under the shareholder's control at any time. In addition to enforcing these roundtrip limitations, the fund may in its discretion restrict, reject, or cancel any purchases or exchanges that, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, may be disruptive to the management of the fund or otherwise not be in the fund's interests.
The following transactions are exempt from the fund's excessive trading policy described above: (i) transactions of $1,000 or less, (ii) systematic withdrawal and/or contribution programs, (iii) mandatory retirement distributions, and (iv) transactions initiated by a plan sponsor or sponsors of certain employee benefit plans or other related accounts. In addition, the fund's excessive trading policy does not apply to transactions initiated by the trustee or adviser to a donor-advised charitable gift fund, qualified fund of fund(s), or other strategy funds. A qualified fund of fund(s) is a mutual fund, qualified tuition program, or other strategy fund consisting of qualified plan assets that either applies the fund's excessive trading policies to shareholders at the fund of fund(s) level, or demonstrates that the fund of fund(s) has an investment strategy coupled with policies designed to control frequent trading that are reasonably likely to be effective as determined by the fund's Treasurer.
Prospectus
Omnibus accounts, in which shares are held in the name of an intermediary on behalf of multiple investors, are a common form of holding shares among retirement plans and financial intermediaries such as brokers, advisers, and third-party administrators. Individual trades in omnibus accounts are often not disclosed to the fund, making it difficult to determine whether a particular shareholder is engaging in excessive trading. Excessive trading in omnibus accounts is likely to go undetected by the fund and may increase costs to the fund and disrupt its portfolio management.
Under policies adopted by the Board of Trustees, intermediaries will be permitted to apply the fund's excessive trading policy (described above), or their own excessive trading policy if approved by Strategic Advisers. In these cases, the fund will typically not request or receive individual account data but will rely on the intermediary to monitor trading activity in good faith in accordance with its or the fund's policies. Reliance on intermediaries increases the risk that excessive trading may go undetected. For other intermediaries, the fund will generally monitor trading activity at the omnibus account level to attempt to identify disruptive trades. The fund may request transaction information, as frequently as daily, from any intermediary at any time, and may apply the fund's policy to transactions that exceed thresholds established by the Board of Trustees. The fund may prohibit purchases of fund shares by an intermediary or by some or all of any intermediary's clients. There is no assurance that Strategic Advisers will request data with sufficient frequency to detect or deter excessive trading in omnibus accounts effectively.
If you purchase or sell fund shares through a financial intermediary, you may wish to contact the intermediary to determine the policies applicable to your account.
For employer-sponsored retirement plans, only participant directed exchanges count toward the roundtrip limits. Employer-sponsored retirement plan participants whose activity triggers a purchase or exchange block will be permitted one trade every calendar quarter. In the event of a block, employer and participant contributions and loan repayments by the participant may still be invested in the fund.
The fund will monitor aggregate trading activity of adviser transactions to attempt to identify excessive trading in qualified wrap programs, as defined below. Excessive trading by an adviser will lead to fund blocks and the wrap program will lose its qualified status. Adviser transactions will not be matched with client-directed transactions unless the wrap program ceases to be a qualified wrap program (but all client-directed transactions will be subject to the fund's excessive trading policy). A qualified wrap program is: (i) a program whose adviser certifies that it has investment discretion over $100 million or more in client assets invested in mutual funds at the time of the certification, (ii) a program in which the adviser directs transactions in the accounts participating in the program in concert with changes in a model portfolio, and (iii) managed by an adviser who agrees to give Strategic Advisers sufficient information to permit Strategic Advisers to identify the individual accounts in the wrap program.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
The fund reserves the right at any time to restrict purchases or exchanges or impose conditions that are more restrictive on excessive or disruptive trading than those stated in this prospectus. The fund's Treasurer is authorized to suspend the fund's policies during periods of severe market turbulence or national emergency. The fund reserves the right to modify its policies at any time without prior notice.
The fund does not knowingly accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares by investors, except to the extent permitted by the policies described above.
In addition to these policies, the fund imposes a short-term redemption fee on redemptions from the fund, which is discussed in "Selling Shares." As described in "Valuing Shares," the fund also uses fair value pricing to help reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders. There is no assurance that the fund's excessive trading policy will be effective, or will successfully detect or deter excessive or disruptive trading.
Class F shares of the fund have no exchange privilege with any other fund.
Class F shares of the fund are available for purchase only by mutual funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager.
The price to buy one share of Class F is its NAV. Class F shares are sold without a sales charge.
Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
<R>Orders by funds of funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.</R>
<R> Provided the fund receives an order to buy shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to buy shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.</R>
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
Prospectus
The price to sell one share of Class F is its NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.
If you sell your shares after holding them less than 90 days, a 1.50% short-term redemption fee may be deducted from the redemption amount. For this purpose, shares held longest will be treated as being redeemed first and shares held shortest as being redeemed last. The fees are paid to the fund, not Strategic Advisers, and are designed to help offset the brokerage commissions, market impact, and other costs associated with short-term shareholder trading.
The short-term redemption fee does not apply to: (i) redemptions of shares acquired by reinvesting dividends and distributions; (ii) rollovers, transfers, and changes of account registration within the fund, or transfers between classes of a multiple class fund (if applicable) as long as the money never leaves the fund; and (iii) redemptions in kind.
The fund also permits waivers of the short-term redemption fee for the following transactions:
The application of short-term redemption fees and waivers may vary among intermediaries and certain intermediaries may not apply the waivers listed above. If you purchase or sell fund shares through an intermediary, you should contact your intermediary for more information on whether the short-term redemption fee will be applied to redemptions of your shares.
The fund reserves the right to modify or eliminate the short-term redemption fee or waivers at any time. Investment advisers or their affiliates may pay short-term redemption fees on behalf of investors in managed accounts. Unitized group accounts consisting of qualified plan assets may be treated as a single account for redemption fee purposes.
Fidelity seeks to identify intermediaries that hold fund shares in omnibus accounts and will refuse their purchase orders if they do not agree to track and remit short-term redemption fees based on the transactions of underlying investors. There are no assurances that Fidelity will successfully identify all intermediaries or that the intermediaries will properly assess short-term redemption fees.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
<R>Orders by funds of funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.</R>
<R> Provided the fund receives an order to sell shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to sell shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.</R>
Redemptions may be suspended or payment dates postponed when the NYSE is closed (other than weekends or holidays), when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as permitted by the SEC.
Redemption proceeds may be paid in securities or other property rather than in cash if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, redemption requests may be suspended, restricted, canceled, or processed and the proceeds may be withheld.
Fidelity will send monthly account statements detailing fund balances and all transactions completed during the prior month.
You may be asked to provide additional information in order for Fidelity to verify your identity in accordance with requirements under anti-money laundering regulations. Accounts may be restricted and/or closed, and the monies withheld, pending verification of this information or as otherwise required under these and other federal regulations.
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
The fund normally pays dividends and capital gain distributions in April and December.
Dividends and capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional Class F shares of the fund.
As with any investment, investing in the fund could have tax consequences. If not investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account, these tax consequences should be considered.
Prospectus
Taxes on distributions. Distributions received from the fund are subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes.
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including dividends and distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable as ordinary income, while certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of long-term capital gains, are taxable generally as capital gains. A percentage of certain distributions of dividends may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
If shares are purchased on your behalf when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.
Any taxable distributions received from the fund will normally be taxable when received.
Taxes on transactions. Redemptions may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on an investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of shares and the price received when sold.
Prospectus
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
<R> Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. The address of Strategic Advisers and its affiliates, unless otherwise indicated below, is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R>As of December 31, 2012, Strategic Advisers had approximately $320.7 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
As the manager, Strategic Advisers has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
<R>Strategic Advisers has currently retained Acadian, at 260 Franklin Street, Boston, MA 02110, and Pyramis, at 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917 to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. Strategic Advisers currently employs a fund of funds investment structure for the fund. As a result, no portion of the fund's assets has been allocated to a sub-adviser. However, Strategic Advisers may allocate assets to one or more sub-advisers in the future, pursuant to the terms of the Exemptive Order described above.</R>
<R> Strategic Advisers </R>
Wilfred Chilangwa is portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since May 2012. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1997, Mr. Chilangwa has worked as a senior fund analyst, an international strategist, and a portfolio manager.
The SAI provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by the portfolio manager.
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.
Prospectus
The fund pays a management fee to Strategic Advisers. The management fee is calculated and paid to Strategic Advisers every month.
The fund's management fee is calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers, if any, based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets. Because the fund's management fee rate may fluctuate, the fund's management fee may be higher or lower in the future. The fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.25% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets through April 30, 2014.</R>
In return for the services of the fund's sub-advisers, if any, Strategic Advisers will pay each of the fund's sub-advisers, if any, the fee payable to that sub-adviser.
<R>The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract and sub-advisory agreements for the fund is available in the fund's semi-annual report for the fiscal period ended August 31, 2012 and in the fund's annual report for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013.</R>
<R></R>
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, agree to reimburse a class for, or waive, management fees and other expenses above a specified limit. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid by a class if expenses fall below the specified limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Reimbursement or waiver arrangements can decrease expenses and boost performance.
Strategic Advisers has voluntarily agreed to reimburse Class F of the fund to the extent that total operating expenses of Class F (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, extraordinary expenses, sub-advisory fees, and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any), as a percentage of its average net assets, exceed 0.10%. This arrangement may be discontinued by Strategic Advisers at any time.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, approximately 89.88% of the fund's total outstanding shares were held by Strategic Advisers and/or another entity or entities of which FMR LLC is the ultimate parent.</R>
The fund is composed of multiple classes of shares. All classes of the fund have a common investment objective and investment portfolio.
Class F has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) that recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of Class F shares and/or shareholder support services. Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, service-providers, and administrators, that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for Class F shares.
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
Affiliates of Strategic Advisers may receive service fees or distribution fees or both with respect to underlying funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork.
If payments made by Strategic Advisers to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of Class F's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
Prospectus
<R>The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand Class F's financial history for the period of the class's operations. Certain information reflects financial results for a single class share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the class (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial highlights and financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report. A free copy of the annual report is available upon request.</R>
<R> Period ended February 28, |
2013 E </R> |
<R> Selected Per-Share Data |
</R> |
<R> Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 10.43 </R> |
<R> Income from Investment Operations |
</R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) D |
.10 </R> |
<R> Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
.14 </R> |
<R> Total from investment operations |
.24 </R> |
<R> Distributions from net investment income |
(.14 ) </R> |
<R> Redemption fees added to paid in capital D |
- H </R> |
<R> Net asset value, end of period |
$ 10.53 </R> |
<R> Total Return B, C |
2.31% </R> |
<R> Ratios to Average Net Assets F |
</R> |
<R> Expenses before reductions |
1.14% A </R> |
<R> Expenses net of fee waivers, if any |
.10% A </R> |
<R> Expenses net of all reductions |
.10% A </R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) |
4.90% A </R> |
<R> Supplemental Data |
</R> |
<R> Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$ 154 </R> |
<R> Portfolio turnover rate G |
8% A </R> |
<R> A Annualized </R>
<R> B Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized. </R>
<R> C Total returns would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reduced during the applicable periods shown. </R>
<R> D Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period. </R>
<R> E For the period December 18, 2012 (commencement of sale of shares) to February 28, 2013. </R>
<R> F Expense ratios reflect operating expenses of the class. Expenses before reductions do not reflect amounts reimbursed by the investment adviser or reductions from brokerage service arrangements or reductions from other expense offset arrangements and do not represent the amount paid by the class during periods when reimbursements or reductions occur. Expense ratios before reductions for start-up periods may not be representative of longer-term operating periods. Expenses net of fee waivers reflect expenses after reimbursement by the investment adviser but prior to reductions from brokerage service arrangements or other expense offset arrangements. Expenses net of all reductions represent the net expenses paid by the class. Fees and expenses of the Underlying Funds are not included in the class' annualized ratios. The class indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the Underlying Funds. </R>
<R> G Amount does not include the portfolio activity of any Underlying Funds. </R>
<R> H Amount represents less than $.01 per share. </R>
Prospectus
Notes
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account. For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account such as name, residential address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity. |
<R>You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.</R>
For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call Fidelity at 1-800-835-5095. In addition, existing investors may visit the web site at www.401k.com for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number, 811-21991 |
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design, and FundsNetwork are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R>1.951481.102 RMF-F-PRO-0413</R>
Strategic Advisers ® Emerging Markets Fund of Funds (FLILX)
<R> A Class of shares of Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds </R>
A Fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R>This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. Portions of the fund's annual report are incorporated herein. The annual report is supplied with this SAI.</R>
<R>To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated April 29, 2013, or an annual report, please call Fidelity at 1-800-835-5095 (plan accounts) or 1-800-544-3455 (all other accounts) or visit the web site at www.401k.com (plan accounts) or www.fidelity.com (all other accounts).</R>
<R>RMF-PTB-0413
1.938030.103</R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
|
PAGE |
Investment Policies and Limitations |
|
<R>Special Geographic Considerations |
251 </R> |
<R>Portfolio Transactions |
252 </R> |
<R>Valuation |
255 </R> |
<R>Buying, Selling, and Exchanging Information |
256 </R> |
<R>Distributions and Taxes |
257 </R> |
<R>Trustees and Officers |
257 </R> |
<R>Control of Investment Advisers |
264 </R> |
<R>Management Contract |
264 </R> |
<R>Proxy Voting Guidelines |
266 </R> |
<R>Distribution Services |
266 </R> |
<R>Transfer and Service Agent Agreements |
267 </R> |
<R>Description of the Trust |
268 </R> |
<R>Fund Holdings Information |
269 </R> |
<R>Financial Statements |
270 </R> |
<R>Appendix |
270 </R> |
<R> |
</R> |
<R> |
</R> |
<R> |
</R> |
<R> |
</R> |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not with respect to 75% of the fund's total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except in connection with the insurance program established by the fund pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission or as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry (provided that investments in other investment companies shall not be considered an investment in any particular industry for purposes of this investment limitation).
<R>For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities, Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) looks through to the U.S. Government securities.</R>
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, and provided that transactions in futures contracts and options are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 15% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
<R>To the extent that the fund acquires the shares of an underlying fund in accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, the underlying fund is not obligated to redeem its shares in an amount exceeding 1% of its shares outstanding during any period of less than 30 days. Those underlying fund shares will not be treated as illiquid securities for purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation described above to the extent that the fund is able to dispose of such securities by distributing them in kind to redeeming shareholders. (See "Securities of Other Investment Companies" on page 240 .)</R>
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to lend assets other than securities to other parties, except by (a) lending money (up to 15% of the fund's net assets) to a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) assuming any unfunded commitments in connection with the acquisition of loans, loan participations, or other forms of debt instruments. (This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities, to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.)
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
For the fund's limitations on futures and options transactions, see the section entitled "Futures, Options, and Swaps" on page 234 .
Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitations, the underlying funds in which the fund may invest have adopted certain investment limitations that may be more or less restrictive than those listed above, thereby permitting the fund to engage indirectly in investment strategies that are prohibited under the investment limitations listed above. The investment limitations of each underlying fund are set forth in its registration statement.
In accordance with its investment program as set forth in the prospectus, the fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in any one underlying Fidelity fund. Although the fund does not intend to concentrate its investments in a particular industry, the fund may indirectly concentrate in a particular industry or group of industries through its investments in one or more underlying funds.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
Strategic Advisers ® Emerging Markets Fund of Funds may have exposure to instruments, techniques, and risks either directly or indirectly through an investment in an underlying fund. An underlying fund may invest in the same or other types of instruments and its adviser may employ the same or other types of techniques. Strategic Advisers ® Emerging Markets Fund of Funds' performance will be affected by the instruments, techniques, and risks associated with an underlying fund, in proportion to the amount of assets that the fund allocates to that underlying fund.
<R>On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "a fund" or "the fund" may relate to Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds or an underlying fund, and references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to Strategic Advisers (or its affiliates) or an adviser of an underlying fund.</R>
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
<R> Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of short-term bond or money market funds, including (for Fidelity funds and other advisory clients only) shares of Fidelity central funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.</R>
<R> Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Notice of Exclusion. The trust, on behalf of the Fidelity fund to which this SAI relates, has filed with the National Futures Association a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the CFTC promulgated thereunder, with respect to the fund's operation. Accordingly, neither the fund nor its adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or a CPO. However, the CFTC has adopted certain rule amendments that significantly affect the continued availability of this exclusion, and may subject advisers to funds to regulation by the CFTC. As of the date of this SAI, the adviser does not expect to register as a CPO of the fund. However, there is no certainty that a fund or its adviser will be able to rely on an exclusion in the future as the fund's investments change over time. A fund may determine not to use investment strategies that trigger additional CFTC regulation or may determine to operate subject to CFTC regulation, if applicable. If a fund or its adviser operates subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.</R>
Common Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock, although related proceedings can take time to resolve and results can be unpredictable.
Convertible Securities are bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption or conversion, the fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
<R> Countries and Markets Considered Emerging. For purposes of a Fidelity fund's 80% investment policy relating to emerging markets, emerging markets include countries that have an emerging stock market as defined by MSCI ® , countries or markets with low- to middle-income economies as classified by the World Bank, and other countries or markets with similar emerging characteristics. For example, as of February 28, 2013, countries in the MSCI ® Emerging Markets Index, Greece, Hong Kong, Israel, and Singapore are considered to be emerging.</R>
Country or Geographic Region. Various factors may be considered in determining whether an investment is tied economically to a particular country or region, including: whether the investment is issued or guaranteed by a particular government or any of its agencies, political subdivisions, or instrumentalities; whether the investment has its primary trading market in a particular country or region; whether the issuer is organized under the laws of, derives at least 50% of its revenues from, or has at least 50% of its assets in a particular country or region; whether the investment is included in an index representative of a particular country or region; and whether the investment is exposed to the economic fortunes and risks of a particular country or region.
Debt Securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay interest but are sold at a deep discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, and mortgage and other asset-backed securities.
<R> Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments. An ETF may seek to replicate the performance of a specified index or may be actively managed.</R>
Typically, ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks (typically, 50,000 shares) often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.
<R>Some of the risks of investing in an ETF that tracks an index are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.</R>
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
<R> ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their intraday indicative value. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. </R>
Exposure to Foreign and Emerging Markets. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Foreign investments involve risks relating to local political, economic, regulatory, or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments, and may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Such actions may include expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. Additionally, governmental issuers of foreign debt securities may be unwilling to pay interest and repay principal when due and may require that the conditions for payment be renegotiated. There is no assurance that a fund's adviser will be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies and of dividends and interest paid with respect to such securities will fluctuate based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar. From time to time, a fund may invest a large portion of its assets in the securities of issuers located in a single country or a limited number of countries. If a fund invests in this manner, there is a higher risk that social, political, economic, tax (such as a tax on foreign investments), or regulatory developments in those countries may have a significant impact on the fund's investment performance.
It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for foreign securities will be on an exchange or in over-the-counter (OTC) markets located outside of the United States. Foreign stock markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign security trading, settlement and custodial practices (including those involving securities settlement where fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment) are often less developed than those in U.S. markets, and may result in increased investment or valuation risk or substantial delays in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of, or breach of duty by, a foreign broker-dealer, securities depository, or foreign subcustodian. In addition, the costs associated with foreign investments, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions, and custodial costs, are generally higher than with U.S. investments.
Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors than U.S. markets. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Adequate public information on foreign issuers may not be available, and it may be difficult to secure dividends and information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. OTC markets tend to be less regulated than stock exchange markets and, in certain countries, may be totally unregulated. Regulatory enforcement may be influenced by economic or political concerns, and investors may have difficulty enforcing their legal rights in foreign countries.
Some foreign securities impose restrictions on transfer within the United States or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than foreign securities of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks include foreign exchange risk as well as the political and economic risks of the underlying issuer's country.
The risks of foreign investing may be magnified for investments in emerging markets. Security prices in emerging markets can be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
Foreign Currency Transactions. A fund may conduct foreign currency transactions on a spot ( i.e., cash) or forward basis ( i.e., by entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies). Although foreign exchange dealers generally do not charge a fee for such conversions, they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the counterparty desire to resell that currency to the dealer. Forward contracts are customized transactions that require a specific amount of a currency to be delivered at a specific exchange rate on a specific date or range of dates in the future. Forward contracts are generally traded in an interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The parties to a forward contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated currency exchange.
The following discussion summarizes the principal currency management strategies involving forward contracts that could be used by a fund. A fund may also use swap agreements, indexed securities, and options and futures contracts relating to foreign currencies for the same purposes. Forward contracts not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying currency. All of these instruments and transactions are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default.
<R>A "settlement hedge" or "transaction hedge" is designed to protect a fund against an adverse change in foreign currency values between the date a security denominated in a foreign currency is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in an underlying security transaction for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars "locks in" the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used to protect a fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected.</R>
<R>A fund may also use forward contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in a foreign currency. For example, if a fund owned securities denominated in pounds sterling, it could enter into a forward contract to sell pounds sterling in return for U.S. dollars to hedge against possible declines in the pound's value. Such a hedge, sometimes referred to as a "position hedge," would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. A fund could also attempt to hedge the position by selling another currency expected to perform similarly to the pound sterling. This type of hedge, sometimes referred to as a "proxy hedge," could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield, or efficiency, but generally would not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a direct hedge into U.S. dollars. Proxy hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated.</R>
A fund may enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a "cross-hedge," will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if a fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. A fund may cross-hedge its U.S. dollar exposure in order to achieve a representative weighted mix of the major currencies in its benchmark index and/or to cover an underweight country or region exposure in its portfolio. Cross-hedges protect against losses resulting from a decline in the hedged currency, but will cause a fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases.
<R>Successful use of currency management strategies will depend on an adviser's skill in analyzing currency values. Currency management strategies may substantially change a fund's investment exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and could result in losses to a fund if currencies do not perform as an adviser anticipates. For example, if a currency's value rose at a time when a fund had hedged its position by selling that currency in exchange for dollars, the fund would not participate in the currency's appreciation. If a fund hedges currency exposure through proxy hedges, the fund could realize currency losses from both the hedge and the security position if the two currencies do not move in tandem. Similarly, if a fund increases its exposure to a foreign currency and that currency's value declines, the fund will realize a loss. Foreign currency transactions involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that a fund's hedging strategies will be ineffective. Moreover, it is impossible to precisely forecast the market value of portfolio securities at the expiration of a foreign currency forward contract. Accordingly, a fund may be required to buy or sell additional currency on the spot market (and bear the expenses of such transaction), if an adviser's predictions regarding the movement of foreign currency or securities markets prove inaccurate.</R>
<R>A fund may be required to limit its hedging transactions in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options in order to maintain its classification as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Hedging transactions could result in the application of the mark-to-market provisions of the Code, which may cause an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a fund and could affect whether dividends paid by a fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. A fund will cover its exposure to foreign currency transactions with liquid assets in compliance with applicable requirements. There is no assurance that an adviser's use of currency management strategies will be advantageous to a fund or that it will employ currency management strategies at appropriate times.</R>
Options and Futures Relating to Foreign Currencies. Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges (and have margin requirements) and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The underlying instrument of a currency option may be a foreign currency, which generally is purchased or delivered in exchange for U.S. dollars, or may be a futures contract. The purchaser of a currency call obtains the right to purchase the underlying currency, and the purchaser of a currency put obtains the right to sell the underlying currency.
<R>The uses and risks of currency options and futures are similar to options and futures relating to securities or indexes, as discussed below. A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and may purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. Currency options may also be purchased or written in conjunction with each other or with currency futures or forward contracts. Currency futures and options values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates, but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated security from a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of a fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the fund's investments exactly over time.</R>
<R>Currency options traded on U.S. or other exchanges may be subject to position limits which may limit the ability of the fund to reduce foreign currency risk using such options.</R>
Foreign Repurchase Agreements. Foreign repurchase agreements involve an agreement to purchase a foreign security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price in either U.S. dollars or foreign currency. Unlike typical U.S. repurchase agreements, foreign repurchase agreements may not be fully collateralized at all times. The value of a security purchased by a fund may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to repurchase the security. In the event of default by the counterparty, a fund may suffer a loss if the value of the security purchased is less than the agreed-upon repurchase price, or if the fund is unable to successfully assert a claim to the collateral under foreign laws. As a result, foreign repurchase agreements may involve higher credit risks than repurchase agreements in U.S. markets, as well as risks associated with currency fluctuations. In addition, as with other emerging market investments, repurchase agreements with counterparties located in emerging markets or relating to emerging markets may involve issuers or counterparties with lower credit ratings than typical U.S. repurchase agreements.
Fund's Rights as an Investor. Fidelity funds do not intend to direct or administer the day-to-day operations of any company. A fund may, however, exercise its rights as a shareholder or lender and may communicate its views on important matters of policy to a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders, and holders of a company's other securities when such matters could have a significant effect on the value of the fund's investment in the company. The activities in which a fund may engage, either individually or in conjunction with others, may include, among others, supporting or opposing proposed changes in a company's corporate structure or business activities; seeking changes in a company's directors or management; seeking changes in a company's direction or policies; seeking the sale or reorganization of the company or a portion of its assets; supporting or opposing third-party takeover efforts; supporting the filing of a bankruptcy petition; or foreclosing on collateral securing a security. This area of corporate activity is increasingly prone to litigation and it is possible that a fund could be involved in lawsuits related to such activities. Such activities will be monitored with a view to mitigating, to the extent possible, the risk of litigation against a fund and the risk of actual liability if a fund is involved in litigation. No guarantee can be made, however, that litigation against a fund will not be undertaken or liabilities incurred. The fund's proxy voting guidelines are included in this SAI.
<R> Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. If a fund invests a significant portion of its assets in derivatives, its investment exposure could far exceed the value of its portfolio securities and its investment performance could be primarily dependent upon securities it does not own.</R>
Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.
The limitations on the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps, and the fund's policies regarding futures contracts, options, and swaps may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts.
<R> Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts and the price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities or baskets of securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indexes (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indexes of securities prices (including foreign indexes for funds that seek foreign exposure). Futures on indexes and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out by offsetting purchases or sales of futures contracts before then if a liquid market is available. A fund may realize a gain or loss by closing out its futures contracts.</R>
<R>The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the underlying instrument. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.</R>
<R>The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by a fund, but is instead a settlement between a fund and the FCM of the amount one would owe the other if the fund's contract expired. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is also required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.</R>
<R>Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement, and margin procedures that are different from those for U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may not involve a clearing mechanism or related guarantees and may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to a fund. Because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuation.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.</R>
<R>If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
<R>Futures contracts on U.S. Government securities historically have reacted to an increase or decrease in interest rates in a manner similar to the manner in which the underlying U.S. Government securities reacted. To the extent, however, that a fund enters into such futures contracts, the value of these futures contracts will not vary in direct proportion to the value of the fund's holdings of U.S. Government securities. Thus, the anticipated spread between the price of the futures contract and the hedged security may be distorted due to differences in the nature of the markets. The spread also may be distorted by differences in initial and variation margin requirements, the liquidity of such markets and the participation of speculators in such markets.</R>
<R> Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, baskets of assets or securities, indexes of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). Options may be traded on an exchange or OTC. The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. Depending on the terms of the contract, upon exercise, an option may require physical delivery of the underlying instrument or may be settled through cash payments. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.</R>
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
<R>The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right (but not the obligation) to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.</R>
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
<R>Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer should mitigate the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.</R>
<R>Where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price to close out the put or call option on the secondary market may move more or less than the price of the related security.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for exchange-traded options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.</R>
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
<R>A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps (swaptions), which are generally options on interest rate swaps. An option on a swap gives a party the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, a fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes (sells) an option on a swap than it will incur when it purchases an option on a swap. When a fund purchases an option on a swap, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when a fund writes an option on a swap, upon exercise of the option the fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement. A fund that writes an option on a swap receives the premium and bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the preset rate on the underlying interest rate swap. Whether a fund's use of options on swaps will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend on the adviser's ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Options on swaps may involve risks similar to those discussed below in "Swap Agreements."</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
<R> Swap Agreements. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term. Most swap agreements are currently traded over-the-counter. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange one or more payments based, for example, on the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, indexes, or other financial or economic interests). The gross payments to be exchanged between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.</R>
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness.
<R>A fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. In order to cover its outstanding obligations to a swap counterparty, a fund would generally be required to provide margin or collateral for the benefit of that counterparty. If a counterparty to a swap transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited temporarily or permanently in exercising its right to the return of related fund assets designated as margin or collateral in an action against the counterparty.</R>
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<R>Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that an adviser will not accurately forecast market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other economic factors in establishing swap positions for a fund. If an adviser attempts to use a swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, a fund may be exposed to the risk that the swap will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment, which could cause substantial losses for a fund. While hedging strategies involving swap instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Swaps are complex and often valued subjectively.</R>
Illiquid Securities cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity fund's adviser determines the liquidity of the fund's investments and, through reports from the fund's adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid securities.
Various factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments, including (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
Increasing Government Debt. The total public debt of the United States and other countries around the globe as a percent of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented.
A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt cost higher and cause a country to sell additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In the worst case, unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns.
On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States one level to "AA+" from "AAA." While Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the United States' short-term sovereign credit rating as "A-1+," there is no guarantee that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services will not decide to lower this rating in the future. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services stated that its decision was prompted by its view on the rising public debt burden and its perception of greater policymaking uncertainty. The market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government may be adversely affected by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services decisions to downgrade the long-term sovereign credit rating of the United States.
<R> Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indexes, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.</R>
<R>Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indexes. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.</R>
Indexed securities may have principal payments as well as coupon payments that depend on the performance of one or more interest rates. Their coupon rates or principal payments may change by several percentage points for every 1% interest rate change.
Mortgage-indexed securities, for example, could be structured to replicate the performance of mortgage securities and the characteristics of direct ownership.
Inflation-protected securities, for example, can be indexed to a measure of inflation, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
<R>Commodity-indexed securities, for example, can be indexed to a commodities index such as the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return SM .</R>
Gold-indexed securities typically provide for a maturity value that depends on the price of gold, resulting in a security whose price tends to rise and fall together with gold prices.
Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Insolvency of Issuers, Counterparties, and Intermediaries. Issuers of fund portfolio securities or counterparties to fund transactions that become insolvent or declare bankruptcy can pose special investment risks. In each circumstance, risk of loss, valuation uncertainty, increased illiquidity, and other unpredictable occurrences may negatively impact an investment. Each of these risks may be amplified in foreign markets, where security trading, settlement, and custodial practices can be less developed than those in the U.S. markets, and bankruptcy laws differ from those of the U.S.
As a general matter, if the issuer of a fund portfolio security is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock have priority over the claims of common stock owners. These events can negatively impact the value of the issuer's securities and the results of related proceedings can be unpredictable.
If a counterparty to a fund transaction, such as a swap transaction, a short sale, a borrowing, or other complex transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise rights to obtain the return of related fund assets or in exercising other rights against the counterparty. In addition, insolvency and liquidation proceedings take time to resolve, which can limit or preclude a fund's ability to terminate a transaction or obtain related assets or collateral in a timely fashion. Uncertainty may also arise upon the insolvency of a securities or commodities intermediary such as a broker-dealer or futures commission merchant with which a fund has pending transactions. If an intermediary becomes insolvent, while securities positions and other holdings may be protected by U.S. or foreign laws, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these protections are available to specific trades based on the circumstances. Receiving the benefit of these protections can also take time to resolve, which may result in illiquid positions.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a Fidelity fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) or its affiliates. A Fidelity fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. A Fidelity fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
<R> Investments by Funds of Funds or Other Large Shareholders. Certain funds and accounts that are managed by FMR or its affiliates (including funds of funds) invest in other funds and may at times have substantial investments in one or more other funds.</R>
<R> A fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by funds of funds, other large shareholders, or similarly managed accounts. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a fund's portfolio. In addition, when funds of funds or other investors own a substantial portion of a fund's shares, a large redemption by such an investor could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a fund of funds or other significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the fund's shares.</R>
<R>When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful. A high volume of redemption requests can impact a fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments.</R>
Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. Direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve a risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a fund supply additional cash to a borrower on demand. A fund may acquire loans by buying an assignment of all or a portion of the loan from a lender or by purchasing a loan participation from a lender or other purchaser of a participation.
Lenders and purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of foreign countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.
Direct lending and investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the lender/purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary.
A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest.
Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate lenders/purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a lender/purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
For a Fidelity fund that limits the amount of total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry, the fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require a fund, in appropriate circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for these purposes. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
Because the risk of default is higher for lower-quality debt securities, research and credit analysis are an especially important part of managing securities of this type. Such analysis may focus on relative values based on factors such as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earnings prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer, in an attempt to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved, or is expected to improve in the future.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Precious Metals. Precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, at times have been subject to substantial price fluctuations over short periods of time and may be affected by unpredictable monetary and political policies such as currency devaluations or revaluations, economic and social conditions within a country, trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries. The prices of gold and other precious metals, however, are less subject to local and company-specific factors than securities of individual companies. As a result, precious metals may be more or less volatile in price than securities of companies engaged in precious metals-related businesses. Investments in precious metals can present concerns such as delivery, storage and maintenance, possible illiquidity, and the unavailability of accurate market valuations. Although precious metals can be purchased in any form, including bullion and coins, a Fidelity fund intends to purchase only those forms of precious metals that are readily marketable and that can be stored in accordance with custody regulations applicable to mutual funds. A fund may incur higher custody and transaction costs for precious metals than for securities. Also, precious metals investments do not pay income.
For a fund to qualify as a regulated investment company under current federal tax law, gains from selling precious metals may not exceed 10% of the fund's gross income for its taxable year. This tax requirement could cause a fund to hold or sell precious metals or securities when it would not otherwise do so.
Preferred Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Equity real estate investment trusts own real estate properties, while mortgage real estate investment trusts make construction, development, and long-term mortgage loans. Their value may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property of the trusts, the creditworthiness of the issuer, property taxes, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements, such as those relating to the environment. Both types of trusts are dependent upon management skill, are not diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers, self-liquidation, and the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
<R> Reforms and Government Intervention in the Financial Markets. Economic downturns can trigger various economic, legal, budgetary, tax, and regulatory reforms across the globe. Instability in the financial markets in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn led the U.S. Government and other governments to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility, and in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Reforms are ongoing and their effects are uncertain. Federal, state, local, foreign, and other governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which a fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Reforms may also change the way in which a fund is regulated and could limit or preclude a fund's ability to achieve its investment objective or engage in certain strategies. Also, while reforms generally are intended to strengthen markets, systems, and public finances, they could affect fund expenses and the value of fund investments.</R>
The value of a fund's holdings is also generally subject to the risk of future local, national, or global economic disturbances based on unknown weaknesses in the markets in which a fund invests. In the event of such a disturbance, the issuers of securities held by a fund may experience significant declines in the value of their assets and even cease operations, or may receive government assistance accompanied by increased restrictions on their business operations or other government intervention. In addition, it is not certain that the U.S. Government or foreign governments will intervene in response to a future market disturbance and the effect of any such future intervention cannot be predicted.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its right to liquidate assets related to a repurchase agreement with an insolvent counterparty. A Fidelity fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities Lending. Securities lending allows a fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The fund seeks to maintain the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased.
Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies (which include business development companies (BDCs)), unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. For certain investment companies, such as BDCs, these expenses may be significant. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.
The securities of closed-end funds may be leveraged. As a result, a fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. An investment in securities of closed-end funds that use leverage may expose a fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the fund's long-term returns on such securities will be diminished.
The extent to which a fund can invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws.
Short Sales. Short sales involve the market sale of a security a fund has borrowed from a prime broker with which it has a contractual relationship, with the expectation that the security will underperform either the market or the securities that the fund holds long. A fund closes a short sale by purchasing the same security at the current market price and delivering it to the prime broker.
Until a fund closes out a short position, the fund is obligated to pay the prime broker (from which it borrowed the security sold short) interest as well as any dividends that accrue during the period of the loan. While a short position is outstanding, a fund must also pledge a portion of its assets to the prime broker as collateral for the borrowed security. The collateral will be marked to market daily.
Short positions create a risk that a fund will be required to cover them by buying the security at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the fund. A short position in a security poses more risk than holding the same security long. Because a short position loses value as the security's price increases, the loss on a short sale is theoretically unlimited. The loss on a long position is limited to what a fund originally paid for the security together with any transaction costs. A fund may not always be able to borrow a security the fund seeks to sell short at a particular time or at an acceptable price. As a result, a fund may be unable to fully implement its investment strategy due to a lack of available stocks or for other reasons. It is possible that the market value of the securities a fund holds in long positions will decline at the same time that the market value of the securities the fund has sold short increases, thereby increasing the fund's potential volatility. Because a fund may be required to pay dividends, interest, premiums and other expenses in connection with a short sale, any benefit for the fund resulting from the short sale will be decreased, and the amount of any ultimate gain will be decreased or of any loss will be increased, by the amount of such expenses.
A fund may also enter into short sales against the box. Short sales "against the box" are short sales of securities that a fund owns or has the right to obtain (equivalent in kind or amount to the securities sold short). If a fund enters into a short sale against the box, it will be required to set aside securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short (or securities convertible or exchangeable into such securities) and will be required to hold such securities while the short sale is outstanding. A fund will incur transaction costs, including interest expenses, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales against the box.
Sources of Liquidity or Credit Support. Issuers may employ various forms of credit and liquidity enhancements, including letters of credit, guarantees, swaps, puts, and demand features, and insurance provided by domestic or foreign entities such as banks and other financial institutions. An adviser and its affiliates may rely on their evaluation of the credit of the issuer or the credit of the liquidity or credit enhancement provider in determining whether to purchase or hold a security supported by such enhancement. In evaluating the credit of a foreign bank or other foreign entities, factors considered may include whether adequate public information about the entity is available and whether the entity may be subject to unfavorable political or economic developments, currency controls, or other government restrictions that might affect its ability to honor its commitment. Changes in the credit quality of the issuer and/or entity providing the enhancement could affect the value of the security or a fund's share price.
Sovereign Debt Obligations are issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies, including debt of Latin American nations or other developing countries. Sovereign debt may be in the form of conventional securities or other types of debt instruments such as loans or loan participations. Sovereign debt of developing countries may involve a high degree of risk, and may be in default or present the risk of default. Governmental entities responsible for repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal and pay interest when due, and may require renegotiation or rescheduling of debt payments. In addition, prospects for repayment of principal and payment of interest may depend on political as well as economic factors. Although some sovereign debt, such as Brady Bonds, is collateralized by U.S. Government securities, repayment of principal and payment of interest is not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument ( e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
<R> Temporary Defensive Policies. </R>
<R> In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, a fund may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If a fund does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds reserves the right to invest without limitation in preferred stocks and investment-grade debt instruments for temporary, defensive purposes.
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments which entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss.
Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
<R> SPECIAL GEOGRAPHIC CONSIDERATIONS </R>
<R> Emerging Markets. Investing in companies domiciled in emerging market countries may be subject to potentially higher risks than investments in developed countries. These risks include: (i) less social, political, and economic stability; (ii) greater illiquidity and price volatility due to smaller or limited local capital markets for such securities, or low or non-existent trading volumes; (iii) foreign exchanges and broker-dealers may be subject to less scrutiny and regulation by local authorities; (iv) local governments may decide to seize or confiscate securities held by foreign investors and/or local governments may decide to suspend or limit an issuer's ability to make dividend or interest payments; (v) local governments may limit or entirely restrict repatriation of invested capital, profits, and dividends; (vi) capital gains may be subject to local taxation, including on a retroactive basis; (vii) issuers facing restrictions on dollar or euro payments imposed by local governments may attempt to make dividend or interest payments to foreign investors in the local currency; (viii) investors may experience difficulty in enforcing legal claims related to the securities and/or local judges may favor the interests of the issuer over those of foreign investors; (ix) bankruptcy judgments may only be permitted to be paid in the local currency; (x) limited public information regarding the issuer may result in greater difficulty in determining market valuations of the securities, and (xi) infrequent financial reporting, substandard disclosure, and differences in accounting standards may make it difficult to ascertain the financial health of an issuer. In addition, unlike developed countries, many emerging countries' economic growth highly depends on exports and inflows of external capital, making them more vulnerable to the downturns of the world economy. The recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for their exports and tightened international credit supplies and, as a result, many emerging countries faced significant economic difficulties and some countries fell into recession.</R>
<R>Many emerging market countries suffer from uncertainty and corruption in their legal frameworks. Legislation may be difficult to interpret and laws may be too new to provide any precedential value. Laws regarding foreign investment and private property may be weak or non-existent. Sudden changes in governments may result in policies that are less favorable to investors such as policies designed to expropriate or nationalize "sovereign" assets. Certain emerging market countries in the past have expropriated large amounts of private property, in many cases with little or no compensation, and there can be no assurance that such expropriation will not occur in the future.</R>
<R>Many emerging market countries in which a fund may invest lack the social, political, and economic stability characteristic of the U.S. Political instability among emerging market countries can be common and may be caused by an uneven distribution of wealth, social unrest, labor strikes, civil wars, and religious oppression. Economic instability in emerging market countries may take the form of: (i) high interest rates; (ii) high levels of inflation, including hyperinflation; (iii) high levels of unemployment or underemployment; (iv) changes in government economic and tax policies, including confiscatory taxation (or taxes on foreign investments); and (v) imposition of trade barriers.</R>
<R>Currencies of emerging market countries are subject to significantly greater risks than currencies of developed countries. Some emerging market currencies may not be internationally traded or may be subject to strict controls by local governments, resulting in undervalued or overvalued currencies. Some emerging market countries have experienced balance of payment deficits and shortages in foreign exchange reserves. As a result, some governments have responded by restricting currency conversions. Future restrictive exchange controls could prevent or restrict a company's ability to make dividend or interest payments in the original currency of the obligation (usually U.S. dollars). In addition, even though the currencies of some emerging market countries may be convertible into U.S. dollars, the conversion rates may be artificial to their actual market values.</R>
<R>Governments of many emerging market countries have become overly reliant on the international capital markets and other forms of foreign credit to finance large public spending programs which cause huge budget deficits. Often, interest payments have become too overwhelming for these governments to meet, as these payments may represent a large percentage of a country's total GDP. Accordingly, these foreign obligations have become the subject of political debate and served as fuel for political parties of the opposition, which pressure governments not to make payments to foreign creditors, but instead to use these funds for social programs. Either due to an inability to pay or submission to political pressure, the governments have been forced to seek a restructuring of their loan and/or bond obligations, have declared a temporary suspension of interest payments, or have defaulted on their outstanding debt obligations. These events have adversely affected the values of securities issued by the governments and corporations domiciled in these emerging market countries and have negatively affected not only their cost of borrowing, but their ability to borrow in the future as well.</R>
<R>In addition to their over-reliance on international capital markets, many emerging economies are also highly dependent on international trade and exports, including exports of oil and other commodities. As a result, these economies are particularly vulnerable to downturns of the world economy. The recent global financial crisis tightened international credit supplies and weakened global demand for their exports and, as a result, certain of these economies faced significant difficulties and some economies fell into recession. Although certain economies in emerging market countries have recently shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. The reduced demand for exports and lack of available capital for investment resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy may limit recovery by emerging market countries.</R>
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<R> Canada. </R>
<R> Political. Canada's parliamentary system of government is, in general, stable. Quebec does have a "separatist" opposition party whose objective is to achieve sovereignty and increased self-governing legal and financial powers for the province. To date, referendums on Quebec sovereignty have been defeated. If a referendum about the independence of Quebec were successful, the Canadian federal government may be obliged to negotiate with Quebec.</R>
<R> Economic. Canada is a major producer of commodities such as forest products, metals, agricultural products, and energy related products like oil, gas, and hydroelectricity. Accordingly, changes in the supply and demand of base commodity resources and industrial and precious metals and materials, both domestically and internationally, can have a significant effect on Canadian market performance.</R>
<R>The U.S. is Canada's largest trading partner and developments in economic policy and U.S. market conditions have a significant impact on the Canadian economy. The expanding economic and financial integration of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico through the North American Free Trade Agreement may make the Canadian economy and securities market more sensitive to North American trade patterns. However, growth in developing countries overseas, particularly China, may change the composition of Canada's trade and foreign investment composition in the near future.</R>
<R>In recent years, economic growth slowed down in certain sectors of the Canadian economy. The Canadian economy suffered from a recession due, in part, to the recent global financial crisis. The weaker economy resulted in lower tax collections and increased support being provided to Canadians through government programs, which increased the Canadian budget deficit. While the Canadian economy has shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. Growth forecasts remain modest due to ongoing fiscal consolidation, the effects of the economic slowdown in the U.S., and weakened demand for Canadian exports and investment as a result of the European crisis. Furthermore, the strength of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar may negatively affect Canada's ability to export, which could limit Canada's economic recovery.</R>
<R> Europe. The European Union (EU) is an intergovernmental and supranational union of most Western European countries and a growing number of Eastern European countries, each known as a member state. One of the key activities of the EU is the establishment and administration of a common single market, consisting of, among other things, a common trade policy. In order to pursue this goal, member states established, among other things, the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), which sets out different stages and commitments that member states need to follow to achieve greater economic policy coordination and monetary cooperation, including the adoption of a single currency, the euro. While all EU member states participate in the economic union, only certain EU member states have adopted the euro as their currency. When a member state adopts the euro as its currency, the member state no longer controls its own monetary policies. Instead, the authority to direct monetary policy is exercised by the European Central Bank.</R>
<R>While economic and monetary convergence in the EU may offer new opportunities for those investing in the region, investors should be aware that the success of the EU is not wholly assured. European countries can be significantly affected by the tight fiscal and monetary controls that the EMU imposes on its members or with which candidates for EMU membership are required to comply. Europe must grapple with a number of challenges, any one of which could threaten the survival of this monumental undertaking. The countries adopting the euro must adjust to a unified monetary system, the absence of exchange rate flexibility, and the loss of economic sovereignty. Europe's economies are diverse, its governments are decentralized, and its cultures differ widely. Unemployment in some European countries has historically been higher than in the U.S. and could pose political risk. Many EU nations are susceptible to high economic risks associated with high levels of debt, notably due to investments in sovereign debts of European countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the Republic of Ireland. One or more member states might exit the EU, placing its currency and banking system in jeopardy. The EU currently faces major issues involving its membership, structure, procedures and policies; including the adoption, abandonment or adjustment of the new constitutional treaty, the EU's enlargement to the south and east, and resolution of the EU's problematic fiscal and democratic accountability. Efforts of the member states to continue to unify their economic and monetary policies may increase the potential for similarities in the movements of European markets and reduce the benefit of diversification within the region.</R>
<R> Political. The EU has been extending its influence to the east. It has accepted several Eastern European countries as new members, and has plans to accept several more in the medium-term. It is hoped that membership for these states will help cement economic and political stability in the region. For these countries, membership serves as a strong political impetus to employ tight fiscal and monetary policies. Nevertheless, new member states that were former Soviet satellites remain burdened to various extents by the inherited inefficiencies of centrally planned economies similar to what existed under the former Soviet Union. Further expansion of the EU has long-term economic benefits, but certain European countries are not viewed as currently suitable for membership, especially the troubled economies of countries further east. Also, as the EU continues to enlarge, the candidate countries' accessions may grow more controversial. Some member states may repudiate certain candidate countries joining the EU upon concerns about the possible economic, immigration, and cultural implications that may result from such enlargement. The current and future status of the EU therefore continues to be the subject of political controversy, with widely differing views both within and between member states. Also, Russia may be opposed to the expansion of the EU to members of the former Soviet bloc and may, at times, take actions that could negatively impact EU economic activity.</R>
It is possible that the gap between rich and poor within the EU's member countries, and particularly among new members that have not met the requirements for joining the EMU may increase, and that realigning traditional alliances could alter trading relationships and potentially provoke divisive socioeconomic splits.
<R>In the transition to the single economic system, significant political decisions will be made that may affect the market regulation, subsidization, and privatization across all industries, from agricultural products to telecommunications.</R>
<R> Economic. As economic conditions across member states may vary widely, there is continued concern about national-level support for the euro and the accompanying coordination of fiscal and wage policy among EMU member countries. Member countries must maintain tight control over inflation, public debt, and budget deficits in order to qualify for participation in the euro. These requirements severely limit EMU member countries' ability to implement monetary policy to address regional economic conditions.</R>
<R>The recent global financial crisis brought several small economies in Europe to the brink of bankruptcy and many other economies into recession and weakened the banking and financial sectors of many European countries. As a result, the governments of many European countries are now facing a serious economic crisis as high levels of public debt and substantial budget deficits hinder economic growth in the region and threaten the continued viability of the EMU. Due to these large public deficits, some European issuers have had difficulty accessing capital and may be dependent on emergency assistance from European governments and institutions to avoid defaulting on their outstanding debt obligations. The availability of such assistance, however, may be contingent on an issuer's implementation of certain reforms or reaching a required level of performance, which may increase the possibility of default. Such prospects have injected significant volatility into European markets, which may reduce the liquidity or value of a fund's investments in the region. Likewise, the high levels of public debt raise the possibility that certain European issuers may be forced to restructure their debt obligations, which could cause a fund to lose the value of its investments in any such issuer.</R>
<R>As European policy makers take unprecedented steps to respond to the ongoing economic crisis in the region, there is an increased risk that regulatory uncertainty could have a negative effect on the value of a fund's investments in the region. For example, the French parliament recently adopted a financial transactions tax that imposes a tax on, among other transactions, acquisitions of equities in listed companies that have their registered offices in France and that exceed a specified market capitalization. The European Commission has proposed plans for an EU-wide financial transactions tax to take effect in 2014, although it remains unclear whether such a tax will be agreed upon by EU member countries. Moreover, governments across the EMU are facing increasing opposition to certain crisis response measures. For example, efforts to reduce public spending in certain countries have been countered by large-scale protests. As a result, many governments in the region have collapsed or been voted out of office. Leaders in some of these countries have openly questioned the sustainability of the EMU, which raises the risk that certain member states will abandon the euro or that the euro may cease to exist as a single currency in its current form. Any such occurrence would likely have wide-ranging effects on global markets that are difficult to predict. However, these effects would likely have a negative impact on a fund's investments in the region.</R>
<R>Furthermore, the ongoing economic crisis has limited the prospect of short-term growth and economic recovery in the region, which raises the risk that Europe will fall into another recession. Economic challenges facing the region include high levels of public debt, significant rates of unemployment, aging populations, over-regulation of non-financial businesses, persistent trade deficits, rigid labor markets, and inability to access credit. Although certain of these challenges may weigh more heavily on some European economies than others, the economic integration of the region increases the likelihood that recession in one country may spread to others. Should Europe fall into another recession, the value of a fund's investments in the region may be affected.</R>
<R> Currency. Investing in euro-denominated (or other European currencies-denominated) securities entails risk of being exposed to a currency that may not fully reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the disparate European economies. In addition, many European countries rely heavily upon export-dependent businesses and any strength in the exchange rate between the euro and the U.S. dollar can have either a positive or a negative effect upon corporate profits and the performance of EU investments. Currencies have become more volatile, subjecting a fund's foreign investments to additional risks.</R>
<R> Nordic Countries. The Nordic countries relate to European integration in different ways. Norway and Iceland are outside the EU, although they are members of the European Economic Area. Denmark, Finland, and Sweden are all EU members, but only Finland has adopted the euro as its currency. Faced with stronger global competition, the Nordic countries - Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden - have had to scale down their historically generous welfare programs, resulting in drops in domestic demand and increased unemployment. Major industries in the region, such as forestry, agriculture, and oil, are heavily resource-dependent and face pressure as a result of high labor costs. Economic growth in many Nordic countries continues to be constrained by tight labor markets and adverse European and global economic conditions. Although certain Nordic countries have recently exhibited signs of economic growth, any such growth may be limited by the European crisis and the weakened global economy.</R>
Eastern Europe. Investing in the securities of Eastern European issuers is highly speculative and involves risks not usually associated with investing in the more developed markets of Western Europe. Political and economic reforms are too recent to establish a definite trend away from centrally planned economies and state-owned industries. Investments in Eastern European countries may involve risks of nationalization, expropriation, and confiscatory taxation.
<R>Many Eastern European countries continue to move towards market economies at different paces with appropriately different characteristics. Most Eastern European markets suffer from thin trading activity, dubious investor protections, and often a dearth of reliable corporate information. Information and transaction costs, differential taxes, and sometimes political or transfer risk give a comparative advantage to the domestic investor rather than the foreign investor. In addition, these markets are particularly sensitive to social, political, economic, and currency events in Western Europe and Russia and may suffer heavy losses as a result of their trading and investment links to these economies and currencies. Additionally, Russia may attempt to assert its influence in the region through economic or even military measures, as it did with Georgia in the summer of 2008.</R>
In some of the countries of Eastern Europe, there is no stock exchange or formal market for securities. Such countries may also have government exchange controls, currencies with no recognizable market value relative to the established currencies of Western market economies, little or no experience in trading in securities, no accounting or financial reporting standards, a lack of banking and securities infrastructure to handle such trading and a legal tradition that does not recognize rights in private property. Credit and debt issues and other economic difficulties affecting Western Europe and its financial institutions can negatively affect Eastern European countries.
<R>Eastern European economies may also be particularly susceptible to the international credit market due to their reliance on bank related inflows of foreign capital. The recent global financial crisis restricted international credit supplies and several Eastern European economies faced significant credit and economic crises. Although some Eastern European economies are expanding again, major challenges are still present as a result of their continued dependence on the Western European zone for credit and trade. Accordingly, the European crisis may present serious risks for Eastern European economies, which may have a negative effect on a fund's investments in the region.</R>
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<R> Japan. Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, emphasis on education, and a comparatively small defense allocation have helped Japan advance with extraordinary speed to become one of the largest economic powers along with the U.S. and the EU. Despite its impressive history, investors face special risks when investing in Japan.</R>
<R> Economic. For three decades from the 1960s through the 1980s, Japan's overall real economic growth had been spectacular. However, growth slowed markedly in the 1990s and Japan's economy fell into a long recession. After a few years of mild recovery in the mid-2000s, the Japanese economy fell into another recession as a result of the recent global financial crisis.</R>
<R>While Japan experienced an increase in exports relative to recent years, the rate of export growth has since slowed and the rapid appreciation in the value of the yen has negatively impacted Japan's exports. This economic recession was likely compounded by Japan's massive government debt, the aging and shrinking of the population, an unstable financial sector, low domestic consumption, and certain corporate structural weaknesses, which remain some of the major long-term problems of the Japanese economy.</R>
<R>Overseas trade is important to Japan's economy and Japan's economic growth is significantly driven by its exports. Japan has few natural resources and must export to pay for its imports of these basic requirements. Meanwhile, Japan's aging and shrinking population increases the cost of the country's pension and public welfare system and lowers domestic demand, making Japan more dependent on exports to sustain its economy. Therefore, any developments that negatively affect Japan's exports could present risks to a fund's investments in Japan. For example, domestic or foreign trade sanctions or other protectionist measures could harm Japan's economy. Likewise, any escalation of tensions with China or South Korea over disputed territorial claims may adversely impact Japan's trading relationship with two of its largest trading partners. Furthermore, reduced demand for Japan's exports resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy could present additional risks to a fund's investments in Japan.</R>
<R>Japan's recovery from the recession has been affected by economic distress resulting from the earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck northeastern Japan in March 2011 causing major damage along the coast, including damage to nuclear power plants in the region. Following the earthquake, Japan's financial markets fluctuated dramatically. The government injected capital into the economy and proposed plans for massive spending on reconstruction efforts in disaster-affected areas in order to stimulate economic growth. The full extent of the natural disaster's impact on Japan's economy and foreign investment in Japan is difficult to estimate. The risks of natural disasters of varying degrees, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, and the resulting damage, continue to exist.</R>
<R>A pressing need to sustain Japan's economic recovery and improve its economic growth is the task of overhauling the nation's financial institutions. Banks, in particular, may have to reform themselves to become more competitive. Successful financial sector reform would contribute to Japan's economic recovery at home and would benefit other economies in Asia. Internal conflict over the proper way to reform the banking system continues to exist. Currently, Japanese banks are facing difficulties generating profits. Currency fluctuations may also significantly affect Japan's economy.</R>
<R> Asia Pacific Region (ex Japan). Many countries in the region have historically faced political uncertainty, corruption, military intervention, and social unrest. Examples include military threats on the Korean peninsula and along the Taiwan Strait, the ethnic, sectarian, and separatist violence found in Indonesia, and the nuclear arms threats between India and Pakistan. To the extent that such events continue in the future, they can be expected to have a negative effect on economic and securities market conditions in the region. In addition, the Asia Pacific geographic region has historically been prone to natural disasters. The occurrence of a natural disaster in the region could negatively impact the economy of any country in the region.</R>
<R> Economic. The economies of many countries in the region are heavily dependent on international trade and are accordingly affected by protective trade barriers and the economic conditions of their trading partners, principally, the U.S., Japan, China, and the European Union. The countries in this region are also heavily dependent on exports and are thus particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. High food, fuel and other commodities' prices, as well as volatile capital inflows, may pose challenges to countries in this region in the near future. The recent global financial crisis spread to the region, significantly lowering its exports and foreign investments in the region, which are driving forces of its economic growth. In addition, the economic crisis also significantly affected consumer confidence and local stock markets. Although the economies of many countries in the region have recently shown signs of recovery from the crisis, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. Furthermore, any such recovery may be limited or hindered by the reduced demand for exports and lack of available capital for investment resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy.</R>
<R> The Republic of Korea (South Korea). Investors should be aware that investing in South Korea involves risks not typically associated with investing in the U.S. securities markets. Although relations between North Korea and South Korea had begun to improve in the past few years, recent developments are troubling. As a result, these relations still remain tense and the possibility of military action between the two countries still exists.</R>
<R> Corporate and financial sector restructuring initiated by the Korean government, in conjunction with the IMF, after the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis can be expected to continue, but its full impact cannot be predicted yet. The Korean economy's reliance on international trade makes it highly sensitive to fluctuations in international commodity prices, currency exchange rates and government regulation, and vulnerable to downturns of the world economy. For example, the recent global financial crisis led to large capital outflows from South Korea, which caused the deterioration of the country's currency, domestic asset markets, and credit conditions. The South Korean economy began showing signs of recovery from this downturn in 2009. Although South Korea's initial recovery was faster than many other developed nations, South Korea's growth has since slowed and any continued recovery may be gradual as the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for South Korean exports. The South Korean economy's long-term challenges include a rapidly aging population, inflexible labor market, and overdependence on exports to drive economic growth.</R>
<R> China Region. As with all transition economies, China's ability to develop and sustain a credible legal, regulatory, monetary, and socioeconomic system could influence the course of outside investment. Hong Kong is closely tied to China, economically and through China's 1997 acquisition of the country as a Special Autonomous Region (SAR).</R>
<R> Hong Kong's success depends, in large part, on its ability to retain the legal, financial, and monetary systems that it currently has in place, which allows economic freedom and market expansion. Although many Taiwanese companies heavily invest in China, a state of hostility continues to exist between China and Taiwan, which Beijing has long deemed a part of China and has made a nationalist cause of recovering it. Taiwan's political stability and ability to sustain its economic growth could be significantly affected by its political and economic relationship with China.</R>
<R>The recent global financial crisis caused a marked slowdown in economic growth in the region, leading local governments, especially the Chinese government, to take unprecedented steps to shore up economic growth and prevent widespread unemployment. Although China has experienced economic growth in recent years, recent economic data shows that growth is slowing. Demand for Chinese exports by Western countries, including the U.S. and Europe, may weaken due to the effects of relatively limited economic growth in those countries resulting from the financial crisis in the United States and the crisis in Europe. However, the Chinese government continues to maintain certain of these measures and may introduce more in the future, including measures intended to increase growth and to contain social unrest, which is an increasing risk.</R>
In addition to the risks inherent in investing in the emerging markets, the risks of investing in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan merit special consideration.
People's Republic of China. The government of the People's Republic of China is dominated by the one-party rule of the Chinese Communist Party.
China's economy has transitioned from a rigidly central-planned state-run economy to one that has been only partially reformed by more market-oriented policies. Although the Chinese government has implemented economic reform measures, reduced state ownership of companies and established better corporate governance practices, a substantial portion of productive assets in China are still owned by the Chinese government. The government continues to exercise significant control over regulating industrial development and, ultimately, control over China's economic growth through the allocation of resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies.
<R>At times, China's economy has been subject to the risks of overheating, which leads to the government's attempt to slow down the pace of growth through administrative measures. The recent global financial crisis, however, changed this course for some time, as China's economic growth slowed, due, in part, to weakened demand for its exports and reduced foreign investments in the country. The Chinese economy then showed strong signs of recovery from this slowed growth, but a recovery of China's trading partners may also be necessary to sustain China's continued growth and measures to control growth may be adopted again. In the short term, China's economy faces problems of inflation and local government debt, which swelled in recent years as a result of certain economic stimulus policies. Furthermore, the economy faces the prospect of prolonged weakness in demand for Chinese exports as its major trading partners, such as the United States, Japan, and Europe, continue to experience economic uncertainty stemming from the global financial crisis and European crisis, among other things. Over the long term, China's aging infrastructure, worsening environmental conditions and rapidly widening urban and rural income gap, which all carry political and economic implications, are among the country's major challenges. In addition, tensions resulting from China's territorial claims in the region may present risks to diplomatic and trade relations with certain of China's regional trade partners. Any escalation of these tensions could further reduce international demand for Chinese goods and services, which could have a negative effect on a fund's investments in the securities of Chinese issuers.</R>
As with all transition economies, China's ability to develop and sustain a credible legal, regulatory, monetary, and socioeconomic system could influence the course of outside investment. The Chinese legal system, in particular, constitutes a significant risk factor for investors. The Chinese legal system is based on statutes. Since the late 1970s, Chinese legislative bodies have promulgated laws and regulations dealing with various economic matters such as foreign investment, corporate organization and governance, commerce, taxation, and trade. However, these laws are relatively new and published court decisions based on these laws are limited and non-binding. The interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations are uncertain.
<R>China continues to limit direct foreign investments generally in industries deemed important to national interests. Foreign investment in domestic securities are also subject to substantial restrictions. Some believe that China's currency is undervalued. Currency fluctuations could significantly affect China and its trading partners. China continues to exercise control over the value of its currency, rather than allowing the value of the currency to be determined by market forces. This type of currency regime may experience sudden and significant currency adjustments, which may adversely impact investment returns.</R>
<R> Hong Kong. In 1997, Great Britain handed over control of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China. Since that time, Hong Kong has been governed by a semi-constitution known as the Basic Law, which guarantees a high degree of autonomy in certain matters until 2047, while defense and foreign affairs are the responsibility of the central government in Beijing. The chief executive of Hong Kong is appointed by the Chinese government. However, Hong Kong is able to participate in international organizations and agreements and it continues to function as an international financial center, with no exchange controls, free convertibility of the Hong Kong dollar and free inward and outward movement of capital. The Basic Law also guarantees existing freedoms, including the freedom of speech, assembly, press, and religion, as well as the right to strike and travel. Business ownership, private property, the right of inheritance and foreign investment are also protected by law. By treaty, China has committed to preserve Hong Kong's autonomy until 2047. Nevertheless, if China were to exert its authority so as to alter the economic, political, or legal structures or the existing social policy of Hong Kong, investor and business confidence in Hong Kong could be negatively affected, which in turn could negatively affect markets and business performance.</R>
<R>The global financial crisis forced Hong Kong's economy into a recession. Recently, however, Hong Kong's economy has shown signs of recovery from this recession. This recovery can be attributed, in large part, to the combined efforts of both China and Hong Kong to shore up domestic economic growth. As these measures continue to take effect, their long-term impact on the growth of Hong Kong's economy is unpredictable. However, Hong Kong's recovery has raised concerns about possible overheating in certain sectors of its economy, such as its real estate market, which could limit Hong Kong's future growth. In addition, because of Hong Kong's heavy reliance on international trade and global financial markets, Hong Kong remains exposed to significant risks as a result of the European crisis and weakened global economy. The negative effects of the European downturn on the global economy could push Hong Kong into another recession. Likewise, due to Hong Kong's close political and economic ties with China, any economic stagnation on the mainland could have a negative impact on Hong Kong's economy.</R>
<R> Taiwan. For decades, a state of hostility has existed between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China. Beijing has long deemed Taiwan a part of the "one China" and has made a nationalist cause of recovering it. In the past, China has staged frequent military provocations off the coast of Taiwan and made threats of full-scale military action. Foreign trade has been the engine of rapid growth in Taiwan and has transformed the island into one of Asia's great exporting nations. As an export-oriented economy, Taiwan depends on an open world trade regime and remains vulnerable to downturns in the world economy. Taiwanese companies continue to compete mostly on price, producing generic products or branded merchandise on behalf of multinational companies. Accordingly, these businesses can be particularly vulnerable to currency volatility and increasing competition from neighboring lower-cost countries. Moreover, many Taiwanese companies are heavily invested in mainland China and other countries throughout Southeast Asia, making them susceptible to political events and economic crises in these parts of the region. Significantly, Taiwan and China recently entered into agreements covering banking, securities, and insurance. Closer economic links with the mainland may bring greater opportunities for the Taiwanese economy, but also poses new challenges. For example, foreign direct investment in China has resulted in Chinese import substitution away from Taiwan's exports and a restriction of potential job creation in Taiwan. As a result of the recent global financial crisis, the demand for exports decreased and Taiwan entered into a recession. Although Taiwan's economy has recently shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. In addition, the effects of the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for Taiwan's exports, which could force its economy into another recession.</R>
<R> India. The value of a fund's investments in Indian securities may be affected by, among other things, political developments, rapid changes in government regulation, state intervention in private enterprise, nationalization or expropriation of foreign assets, legal uncertainty, high rates of inflation or interest rates, currency volatility, and civil unrest. In addition, any escalation of tensions with Pakistan may have a negative impact on a fund's investments in India. Likewise, political, social and economic disruptions caused by domestic sectarian violence or terrorist attacks may also present risks to a fund's investments in India.</R>
<R>The Indian economy is heavily dependent on exports and is vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. Recently, the Indian economy began showing signs of recovery from the effects of the global financial crisis. However, this recovery may be limited by the European crisis and weakened global economy. In the event that India's economic recovery slows, a fund's investments in Indian securities may be harmed.</R>
<R>Furthermore, restrictions or controls applicable to foreign investment in the securities of issuers in India may also adversely affect a fund's investments within the country. The availability of financial instruments with exposure to Indian financial markets may be substantially limited by restrictions on foreign investors. Foreign investors are required to observe certain investment restrictions, including limits on shareholdings, which may impede a fund's ability to invest in certain issuers or to fully pursue its investment objective. These restrictions may also have the effect of reducing demand for, or limiting the liquidity of, such investments. There can be no assurance that the Indian government will not impose restrictions on foreign capital remittances abroad or otherwise modify the exchange control regime applicable to foreign investors in such a way that may adversely affect the ability of a fund to repatriate their income and capital.</R>
<R>Shares of many Indian issuers are held by a limited number of persons and financial institutions, which may limit the number of shares available for investment. In addition, further issuances of securities by Indian issuers in which a fund has invested could dilute the investments of existing shareholders and could adversely affect the market price of such securities. Sales of securities by such issuer's major shareholders may also significantly and adversely affect other shareholders. Moreover, a limited number of issuers represent a disproportionately large percentage of market capitalization and trading value in India.</R>
<R> Indonesia. Indonesia has restored financial stability and pursued sober fiscal policies since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, but many economic development problems remain, including high unemployment, a fragile banking sector, endemic corruption, inadequate infrastructure, a poor investment climate, inflationary pressures and unequal resource distribution among regions. These problems may limit the country's ability to contain the severe and negative impact of the recent global financial crisis on its economy. In addition, Indonesia continues to be at risk of ethnic, sectarian, and separatist violence. Furthermore, slow budgetary disbursements have created challenges for government programs related to infrastructure, secondary education, and certain social policies. Rises in global commodity prices may also present risks to Indonesia's growth potential. Keys to future growth remain internal reform, peaceful resolution of internal conflicts, bolstering the confidence of international and domestic investors, and strong global economic growth.</R>
<R> Thailand. Thailand has a well-developed infrastructure and a free-enterprise economy, which is welcoming to certain foreign investment. Increased consumption and investment spending and strong export industries continue to sustain economic growth. Moreover, Bangkok has pursued preferential trade agreements with a variety of partners in an effort to boost exports and maintain high growth, and in 2004 began negotiations on a free trade agreement with the U.S. However, weakening fiscal discipline, separatist violence in the south, the intervention by the military in civilian spheres, and continued political instability may cause additional risks for investments in Thailand. In addition, natural disasters may affect economic growth in the country. For example, in late 2011, historic floods devastated industrial areas north of Bangkok, which severely harmed Thailand's manufacturing sector and reduced the country's economic growth. Although the Thai economy may already be showing signs of recovery from this disaster, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as demand for Thai goods and services could decline due to the effects of the European sovereign debt crisis and weakened global economy.</R>
<R> Philippines. Because of its relatively low dependence on exports and high domestic rates of consumption, as well as substantial remittances received from large overseas populations, the Philippines was one of the few countries in Asia to navigate the recent global financial crisis without falling into recession. Although the economy of the Philippines has shown signs of growth in recent years, there can be no assurances that such growth will continue. Reduced demand for exports from the Philippines as a result of the European crisis and weakened global economy, as well as lower remittances from Filipino immigrants abroad, may negatively impact economic growth in the Philippines. Furthermore, certain weaknesses in the economy, such as inadequate infrastructure, high poverty rates, uneven wealth distribution, low fiscal revenues, endemic corruption, inconsistent regulation, unpredictable taxation, unreliable judicial processes, and the appropriation of foreign assets may present risks to a fund's investments in the Philippines. In addition, investments in the Philippines are subject to risks arising from political or social unrest, including threats from military coups, terrorist groups and separatist movements. Likewise, the Philippines is prone to natural disasters such as typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes and flooding, which may also present risks to a fund's investments in the Philippines.</R>
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<R> Latin America. As an emerging market, Latin America historically suffered from social, political, and economic instability. For investors, this has meant additional risk caused by periods of regional conflict, political corruption, totalitarianism, protectionist measures, nationalization, hyperinflation, debt crises, sudden and large currency devaluation, and intervention by the military in civilian and economic spheres. For example, at times the government of Brazil has imposed a tax on foreign investment in Brazilian stocks and bonds, which may affect the value of a fund's investments in the securities of Brazilian issuers. However, in some Latin American countries, a move to sustainable democracy and a more mature and accountable political environment is under way. Domestic economies have been deregulated, privatization of state-owned companies is almost completed and foreign trade restrictions have been relaxed.</R>
<R> Nonetheless, to the extent that events such as those listed above continue in the future, they could reverse favorable trends toward market and economic reform, privatization, and removal of trade barriers, and result in significant disruption in securities markets in the region. In addition, recent favorable economic performance in much of the region has led to a concern regarding government overspending in certain Latin American countries. Investors in the region continue to face a number of potential risks. Certain Latin American countries depend heavily on exports to the U.S. and investments from a small number of countries. Accordingly, these countries may be sensitive to fluctuations in demand, exchange rates and changes in market conditions associated with those countries. The economic growth of most Latin American countries is highly dependent on commodity exports and the economies of certain Latin American countries, particularly Mexico and Venezuela, are highly dependent on oil exports. As a result, these economies are particularly susceptible to fluctuations in the price of oil and other commodities and currency fluctuations. The recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for oil and other commodities and, as a result, Latin American countries faced significant economic difficulties that led certain countries into recession. If global economic conditions worsen, prices for Latin American commodities may experience increased volatility and demand may continue to decrease. Although certain of these countries have recently shown signs of recovery, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. In addition, prolonged economic difficulties may have negative effects on the transition to a more stable democracy in some Latin American countries. In certain countries, political risk, including nationalization risk, is high.</R>
<R>A number of Latin American countries are among the largest debtors of developing countries and have a long history of reliance on foreign debt and default. The majority of the region's economies have become highly dependent upon foreign credit and loans from external sources to fuel their state-sponsored economic plans. Historically, government profligacy and ill-conceived plans for modernization have exhausted these resources with little benefit accruing to the economy. Most countries have been forced to restructure their loans or risk default on their debt obligations. In addition, interest on the debt is subject to market conditions and may reach levels that would impair economic activity and create a difficult and costly environment for borrowers. Accordingly, these governments may be forced to reschedule or freeze their debt repayment, which could negatively affect local markets. Because of their dependence on foreign credit and loans, a number of Latin American economies faced significant economic difficulties and some economies fell into recession as the recent global financial crisis tightened international credit supplies. While the region has recently shown signs of economic improvement, recovery from past economic downturns in Latin America has historically been slow, and any such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. The European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for exports from Latin America and limit the availability of foreign credit for some countries in the region. As a result, a fund's investments in Latin American securities could be harmed if economic recovery in the region is limited.</R>
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<R> Russia. Investing in Russian securities is highly speculative and involves significant risks and special considerations not typically associated with investing in the securities markets of the U.S. and most other developed countries.</R>
Political. Over the past century, Russia has experienced political and economic turbulence and has endured decades of communist rule under which tens of millions of its citizens were collectivized into state agricultural and industrial enterprises. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's government has been faced with the daunting task of stabilizing its domestic economy, while transforming it into a modern and efficient structure able to compete in international markets and respond to the needs of its citizens. However, to date, many of the country's economic reform initiatives have floundered as the proceeds of IMF and other economic assistance have been squandered or stolen. In this environment, there is always the risk that the nation's government will abandon the current program of economic and political reform and replace it with radically different political and economic policies that would be detrimental to the interests of foreign and private investors.
In the last few years, as significant income from oil and commodity exports has boosted Russia's economy, Russia's government has begun to make bolder steps to re-assert its regional geopolitical influence (including military steps). Such steps may increase tensions between Russia and its neighbors and Western countries and may negatively affect economic growth.
Economic. Many of Russia's businesses have failed to mobilize the available factors of production because the country's privatization program virtually ensured the predominance of the old management teams that are largely non-market-oriented in their management approach. Poor accounting standards, inept management, pervasive corruption, insider trading and crime, and inadequate regulatory protection for the rights of investors all pose a significant risk, particularly to foreign investors. In addition, there is the risk that the Russian tax system will not be reformed to prevent inconsistent, retroactive, and/or exorbitant taxation, or, in the alternative, the risk that a reformed tax system may result in the inconsistent and unpredictable enforcement of the new tax laws.
Compared to most national stock markets, the Russian securities market suffers from a variety of problems not encountered in more developed markets. There is little long-term historical data on the Russian securities market because it is relatively new and a substantial proportion of securities transactions in Russia are privately negotiated outside of stock exchanges. The inexperience of the Russian securities market and the limited volume of trading in securities in the market may make obtaining accurate prices on portfolio securities from independent sources more difficult than in more developed markets. Additionally, there is little solid corporate information available to investors. As a result, it may be difficult to assess the value or prospects of an investment in Russian companies.
<R>Because of the recent formation of the Russian securities market as well as the underdeveloped state of the banking and telecommunications systems, settlement, clearing and registration of securities transactions are subject to significant risks. Ownership of shares (except where shares are held through depositories that meet the requirements of the 1940 Act) is defined according to entries in the company's share register and normally evidenced by extracts from the register or by formal share certificates. However, these services are carried out by the companies themselves or by registrars located throughout Russia. These registrars are not necessarily subject to effective state supervision nor are they licensed with any governmental entity and it is possible for a fund to lose its registration through fraud, negligence, or even mere oversight. While a fund will endeavor to ensure that its interest continues to be appropriately recorded either itself or through a custodian or other agent inspecting the share register and by obtaining extracts of share registers through regular confirmations, these extracts have no legal enforceability and it is possible that subsequent illegal amendment or other fraudulent act may deprive a fund of its ownership rights or improperly dilute its interests. In addition, while applicable Russian regulations impose liability on registrars for losses resulting from their errors, it may be difficult for a fund to enforce any rights it may have against the registrar or issuer of the securities in the event of loss of share registration. Furthermore, significant delays or problems may occur in registering the transfer of securities, which could cause a fund to incur losses due to a counterparty's failure to pay for securities the fund has delivered or the fund's inability to complete its contractual obligations because of theft or other reasons. A recently enacted law authorizes the establishment of a centralized securities depository (CSD), which, in effect, will become the exclusive settlement organization for publicly traded Russian companies and investment funds in Russia. Once the CSD is fully functional, it should enhance the efficiency and transparency of the Russian securities market.</R>
<R>The Russian economy is heavily dependent upon the export of a range of commodities including most industrial metals, forestry products, oil, and gas. Accordingly, it is strongly affected by international commodity prices and is particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. As the recent global financial crisis caused price volatility in commodities, especially oil, many sectors in the Russian economy fell into turmoil, pushing the whole economy into recession. In addition, prior to the global financial crisis, Russia's economic policy encouraged excessive foreign currency borrowing as high oil prices increased investor appetite for Russian financial assets. As a result of this credit boom, Russia reached alarming debt levels and suffered from the effects of tight credit markets. Although the country is still plagued by high debt levels, the Russian economy has recently shown signs of recovery from the recession. However, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as Russia continues to face significant economic challenges. In the near term, the fallout from the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for Russian exports such as oil and gas, which could limit Russia's economic recovery. Over the long-term, Russia faces challenges including a shrinking workforce, a high level of corruption, and difficulty in accessing capital for smaller, non-energy companies and poor infrastructure in need of large investments.</R>
<R> Currency. Foreign investors also face a high degree of currency risk when investing in Russian securities and a lack of available currency hedging instruments. In a surprise move in August 1998, Russia devalued the ruble, defaulted on short-term domestic bonds, and imposed a moratorium on the repayment of its international debt and the restructuring of the repayment terms. These actions have negatively affected Russian borrowers' ability to access international capital markets and have had a damaging impact on the Russian economy. In light of these and other government actions, foreign investors could face the possibility of further devaluations. In addition, there is the risk that the government may impose capital controls on foreign portfolio investments in the event of extreme financial or political crisis. Such capital controls could prevent the sale of a portfolio of foreign assets and the repatriation of investment income and capital. Such risks have led to heightened scrutiny of Russian liquidity conditions, which in turn creates a heightened risk of the repatriation of ruble assets by nervous foreign investors. The recent economic turmoil in Russia caused the Russian ruble to depreciate as unemployment levels increased and global demand for oil exports decreased. As the global economy faces another economic crisis, the Russian central bank may need to manage bank liquidity carefully to avoid undue pressures on Russia's banks and other financial institutions and the ruble.</R>
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<R> The Middle East and Africa. Investing in Middle Eastern and African securities is highly speculative and involves significant risks and special considerations not typically associated with investing in the securities markets of the U.S. and most other developed countries.</R>
<R> Political. Many Middle Eastern and African countries historically have suffered from political instability. Despite a growing trend towards democratization, especially in Africa, significant political risks continue to affect some Middle Eastern and African countries. These risks may include substantial government control over the private sector, corrupt leaders, civil unrest, suppression of opposition parties that can lead to further dissidence and militancy, fixed elections, terrorism, coups, and war. Recently, several countries in the Middle East and North Africa have experienced pro-democracy movements that resulted in swift regime changes. In some cases, these movements have led to armed conflict involving local factions, regional allies or international forces. These changes, in the short term, have affected the status and speed of economic reforms in the region. Because many Middle East and African nations have a history of dictatorship, military intervention, and corruption, there can be no guarantee that recent movements toward a more democratic process will continue. Therefore, the long-term effects of the ongoing regime changes are largely unpredictable. In addition, there is an increasing risk that historical animosities, border disputes, or defense concerns may lead to further armed conflict in the region. In all regions, if such developments were to occur, it could have a negative effect on economic growth and reverse favorable trends toward economic and market reform, privatization, and the removal of trade barriers. Such developments could also result in significant disruptions in securities markets, which may have wider consequences for the global economy.</R>
<R> Economic. Middle Eastern and African countries historically have suffered from economic instability. Underdeveloped infrastructure, high unemployment rates, a comparatively unskilled labor force, and inconsistent access to capital have contributed to economic instability in the region. Furthermore, certain Middle Eastern and African markets may face a higher concentration of market capitalization, greater illiquidity and greater price volatility than that found in more developed markets of Western Europe or the U.S. Additionally, certain countries in the region have a history of nationalizing or expropriating foreign assets, which could cause a fund to lose the value of its investments in those countries. Despite a growing trend towards economic diversification, many Middle Eastern and African economies remain heavily dependent upon a limited range of commodities. These include gold, silver, copper, cocoa, diamonds, natural gas and petroleum. These economies are greatly affected by international commodity prices and are particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. As the recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for oil, gas, and other commodities, some countries in the region faced significant economic difficulties and many countries have been forced to scale down their infrastructure development and the size of their public welfare systems, which could have long-term economic, social, and political implications. Although certain economies in Africa and the Middle East have recently shown signs of recovery from the recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for exports from the region.</R>
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<R>The largest economy in Africa is South Africa. The country has a two-tiered, developing economy with one tier similar to that of a developed country and the second tier having only the most basic infrastructure. High interest rates, power shortages, and weakening commodities prices, along with the recent economic crisis, caused South Africa to enter a recession in 2009 for the first time in 18 years. The South African Government, both before and during the recession, implemented policies designed to reduce trade and investment restrictions and privatize certain industries. However, ethnic and civil conflicts, the HIV health crisis, uncertainty surrounding government policy, and political instability have led to uneven wealth distribution within the country and may cause additional risks for investments in South Africa. These problems likely compounded the economic difficulties that South Africa faced as the negative effects of the global financial crisis spread to the country. Although the South African economy has recently shown signs of recovery, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as political, social, and labor unrest could affect the South African economy. In addition, reduced demand for South African exports due to the European crisis and weakened global economy may limit any such recovery.</R>
Currency. Certain Middle Eastern and African countries have currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar or euro, rather than at levels determined by market forces. This type of currency regime may experience sudden and significant currency adjustments, which may adversely impact investment returns.
<R>Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities (normally, shares of underlying funds) are placed on behalf of the fund by Strategic Advisers, (either itself or through its affiliates), pursuant to authority contained in the management contract.</R>
Strategic Advisers may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
<R>The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in affiliated funds, but it may incur such costs when it invests in non-affiliated funds and if it invests directly in other types of securities, such as ETFs.</R>
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review Strategic Advisers' and its affiliates' performance of their respective responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Strategic Advisers, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Strategic Advisers or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.</R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Strategic Advisers or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services Strategic Advisers or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Strategic Advisers' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Strategic Advisers or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.</R>
Research Contracts. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Strategic Advisers or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) who have entered into arrangements with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
<R>Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), with whom they are under common control, provided Strategic Advisers or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade-execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.</R>
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Strategic Advisers to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
Commissions Paid
A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
<R>For the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 8% (annualized). Variations in turnover rate may be due to a fluctuating volume of shareholder purchase and redemption orders, market conditions, and/or changes in Strategic Advisers' investment outlook.</R>
<R>The following table shows the total amount of brokerage commissions paid by the fund, comprising commissions paid on securities and/or futures transactions, as applicable, for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013. The total amount of brokerage commissions paid is stated as a dollar amount and a percentage of the fund's average net assets.</R>
<R>Fiscal Year
|
|
Dollar
|
Percentage of
|
<R>2013 A |
|
$ 433 |
0.01%</R> |
<R> A Fund commenced operations May 2, 2012.</R>
<R>During the fiscal period May 2, 2012 to February 28, 2013, the fund paid no brokerage commissions to firms for providing research or brokerage services.</R>
<R>The class's NAV is the value of a single share. The NAV of the class is computed by adding the class's pro rata share of the value of the fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting the class's pro rata share of the fund's liabilities, subtracting the liabilities allocated to the class, and dividing the result by the number of shares of that class that are outstanding.</R>
The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for pricing, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers has established the Strategic Advisers Fair Value Committee (Strategic Advisers Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities. The Strategic Advisers Committee may rely on information and recommendations provided by affiliates of Strategic Advisers in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, including the fair valuation of securities.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs and closed-end funds) held by the fund are valued at their respective NAVs. If an underlying fund's NAV is unavailable, shares of that underlying fund will be fair valued in good faith by the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by the fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity non-money market fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities (including securities issued by ETFs and closed-end funds) are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
<R>Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques.</R>
Short-term securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less for which market quotations and information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates current value.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
<R>Prices described above are obtained from pricing services that have been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available and the funds may use more than one of these services. The funds may also discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time. Strategic Advisers engages in oversight activities with respect to the fund's pricing services, which includes, among other things, testing the prices provided by pricing services prior to calculation of a fund's NAV, conducting periodic due diligence meetings, and periodically reviewing the methodologies and inputs used by these services.</R>
<R>Foreign securities and instruments are valued in their local currency following the methodologies described above. Foreign securities, instruments and currencies are translated to U.S. dollars, based on foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by a pricing service as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which uses a proprietary model to determine the exchange rate. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at an interpolated rate based on days to maturity between the closest preceding and subsequent settlement period reported by the third party pricing service.</R>
The Board of Trustees of the underlying Fidelity funds has ultimate responsibility for pricing portfolio securities and assets held by those funds, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee and the Strategic Advisers Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and ADRs, market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. This technique involves initially valuing an instrument at its cost as adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount rather than its current market value. The amortized cost value of an instrument may be higher or lower than the price a money market fund would receive if it sold the instrument.
At such intervals as they deem appropriate, the Trustees of an underlying Fidelity money market fund consider the extent to which NAV calculated using market valuations would deviate from the $1.00 per share calculated using amortized cost valuation. If the Trustees believe that a deviation from a money market fund's amortized cost per share may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Trustees have agreed to take such corrective action, if any, as they deem appropriate to eliminate or reduce, to the extent reasonably practicable, the dilution or unfair results. Such corrective action could include selling portfolio instruments prior to maturity to realize capital gains or losses or to shorten average portfolio maturity; withholding dividends; redeeming shares in kind; establishing NAV by using available market quotations; and such other measures as the Trustees may deem appropriate.
<R> BUYING, SELLING, AND EXCHANGING INFORMATION </R>
<R>The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the class's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.</R>
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
<R> Dividends. Distributions by the fund to tax-advantaged retirement plan accounts are not taxable currently. For all other accounts, a portion of the fund's income may qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, but it is unlikely that all of the fund's income will qualify for the deduction. A portion of the fund's dividends, when distributed to individual shareholders, may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).</R>
Capital Gain Distributions. Unless your shares of the fund are held in a tax-advantaged retirement plan, the fund's long-term capital gain distributions, including amounts attributable to an underlying fund's long-term capital gain distributions, are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.
Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. As a general matter, if, at the close of its fiscal year, more than 50% of the fund's total assets is invested in securities of foreign issuers, the fund may elect to pass through eligible foreign taxes paid and thereby allow shareholders to take a deduction or, if they meet certain holding period requirements with respect to fund shares, a credit on their individual tax returns. In addition, if at the close of each quarter of its fiscal year at least 50% of the fund's total assets is represented by interests in other regulated investment companies, the same rules will apply to any foreign tax credits that underlying funds pass through to the fund. The amount of foreign taxes paid by the fund will be reduced to the extent that the fund lends securities over the dividend record date. Special rules may apply to the credit for individuals who receive dividends qualifying for the long-term capital gains tax rate.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
<R>The Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and executive officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. If the interests of the fund and an underlying Fidelity fund were to diverge, a conflict of interest could arise and affect how the Trustees and Member of the Advisory Board fulfill their fiduciary duties to the affected funds. Strategic Advisers has structured the fund to avoid these potential conflicts, although there may be situations where a conflict of interest is unavoidable. In such instances, Strategic Advisers, the Trustees, and Member of the Advisory Board would take reasonable steps to minimize and, if possible, eliminate the conflict. Except for Mary C. Farrell, each of the Trustees oversees 26 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. Ms. Farrell oversees 20 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.</R>
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. The executive officers and Advisory Board Member hold office without limit in time, except that any officer and Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
<R>Each Trustee who is not an interested person of the trust and the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) is referred to herein as an Independent Trustee.</R>
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Fund's Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also engage professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates with experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. Additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, may be considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. Roger T. Servison is an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) and currently serves as Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Ralph F. Cox serves as the lead Independent Trustee and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
Fidelity funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees asset allocation funds as well as the Fidelity enhanced index funds. Other boards oversee Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds and Fidelity's equity and high income funds. The fund may invest in Fidelity funds overseen by such other Boards. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues.
The Trustees primarily operate as a full Board, but also operate in committees, to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board has charged Strategic Advisers and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through Strategic Advisers, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. Board oversight of different aspects of the fund's activities is exercised primarily through the full Board, but also through the Audit and Compliance Committee. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees."
Interested Trustees *:
<R>Correspondence intended for each Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience + </R> |
|
<R>Roger T. Servison (1945)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Servison is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Servison serves as President of Strategic New Business Development for Fidelity Investments and serves as a Director of Strategic Advisers. Previously, Mr. Servison oversaw Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company (2005-2006) and Strategic Advisers (2005-2007). Mr. Servison also served as President and a Director of Fidelity Brokerage Services (Japan), LLC (1994-2004). |
<R>Derek L. Young (1964)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Mr. Young is Vice President of Fidelity's Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present), President and a Director of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2011-present), President of Fidelity Global Asset Allocation (GAA) (2011-present), and Vice Chairman of Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2011-present). Previously, Mr. Young served as Chief Investment Officer of GAA (2009-2011) and as a portfolio manager. |
* Trustees have been determined to be "Interested Trustees" by virtue of, among other things, their affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with Strategic Advisers.
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees :
Correspondence intended for each Independent Trustee (that is, the Trustees other than the Interested Trustees) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience + </R> |
|
<R>Peter C. Aldrich (1944)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Aldrich is a Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Director of the funds of BlackRock Realty Group (2006-present). Previously, Mr. Aldrich served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010), a Managing Member of Poseidon, LLC (foreign private investment, 1998-2004), and Chairman and Managing Member of AEGIS, LLC (foreign private investment, 1997-2004). Mr. Aldrich also served as Faculty Chairman of The Research Council on Global Investment of The Conference Board (business and professional education non-profit, 1999-2004). Mr. Aldrich is a Member of the Boards of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and an Overseer of the Longy School of Music. |
<R>Amy Butte Liebowitz (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011</R> Ms. Butte Liebowitz was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of TILE Financial (financial internet service, 2008-2012). Previously, Ms. Butte Liebowitz served as the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of MF Global (broker-dealer, 2006-2008), and Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange (2004-2006). Ms. Butte Liebowitz is a member of the Boards of Directors of Accion International and the New York Women's Forum, as well as an alumna of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader program. |
<R>Ralph F. Cox (1932)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Cox is President of RABAR Enterprises (management consulting for the petroleum industry). Mr. Cox is a Director of Abraxas Petroleum (exploration and production). Mr. Cox is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Business and Engineering Schools of Texas A&M University and the Engineering School of University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Mr. Cox served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010) and as an Advisory Director of CH2M Hill Companies (engineering, 1981-2011). Mr. Ralph F. Cox and Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. are not related. |
<R>Mary C. Farrell (1949)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2013</R> Ms. Farrell is a Director of the W.R. Berkley Corporation (insurance provider) and President (2009-present) and Director (2006-present) of the Howard Gilman Foundation (charitable organization). Previously, Ms. Farrell was Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at UBS Wealth Management USA and Co-Head of UBS Wealth Management Investment Strategy & Research Group (2003-2005). Ms. Farrell also served as Investment Strategist at PaineWebber (1982-2000) and UBS PaineWebber (2000-2002). Ms. Farrell also serves as Trustee on the Board of Overseers of the New York University Stern School of Business, the Board of Trustees of Yale-New Haven Hospital and is a member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II. |
<R>Karen Kaplan (1960)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Ms. Kaplan is President of Hill Holliday (advertising and specialized marketing, 2007-present). Ms. Kaplan is a Director of DSM (dba Delta Dental and DentaQuest) (2004-present), Director of Vera Bradley (2012-present), Member of the Board of Governors of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston (2010-present), Member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference for Women (2008-present), Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (2006-present), Board of Directors of Jobs for Massachusetts (2012-present), National Association of Corporate Directors Chapter (2012-present), and Board of Directors of the Post Office Square Trust (2012-present). She is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, an action oriented community of the most effective CEOs, heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, and non-governmental leaders in the world. Previously, Ms. Kaplan served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010), President of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2008-2010), Treasurer of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2002-2006), Vice Chair of the Board of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2003-2010), Director of United Way of Massachusetts Bay (2004-2006), Director of ADVO (direct mail marketing, 2003-2007), and Director of Tweeter Home Entertainment Group (2006-2007). |
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Member and Executive Officers :
<R>Correspondence intended for each executive officer and Howard E. Cox, Jr. may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupation </R> |
|
<R>Howard E. Cox, Jr. (1944)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II. Mr. Cox is a Member of the Advisory Board of Devonshire Investors (2009-present). Mr. Cox serves as an Advisory Partner of Greylock (venture capital) and a Director of Stryker Corporation (medical products and services). Previously, Mr. Cox served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010) and a Member of the Secretary of Defense's Business Board of Directors (2008-2010). Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. and Mr. Ralph F. Cox are not related. |
<R>Kenneth B. Robins (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 President and Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Robins also serves as President and Treasurer of other Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds (2008-present) and Assistant Treasurer of other Fidelity Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present). Mr. Robins is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Robins served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2005-2008) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2006-2008). |
<R>Marc Bryant (1966)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of the fund. Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Fidelity Investments. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Mr. Bryant served as a Senior Vice President and the Head of Global Retail Legal for AllianceBernstein L.P. (2006-2010), and as the General Counsel for ProFund Advisors LLC (2001-2006). |
<R>Elizabeth Paige Baumann (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer of the fund. Ms. Baumann also serves as AML Officer of the Fidelity funds (2012-present) and The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2012-present), Chief AML Officer of FMR LLC (2012-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Baumann served as Vice President and Deputy Anti-Money Laundering Officer (2007-2012). |
<R>Nicholas E. Steck (1964)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the fund. Mr. Steck serves as Senior Vice President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. During the period 2002 to 2009, Mr. Steck served as a Compliance Officer of FMR, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc., FMR LLC, Fidelity Research & Analysis (U.K.) Inc., Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. |
<R>Laura M. Doherty (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Compliance Officer of the fund. Ms. Doherty also serves as Senior Vice President of the Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Doherty served as a Vice President in Fidelity's Corporate Audit department (1998-2008). |
<R>Adrien E. Deberghes (1967)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011</R> Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Deberghes also serves as Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) and Deputy Treasurer (2008-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Deberghes served as Senior Vice President of Mutual Fund Administration at State Street Corporation (2007-2008), Senior Director of Mutual Fund Administration at Investors Bank & Trust (2005-2007), and Director of Finance for Dunkin' Brands (2000-2005). |
<R>Stephanie J. Dorsey (1969)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Ms. Dorsey also serves as President and Treasurer (2013-present) and Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Dorsey served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2008-2013), Treasurer (2004-2008) of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds and Vice President (2004-2008) of JPMorgan Chase Bank. |
<R>Jonathan Davis (1968)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Davis is also Assistant Treasurer of certain Fidelity funds. Mr. Davis is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2003-2010). |
<R>Margaret A. Carey (1973)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009</R> Assistant Secretary of the fund. Ms. Carey also serves as Assistant Secretary of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present), Vice President, Associate General Counsel (2007-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). |
Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established two committees to supplement the work of the Board as a whole. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
<R>The Audit and Compliance Committee is composed of Ms. Butte Liebowitz (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, Mr. Ralph Cox, and Mses. Farrell and Kaplan. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The committee determines whether at least one member of the committee is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined in rules promulgated by the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The committee normally meets in conjunction with in person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee meets separately periodically with the fund's Treasurer, the fund's Chief Financial Officer, the fund's CCO, personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and the fund's outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the fund for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the fund and the fund's service providers, (ii) the financial reporting processes of the fund, (iii) the independence, objectivity and qualification of the auditors to the fund, (iv) the annual audits of the fund's financial statements, and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the fund. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations (Auditor Independence Regulations) of the SEC. In furtherance of the foregoing, the committee has adopted (and may from time to time amend or supplement) and provides oversight of policies and procedures for non-audit engagements by outside auditors of the fund. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the fund and for resolving disagreements between the fund and any outside auditor regarding the fund's financial reporting, and has sole authority to hire and fire any auditor. Auditors of the fund report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the fund and any service providers consistent with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Ethics and Independence Rule 3526, Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence. The committee will discuss with the outside auditors any such disclosed relationships and their impact on the auditor's independence and objectivity. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the Auditor Independence Regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the fund's service providers' internal controls and reviews with management, internal auditors, and outside auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of the fund's and service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the fund's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the fund's or service provider's internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will review with counsel any legal matters that may have a material impact on the fund's financial statements and any material reports or inquiries received from regulators or governmental agencies. The committee reviews at least annually a report from the outside auditor describing (i) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control review, peer review, or PCAOB examination of the auditing firm and (ii) any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm since the most recent report and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the fund's financial reporting process and will receive reports from an outside auditor relating to (i) critical accounting policies and practices used by the fund, (ii) alternative accounting treatments that the auditor has discussed with Strategic Advisers, and (iii) other material written communications between the auditor and Strategic Advisers (as determined by the auditor). The committee will discuss with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the fund. The committee will review with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC (to the extent relevant) the results of audits of the fund's financial statements. The committee will review periodically the fund's major internal controls exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. The committee also oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the fund and its service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee of the Board of Trustees or reserved to the Board itself. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the fund. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO and, if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports on significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the fund's compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1 and quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of Mr. Ralph Cox (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, and Mses. Butte Liebowitz, Farrell, and Kaplan. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the code of ethics and any supplemental policies regarding personal securities transactions applicable to the Independent Trustees. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the fund's or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the fund's expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the fund, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012 (or as of March 31, 2013 for Ms. Farrell, Trustee as of March 5, 2013).</R>
Interested Trustees |
||
<R>
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Roger T. Servison |
DerekL. Young </R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds |
none |
none </R> |
<R>
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
none |
none </R> |
<R></R>
<R>Independent Trustees</R> |
|||||
<R>
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Peter C. Aldrich |
Mary C. Farrell |
Amy Butte Liebowitz |
Ralph F. Cox |
Karen Kaplan </R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds |
none |
none |
none |
none |
none </R> |
<R>
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
over $100,000 |
none |
none |
over $100,000 |
none </R> |
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board for his or her services for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, or calendar year ended December 31, 2012, as applicable.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Compensation Table 1 </R> |
||||||
<R>
AGGREGATE
|
Peter C.
|
Mary C.
|
Amy
|
Ralph F.
|
Karen
|
</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds + |
$ 20 |
$ 0 |
$ 20 |
$ 20 |
$ 20 |
</R> |
<R>
TOTAL COMPENSATION
|
$ 137,500 |
$ 0 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
</R> |
<R> 1 Roger T. Servison, Howard E. Cox, Jr., and Derek L. Young are interested persons and are compensated by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate (including FMR).</R>
<R> 2 Effective March 5, 2013, Ms. Farrell serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II.</R>
+ Estimated for the fund's first full year.
<R> A Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, for 26 funds of two trusts.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and officers of the fund owned, in the aggregate, less than 1% of the fund's total outstanding shares.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the following owned of record and/or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding shares of a class:</R>
<R> Class Name |
Owner Name |
City |
State |
Ownership % </R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds* |
FIMM LLC |
Boston |
MA |
90.40%</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds: Class F |
FIMM LLC |
Boston |
MA |
66.62%</R> |
<R>* The ownership information shown above is for a class of shares of the fund.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, approximately 89.88% of the fund's total outstanding shares was held of record and/or beneficially by FIMM LLC, Boston, MA.</R>
<R>A shareholder owning of record or beneficially more than 25% of a fund's outstanding shares may be considered a controlling person. That shareholder's vote could have a more significant effect on matters presented at a shareholders' meeting than votes of other shareholders.</R>
CONTROL OF INVESTMENT ADVISERS
<R>FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of Strategic Advisers and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis). The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Abigail P. Johnson family, directly or through trusts, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.</R>
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
<R>Acadian Asset Management LLC (Acadian), a registered investment adviser. Acadian is a subsidiary of Old Mutual Asset Managers (US) LLC (OMAM), which is an indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary of Old Mutual plc, a London-based financial services firm. Old Mutual Asset Managers (US) LLC owns 100% of the Class A (voting) interest of Acadian. Ownership of the Class B interest, which provides financial participation in the profitability of the firm, is divided, with just over 71% owned by Old Mutual and the remainder owned by an Acadian Key Employee Limited Partnership (Acadian KELP) comprised of approximately 50 senior staff.</R>
Pyramis is a registered investment adviser. FMR LLC is the ultimate parent company of Pyramis. Information regarding the ownership of FMR LLC is disclosed above.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Acadian, Pyramis (the Investment Advisers), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and the fund have adopted codes of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that set forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establish procedures for personal investing, and restrict certain transactions. Employees subject to the codes of ethics, including the Investment Advisers' investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.</R>
The fund has entered into a management contract with Strategic Advisers, pursuant to which Strategic Advisers furnishes investment advisory and other services.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
<R>Strategic Advisers has retained Acadian and Pyramis to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. The sub-advisers do not sponsor the fund.</R>
Management and Sub-Advisory Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, Strategic Advisers acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, directs the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. Strategic Advisers is authorized, in its discretion, to allocate the fund's assets pursuant to its investment strategy. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates provide the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensate all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of Strategic Advisers, and compensate all personnel of the fund or Strategic Advisers performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
<R> Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to Strategic Advisers and the fees payable to the transfer agent and pricing and bookkeeping agent, the fund or each class thereof, as applicable, pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by those parties. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders; however, under the terms of the fund's transfer agent agreement, the transfer agent bears these costs. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.</R>
Management Fees. For the services of Strategic Advisers under the management contract, the fund pays Strategic Advisers a monthly management fee calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers, if any, based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets; provided, however, that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.25% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.30% of the average daily net assets of the fund until April 30, 2014. The fee waiver by Strategic Advisers will increase the fund's returns.</R>
<R>The following table shows the amount of management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers for the last fiscal year and the amount of waivers reducing management fees for the fund.</R>
<R> Fund |
Fiscal Year
|
Amount of
|
Management Fees
|
<R>Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds |
2013 A |
$ 20,502 |
$ 0</R> |
<R> A Fund commenced operations on May 2, 2012.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of a class's operating expenses. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.</R>
<R>Expense reimbursements by Strategic Advisers will increase the class's returns, and repayment of the reimbursement by the class will decrease its returns.</R>
<R> Sub-Adviser - Acadian. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Acadian pursuant to which Acadian may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Acadian fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Acadian pursuant to a separately negotiated investment mandate (a "Strategy"). The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Acadian under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Acadian pursuant to that Strategy.</R>
<R>Acadian has not currently been allocated a portion of the fund's assets to manage.</R>
Sub-Adviser - Pyramis. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Pyramis pursuant to which Pyramis may provide investment advisory services for the fund.
<R>Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Pyramis fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Pyramis pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Pyramis under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Pyramis pursuant to that Strategy.</R>
Pyramis has not currently been allocated a portion of the fund's assets to manage.
Wilfred Chilangwa is an employee of Strategic Advisers, a subsidiary of FMR LLC and an affiliate of FMR. Strategic Advisers is the adviser to the fund.
<R>Mr. Chilangwa is the portfolio manager of the fund and receives compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Strategic Advisers or at the election of the portfolio manager. </R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of a broad range of Strategic Advisers funds and accounts, including the fund. Accounts may include model portfolios designed for asset allocation, retirement planning, or tax-sensitive goals. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s), and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with the portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and peer group. A subjective component of the bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Strategic Advisers. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of his fund is based on the fund's pre-tax investment performance measured against the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund (based on the performance of the fund's retail class) within the Morningstar ® Diversified Emerging Markets Category. The portfolio manager may be compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Strategic Advisers' parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.</R>
<R></R>
<R>The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Chilangwa as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
5 |
184 |
none</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 16,438 |
$ 16,673 |
none</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds ($9 (in millions) assets managed). The amount of assets managed of the fund reflects trades and other assets as of the close of the business day prior to the fund's fiscal year-end.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds beneficially owned by Mr. Chilangwa was $10,001 - $50,000.</R>
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of the fund, after consultation with Strategic Advisers. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Strategic Advisers and its affiliates and by the Independent Trustees of the fund, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. The funds in the trust generally intend to vote shares of underlying funds using echo voting procedures (that is, in the same proportion as the holders of all other shares of the particular underlying fund).
B. Any proposals not covered by paragraph A above or other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate Strategic Advisers analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review and approval by the General Counsel or Compliance Officer of FMR or the General Counsel of FMR LLC.
<R>To view a fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, visit www.fidelity.com/proxyvotingresults or visit the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.</R>
<R>For purposes of the following "Distribution Services" discussion, the term "shares" (as it relates to the fund) means the one class of shares of the fund offered through the prospectus to which this SAI relates.</R>
<R>The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. The principal business address of FDC is 100 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by Strategic Advisers.</R>
<R>The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan with respect to shares of the fund (the Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a mutual fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows shares of the fund and Strategic Advisers to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.</R>
Under the Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to Strategic Advisers is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Plan. The Plan specifically recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Plan provides that Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers or FDC), that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
<R>Prior to approving the Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Plan will benefit the fund or class, as applicable, and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Plan does not authorize payments by shares of the fund other than those made to Strategic Advisers under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Plan gives Strategic Advisers and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of shares of the fund, additional sales of shares of the fund or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.</R>
FDC or an affiliate may compensate, or upon direction make payments for certain retirement plan expenses to, intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (including affiliates of FDC). A number of factors are considered in determining whether to pay these additional amounts. Such factors may include, without limitation, the level or type of services provided by the intermediary, the level or expected level of assets or sales of shares, and other factors. In addition to such payments, FDC or an affiliate may offer other incentives such as sponsorship of educational or client seminars relating to current products and issues, payments or reimbursements for travel and related expenses associated with due diligence trips that an intermediary may undertake in order to explore possible business relationships with affiliates of FDC, and/or payments of costs and expenses associated with attendance at seminars, including travel, lodging, entertainment, and meals. Certain of the payments described above may be significant to an intermediary. As permitted by SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rules and other applicable laws and regulations, FDC or an affiliate may pay or allow other incentives or payments to intermediaries.
The fund's transfer agent or an affiliate may also make payments and reimbursements from its own resources to certain intermediaries (who may be affiliated with the transfer agent) for performing recordkeeping and other services. Please see "Transfer and Service Agent Agreements" in this SAI for more information.
Any of the payments described in this section may represent a premium over payments made by other fund families. Retirement plan sponsors may take these payments into account when deciding whether to include a fund as a plan investment option.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
<R>For purposes of the following "Transfer and Service Agent Agreements" discussion, the term "shares" (as it relates to the fund) means the one class of shares of the fund offered through the prospectus to which this SAI relates.</R>
<R>The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (FIIOC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers, which is located at 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services for shares of the fund.</R>
For providing transfer agency services, FIIOC receives an account fee and an asset-based fee with respect to assets managed by one or more sub-advisers and assets invested in non-affiliated ETFs. For retail accounts, these fees are based on fund type. For certain institutional accounts, these fees are based on size of position and fund type. For institutional retirement accounts, these fees are based on account type and fund type. The account fee is billed monthly on a pro rata basis at one-twelfth of the applicable annual rate as of the end of each calendar month. The asset-based fee is calculated and paid monthly on the basis of average daily net assets. For assets invested in underlying Fidelity funds, each underlying Fidelity fund pays its respective transfer agent (either FIIOC or an affiliate of FIIOC) fees based, in part, on the number of positions in and assets of the fund invested in such underlying Fidelity fund.
FIIOC also may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
FIIOC or an affiliate may make payments out of its own resources to intermediaries (including affiliates of FIIOC) for recordkeeping services. Payments may also be made, upon direction, for other plan expenses. FIIOC may also pay an affiliate for providing services that otherwise would have been performed by FIIOC.
<R>The fund has entered into a service agent agreement with Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers (or an agent, including an affiliate). Under the terms of the agreement, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for shares of the fund and maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records.</R>
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
The annual rates for pricing and bookkeeping services for the fund are 0.0104% of the first $500 million of average net assets, 0.0062% of average net assets between $500 million and $3.5 billion, 0.0041% of average net assets between $3.5 billion and $25 billion, and 0.0019% of average net assets in excess of $25 billion, plus a 20% surcharge.
<R>Pricing and bookkeeping fees paid by the fund to FSC for the past fiscal year are shown in the following table.</R>
<R> Fund |
2013 *</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds |
$ 849</R> |
<R>* From May 2, 2012.</R>
<R> Trust Organization. Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds is a fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, an open-end management investment company created under an initial trust instrument dated March 8, 2006. Currently, there are 20 funds offered in the trust: Strategic Advisers Core Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.</R>
<R>The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund, except that liabilities and expenses may be allocated to a particular class. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds or classes.</R>
Shareholder Liability. The trust is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that, except to the extent otherwise provided in the Trust Instrument, shareholders shall be entitled to the same limitations of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit organized under the general corporation law of Delaware. The courts of some states, however, may decline to apply Delaware law on this point. The Trust Instrument contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust. The Trust Instrument provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Trust Instrument further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
<R>The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of each fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Trust Instrument also provides that each fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which Delaware law does not apply, no contractual limitation of liability was in effect, and a fund is unable to meet its obligations. Strategic Advisers believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is extremely remote. Claims asserted against one class of shares may subject holders of another class of shares to certain liabilities.</R>
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. As a shareholder, you are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value you own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
<R></R>
The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodians. State Street Bank and Trust Company, 1776 Heritage Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as special purpose custodians of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions.
Strategic Advisers, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Member of the Advisory Board, and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by Strategic Advisers. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of Strategic Advisers, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 125 High Street, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit, tax, and related services.
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized Strategic Advisers, in consultation with FMR, to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
Other registered investment companies that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers may be subject to different portfolio holdings disclosure policies, and neither Strategic Advisers nor the Board exercises control over such policies or disclosure. In addition, separate account clients of Strategic Advisers have access to their portfolio holdings and are not subject to the fund's portfolio holdings disclosure policies. Some of the funds that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers and some of the separate accounts managed by Strategic Advisers have investment objectives and strategies that are substantially similar or identical to the fund's and, therefore, potentially substantially similar, and in certain cases nearly identical, portfolio holdings as the fund.
The fund will provide a full list of holdings monthly on www.fidelity.com 30 days after the month-end (excluding high income security holdings, which generally will be presented collectively monthly and included in a list of full holdings 60 days after its fiscal quarter-end).
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations.
<R> The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the activities associated with managing Fidelity funds to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons Strategic Advisers believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include, but are not limited to: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics (including portfolio managers of affiliated funds of funds); contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.</R>
<R> Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, (ii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iii) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. Strategic Advisers relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.</R>
<R>At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day) and DocuLynx Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day).</R>
Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, Strategic Advisers desired to make such an arrangement, it would seek prior Board approval and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
<R>The fund's financial statements and financial highlights for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013, and report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the fund's annual report and are incorporated herein by reference. Total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table may differ from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the financial highlights because total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table include any acquired fund fees and expenses, whereas the ratios of expenses in the financial highlights do not, except to the extent any acquired fund fees and expenses relate to an entity, such as a wholly-owned subsidiary, with which a fund's financial statements are consolidated. Acquired funds include other investment companies in which the fund has invested, if and to the extent it is permitted to do so. Total annual operating expenses in the prospectus fee table and the financial highlights do not include any expenses associated with investments in certain structured or synthetic products that may rely on the exception from the definition of "investment company" provided by section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
Strategic Advisers ® Emerging Markets Fund of Funds
Class F (FSWPX)
A Fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R>This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. Portions of the fund's annual report are incorporated herein. The annual report is supplied with this SAI.</R>
<R>To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated April 29, 2013, or an annual report, please call Fidelity at 1-800-835-5095 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.401k.com.</R>
<R>RMF-F-PTB-0413
1.951482.102</R>
<R>
</R>
|
PAGE |
Investment Policies and Limitations |
|
Special Geographic Considerations |
|
Portfolio Transactions |
|
Valuation |
|
Buying and Selling Information |
|
Distributions and Taxes |
|
<R>Trustees and Officers |
|
Control of Investment Advisers |
|
<R>Management Contract |
|
<R>Proxy Voting Guidelines |
|
Distribution Services |
|
<R>Transfer and Service Agent Agreements |
|
<R>Description of the Trust |
|
<R>Fund Holdings Information |
|
<R>Financial Statements |
|
<R>Appendix |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not with respect to 75% of the fund's total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except in connection with the insurance program established by the fund pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission or as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry (provided that investments in other investment companies shall not be considered an investment in any particular industry for purposes of this investment limitation).
For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities, Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) looks through to the U.S. Government securities.
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, and provided that transactions in futures contracts and options are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 15% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
To the extent that the fund acquires the shares of an underlying fund in accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, the underlying fund is not obligated to redeem its shares in an amount exceeding 1% of its shares outstanding during any period of less than 30 days. Those underlying fund shares will not be treated as illiquid securities for purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation described above to the extent that the fund is able to dispose of such securities by distributing them in kind to redeeming shareholders. (See "Securities of Other Investment Companies" on page (Click Here).)
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to lend assets other than securities to other parties, except by (a) lending money (up to 15% of the fund's net assets) to a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) assuming any unfunded commitments in connection with the acquisition of loans, loan participations, or other forms of debt instruments. (This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities, to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.)
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
For the fund's limitations on futures and options transactions, see the section entitled "Futures, Options, and Swaps" on page (Click Here).
Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitations, the underlying funds in which the fund may invest have adopted certain investment limitations that may be more or less restrictive than those listed above, thereby permitting the fund to engage indirectly in investment strategies that are prohibited under the investment limitations listed above. The investment limitations of each underlying fund are set forth in its registration statement.
In accordance with its investment program as set forth in the prospectus, the fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in any one underlying Fidelity fund. Although the fund does not intend to concentrate its investments in a particular industry, the fund may indirectly concentrate in a particular industry or group of industries through its investments in one or more underlying funds.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
Strategic Advisers ® Emerging Markets Fund of Funds may have exposure to instruments, techniques, and risks either directly or indirectly through an investment in an underlying fund. An underlying fund may invest in the same or other types of instruments and its adviser may employ the same or other types of techniques. Strategic Advisers ® Emerging Markets Fund of Funds' performance will be affected by the instruments, techniques, and risks associated with an underlying fund, in proportion to the amount of assets that the fund allocates to that underlying fund.
<R>On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "a fund" or "the fund" may relate to Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds or an underlying fund, and references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to Strategic Advisers (or its affiliates) or an adviser of an underlying fund.</R>
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of short-term bond or money market funds, including (for Fidelity funds and other advisory clients only) shares of Fidelity central funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.
<R> Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Notice of Exclusion. The trust, on behalf of the Fidelity fund to which this SAI relates, has filed with the National Futures Association a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the CFTC promulgated thereunder, with respect to the fund's operation. Accordingly, neither the fund nor its adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or a CPO. However, the CFTC has adopted certain rule amendments that significantly affect the continued availability of this exclusion, and may subject advisers to funds to regulation by the CFTC. As of the date of this SAI, the adviser does not expect to register as a CPO of the fund. However, there is no certainty that a fund or its adviser will be able to rely on an exclusion in the future as the fund's investments change over time. A fund may determine not to use investment strategies that trigger additional CFTC regulation or may determine to operate subject to CFTC regulation, if applicable. If a fund or its adviser operates subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.</R>
Common Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock, although related proceedings can take time to resolve and results can be unpredictable.
Convertible Securities are bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption or conversion, the fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
<R> Countries and Markets Considered Emerging. For purposes of a Fidelity fund's 80% investment policy relating to emerging markets, emerging markets include countries that have an emerging stock market as defined by MSCI ® , countries or markets with low- to middle-income economies as classified by the World Bank, and other countries or markets with similar emerging characteristics. For example, as of February 28, 2013, countries in the MSCI ® Emerging Markets Index, Greece, Hong Kong, Israel, and Singapore are considered to be emerging.</R>
Country or Geographic Region. Various factors may be considered in determining whether an investment is tied economically to a particular country or region, including: whether the investment is issued or guaranteed by a particular government or any of its agencies, political subdivisions, or instrumentalities; whether the investment has its primary trading market in a particular country or region; whether the issuer is organized under the laws of, derives at least 50% of its revenues from, or has at least 50% of its assets in a particular country or region; whether the investment is included in an index representative of a particular country or region; and whether the investment is exposed to the economic fortunes and risks of a particular country or region.
Debt Securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay interest but are sold at a deep discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, and mortgage and other asset-backed securities.
<R> Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments. An ETF may seek to replicate the performance of a specified index or may be actively managed.</R>
Typically, ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks (typically, 50,000 shares) often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.
Some of the risks of investing in an ETF that tracks an index are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their intraday indicative value. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater.
Exposure to Foreign and Emerging Markets. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Foreign investments involve risks relating to local political, economic, regulatory, or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments, and may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Such actions may include expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. Additionally, governmental issuers of foreign debt securities may be unwilling to pay interest and repay principal when due and may require that the conditions for payment be renegotiated. There is no assurance that a fund's adviser will be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies and of dividends and interest paid with respect to such securities will fluctuate based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar. From time to time, a fund may invest a large portion of its assets in the securities of issuers located in a single country or a limited number of countries. If a fund invests in this manner, there is a higher risk that social, political, economic, tax (such as a tax on foreign investments), or regulatory developments in those countries may have a significant impact on the fund's investment performance.
It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for foreign securities will be on an exchange or in over-the-counter (OTC) markets located outside of the United States. Foreign stock markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign security trading, settlement and custodial practices (including those involving securities settlement where fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment) are often less developed than those in U.S. markets, and may result in increased investment or valuation risk or substantial delays in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of, or breach of duty by, a foreign broker-dealer, securities depository, or foreign subcustodian. In addition, the costs associated with foreign investments, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions, and custodial costs, are generally higher than with U.S. investments.
Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors than U.S. markets. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Adequate public information on foreign issuers may not be available, and it may be difficult to secure dividends and information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. OTC markets tend to be less regulated than stock exchange markets and, in certain countries, may be totally unregulated. Regulatory enforcement may be influenced by economic or political concerns, and investors may have difficulty enforcing their legal rights in foreign countries.
Some foreign securities impose restrictions on transfer within the United States or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than foreign securities of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks include foreign exchange risk as well as the political and economic risks of the underlying issuer's country.
The risks of foreign investing may be magnified for investments in emerging markets. Security prices in emerging markets can be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
Foreign Currency Transactions. A fund may conduct foreign currency transactions on a spot ( i.e., cash) or forward basis ( i.e., by entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies). Although foreign exchange dealers generally do not charge a fee for such conversions, they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the counterparty desire to resell that currency to the dealer. Forward contracts are customized transactions that require a specific amount of a currency to be delivered at a specific exchange rate on a specific date or range of dates in the future. Forward contracts are generally traded in an interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The parties to a forward contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated currency exchange.
The following discussion summarizes the principal currency management strategies involving forward contracts that could be used by a fund. A fund may also use swap agreements, indexed securities, and options and futures contracts relating to foreign currencies for the same purposes. Forward contracts not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying currency. All of these instruments and transactions are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default.
A "settlement hedge" or "transaction hedge" is designed to protect a fund against an adverse change in foreign currency values between the date a security denominated in a foreign currency is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in an underlying security transaction for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars "locks in" the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used to protect a fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected.
A fund may also use forward contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in a foreign currency. For example, if a fund owned securities denominated in pounds sterling, it could enter into a forward contract to sell pounds sterling in return for U.S. dollars to hedge against possible declines in the pound's value. Such a hedge, sometimes referred to as a "position hedge," would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. A fund could also attempt to hedge the position by selling another currency expected to perform similarly to the pound sterling. This type of hedge, sometimes referred to as a "proxy hedge," could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield, or efficiency, but generally would not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a direct hedge into U.S. dollars. Proxy hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated.
A fund may enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a "cross-hedge," will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if a fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. A fund may cross-hedge its U.S. dollar exposure in order to achieve a representative weighted mix of the major currencies in its benchmark index and/or to cover an underweight country or region exposure in its portfolio. Cross-hedges protect against losses resulting from a decline in the hedged currency, but will cause a fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases.
Successful use of currency management strategies will depend on an adviser's skill in analyzing currency values. Currency management strategies may substantially change a fund's investment exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and could result in losses to a fund if currencies do not perform as an adviser anticipates. For example, if a currency's value rose at a time when a fund had hedged its position by selling that currency in exchange for dollars, the fund would not participate in the currency's appreciation. If a fund hedges currency exposure through proxy hedges, the fund could realize currency losses from both the hedge and the security position if the two currencies do not move in tandem. Similarly, if a fund increases its exposure to a foreign currency and that currency's value declines, the fund will realize a loss. Foreign currency transactions involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that a fund's hedging strategies will be ineffective. Moreover, it is impossible to precisely forecast the market value of portfolio securities at the expiration of a foreign currency forward contract. Accordingly, a fund may be required to buy or sell additional currency on the spot market (and bear the expenses of such transaction), if an adviser's predictions regarding the movement of foreign currency or securities markets prove inaccurate.
A fund may be required to limit its hedging transactions in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options in order to maintain its classification as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Hedging transactions could result in the application of the mark-to-market provisions of the Code, which may cause an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a fund and could affect whether dividends paid by a fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. A fund will cover its exposure to foreign currency transactions with liquid assets in compliance with applicable requirements. There is no assurance that an adviser's use of currency management strategies will be advantageous to a fund or that it will employ currency management strategies at appropriate times.
Options and Futures Relating to Foreign Currencies. Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges (and have margin requirements) and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The underlying instrument of a currency option may be a foreign currency, which generally is purchased or delivered in exchange for U.S. dollars, or may be a futures contract. The purchaser of a currency call obtains the right to purchase the underlying currency, and the purchaser of a currency put obtains the right to sell the underlying currency.
The uses and risks of currency options and futures are similar to options and futures relating to securities or indexes, as discussed below. A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and may purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. Currency options may also be purchased or written in conjunction with each other or with currency futures or forward contracts. Currency futures and options values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates, but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated security from a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of a fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the fund's investments exactly over time.
Currency options traded on U.S. or other exchanges may be subject to position limits which may limit the ability of the fund to reduce foreign currency risk using such options.
Foreign Repurchase Agreements. Foreign repurchase agreements involve an agreement to purchase a foreign security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price in either U.S. dollars or foreign currency. Unlike typical U.S. repurchase agreements, foreign repurchase agreements may not be fully collateralized at all times. The value of a security purchased by a fund may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to repurchase the security. In the event of default by the counterparty, a fund may suffer a loss if the value of the security purchased is less than the agreed-upon repurchase price, or if the fund is unable to successfully assert a claim to the collateral under foreign laws. As a result, foreign repurchase agreements may involve higher credit risks than repurchase agreements in U.S. markets, as well as risks associated with currency fluctuations. In addition, as with other emerging market investments, repurchase agreements with counterparties located in emerging markets or relating to emerging markets may involve issuers or counterparties with lower credit ratings than typical U.S. repurchase agreements.
Fund's Rights as an Investor. Fidelity funds do not intend to direct or administer the day-to-day operations of any company. A fund may, however, exercise its rights as a shareholder or lender and may communicate its views on important matters of policy to a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders, and holders of a company's other securities when such matters could have a significant effect on the value of the fund's investment in the company. The activities in which a fund may engage, either individually or in conjunction with others, may include, among others, supporting or opposing proposed changes in a company's corporate structure or business activities; seeking changes in a company's directors or management; seeking changes in a company's direction or policies; seeking the sale or reorganization of the company or a portion of its assets; supporting or opposing third-party takeover efforts; supporting the filing of a bankruptcy petition; or foreclosing on collateral securing a security. This area of corporate activity is increasingly prone to litigation and it is possible that a fund could be involved in lawsuits related to such activities. Such activities will be monitored with a view to mitigating, to the extent possible, the risk of litigation against a fund and the risk of actual liability if a fund is involved in litigation. No guarantee can be made, however, that litigation against a fund will not be undertaken or liabilities incurred. The fund's proxy voting guidelines are included in this SAI.
Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. If a fund invests a significant portion of its assets in derivatives, its investment exposure could far exceed the value of its portfolio securities and its investment performance could be primarily dependent upon securities it does not own.
Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.
The limitations on the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps, and the fund's policies regarding futures contracts, options, and swaps may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts.
Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts and the price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities or baskets of securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indexes (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indexes of securities prices (including foreign indexes for funds that seek foreign exposure). Futures on indexes and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out by offsetting purchases or sales of futures contracts before then if a liquid market is available. A fund may realize a gain or loss by closing out its futures contracts.
The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the underlying instrument. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.
The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by a fund, but is instead a settlement between a fund and the FCM of the amount one would owe the other if the fund's contract expired. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is also required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.
Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement, and margin procedures that are different from those for U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may not involve a clearing mechanism or related guarantees and may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to a fund. Because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuation.
There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.
If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
Futures contracts on U.S. Government securities historically have reacted to an increase or decrease in interest rates in a manner similar to the manner in which the underlying U.S. Government securities reacted. To the extent, however, that a fund enters into such futures contracts, the value of these futures contracts will not vary in direct proportion to the value of the fund's holdings of U.S. Government securities. Thus, the anticipated spread between the price of the futures contract and the hedged security may be distorted due to differences in the nature of the markets. The spread also may be distorted by differences in initial and variation margin requirements, the liquidity of such markets and the participation of speculators in such markets.
Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, baskets of assets or securities, indexes of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). Options may be traded on an exchange or OTC. The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. Depending on the terms of the contract, upon exercise, an option may require physical delivery of the underlying instrument or may be settled through cash payments. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right (but not the obligation) to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer should mitigate the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.
Where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price to close out the put or call option on the secondary market may move more or less than the price of the related security.
There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for exchange-traded options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps (swaptions), which are generally options on interest rate swaps. An option on a swap gives a party the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, a fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes (sells) an option on a swap than it will incur when it purchases an option on a swap. When a fund purchases an option on a swap, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when a fund writes an option on a swap, upon exercise of the option the fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement. A fund that writes an option on a swap receives the premium and bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the preset rate on the underlying interest rate swap. Whether a fund's use of options on swaps will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend on the adviser's ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Options on swaps may involve risks similar to those discussed below in "Swap Agreements."
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
Swap Agreements. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term. Most swap agreements are currently traded over-the-counter. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange one or more payments based, for example, on the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, indexes, or other financial or economic interests). The gross payments to be exchanged between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness.
A fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. In order to cover its outstanding obligations to a swap counterparty, a fund would generally be required to provide margin or collateral for the benefit of that counterparty. If a counterparty to a swap transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited temporarily or permanently in exercising its right to the return of related fund assets designated as margin or collateral in an action against the counterparty.
Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that an adviser will not accurately forecast market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other economic factors in establishing swap positions for a fund. If an adviser attempts to use a swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, a fund may be exposed to the risk that the swap will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment, which could cause substantial losses for a fund. While hedging strategies involving swap instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Swaps are complex and often valued subjectively.
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Illiquid Securities cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity fund's adviser determines the liquidity of the fund's investments and, through reports from the fund's adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid securities.
Various factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments, including (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
Increasing Government Debt. The total public debt of the United States and other countries around the globe as a percent of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented.
A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt cost higher and cause a country to sell additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In the worst case, unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns.
On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States one level to "AA+" from "AAA." While Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the United States' short-term sovereign credit rating as "A-1+," there is no guarantee that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services will not decide to lower this rating in the future. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services stated that its decision was prompted by its view on the rising public debt burden and its perception of greater policymaking uncertainty. The market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government may be adversely affected by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services decisions to downgrade the long-term sovereign credit rating of the United States.
Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indexes, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.
Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indexes. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.
Indexed securities may have principal payments as well as coupon payments that depend on the performance of one or more interest rates. Their coupon rates or principal payments may change by several percentage points for every 1% interest rate change.
Mortgage-indexed securities, for example, could be structured to replicate the performance of mortgage securities and the characteristics of direct ownership.
Inflation-protected securities, for example, can be indexed to a measure of inflation, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Commodity-indexed securities, for example, can be indexed to a commodities index such as the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return SM .
Gold-indexed securities typically provide for a maturity value that depends on the price of gold, resulting in a security whose price tends to rise and fall together with gold prices.
Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Insolvency of Issuers, Counterparties, and Intermediaries. Issuers of fund portfolio securities or counterparties to fund transactions that become insolvent or declare bankruptcy can pose special investment risks. In each circumstance, risk of loss, valuation uncertainty, increased illiquidity, and other unpredictable occurrences may negatively impact an investment. Each of these risks may be amplified in foreign markets, where security trading, settlement, and custodial practices can be less developed than those in the U.S. markets, and bankruptcy laws differ from those of the U.S.
As a general matter, if the issuer of a fund portfolio security is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock have priority over the claims of common stock owners. These events can negatively impact the value of the issuer's securities and the results of related proceedings can be unpredictable.
If a counterparty to a fund transaction, such as a swap transaction, a short sale, a borrowing, or other complex transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise rights to obtain the return of related fund assets or in exercising other rights against the counterparty. In addition, insolvency and liquidation proceedings take time to resolve, which can limit or preclude a fund's ability to terminate a transaction or obtain related assets or collateral in a timely fashion. Uncertainty may also arise upon the insolvency of a securities or commodities intermediary such as a broker-dealer or futures commission merchant with which a fund has pending transactions. If an intermediary becomes insolvent, while securities positions and other holdings may be protected by U.S. or foreign laws, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these protections are available to specific trades based on the circumstances. Receiving the benefit of these protections can also take time to resolve, which may result in illiquid positions.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a Fidelity fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) or its affiliates. A Fidelity fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. A Fidelity fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
Investments by Funds of Funds or Other Large Shareholders. Certain funds and accounts that are managed by FMR or its affiliates (including funds of funds) invest in other funds and may at times have substantial investments in one or more other funds.
A fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by funds of funds, other large shareholders, or similarly managed accounts. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a fund's portfolio. In addition, when funds of funds or other investors own a substantial portion of a fund's shares, a large redemption by such an investor could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a fund of funds or other significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the fund's shares.
When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful. A high volume of redemption requests can impact a fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments.
Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. Direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve a risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a fund supply additional cash to a borrower on demand. A fund may acquire loans by buying an assignment of all or a portion of the loan from a lender or by purchasing a loan participation from a lender or other purchaser of a participation.
Lenders and purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of foreign countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.
Direct lending and investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the lender/purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary.
A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest.
Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate lenders/purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a lender/purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
For a Fidelity fund that limits the amount of total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry, the fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require a fund, in appropriate circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for these purposes. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
Because the risk of default is higher for lower-quality debt securities, research and credit analysis are an especially important part of managing securities of this type. Such analysis may focus on relative values based on factors such as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earnings prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer, in an attempt to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved, or is expected to improve in the future.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Precious Metals. Precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, at times have been subject to substantial price fluctuations over short periods of time and may be affected by unpredictable monetary and political policies such as currency devaluations or revaluations, economic and social conditions within a country, trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries. The prices of gold and other precious metals, however, are less subject to local and company-specific factors than securities of individual companies. As a result, precious metals may be more or less volatile in price than securities of companies engaged in precious metals-related businesses. Investments in precious metals can present concerns such as delivery, storage and maintenance, possible illiquidity, and the unavailability of accurate market valuations. Although precious metals can be purchased in any form, including bullion and coins, a Fidelity fund intends to purchase only those forms of precious metals that are readily marketable and that can be stored in accordance with custody regulations applicable to mutual funds. A fund may incur higher custody and transaction costs for precious metals than for securities. Also, precious metals investments do not pay income.
For a fund to qualify as a regulated investment company under current federal tax law, gains from selling precious metals may not exceed 10% of the fund's gross income for its taxable year. This tax requirement could cause a fund to hold or sell precious metals or securities when it would not otherwise do so.
Preferred Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Equity real estate investment trusts own real estate properties, while mortgage real estate investment trusts make construction, development, and long-term mortgage loans. Their value may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property of the trusts, the creditworthiness of the issuer, property taxes, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements, such as those relating to the environment. Both types of trusts are dependent upon management skill, are not diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers, self-liquidation, and the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
Reforms and Government Intervention in the Financial Markets. Economic downturns can trigger various economic, legal, budgetary, tax, and regulatory reforms across the globe. Instability in the financial markets in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn led the U.S. Government and other governments to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility, and in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Reforms are ongoing and their effects are uncertain. Federal, state, local, foreign, and other governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which a fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Reforms may also change the way in which a fund is regulated and could limit or preclude a fund's ability to achieve its investment objective or engage in certain strategies. Also, while reforms generally are intended to strengthen markets, systems, and public finances, they could affect fund expenses and the value of fund investments.
The value of a fund's holdings is also generally subject to the risk of future local, national, or global economic disturbances based on unknown weaknesses in the markets in which a fund invests. In the event of such a disturbance, the issuers of securities held by a fund may experience significant declines in the value of their assets and even cease operations, or may receive government assistance accompanied by increased restrictions on their business operations or other government intervention. In addition, it is not certain that the U.S. Government or foreign governments will intervene in response to a future market disturbance and the effect of any such future intervention cannot be predicted.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its right to liquidate assets related to a repurchase agreement with an insolvent counterparty. A Fidelity fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities Lending. Securities lending allows a fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The fund seeks to maintain the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased.
Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies (which include business development companies (BDCs)), unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. For certain investment companies, such as BDCs, these expenses may be significant. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.
The securities of closed-end funds may be leveraged. As a result, a fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. An investment in securities of closed-end funds that use leverage may expose a fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the fund's long-term returns on such securities will be diminished.
The extent to which a fund can invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws.
Short Sales. Short sales involve the market sale of a security a fund has borrowed from a prime broker with which it has a contractual relationship, with the expectation that the security will underperform either the market or the securities that the fund holds long. A fund closes a short sale by purchasing the same security at the current market price and delivering it to the prime broker.
Until a fund closes out a short position, the fund is obligated to pay the prime broker (from which it borrowed the security sold short) interest as well as any dividends that accrue during the period of the loan. While a short position is outstanding, a fund must also pledge a portion of its assets to the prime broker as collateral for the borrowed security. The collateral will be marked to market daily.
Short positions create a risk that a fund will be required to cover them by buying the security at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the fund. A short position in a security poses more risk than holding the same security long. Because a short position loses value as the security's price increases, the loss on a short sale is theoretically unlimited. The loss on a long position is limited to what a fund originally paid for the security together with any transaction costs. A fund may not always be able to borrow a security the fund seeks to sell short at a particular time or at an acceptable price. As a result, a fund may be unable to fully implement its investment strategy due to a lack of available stocks or for other reasons. It is possible that the market value of the securities a fund holds in long positions will decline at the same time that the market value of the securities the fund has sold short increases, thereby increasing the fund's potential volatility. Because a fund may be required to pay dividends, interest, premiums and other expenses in connection with a short sale, any benefit for the fund resulting from the short sale will be decreased, and the amount of any ultimate gain will be decreased or of any loss will be increased, by the amount of such expenses.
A fund may also enter into short sales against the box. Short sales "against the box" are short sales of securities that a fund owns or has the right to obtain (equivalent in kind or amount to the securities sold short). If a fund enters into a short sale against the box, it will be required to set aside securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short (or securities convertible or exchangeable into such securities) and will be required to hold such securities while the short sale is outstanding. A fund will incur transaction costs, including interest expenses, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales against the box.
Sources of Liquidity or Credit Support. Issuers may employ various forms of credit and liquidity enhancements, including letters of credit, guarantees, swaps, puts, and demand features, and insurance provided by domestic or foreign entities such as banks and other financial institutions. An adviser and its affiliates may rely on their evaluation of the credit of the issuer or the credit of the liquidity or credit enhancement provider in determining whether to purchase or hold a security supported by such enhancement. In evaluating the credit of a foreign bank or other foreign entities, factors considered may include whether adequate public information about the entity is available and whether the entity may be subject to unfavorable political or economic developments, currency controls, or other government restrictions that might affect its ability to honor its commitment. Changes in the credit quality of the issuer and/or entity providing the enhancement could affect the value of the security or a fund's share price.
Sovereign Debt Obligations are issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies, including debt of Latin American nations or other developing countries. Sovereign debt may be in the form of conventional securities or other types of debt instruments such as loans or loan participations. Sovereign debt of developing countries may involve a high degree of risk, and may be in default or present the risk of default. Governmental entities responsible for repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal and pay interest when due, and may require renegotiation or rescheduling of debt payments. In addition, prospects for repayment of principal and payment of interest may depend on political as well as economic factors. Although some sovereign debt, such as Brady Bonds, is collateralized by U.S. Government securities, repayment of principal and payment of interest is not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument ( e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
<R> Temporary Defensive Policies. </R>
<R> In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, a fund may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If a fund does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds reserves the right to invest without limitation in preferred stocks and investment-grade debt instruments for temporary, defensive purposes.
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments which entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss.
Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
SPECIAL GEOGRAPHIC CONSIDERATIONS
Emerging Markets. Investing in companies domiciled in emerging market countries may be subject to potentially higher risks than investments in developed countries. These risks include: (i) less social, political, and economic stability; (ii) greater illiquidity and price volatility due to smaller or limited local capital markets for such securities, or low or non-existent trading volumes; (iii) foreign exchanges and broker-dealers may be subject to less scrutiny and regulation by local authorities; (iv) local governments may decide to seize or confiscate securities held by foreign investors and/or local governments may decide to suspend or limit an issuer's ability to make dividend or interest payments; (v) local governments may limit or entirely restrict repatriation of invested capital, profits, and dividends; (vi) capital gains may be subject to local taxation, including on a retroactive basis; (vii) issuers facing restrictions on dollar or euro payments imposed by local governments may attempt to make dividend or interest payments to foreign investors in the local currency; (viii) investors may experience difficulty in enforcing legal claims related to the securities and/or local judges may favor the interests of the issuer over those of foreign investors; (ix) bankruptcy judgments may only be permitted to be paid in the local currency; (x) limited public information regarding the issuer may result in greater difficulty in determining market valuations of the securities, and (xi) infrequent financial reporting, substandard disclosure, and differences in accounting standards may make it difficult to ascertain the financial health of an issuer. In addition, unlike developed countries, many emerging countries' economic growth highly depends on exports and inflows of external capital, making them more vulnerable to the downturns of the world economy. The recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for their exports and tightened international credit supplies and, as a result, many emerging countries faced significant economic difficulties and some countries fell into recession.
Many emerging market countries suffer from uncertainty and corruption in their legal frameworks. Legislation may be difficult to interpret and laws may be too new to provide any precedential value. Laws regarding foreign investment and private property may be weak or non-existent. Sudden changes in governments may result in policies that are less favorable to investors such as policies designed to expropriate or nationalize "sovereign" assets. Certain emerging market countries in the past have expropriated large amounts of private property, in many cases with little or no compensation, and there can be no assurance that such expropriation will not occur in the future.
Many emerging market countries in which a fund may invest lack the social, political, and economic stability characteristic of the U.S. Political instability among emerging market countries can be common and may be caused by an uneven distribution of wealth, social unrest, labor strikes, civil wars, and religious oppression. Economic instability in emerging market countries may take the form of: (i) high interest rates; (ii) high levels of inflation, including hyperinflation; (iii) high levels of unemployment or underemployment; (iv) changes in government economic and tax policies, including confiscatory taxation (or taxes on foreign investments); and (v) imposition of trade barriers.
Currencies of emerging market countries are subject to significantly greater risks than currencies of developed countries. Some emerging market currencies may not be internationally traded or may be subject to strict controls by local governments, resulting in undervalued or overvalued currencies. Some emerging market countries have experienced balance of payment deficits and shortages in foreign exchange reserves. As a result, some governments have responded by restricting currency conversions. Future restrictive exchange controls could prevent or restrict a company's ability to make dividend or interest payments in the original currency of the obligation (usually U.S. dollars). In addition, even though the currencies of some emerging market countries may be convertible into U.S. dollars, the conversion rates may be artificial to their actual market values.
Governments of many emerging market countries have become overly reliant on the international capital markets and other forms of foreign credit to finance large public spending programs which cause huge budget deficits. Often, interest payments have become too overwhelming for these governments to meet, as these payments may represent a large percentage of a country's total GDP. Accordingly, these foreign obligations have become the subject of political debate and served as fuel for political parties of the opposition, which pressure governments not to make payments to foreign creditors, but instead to use these funds for social programs. Either due to an inability to pay or submission to political pressure, the governments have been forced to seek a restructuring of their loan and/or bond obligations, have declared a temporary suspension of interest payments, or have defaulted on their outstanding debt obligations. These events have adversely affected the values of securities issued by the governments and corporations domiciled in these emerging market countries and have negatively affected not only their cost of borrowing, but their ability to borrow in the future as well.
In addition to their over-reliance on international capital markets, many emerging economies are also highly dependent on international trade and exports, including exports of oil and other commodities. As a result, these economies are particularly vulnerable to downturns of the world economy. The recent global financial crisis tightened international credit supplies and weakened global demand for their exports and, as a result, certain of these economies faced significant difficulties and some economies fell into recession. Although certain economies in emerging market countries have recently shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. The reduced demand for exports and lack of available capital for investment resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy may limit recovery by emerging market countries.
Canada.
Political. Canada's parliamentary system of government is, in general, stable. Quebec does have a "separatist" opposition party whose objective is to achieve sovereignty and increased self-governing legal and financial powers for the province. To date, referendums on Quebec sovereignty have been defeated. If a referendum about the independence of Quebec were successful, the Canadian federal government may be obliged to negotiate with Quebec.
Economic. Canada is a major producer of commodities such as forest products, metals, agricultural products, and energy related products like oil, gas, and hydroelectricity. Accordingly, changes in the supply and demand of base commodity resources and industrial and precious metals and materials, both domestically and internationally, can have a significant effect on Canadian market performance.
The U.S. is Canada's largest trading partner and developments in economic policy and U.S. market conditions have a significant impact on the Canadian economy. The expanding economic and financial integration of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico through the North American Free Trade Agreement may make the Canadian economy and securities market more sensitive to North American trade patterns. However, growth in developing countries overseas, particularly China, may change the composition of Canada's trade and foreign investment composition in the near future.
In recent years, economic growth slowed down in certain sectors of the Canadian economy. The Canadian economy suffered from a recession due, in part, to the recent global financial crisis. The weaker economy resulted in lower tax collections and increased support being provided to Canadians through government programs, which increased the Canadian budget deficit. While the Canadian economy has shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. Growth forecasts remain modest due to ongoing fiscal consolidation, the effects of the economic slowdown in the U.S., and weakened demand for Canadian exports and investment as a result of the European crisis. Furthermore, the strength of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar may negatively affect Canada's ability to export, which could limit Canada's economic recovery.
Europe. The European Union (EU) is an intergovernmental and supranational union of most Western European countries and a growing number of Eastern European countries, each known as a member state. One of the key activities of the EU is the establishment and administration of a common single market, consisting of, among other things, a common trade policy. In order to pursue this goal, member states established, among other things, the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), which sets out different stages and commitments that member states need to follow to achieve greater economic policy coordination and monetary cooperation, including the adoption of a single currency, the euro. While all EU member states participate in the economic union, only certain EU member states have adopted the euro as their currency. When a member state adopts the euro as its currency, the member state no longer controls its own monetary policies. Instead, the authority to direct monetary policy is exercised by the European Central Bank.
While economic and monetary convergence in the EU may offer new opportunities for those investing in the region, investors should be aware that the success of the EU is not wholly assured. European countries can be significantly affected by the tight fiscal and monetary controls that the EMU imposes on its members or with which candidates for EMU membership are required to comply. Europe must grapple with a number of challenges, any one of which could threaten the survival of this monumental undertaking. The countries adopting the euro must adjust to a unified monetary system, the absence of exchange rate flexibility, and the loss of economic sovereignty. Europe's economies are diverse, its governments are decentralized, and its cultures differ widely. Unemployment in some European countries has historically been higher than in the U.S. and could pose political risk. Many EU nations are susceptible to high economic risks associated with high levels of debt, notably due to investments in sovereign debts of European countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the Republic of Ireland. One or more member states might exit the EU, placing its currency and banking system in jeopardy. The EU currently faces major issues involving its membership, structure, procedures and policies; including the adoption, abandonment or adjustment of the new constitutional treaty, the EU's enlargement to the south and east, and resolution of the EU's problematic fiscal and democratic accountability. Efforts of the member states to continue to unify their economic and monetary policies may increase the potential for similarities in the movements of European markets and reduce the benefit of diversification within the region.
Political. The EU has been extending its influence to the east. It has accepted several Eastern European countries as new members, and has plans to accept several more in the medium-term. It is hoped that membership for these states will help cement economic and political stability in the region. For these countries, membership serves as a strong political impetus to employ tight fiscal and monetary policies. Nevertheless, new member states that were former Soviet satellites remain burdened to various extents by the inherited inefficiencies of centrally planned economies similar to what existed under the former Soviet Union. Further expansion of the EU has long-term economic benefits, but certain European countries are not viewed as currently suitable for membership, especially the troubled economies of countries further east. Also, as the EU continues to enlarge, the candidate countries' accessions may grow more controversial. Some member states may repudiate certain candidate countries joining the EU upon concerns about the possible economic, immigration, and cultural implications that may result from such enlargement. The current and future status of the EU therefore continues to be the subject of political controversy, with widely differing views both within and between member states. Also, Russia may be opposed to the expansion of the EU to members of the former Soviet bloc and may, at times, take actions that could negatively impact EU economic activity.
It is possible that the gap between rich and poor within the EU's member countries, and particularly among new members that have not met the requirements for joining the EMU may increase, and that realigning traditional alliances could alter trading relationships and potentially provoke divisive socioeconomic splits.
In the transition to the single economic system, significant political decisions will be made that may affect the market regulation, subsidization, and privatization across all industries, from agricultural products to telecommunications.
Economic. As economic conditions across member states may vary widely, there is continued concern about national-level support for the euro and the accompanying coordination of fiscal and wage policy among EMU member countries. Member countries must maintain tight control over inflation, public debt, and budget deficits in order to qualify for participation in the euro. These requirements severely limit EMU member countries' ability to implement monetary policy to address regional economic conditions.
The recent global financial crisis brought several small economies in Europe to the brink of bankruptcy and many other economies into recession and weakened the banking and financial sectors of many European countries. As a result, the governments of many European countries are now facing a serious economic crisis as high levels of public debt and substantial budget deficits hinder economic growth in the region and threaten the continued viability of the EMU. Due to these large public deficits, some European issuers have had difficulty accessing capital and may be dependent on emergency assistance from European governments and institutions to avoid defaulting on their outstanding debt obligations. The availability of such assistance, however, may be contingent on an issuer's implementation of certain reforms or reaching a required level of performance, which may increase the possibility of default. Such prospects have injected significant volatility into European markets, which may reduce the liquidity or value of a fund's investments in the region. Likewise, the high levels of public debt raise the possibility that certain European issuers may be forced to restructure their debt obligations, which could cause a fund to lose the value of its investments in any such issuer.
As European policy makers take unprecedented steps to respond to the ongoing economic crisis in the region, there is an increased risk that regulatory uncertainty could have a negative effect on the value of a fund's investments in the region. For example, the French parliament recently adopted a financial transactions tax that imposes a tax on, among other transactions, acquisitions of equities in listed companies that have their registered offices in France and that exceed a specified market capitalization. The European Commission has proposed plans for an EU-wide financial transactions tax to take effect in 2014, although it remains unclear whether such a tax will be agreed upon by EU member countries. Moreover, governments across the EMU are facing increasing opposition to certain crisis response measures. For example, efforts to reduce public spending in certain countries have been countered by large-scale protests. As a result, many governments in the region have collapsed or been voted out of office. Leaders in some of these countries have openly questioned the sustainability of the EMU, which raises the risk that certain member states will abandon the euro or that the euro may cease to exist as a single currency in its current form. Any such occurrence would likely have wide-ranging effects on global markets that are difficult to predict. However, these effects would likely have a negative impact on a fund's investments in the region.
Furthermore, the ongoing economic crisis has limited the prospect of short-term growth and economic recovery in the region, which raises the risk that Europe will fall into another recession. Economic challenges facing the region include high levels of public debt, significant rates of unemployment, aging populations, over-regulation of non-financial businesses, persistent trade deficits, rigid labor markets, and inability to access credit. Although certain of these challenges may weigh more heavily on some European economies than others, the economic integration of the region increases the likelihood that recession in one country may spread to others. Should Europe fall into another recession, the value of a fund's investments in the region may be affected.
Currency. Investing in euro-denominated (or other European currencies-denominated) securities entails risk of being exposed to a currency that may not fully reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the disparate European economies. In addition, many European countries rely heavily upon export-dependent businesses and any strength in the exchange rate between the euro and the U.S. dollar can have either a positive or a negative effect upon corporate profits and the performance of EU investments. Currencies have become more volatile, subjecting a fund's foreign investments to additional risks.
Nordic Countries. The Nordic countries relate to European integration in different ways. Norway and Iceland are outside the EU, although they are members of the European Economic Area. Denmark, Finland, and Sweden are all EU members, but only Finland has adopted the euro as its currency. Faced with stronger global competition, the Nordic countries - Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden - have had to scale down their historically generous welfare programs, resulting in drops in domestic demand and increased unemployment. Major industries in the region, such as forestry, agriculture, and oil, are heavily resource-dependent and face pressure as a result of high labor costs. Economic growth in many Nordic countries continues to be constrained by tight labor markets and adverse European and global economic conditions. Although certain Nordic countries have recently exhibited signs of economic growth, any such growth may be limited by the European crisis and the weakened global economy.
Eastern Europe. Investing in the securities of Eastern European issuers is highly speculative and involves risks not usually associated with investing in the more developed markets of Western Europe. Political and economic reforms are too recent to establish a definite trend away from centrally planned economies and state-owned industries. Investments in Eastern European countries may involve risks of nationalization, expropriation, and confiscatory taxation.
Many Eastern European countries continue to move towards market economies at different paces with appropriately different characteristics. Most Eastern European markets suffer from thin trading activity, dubious investor protections, and often a dearth of reliable corporate information. Information and transaction costs, differential taxes, and sometimes political or transfer risk give a comparative advantage to the domestic investor rather than the foreign investor. In addition, these markets are particularly sensitive to social, political, economic, and currency events in Western Europe and Russia and may suffer heavy losses as a result of their trading and investment links to these economies and currencies. Additionally, Russia may attempt to assert its influence in the region through economic or even military measures, as it did with Georgia in the summer of 2008.
In some of the countries of Eastern Europe, there is no stock exchange or formal market for securities. Such countries may also have government exchange controls, currencies with no recognizable market value relative to the established currencies of Western market economies, little or no experience in trading in securities, no accounting or financial reporting standards, a lack of banking and securities infrastructure to handle such trading and a legal tradition that does not recognize rights in private property. Credit and debt issues and other economic difficulties affecting Western Europe and its financial institutions can negatively affect Eastern European countries.
Eastern European economies may also be particularly susceptible to the international credit market due to their reliance on bank related inflows of foreign capital. The recent global financial crisis restricted international credit supplies and several Eastern European economies faced significant credit and economic crises. Although some Eastern European economies are expanding again, major challenges are still present as a result of their continued dependence on the Western European zone for credit and trade. Accordingly, the European crisis may present serious risks for Eastern European economies, which may have a negative effect on a fund's investments in the region.
Japan. Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, emphasis on education, and a comparatively small defense allocation have helped Japan advance with extraordinary speed to become one of the largest economic powers along with the U.S. and the EU. Despite its impressive history, investors face special risks when investing in Japan.
Economic. For three decades from the 1960s through the 1980s, Japan's overall real economic growth had been spectacular. However, growth slowed markedly in the 1990s and Japan's economy fell into a long recession. After a few years of mild recovery in the mid-2000s, the Japanese economy fell into another recession as a result of the recent global financial crisis.
While Japan experienced an increase in exports relative to recent years, the rate of export growth has since slowed and the rapid appreciation in the value of the yen has negatively impacted Japan's exports. This economic recession was likely compounded by Japan's massive government debt, the aging and shrinking of the population, an unstable financial sector, low domestic consumption, and certain corporate structural weaknesses, which remain some of the major long-term problems of the Japanese economy.
Overseas trade is important to Japan's economy and Japan's economic growth is significantly driven by its exports. Japan has few natural resources and must export to pay for its imports of these basic requirements. Meanwhile, Japan's aging and shrinking population increases the cost of the country's pension and public welfare system and lowers domestic demand, making Japan more dependent on exports to sustain its economy. Therefore, any developments that negatively affect Japan's exports could present risks to a fund's investments in Japan. For example, domestic or foreign trade sanctions or other protectionist measures could harm Japan's economy. Likewise, any escalation of tensions with China or South Korea over disputed territorial claims may adversely impact Japan's trading relationship with two of its largest trading partners. Furthermore, reduced demand for Japan's exports resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy could present additional risks to a fund's investments in Japan.
Japan's recovery from the recession has been affected by economic distress resulting from the earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck northeastern Japan in March 2011 causing major damage along the coast, including damage to nuclear power plants in the region. Following the earthquake, Japan's financial markets fluctuated dramatically. The government injected capital into the economy and proposed plans for massive spending on reconstruction efforts in disaster-affected areas in order to stimulate economic growth. The full extent of the natural disaster's impact on Japan's economy and foreign investment in Japan is difficult to estimate. The risks of natural disasters of varying degrees, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, and the resulting damage, continue to exist.
A pressing need to sustain Japan's economic recovery and improve its economic growth is the task of overhauling the nation's financial institutions. Banks, in particular, may have to reform themselves to become more competitive. Successful financial sector reform would contribute to Japan's economic recovery at home and would benefit other economies in Asia. Internal conflict over the proper way to reform the banking system continues to exist. Currently, Japanese banks are facing difficulties generating profits. Currency fluctuations may also significantly affect Japan's economy.
Asia Pacific Region (ex Japan). Many countries in the region have historically faced political uncertainty, corruption, military intervention, and social unrest. Examples include military threats on the Korean peninsula and along the Taiwan Strait, the ethnic, sectarian, and separatist violence found in Indonesia, and the nuclear arms threats between India and Pakistan. To the extent that such events continue in the future, they can be expected to have a negative effect on economic and securities market conditions in the region. In addition, the Asia Pacific geographic region has historically been prone to natural disasters. The occurrence of a natural disaster in the region could negatively impact the economy of any country in the region.
Economic. The economies of many countries in the region are heavily dependent on international trade and are accordingly affected by protective trade barriers and the economic conditions of their trading partners, principally, the U.S., Japan, China, and the European Union. The countries in this region are also heavily dependent on exports and are thus particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. High food, fuel and other commodities' prices, as well as volatile capital inflows, may pose challenges to countries in this region in the near future. The recent global financial crisis spread to the region, significantly lowering its exports and foreign investments in the region, which are driving forces of its economic growth. In addition, the economic crisis also significantly affected consumer confidence and local stock markets. Although the economies of many countries in the region have recently shown signs of recovery from the crisis, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. Furthermore, any such recovery may be limited or hindered by the reduced demand for exports and lack of available capital for investment resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy.
The Republic of Korea (South Korea). Investors should be aware that investing in South Korea involves risks not typically associated with investing in the U.S. securities markets. Although relations between North Korea and South Korea had begun to improve in the past few years, recent developments are troubling. As a result, these relations still remain tense and the possibility of military action between the two countries still exists.
Corporate and financial sector restructuring initiated by the Korean government, in conjunction with the IMF, after the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis can be expected to continue, but its full impact cannot be predicted yet. The Korean economy's reliance on international trade makes it highly sensitive to fluctuations in international commodity prices, currency exchange rates and government regulation, and vulnerable to downturns of the world economy. For example, the recent global financial crisis led to large capital outflows from South Korea, which caused the deterioration of the country's currency, domestic asset markets, and credit conditions. The South Korean economy began showing signs of recovery from this downturn in 2009. Although South Korea's initial recovery was faster than many other developed nations, South Korea's growth has since slowed and any continued recovery may be gradual as the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for South Korean exports. The South Korean economy's long-term challenges include a rapidly aging population, inflexible labor market, and overdependence on exports to drive economic growth.
China Region. As with all transition economies, China's ability to develop and sustain a credible legal, regulatory, monetary, and socioeconomic system could influence the course of outside investment. Hong Kong is closely tied to China, economically and through China's 1997 acquisition of the country as a Special Autonomous Region (SAR).
Hong Kong's success depends, in large part, on its ability to retain the legal, financial, and monetary systems that it currently has in place, which allows economic freedom and market expansion. Although many Taiwanese companies heavily invest in China, a state of hostility continues to exist between China and Taiwan, which Beijing has long deemed a part of China and has made a nationalist cause of recovering it. Taiwan's political stability and ability to sustain its economic growth could be significantly affected by its political and economic relationship with China.
The recent global financial crisis caused a marked slowdown in economic growth in the region, leading local governments, especially the Chinese government, to take unprecedented steps to shore up economic growth and prevent widespread unemployment. Although China has experienced economic growth in recent years, recent economic data shows that growth is slowing. Demand for Chinese exports by Western countries, including the U.S. and Europe, may weaken due to the effects of relatively limited economic growth in those countries resulting from the financial crisis in the United States and the crisis in Europe. However, the Chinese government continues to maintain certain of these measures and may introduce more in the future, including measures intended to increase growth and to contain social unrest, which is an increasing risk.
In addition to the risks inherent in investing in the emerging markets, the risks of investing in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan merit special consideration.
People's Republic of China. The government of the People's Republic of China is dominated by the one-party rule of the Chinese Communist Party.
China's economy has transitioned from a rigidly central-planned state-run economy to one that has been only partially reformed by more market-oriented policies. Although the Chinese government has implemented economic reform measures, reduced state ownership of companies and established better corporate governance practices, a substantial portion of productive assets in China are still owned by the Chinese government. The government continues to exercise significant control over regulating industrial development and, ultimately, control over China's economic growth through the allocation of resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies.
At times, China's economy has been subject to the risks of overheating, which leads to the government's attempt to slow down the pace of growth through administrative measures. The recent global financial crisis, however, changed this course for some time, as China's economic growth slowed, due, in part, to weakened demand for its exports and reduced foreign investments in the country. The Chinese economy then showed strong signs of recovery from this slowed growth, but a recovery of China's trading partners may also be necessary to sustain China's continued growth and measures to control growth may be adopted again. In the short term, China's economy faces problems of inflation and local government debt, which swelled in recent years as a result of certain economic stimulus policies. Furthermore, the economy faces the prospect of prolonged weakness in demand for Chinese exports as its major trading partners, such as the United States, Japan, and Europe, continue to experience economic uncertainty stemming from the global financial crisis and European crisis, among other things. Over the long term, China's aging infrastructure, worsening environmental conditions and rapidly widening urban and rural income gap, which all carry political and economic implications, are among the country's major challenges. In addition, tensions resulting from China's territorial claims in the region may present risks to diplomatic and trade relations with certain of China's regional trade partners. Any escalation of these tensions could further reduce international demand for Chinese goods and services, which could have a negative effect on a fund's investments in the securities of Chinese issuers.
As with all transition economies, China's ability to develop and sustain a credible legal, regulatory, monetary, and socioeconomic system could influence the course of outside investment. The Chinese legal system, in particular, constitutes a significant risk factor for investors. The Chinese legal system is based on statutes. Since the late 1970s, Chinese legislative bodies have promulgated laws and regulations dealing with various economic matters such as foreign investment, corporate organization and governance, commerce, taxation, and trade. However, these laws are relatively new and published court decisions based on these laws are limited and non-binding. The interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations are uncertain.
China continues to limit direct foreign investments generally in industries deemed important to national interests. Foreign investment in domestic securities are also subject to substantial restrictions. Some believe that China's currency is undervalued. Currency fluctuations could significantly affect China and its trading partners. China continues to exercise control over the value of its currency, rather than allowing the value of the currency to be determined by market forces. This type of currency regime may experience sudden and significant currency adjustments, which may adversely impact investment returns.
Hong Kong. In 1997, Great Britain handed over control of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China. Since that time, Hong Kong has been governed by a semi-constitution known as the Basic Law, which guarantees a high degree of autonomy in certain matters until 2047, while defense and foreign affairs are the responsibility of the central government in Beijing. The chief executive of Hong Kong is appointed by the Chinese government. However, Hong Kong is able to participate in international organizations and agreements and it continues to function as an international financial center, with no exchange controls, free convertibility of the Hong Kong dollar and free inward and outward movement of capital. The Basic Law also guarantees existing freedoms, including the freedom of speech, assembly, press, and religion, as well as the right to strike and travel. Business ownership, private property, the right of inheritance and foreign investment are also protected by law. By treaty, China has committed to preserve Hong Kong's autonomy until 2047. Nevertheless, if China were to exert its authority so as to alter the economic, political, or legal structures or the existing social policy of Hong Kong, investor and business confidence in Hong Kong could be negatively affected, which in turn could negatively affect markets and business performance.
The global financial crisis forced Hong Kong's economy into a recession. Recently, however, Hong Kong's economy has shown signs of recovery from this recession. This recovery can be attributed, in large part, to the combined efforts of both China and Hong Kong to shore up domestic economic growth. As these measures continue to take effect, their long-term impact on the growth of Hong Kong's economy is unpredictable. However, Hong Kong's recovery has raised concerns about possible overheating in certain sectors of its economy, such as its real estate market, which could limit Hong Kong's future growth. In addition, because of Hong Kong's heavy reliance on international trade and global financial markets, Hong Kong remains exposed to significant risks as a result of the European crisis and weakened global economy. The negative effects of the European downturn on the global economy could push Hong Kong into another recession. Likewise, due to Hong Kong's close political and economic ties with China, any economic stagnation on the mainland could have a negative impact on Hong Kong's economy.
Taiwan. For decades, a state of hostility has existed between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China. Beijing has long deemed Taiwan a part of the "one China" and has made a nationalist cause of recovering it. In the past, China has staged frequent military provocations off the coast of Taiwan and made threats of full-scale military action. Foreign trade has been the engine of rapid growth in Taiwan and has transformed the island into one of Asia's great exporting nations. As an export-oriented economy, Taiwan depends on an open world trade regime and remains vulnerable to downturns in the world economy. Taiwanese companies continue to compete mostly on price, producing generic products or branded merchandise on behalf of multinational companies. Accordingly, these businesses can be particularly vulnerable to currency volatility and increasing competition from neighboring lower-cost countries. Moreover, many Taiwanese companies are heavily invested in mainland China and other countries throughout Southeast Asia, making them susceptible to political events and economic crises in these parts of the region. Significantly, Taiwan and China recently entered into agreements covering banking, securities, and insurance. Closer economic links with the mainland may bring greater opportunities for the Taiwanese economy, but also poses new challenges. For example, foreign direct investment in China has resulted in Chinese import substitution away from Taiwan's exports and a restriction of potential job creation in Taiwan. As a result of the recent global financial crisis, the demand for exports decreased and Taiwan entered into a recession. Although Taiwan's economy has recently shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. In addition, the effects of the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for Taiwan's exports, which could force its economy into another recession.
India. The value of a fund's investments in Indian securities may be affected by, among other things, political developments, rapid changes in government regulation, state intervention in private enterprise, nationalization or expropriation of foreign assets, legal uncertainty, high rates of inflation or interest rates, currency volatility, and civil unrest. In addition, any escalation of tensions with Pakistan may have a negative impact on a fund's investments in India. Likewise, political, social and economic disruptions caused by domestic sectarian violence or terrorist attacks may also present risks to a fund's investments in India.
The Indian economy is heavily dependent on exports and is vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. Recently, the Indian economy began showing signs of recovery from the effects of the global financial crisis. However, this recovery may be limited by the European crisis and weakened global economy. In the event that India's economic recovery slows, a fund's investments in Indian securities may be harmed.
Furthermore, restrictions or controls applicable to foreign investment in the securities of issuers in India may also adversely affect a fund's investments within the country. The availability of financial instruments with exposure to Indian financial markets may be substantially limited by restrictions on foreign investors. Foreign investors are required to observe certain investment restrictions, including limits on shareholdings, which may impede a fund's ability to invest in certain issuers or to fully pursue its investment objective. These restrictions may also have the effect of reducing demand for, or limiting the liquidity of, such investments. There can be no assurance that the Indian government will not impose restrictions on foreign capital remittances abroad or otherwise modify the exchange control regime applicable to foreign investors in such a way that may adversely affect the ability of a fund to repatriate their income and capital.
Shares of many Indian issuers are held by a limited number of persons and financial institutions, which may limit the number of shares available for investment. In addition, further issuances of securities by Indian issuers in which a fund has invested could dilute the investments of existing shareholders and could adversely affect the market price of such securities. Sales of securities by such issuer's major shareholders may also significantly and adversely affect other shareholders. Moreover, a limited number of issuers represent a disproportionately large percentage of market capitalization and trading value in India.
Indonesia. Indonesia has restored financial stability and pursued sober fiscal policies since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, but many economic development problems remain, including high unemployment, a fragile banking sector, endemic corruption, inadequate infrastructure, a poor investment climate, inflationary pressures and unequal resource distribution among regions. These problems may limit the country's ability to contain the severe and negative impact of the recent global financial crisis on its economy. In addition, Indonesia continues to be at risk of ethnic, sectarian, and separatist violence. Furthermore, slow budgetary disbursements have created challenges for government programs related to infrastructure, secondary education, and certain social policies. Rises in global commodity prices may also present risks to Indonesia's growth potential. Keys to future growth remain internal reform, peaceful resolution of internal conflicts, bolstering the confidence of international and domestic investors, and strong global economic growth.
Thailand. Thailand has a well-developed infrastructure and a free-enterprise economy, which is welcoming to certain foreign investment. Increased consumption and investment spending and strong export industries continue to sustain economic growth. Moreover, Bangkok has pursued preferential trade agreements with a variety of partners in an effort to boost exports and maintain high growth, and in 2004 began negotiations on a free trade agreement with the U.S. However, weakening fiscal discipline, separatist violence in the south, the intervention by the military in civilian spheres, and continued political instability may cause additional risks for investments in Thailand. In addition, natural disasters may affect economic growth in the country. For example, in late 2011, historic floods devastated industrial areas north of Bangkok, which severely harmed Thailand's manufacturing sector and reduced the country's economic growth. Although the Thai economy may already be showing signs of recovery from this disaster, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as demand for Thai goods and services could decline due to the effects of the European sovereign debt crisis and weakened global economy.
Philippines. Because of its relatively low dependence on exports and high domestic rates of consumption, as well as substantial remittances received from large overseas populations, the Philippines was one of the few countries in Asia to navigate the recent global financial crisis without falling into recession. Although the economy of the Philippines has shown signs of growth in recent years, there can be no assurances that such growth will continue. Reduced demand for exports from the Philippines as a result of the European crisis and weakened global economy, as well as lower remittances from Filipino immigrants abroad, may negatively impact economic growth in the Philippines. Furthermore, certain weaknesses in the economy, such as inadequate infrastructure, high poverty rates, uneven wealth distribution, low fiscal revenues, endemic corruption, inconsistent regulation, unpredictable taxation, unreliable judicial processes, and the appropriation of foreign assets may present risks to a fund's investments in the Philippines. In addition, investments in the Philippines are subject to risks arising from political or social unrest, including threats from military coups, terrorist groups and separatist movements. Likewise, the Philippines is prone to natural disasters such as typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes and flooding, which may also present risks to a fund's investments in the Philippines.
Latin America. As an emerging market, Latin America historically suffered from social, political, and economic instability. For investors, this has meant additional risk caused by periods of regional conflict, political corruption, totalitarianism, protectionist measures, nationalization, hyperinflation, debt crises, sudden and large currency devaluation, and intervention by the military in civilian and economic spheres. For example, at times the government of Brazil has imposed a tax on foreign investment in Brazilian stocks and bonds, which may affect the value of a fund's investments in the securities of Brazilian issuers. However, in some Latin American countries, a move to sustainable democracy and a more mature and accountable political environment is under way. Domestic economies have been deregulated, privatization of state-owned companies is almost completed and foreign trade restrictions have been relaxed.
Nonetheless, to the extent that events such as those listed above continue in the future, they could reverse favorable trends toward market and economic reform, privatization, and removal of trade barriers, and result in significant disruption in securities markets in the region. In addition, recent favorable economic performance in much of the region has led to a concern regarding government overspending in certain Latin American countries. Investors in the region continue to face a number of potential risks. Certain Latin American countries depend heavily on exports to the U.S. and investments from a small number of countries. Accordingly, these countries may be sensitive to fluctuations in demand, exchange rates and changes in market conditions associated with those countries. The economic growth of most Latin American countries is highly dependent on commodity exports and the economies of certain Latin American countries, particularly Mexico and Venezuela, are highly dependent on oil exports. As a result, these economies are particularly susceptible to fluctuations in the price of oil and other commodities and currency fluctuations. The recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for oil and other commodities and, as a result, Latin American countries faced significant economic difficulties that led certain countries into recession. If global economic conditions worsen, prices for Latin American commodities may experience increased volatility and demand may continue to decrease. Although certain of these countries have recently shown signs of recovery, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. In addition, prolonged economic difficulties may have negative effects on the transition to a more stable democracy in some Latin American countries. In certain countries, political risk, including nationalization risk, is high.
A number of Latin American countries are among the largest debtors of developing countries and have a long history of reliance on foreign debt and default. The majority of the region's economies have become highly dependent upon foreign credit and loans from external sources to fuel their state-sponsored economic plans. Historically, government profligacy and ill-conceived plans for modernization have exhausted these resources with little benefit accruing to the economy. Most countries have been forced to restructure their loans or risk default on their debt obligations. In addition, interest on the debt is subject to market conditions and may reach levels that would impair economic activity and create a difficult and costly environment for borrowers. Accordingly, these governments may be forced to reschedule or freeze their debt repayment, which could negatively affect local markets. Because of their dependence on foreign credit and loans, a number of Latin American economies faced significant economic difficulties and some economies fell into recession as the recent global financial crisis tightened international credit supplies. While the region has recently shown signs of economic improvement, recovery from past economic downturns in Latin America has historically been slow, and any such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. The European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for exports from Latin America and limit the availability of foreign credit for some countries in the region. As a result, a fund's investments in Latin American securities could be harmed if economic recovery in the region is limited.
Russia. Investing in Russian securities is highly speculative and involves significant risks and special considerations not typically associated with investing in the securities markets of the U.S. and most other developed countries.
Political. Over the past century, Russia has experienced political and economic turbulence and has endured decades of communist rule under which tens of millions of its citizens were collectivized into state agricultural and industrial enterprises. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's government has been faced with the daunting task of stabilizing its domestic economy, while transforming it into a modern and efficient structure able to compete in international markets and respond to the needs of its citizens. However, to date, many of the country's economic reform initiatives have floundered as the proceeds of IMF and other economic assistance have been squandered or stolen. In this environment, there is always the risk that the nation's government will abandon the current program of economic and political reform and replace it with radically different political and economic policies that would be detrimental to the interests of foreign and private investors.
In the last few years, as significant income from oil and commodity exports has boosted Russia's economy, Russia's government has begun to make bolder steps to re-assert its regional geopolitical influence (including military steps). Such steps may increase tensions between Russia and its neighbors and Western countries and may negatively affect economic growth.
Economic. Many of Russia's businesses have failed to mobilize the available factors of production because the country's privatization program virtually ensured the predominance of the old management teams that are largely non-market-oriented in their management approach. Poor accounting standards, inept management, pervasive corruption, insider trading and crime, and inadequate regulatory protection for the rights of investors all pose a significant risk, particularly to foreign investors. In addition, there is the risk that the Russian tax system will not be reformed to prevent inconsistent, retroactive, and/or exorbitant taxation, or, in the alternative, the risk that a reformed tax system may result in the inconsistent and unpredictable enforcement of the new tax laws.
Compared to most national stock markets, the Russian securities market suffers from a variety of problems not encountered in more developed markets. There is little long-term historical data on the Russian securities market because it is relatively new and a substantial proportion of securities transactions in Russia are privately negotiated outside of stock exchanges. The inexperience of the Russian securities market and the limited volume of trading in securities in the market may make obtaining accurate prices on portfolio securities from independent sources more difficult than in more developed markets. Additionally, there is little solid corporate information available to investors. As a result, it may be difficult to assess the value or prospects of an investment in Russian companies.
Because of the recent formation of the Russian securities market as well as the underdeveloped state of the banking and telecommunications systems, settlement, clearing and registration of securities transactions are subject to significant risks. Ownership of shares (except where shares are held through depositories that meet the requirements of the 1940 Act) is defined according to entries in the company's share register and normally evidenced by extracts from the register or by formal share certificates. However, these services are carried out by the companies themselves or by registrars located throughout Russia. These registrars are not necessarily subject to effective state supervision nor are they licensed with any governmental entity and it is possible for a fund to lose its registration through fraud, negligence, or even mere oversight. While a fund will endeavor to ensure that its interest continues to be appropriately recorded either itself or through a custodian or other agent inspecting the share register and by obtaining extracts of share registers through regular confirmations, these extracts have no legal enforceability and it is possible that subsequent illegal amendment or other fraudulent act may deprive a fund of its ownership rights or improperly dilute its interests. In addition, while applicable Russian regulations impose liability on registrars for losses resulting from their errors, it may be difficult for a fund to enforce any rights it may have against the registrar or issuer of the securities in the event of loss of share registration. Furthermore, significant delays or problems may occur in registering the transfer of securities, which could cause a fund to incur losses due to a counterparty's failure to pay for securities the fund has delivered or the fund's inability to complete its contractual obligations because of theft or other reasons. A recently enacted law authorizes the establishment of a centralized securities depository (CSD), which, in effect, will become the exclusive settlement organization for publicly traded Russian companies and investment funds in Russia. Once the CSD is fully functional, it should enhance the efficiency and transparency of the Russian securities market.
The Russian economy is heavily dependent upon the export of a range of commodities including most industrial metals, forestry products, oil, and gas. Accordingly, it is strongly affected by international commodity prices and is particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. As the recent global financial crisis caused price volatility in commodities, especially oil, many sectors in the Russian economy fell into turmoil, pushing the whole economy into recession. In addition, prior to the global financial crisis, Russia's economic policy encouraged excessive foreign currency borrowing as high oil prices increased investor appetite for Russian financial assets. As a result of this credit boom, Russia reached alarming debt levels and suffered from the effects of tight credit markets. Although the country is still plagued by high debt levels, the Russian economy has recently shown signs of recovery from the recession. However, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as Russia continues to face significant economic challenges. In the near term, the fallout from the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for Russian exports such as oil and gas, which could limit Russia's economic recovery. Over the long-term, Russia faces challenges including a shrinking workforce, a high level of corruption, and difficulty in accessing capital for smaller, non-energy companies and poor infrastructure in need of large investments.
Currency. Foreign investors also face a high degree of currency risk when investing in Russian securities and a lack of available currency hedging instruments. In a surprise move in August 1998, Russia devalued the ruble, defaulted on short-term domestic bonds, and imposed a moratorium on the repayment of its international debt and the restructuring of the repayment terms. These actions have negatively affected Russian borrowers' ability to access international capital markets and have had a damaging impact on the Russian economy. In light of these and other government actions, foreign investors could face the possibility of further devaluations. In addition, there is the risk that the government may impose capital controls on foreign portfolio investments in the event of extreme financial or political crisis. Such capital controls could prevent the sale of a portfolio of foreign assets and the repatriation of investment income and capital. Such risks have led to heightened scrutiny of Russian liquidity conditions, which in turn creates a heightened risk of the repatriation of ruble assets by nervous foreign investors. The recent economic turmoil in Russia caused the Russian ruble to depreciate as unemployment levels increased and global demand for oil exports decreased. As the global economy faces another economic crisis, the Russian central bank may need to manage bank liquidity carefully to avoid undue pressures on Russia's banks and other financial institutions and the ruble.
The Middle East and Africa. Investing in Middle Eastern and African securities is highly speculative and involves significant risks and special considerations not typically associated with investing in the securities markets of the U.S. and most other developed countries.
Political. Many Middle Eastern and African countries historically have suffered from political instability. Despite a growing trend towards democratization, especially in Africa, significant political risks continue to affect some Middle Eastern and African countries. These risks may include substantial government control over the private sector, corrupt leaders, civil unrest, suppression of opposition parties that can lead to further dissidence and militancy, fixed elections, terrorism, coups, and war. Recently, several countries in the Middle East and North Africa have experienced pro-democracy movements that resulted in swift regime changes. In some cases, these movements have led to armed conflict involving local factions, regional allies or international forces. These changes, in the short term, have affected the status and speed of economic reforms in the region. Because many Middle East and African nations have a history of dictatorship, military intervention, and corruption, there can be no guarantee that recent movements toward a more democratic process will continue. Therefore, the long-term effects of the ongoing regime changes are largely unpredictable. In addition, there is an increasing risk that historical animosities, border disputes, or defense concerns may lead to further armed conflict in the region. In all regions, if such developments were to occur, it could have a negative effect on economic growth and reverse favorable trends toward economic and market reform, privatization, and the removal of trade barriers. Such developments could also result in significant disruptions in securities markets, which may have wider consequences for the global economy.
Economic. Middle Eastern and African countries historically have suffered from economic instability. Underdeveloped infrastructure, high unemployment rates, a comparatively unskilled labor force, and inconsistent access to capital have contributed to economic instability in the region. Furthermore, certain Middle Eastern and African markets may face a higher concentration of market capitalization, greater illiquidity and greater price volatility than that found in more developed markets of Western Europe or the U.S. Additionally, certain countries in the region have a history of nationalizing or expropriating foreign assets, which could cause a fund to lose the value of its investments in those countries. Despite a growing trend towards economic diversification, many Middle Eastern and African economies remain heavily dependent upon a limited range of commodities. These include gold, silver, copper, cocoa, diamonds, natural gas and petroleum. These economies are greatly affected by international commodity prices and are particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. As the recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for oil, gas, and other commodities, some countries in the region faced significant economic difficulties and many countries have been forced to scale down their infrastructure development and the size of their public welfare systems, which could have long-term economic, social, and political implications. Although certain economies in Africa and the Middle East have recently shown signs of recovery from the recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for exports from the region.
The largest economy in Africa is South Africa. The country has a two-tiered, developing economy with one tier similar to that of a developed country and the second tier having only the most basic infrastructure. High interest rates, power shortages, and weakening commodities prices, along with the recent economic crisis, caused South Africa to enter a recession in 2009 for the first time in 18 years. The South African Government, both before and during the recession, implemented policies designed to reduce trade and investment restrictions and privatize certain industries. However, ethnic and civil conflicts, the HIV health crisis, uncertainty surrounding government policy, and political instability have led to uneven wealth distribution within the country and may cause additional risks for investments in South Africa. These problems likely compounded the economic difficulties that South Africa faced as the negative effects of the global financial crisis spread to the country. Although the South African economy has recently shown signs of recovery, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as political, social, and labor unrest could affect the South African economy. In addition, reduced demand for South African exports due to the European crisis and weakened global economy may limit any such recovery.
Currency. Certain Middle Eastern and African countries have currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar or euro, rather than at levels determined by market forces. This type of currency regime may experience sudden and significant currency adjustments, which may adversely impact investment returns.
Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities (normally, shares of underlying funds) are placed on behalf of the fund by Strategic Advisers, (either itself or through its affiliates), pursuant to authority contained in the management contract.
Strategic Advisers may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
<R>The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in affiliated funds, but it may incur such costs when it invests in non-affiliated funds and if it invests directly in other types of securities, such as ETFs.</R>
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review Strategic Advisers' and its affiliates' performance of their respective responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Strategic Advisers, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Strategic Advisers or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.
Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.
Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Strategic Advisers or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services Strategic Advisers or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Strategic Advisers' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Strategic Advisers or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.</R>
Research Contracts. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Strategic Advisers or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) who have entered into arrangements with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
<R>Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), with whom they are under common control, provided Strategic Advisers or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade-execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.</R>
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Strategic Advisers to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
Commissions Paid
A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
<R>For the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 8% (annualized). Variations in turnover rate may be due to a fluctuating volume of shareholder purchase and redemption orders, market conditions, and/or changes in Strategic Advisers' investment outlook.</R>
<R>The following table shows the total amount of brokerage commissions paid by the fund, comprising commissions paid on securities and/or futures transactions, as applicable, for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013. The total amount of brokerage commissions paid is stated as a dollar amount and a percentage of the fund's average net assets.</R>
<R>Fiscal Year
|
|
Dollar
|
Percentage of
|
<R>2013 A |
|
$ 433 |
0.01%</R> |
<R> A Fund commenced operations May 2, 2012.</R>
<R>During the fiscal period May 2, 2012 to February 28, 2013, the fund paid no brokerage commissions to firms for providing research or brokerage services.</R>
The class's NAV is the value of a single share. The NAV of the class is computed by adding the class's pro rata share of the value of the fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting the class's pro rata share of the fund's liabilities, subtracting the liabilities allocated to the class, and dividing the result by the number of shares of that class that are outstanding.
The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for pricing, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers has established the Strategic Advisers Fair Value Committee (Strategic Advisers Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities. The Strategic Advisers Committee may rely on information and recommendations provided by affiliates of Strategic Advisers in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, including the fair valuation of securities.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs and closed-end funds) held by the fund are valued at their respective NAVs. If an underlying fund's NAV is unavailable, shares of that underlying fund will be fair valued in good faith by the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by the fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity non-money market fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities (including securities issued by ETFs and closed-end funds) are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
<R>Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques.</R>
Short-term securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less for which market quotations and information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates current value.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
<R>Prices described above are obtained from pricing services that have been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available and the funds may use more than one of these services. The funds may also discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time. Strategic Advisers engages in oversight activities with respect to the fund's pricing services, which includes, among other things, testing the prices provided by pricing services prior to calculation of a fund's NAV, conducting periodic due diligence meetings, and periodically reviewing the methodologies and inputs used by these services.</R>
<R>Foreign securities and instruments are valued in their local currency following the methodologies described above. Foreign securities, instruments and currencies are translated to U.S. dollars, based on foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by a pricing service as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which uses a proprietary model to determine the exchange rate. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at an interpolated rate based on days to maturity between the closest preceding and subsequent settlement period reported by the third party pricing service.</R>
The Board of Trustees of the underlying Fidelity funds has ultimate responsibility for pricing portfolio securities and assets held by those funds, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee and the Strategic Advisers Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and ADRs, market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. This technique involves initially valuing an instrument at its cost as adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount rather than its current market value. The amortized cost value of an instrument may be higher or lower than the price a money market fund would receive if it sold the instrument.
At such intervals as they deem appropriate, the Trustees of an underlying Fidelity money market fund consider the extent to which NAV calculated using market valuations would deviate from the $1.00 per share calculated using amortized cost valuation. If the Trustees believe that a deviation from a money market fund's amortized cost per share may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Trustees have agreed to take such corrective action, if any, as they deem appropriate to eliminate or reduce, to the extent reasonably practicable, the dilution or unfair results. Such corrective action could include selling portfolio instruments prior to maturity to realize capital gains or losses or to shorten average portfolio maturity; withholding dividends; redeeming shares in kind; establishing NAV by using available market quotations; and such other measures as the Trustees may deem appropriate.
BUYING AND SELLING INFORMATION
Class F shares of the fund are available for purchase only by mutual funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager.
The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the class's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
Dividends. A portion of the fund's income may qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, but it is unlikely that all of the fund's income will qualify for the deduction. A portion of the fund's dividends, when distributed to individual shareholders, may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
Capital Gain Distributions. The fund's long-term capital gain distributions, including amounts attributable to an underlying fund's long-term capital gain distributions, are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.
Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. As a general matter, if, at the close of its fiscal year, more than 50% of the fund's total assets is invested in securities of foreign issuers, the fund may elect to pass through eligible foreign taxes paid and thereby allow shareholders to take a deduction or, if they meet certain holding period requirements with respect to fund shares, a credit on their individual tax returns. In addition, if at the close of each quarter of its fiscal year at least 50% of the fund's total assets is represented by interests in other regulated investment companies, the same rules will apply to any foreign tax credits that underlying funds pass through to the fund. The amount of foreign taxes paid by the fund will be reduced to the extent that the fund lends securities over the dividend record date. Special rules may apply to the credit for individuals who receive dividends qualifying for the long-term capital gains tax rate.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
<R>The Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and executive officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. If the interests of the fund and an underlying Fidelity fund were to diverge, a conflict of interest could arise and affect how the Trustees and Member of the Advisory Board fulfill their fiduciary duties to the affected funds. Strategic Advisers has structured the fund to avoid these potential conflicts, although there may be situations where a conflict of interest is unavoidable. In such instances, Strategic Advisers, the Trustees, and Member of the Advisory Board would take reasonable steps to minimize and, if possible, eliminate the conflict. Except for Mary C. Farrell, each of the Trustees oversees 26 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. Ms. Farrell oversees 20 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.</R>
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. The executive officers and Advisory Board Member hold office without limit in time, except that any officer and Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
<R>Each Trustee who is not an interested person of the trust and the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) is referred to herein as an Independent Trustee.</R>
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Fund's Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also engage professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates with experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. Additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, may be considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. Roger T. Servison is an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) and currently serves as Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Ralph F. Cox serves as the lead Independent Trustee and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
Fidelity funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees asset allocation funds as well as the Fidelity enhanced index funds. Other boards oversee Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds and Fidelity's equity and high income funds. The fund may invest in Fidelity funds overseen by such other Boards. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues.
The Trustees primarily operate as a full Board, but also operate in committees, to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board has charged Strategic Advisers and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through Strategic Advisers, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. Board oversight of different aspects of the fund's activities is exercised primarily through the full Board, but also through the Audit and Compliance Committee. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees."
Interested Trustees *:
<R>Correspondence intended for each Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
|
<R>Roger T. Servison (1945)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Servison is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Servison serves as President of Strategic New Business Development for Fidelity Investments and serves as a Director of Strategic Advisers. Previously, Mr. Servison oversaw Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company (2005-2006) and Strategic Advisers (2005-2007). Mr. Servison also served as President and a Director of Fidelity Brokerage Services (Japan), LLC (1994-2004). |
<R>Derek L. Young (1964)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Mr. Young is Vice President of Fidelity's Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present), President and a Director of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2011-present), President of Fidelity Global Asset Allocation (GAA) (2011-present), and Vice Chairman of Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2011-present). Previously, Mr. Young served as Chief Investment Officer of GAA (2009-2011) and as a portfolio manager. |
* Trustees have been determined to be "Interested Trustees" by virtue of, among other things, their affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with Strategic Advisers.
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees :
Correspondence intended for each Independent Trustee (that is, the Trustees other than the Interested Trustees) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
|
<R>Peter C. Aldrich (1944)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Aldrich is a Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Director of the funds of BlackRock Realty Group (2006-present). Previously, Mr. Aldrich served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010), a Managing Member of Poseidon, LLC (foreign private investment, 1998-2004), and Chairman and Managing Member of AEGIS, LLC (foreign private investment, 1997-2004). Mr. Aldrich also served as Faculty Chairman of The Research Council on Global Investment of The Conference Board (business and professional education non-profit, 1999-2004). Mr. Aldrich is a Member of the Boards of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and an Overseer of the Longy School of Music. |
<R>Amy Butte Liebowitz (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011</R> Ms. Butte Liebowitz was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of TILE Financial (financial internet service, 2008-2012). Previously, Ms. Butte Liebowitz served as the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of MF Global (broker-dealer, 2006-2008), and Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange (2004-2006). Ms. Butte Liebowitz is a member of the Boards of Directors of Accion International and the New York Women's Forum, as well as an alumna of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader program. |
<R>Ralph F. Cox (1932)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Cox is President of RABAR Enterprises (management consulting for the petroleum industry). Mr. Cox is a Director of Abraxas Petroleum (exploration and production). Mr. Cox is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Business and Engineering Schools of Texas A&M University and the Engineering School of University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Mr. Cox served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010) and as an Advisory Director of CH2M Hill Companies (engineering, 1981-2011). Mr. Ralph F. Cox and Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. are not related. |
<R>Mary C. Farrell (1949)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2013</R> Ms. Farrell is a Director of the W.R. Berkley Corporation (insurance provider) and President (2009-present) and Director (2006-present) of the Howard Gilman Foundation (charitable organization). Previously, Ms. Farrell was Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at UBS Wealth Management USA and Co-Head of UBS Wealth Management Investment Strategy & Research Group (2003-2005). Ms. Farrell also served as Investment Strategist at PaineWebber (1982-2000) and UBS PaineWebber (2000-2002). Ms. Farrell also serves as Trustee on the Board of Overseers of the New York University Stern School of Business, the Board of Trustees of Yale-New Haven Hospital and is a member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II. |
<R>Karen Kaplan (1960)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Ms. Kaplan is President of Hill Holliday (advertising and specialized marketing, 2007-present). Ms. Kaplan is a Director of DSM (dba Delta Dental and DentaQuest) (2004-present), Director of Vera Bradley (2012-present), Member of the Board of Governors of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston (2010-present), Member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference for Women (2008-present), Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (2006-present), Board of Directors of Jobs for Massachusetts (2012-present), National Association of Corporate Directors Chapter (2012-present), and Board of Directors of the Post Office Square Trust (2012-present). She is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, an action oriented community of the most effective CEOs, heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, and non-governmental leaders in the world. Previously, Ms. Kaplan served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010), President of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2008-2010), Treasurer of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2002-2006), Vice Chair of the Board of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2003-2010), Director of United Way of Massachusetts Bay (2004-2006), Director of ADVO (direct mail marketing, 2003-2007), and Director of Tweeter Home Entertainment Group (2006-2007). |
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Member and Executive Officers :
<R>Correspondence intended for each executive officer and Howard E. Cox, Jr. may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupation</R> |
|
<R>Howard E. Cox, Jr. (1944)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II. Mr. Cox is a Member of the Advisory Board of Devonshire Investors (2009-present). Mr. Cox serves as an Advisory Partner of Greylock (venture capital) and a Director of Stryker Corporation (medical products and services). Previously, Mr. Cox served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010) and a Member of the Secretary of Defense's Business Board of Directors (2008-2010). Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. and Mr. Ralph F. Cox are not related. |
<R>Kenneth B. Robins (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 President and Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Robins also serves as President and Treasurer of other Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds (2008-present) and Assistant Treasurer of other Fidelity Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present). Mr. Robins is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Robins served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2005-2008) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2006-2008). |
<R>Marc Bryant (1966)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of the fund. Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Fidelity Investments. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Mr. Bryant served as a Senior Vice President and the Head of Global Retail Legal for AllianceBernstein L.P. (2006-2010), and as the General Counsel for ProFund Advisors LLC (2001-2006). |
<R>Elizabeth Paige Baumann (1968)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012 Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer of the fund. Ms. Baumann also serves as AML Officer of the Fidelity funds (2012-present) and The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2012-present), Chief AML Officer of FMR LLC (2012-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Baumann served as Vice President and Deputy Anti-Money Laundering Officer (2007-2012). |
<R>Nicholas E. Steck (1964)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the fund. Mr. Steck serves as Senior Vice President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. During the period 2002 to 2009, Mr. Steck served as a Compliance Officer of FMR, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc., FMR LLC, Fidelity Research & Analysis (U.K.) Inc., Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. |
<R>Laura M. Doherty (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Compliance Officer of the fund. Ms. Doherty also serves as Senior Vice President of the Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Doherty served as a Vice President in Fidelity's Corporate Audit department (1998-2008). |
<R>Adrien E. Deberghes (1967)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Deberghes also serves as Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) and Deputy Treasurer (2008-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Deberghes served as Senior Vice President of Mutual Fund Administration at State Street Corporation (2007-2008), Senior Director of Mutual Fund Administration at Investors Bank & Trust (2005-2007), and Director of Finance for Dunkin' Brands (2000-2005). |
<R>Stephanie J. Dorsey (1969)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Ms. Dorsey also serves as President and Treasurer (2013-present) and Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Dorsey served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2008-2013), Treasurer (2004-2008) of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds and Vice President (2004-2008) of JPMorgan Chase Bank. |
<R>Jonathan Davis (1968)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Davis is also Assistant Treasurer of certain Fidelity funds. Mr. Davis is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2003-2010). |
<R>Margaret A. Carey (1973)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 </R> Assistant Secretary of the fund. Ms. Carey also serves as Assistant Secretary of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present), Vice President, Associate General Counsel (2007-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). |
Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established two committees to supplement the work of the Board as a whole. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
<R>The Audit and Compliance Committee is composed of Ms. Butte Liebowitz (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, Mr. Ralph Cox, and Mses. Farrell and Kaplan. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The committee determines whether at least one member of the committee is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined in rules promulgated by the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The committee normally meets in conjunction with in person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee meets separately periodically with the fund's Treasurer, the fund's Chief Financial Officer, the fund's CCO, personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and the fund's outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the fund for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the fund and the fund's service providers, (ii) the financial reporting processes of the fund, (iii) the independence, objectivity and qualification of the auditors to the fund, (iv) the annual audits of the fund's financial statements, and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the fund. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations (Auditor Independence Regulations) of the SEC. In furtherance of the foregoing, the committee has adopted (and may from time to time amend or supplement) and provides oversight of policies and procedures for non-audit engagements by outside auditors of the fund. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the fund and for resolving disagreements between the fund and any outside auditor regarding the fund's financial reporting, and has sole authority to hire and fire any auditor. Auditors of the fund report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the fund and any service providers consistent with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Ethics and Independence Rule 3526, Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence. The committee will discuss with the outside auditors any such disclosed relationships and their impact on the auditor's independence and objectivity. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the Auditor Independence Regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the fund's service providers' internal controls and reviews with management, internal auditors, and outside auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of the fund's and service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the fund's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the fund's or service provider's internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will review with counsel any legal matters that may have a material impact on the fund's financial statements and any material reports or inquiries received from regulators or governmental agencies. The committee reviews at least annually a report from the outside auditor describing (i) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control review, peer review, or PCAOB examination of the auditing firm and (ii) any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm since the most recent report and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the fund's financial reporting process and will receive reports from an outside auditor relating to (i) critical accounting policies and practices used by the fund, (ii) alternative accounting treatments that the auditor has discussed with Strategic Advisers, and (iii) other material written communications between the auditor and Strategic Advisers (as determined by the auditor). The committee will discuss with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the fund. The committee will review with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC (to the extent relevant) the results of audits of the fund's financial statements. The committee will review periodically the fund's major internal controls exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. The committee also oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the fund and its service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee of the Board of Trustees or reserved to the Board itself. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the fund. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO and, if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports on significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the fund's compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1 and quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of Mr. Ralph Cox (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, and Mses. Butte Liebowitz, Farrell, and Kaplan. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the code of ethics and any supplemental policies regarding personal securities transactions applicable to the Independent Trustees. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the fund's or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the fund's expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the fund, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012 (or as of March 31, 2013 for Ms. Farrell, Trustee as of March 5, 2013).</R>
Interested Trustees |
||
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Roger T. Servison |
Derek L. Young |
Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
none |
none |
<R></R>
<R>Independent Trustees</R> |
|||||
<R>
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Peter C. Aldrich |
Mary C. Farrell |
Amy Butte Liebowitz |
Ralph F. Cox |
Karen Kaplan</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds |
none |
none |
none |
none |
none</R> |
<R>
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
over $100,000 |
none |
none |
over $100,000 |
none</R> |
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board for his or her services for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, or calendar year ended December 31, 2012, as applicable.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Compensation Table 1</R> |
||||||
<R>
AGGREGATE
|
Peter C.
|
Mary C.
|
Amy Butte
|
Ralph F.
|
Karen
|
</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds + |
$ 20 |
$ 0 |
$ 20 |
$ 20 |
$ 20 |
</R> |
<R>
TOTAL COMPENSATION
|
$ 137,500 |
$ 0 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
</R> |
1 Roger T. Servison, Howard E. Cox, Jr., and Derek L. Young are interested persons and are compensated by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate (including FMR).
<R> 2 Effective March 5, 2013, Ms. Farrell serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II.</R>
+ Estimated for the fund's first full year.
<R> A Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, for 26 funds of two trusts.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and officers of the fund owned, in the aggregate, less than 1% of the fund's total outstanding shares.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the following owned of record and/or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding shares of a class:</R>
<R> Class Name |
Owner Name |
City |
State |
Ownership %</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds* |
FIMM LLC |
Boston |
MA |
90.40%</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds: Class F |
FIMM LLC |
Boston |
MA |
66.62%</R> |
<R>* The ownership information shown above is for a class of shares of the fund.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, approximately 89.88% of the fund's total outstanding shares was held of record and/or beneficially by FIMM LLC, Boston, MA.</R>
A shareholder owning of record or beneficially more than 25% of a fund's outstanding shares may be considered a controlling person. That shareholder's vote could have a more significant effect on matters presented at a shareholders' meeting than votes of other shareholders.
CONTROL OF INVESTMENT ADVISERS
<R>FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of Strategic Advisers and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis). The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Abigail P. Johnson family, directly or through trusts, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.</R>
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
<R>Acadian Asset Management LLC (Acadian), a registered investment adviser. Acadian is a subsidiary of Old Mutual Asset Managers (US) LLC (OMAM), which is an indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary of Old Mutual plc, a London-based financial services firm. Old Mutual Asset Managers (US) LLC owns 100% of the Class A (voting) interest of Acadian. Ownership of the Class B interest, which provides financial participation in the profitability of the firm, is divided, with just over 71% owned by Old Mutual and the remainder owned by an Acadian Key Employee Limited Partnership (Acadian KELP) comprised of approximately 50 senior staff.</R>
Pyramis is a registered investment adviser. FMR LLC is the ultimate parent company of Pyramis. Information regarding the ownership of FMR LLC is disclosed above.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Acadian, Pyramis (the Investment Advisers), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and the fund have adopted codes of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that set forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establish procedures for personal investing, and restrict certain transactions. Employees subject to the codes of ethics, including the Investment Advisers' investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.</R>
The fund has entered into a management contract with Strategic Advisers, pursuant to which Strategic Advisers furnishes investment advisory and other services.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Strategic Advisers has retained Acadian and Pyramis to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. The sub-advisers do not sponsor the fund.
Management and Sub-Advisory Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, Strategic Advisers acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, directs the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. Strategic Advisers is authorized, in its discretion, to allocate the fund's assets pursuant to its investment strategy. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates provide the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensate all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of Strategic Advisers, and compensate all personnel of the fund or Strategic Advisers performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to Strategic Advisers and the fees payable to the transfer agent and pricing and bookkeeping agent, the fund or each class thereof, as applicable, pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by those parties. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders; however, under the terms of the fund's transfer agent agreement, the transfer agent bears these costs. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.
Management Fees. For the services of Strategic Advisers under the management contract, the fund pays Strategic Advisers a monthly management fee calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers, if any, based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets; provided, however, that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.25% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.30% of the average daily net assets of the fund until April 30, 2014. The fee waiver by Strategic Advisers will increase the fund's returns.</R>
<R>The following table shows the amount of management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers for the last fiscal year and the amount of waivers reducing management fees for the fund.</R>
<R> Fund |
Fiscal Year
|
Amount of
|
Management Fees
|
<R>Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds |
2013 A |
$ 20,502 |
$ 0</R> |
<R> A Fund commenced operations on May 2, 2012.</R>
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of a class's operating expenses. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Expense reimbursements by Strategic Advisers will increase the class's returns, and repayment of the reimbursement by the class will decrease its returns.
Sub-Adviser - Acadian. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Acadian pursuant to which Acadian may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Acadian fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Acadian pursuant to a separately negotiated investment mandate (a "Strategy"). The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Acadian under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Acadian pursuant to that Strategy.
Acadian has not currently been allocated a portion of the fund's assets to manage.
Sub-Adviser - Pyramis. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Pyramis pursuant to which Pyramis may provide investment advisory services for the fund.
<R>Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Pyramis fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Pyramis pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Pyramis under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Pyramis pursuant to that Strategy.</R>
Pyramis has not currently been allocated a portion of the fund's assets to manage.
Wilfred Chilangwa is an employee of Strategic Advisers, a subsidiary of FMR LLC and an affiliate of FMR. Strategic Advisers is the adviser to the fund.
<R>Mr. Chilangwa is the portfolio manager of the fund and receives compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Strategic Advisers or at the election of the portfolio manager. </R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of a broad range of Strategic Advisers funds and accounts, including the fund. Accounts may include model portfolios designed for asset allocation, retirement planning, or tax-sensitive goals. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s), and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with the portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and peer group. A subjective component of the bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Strategic Advisers. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of his fund is based on the fund's pre-tax investment performance measured against the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund (based on the performance of the fund's retail class) within the Morningstar ® Diversified Emerging Markets Category. The portfolio manager may be compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Strategic Advisers' parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.</R>
<R></R>
<R>The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Chilangwa as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
5 |
184 |
none</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 16,438 |
$ 16,673 |
none</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds ($9 (in millions) assets managed). The amount of assets managed of the fund reflects trades and other assets as of the close of the business day prior to the fund's fiscal year-end.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds beneficially owned by Mr. Chilangwa was $10,001 - $50,000.</R>
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of the fund, after consultation with Strategic Advisers. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Strategic Advisers and its affiliates and by the Independent Trustees of the fund, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. The funds in the trust generally intend to vote shares of underlying funds using echo voting procedures (that is, in the same proportion as the holders of all other shares of the particular underlying fund).
B. Any proposals not covered by paragraph A above or other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate Strategic Advisers analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review and approval by the General Counsel or Compliance Officer of FMR or the General Counsel of FMR LLC.
<R>To view a fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, visit www.fidelity.com/proxyvotingresults or visit the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.</R>
The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. The principal business address of FDC is 100 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by Strategic Advisers.
The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan on behalf of Class F of the fund (the Class F Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a mutual fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Class F Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows Class F and Strategic Advisers to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.
Under the Class F Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to Strategic Advisers is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Class F Plan. The Class F Plan specifically recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of Class F shares and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Class F Plan provides that Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers or FDC), that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for Class F shares.
Prior to approving the Class F Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Class F Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Class F Plan will benefit Class F of the fund and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Class F Plan does not authorize payments by Class F of the fund other than those made to Strategic Advisers under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Class F Plan gives Strategic Advisers and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of class shares, additional sales of class shares or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Class F Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.
FDC or an affiliate may compensate, or upon direction make payments for certain retirement plan expenses to, intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (including affiliates of FDC). A number of factors are considered in determining whether to pay these additional amounts. Such factors may include, without limitation, the level or type of services provided by the intermediary, the level or expected level of assets or sales of shares, and other factors. In addition to such payments, FDC or an affiliate may offer other incentives such as sponsorship of educational or client seminars relating to current products and issues, payments or reimbursements for travel and related expenses associated with due diligence trips that an intermediary may undertake in order to explore possible business relationships with affiliates of FDC, and/or payments of costs and expenses associated with attendance at seminars, including travel, lodging, entertainment, and meals. Certain of the payments described above may be significant to an intermediary. As permitted by SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rules and other applicable laws and regulations, FDC or an affiliate may pay or allow other incentives or payments to intermediaries.
The fund's transfer agent or an affiliate may also make payments and reimbursements from its own resources to certain intermediaries (who may be affiliated with the transfer agent) for performing recordkeeping and other services. Please see "Transfer and Service Agent Agreements" in this SAI for more information.
Any of the payments described in this section may represent a premium over payments made by other fund families. Retirement plan sponsors may take these payments into account when deciding whether to include a fund as a plan investment option.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
<R>The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (FIIOC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers, which is located at 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services for Class F of the fund.</R>
FIIOC receives no fees for providing transfer agency services to Class F.
FIIOC may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
<R>The fund has entered into a service agent agreement with Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers (or an agent, including an affiliate). Under the terms of the agreement, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for Class F of the fund and maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records.</R>
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
The annual rates for pricing and bookkeeping services for the fund are 0.0104% of the first $500 million of average net assets, 0.0062% of average net assets between $500 million and $3.5 billion, 0.0041% of average net assets between $3.5 billion and $25 billion, and 0.0019% of average net assets in excess of $25 billion, plus a 20% surcharge.
<R>Pricing and bookkeeping fees paid by the fund to FSC for the past fiscal year are shown in the following table.</R>
<R> Fund |
2013 *</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds |
$ 849</R> |
<R>* From May 2, 2012.</R>
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
<R> Trust Organization. Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds is a fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, an open-end management investment company created under an initial trust instrument dated March 8, 2006. Currently, there are 20 funds offered in the trust: Strategic Advisers Core Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.</R>
The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund, except that liabilities and expenses may be allocated to a particular class. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds or classes.
Shareholder Liability. The trust is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that, except to the extent otherwise provided in the Trust Instrument, shareholders shall be entitled to the same limitations of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit organized under the general corporation law of Delaware. The courts of some states, however, may decline to apply Delaware law on this point. The Trust Instrument contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust. The Trust Instrument provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Trust Instrument further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of each fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Trust Instrument also provides that each fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which Delaware law does not apply, no contractual limitation of liability was in effect, and a fund is unable to meet its obligations. Strategic Advisers believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is extremely remote. Claims asserted against one class of shares may subject holders of another class of shares to certain liabilities.
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. As a shareholder, you are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value you own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
<R></R>
The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodians. State Street Bank and Trust Company, 1776 Heritage Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as special purpose custodians of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions.
Strategic Advisers, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Member of the Advisory Board, and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by Strategic Advisers. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of Strategic Advisers, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 125 High Street, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit, tax, and related services.
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized Strategic Advisers, in consultation with FMR, to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
Other registered investment companies that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers may be subject to different portfolio holdings disclosure policies, and neither Strategic Advisers nor the Board exercises control over such policies or disclosure. In addition, separate account clients of Strategic Advisers have access to their portfolio holdings and are not subject to the fund's portfolio holdings disclosure policies. Some of the funds that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers and some of the separate accounts managed by Strategic Advisers have investment objectives and strategies that are substantially similar or identical to the fund's and, therefore, potentially substantially similar, and in certain cases nearly identical, portfolio holdings as the fund.
The fund will provide a full list of holdings monthly on www.fidelity.com 30 days after the month-end (excluding high income security holdings, which generally will be presented collectively monthly and included in a list of full holdings 60 days after its fiscal quarter-end).
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations.
The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the activities associated with managing Fidelity funds to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons Strategic Advisers believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include, but are not limited to: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics (including portfolio managers of affiliated funds of funds); contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.
Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, (ii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iii) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. Strategic Advisers relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.
<R>At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day) and DocuLynx Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day).</R>
Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, Strategic Advisers desired to make such an arrangement, it would seek prior Board approval and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
<R>The fund's financial statements and financial highlights for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013, and report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the fund's annual report and are incorporated herein by reference. Total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table may differ from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the financial highlights because total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table include any acquired fund fees and expenses, whereas the ratios of expenses in the financial highlights do not, except to the extent any acquired fund fees and expenses relate to an entity, such as a wholly-owned subsidiary, with which a fund's financial statements are consolidated. Acquired funds include other investment companies in which the fund has invested, if and to the extent it is permitted to do so. Total annual operating expenses in the prospectus fee table and the financial highlights do not include any expenses associated with investments in certain structured or synthetic products that may rely on the exception from the definition of "investment company" provided by section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R></R>
<R> Strategic Advisers ® International Multi-Manager Fund </R>
<R> Class /Ticker </R>
<R> Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund /FMJDX </R>
<R>In this prospectus, the term "shares" (as it relates to the fund) means the class of shares offered through this prospectus.</R>
Prospectus
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
Fund Summary |
Strategic Advisers ® International Multi-Manager Fund |
|
<R> Fund Basics |
Investment Details </R> |
|
<R> |
Valuing Shares </R> |
|
<R> Shareholder Information |
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares </R> |
|
<R> |
Exchanging Shares </R> |
|
<R> |
Features and Policies </R> |
|
<R> |
Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions </R> |
|
<R> |
Tax Consequences </R> |
|
<R> Fund Services |
Fund Management </R> |
|
<R> |
Fund Distribution </R> |
|
<R> Appendix |
Financial Highlights </R> |
Prospectus
<R>
Fund
/Class:
Strategic Advisers
®
International Multi-Manager Fund
/Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund</R>
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy, hold, or sell shares of the fund.
Shareholder fees
|
|
Redemption fee on shares held less than 30 days (as a % of amount redeemed) |
1.00% |
<R>
Annual class operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
</R>
<R> Management fee (fluctuates based on the fund's allocation among underlying funds and sub-advisers) A |
0.70% </R> |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees |
None |
<R> Other expenses |
0.59% </R> |
<R> Total annual operating expenses |
1.29% </R> |
<R> Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement A |
0.11% </R> |
<R> Total annual operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement |
1.18% </R> |
<R> |
</R> |
<R></R>
<R> A Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) has contractually agreed that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.05% of the fund's average daily net assets. In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to reimburse the class to the extent that total operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, extraordinary expenses, and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any), as a percentage of its average net assets, exceed 1.18%. This arrangement will remain in effect through April 30, 2014. Strategic Advisers may not terminate this arrangement without the approval of the Board of Trustees. </R>
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
<R> 1 year |
$ 120 </R> |
<R> 3 years |
$ 396 </R> |
<R> 5 years |
$ 695 </R> |
<R> 10 years |
$ 1,545 </R> |
<R>The fund will not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of affiliated funds but may incur transaction costs when buying or selling non-affiliated funds and other types of securities (including non-affiliated exchange traded funds) directly (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance. For the period from May 2, 2012 to February 28, 2013, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 42% (annualized) of the average value of its portfolio.</R>
Pursuant to an exemptive order granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) is permitted, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees, to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement.
Prospectus
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
Performance history will be available for the fund after the fund has been in operation for one calendar year.
Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. Causeway Capital Management LLC (Causeway), Massachusetts Financial Services Company (MFS), Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis), and William Blair & Company, LLC (William Blair) have been retained to serve as sub-advisers for the fund.
<R>Wilfred Chilangwa (lead portfolio manager) has managed the fund since May 2012.</R>
<R>Sarah H. Ketterer, Harry W. Hartford, James A. Doyle, Jonathan P. Eng, Kevin Durkin, and Conor Muldoon (portfolio managers) have co-managed Causeway's portion of the fund's assets since May 2012. Foster Corwith and Alessandro Valentini (portfolio managers) have co-managed Causeway's portion of the fund's assets since April 2013.</R>
<R>Benjamin Stone, Barnaby Wiener, Jose Luis Garcia, and Thomas Melendez (portfolio managers) have co-managed MFS' portion of the fund's assets since May 2012.</R>
<R>Cesar Hernandez (portfolio manager) has managed Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets since May 2012.</R>
<R>W. George Greig (portfolio manager) has managed William Blair's portion of the fund's assets since May 2012.</R>
Shares of the fund generally are available only to: (i) employer-sponsored retirement plans (including profit sharing, 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), and similar plans) for which an affiliate of Strategic Advisers provides recordkeeping services; and (ii) Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund accounts held by individuals who currently own shares of the fund originally held in an employer sponsored retirement plan. You may buy or sell shares in various ways:
The price to buy one share of the fund is its net asset value per share (NAV). Your shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after your investment is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable. Your shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
There is no purchase minimum for fund shares.
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state or local taxes, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account (in which case you may be taxed later, upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).
The fund, Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Investment Objective
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
Principal Investment Strategies
The fund normally invests primarily in non-U.S. securities, including securities of issuers located in emerging markets. The fund normally invests primarily in common stocks.
The fund allocates investments across different countries and regions.
The fund implements its investment strategies by investing directly in securities through one or more sub-advisers or indirectly in securities through one or more underlying funds, which in turn invest directly in securities.
Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of underlying funds or sub-advisers at any time.
Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds and sub-advisers to attempt to diversify the fund's portfolio in terms of market capitalization, investment style, and geographic region.
Strategic Advisers pursues a disciplined, benchmark-driven approach to portfolio construction, and monitors and adjusts allocations to underlying funds and sub-advisers as necessary to favor those underlying funds and sub-advisers that Strategic Advisers believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the fund's investment objective.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among underlying funds, Strategic Advisers relies on proprietary fundamental and quantitative fund research in its fund selection process. Factors considered when investing in underlying funds include fund performance, a fund manager's experience and investment style, fund company infrastructure, and fund characteristics such as expense ratio, asset size, and portfolio turnover.
<R>The fund may invest in affiliated international funds ( i.e., Fidelity funds) and non-affiliated international funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork ® and in non-affiliated ETFs. Underlying funds include both funds managed by FMR (an affiliated company that, together with Strategic Advisers, is part of Fidelity Investments) or an affiliate and funds managed by investment advisers other than Fidelity. Fidelity may receive service fees that typically are at an annual rate of up to 0.40% of a non-affiliated underlying fund's average daily net assets attributable to purchases through Fidelity's FundsNetwork, though such fees may be higher or lower, or may be charged as transaction and/or account fees. In addition, the fund may invest in ETFs in transactions not occurring through Fidelity's FundsNetwork.</R>
Strategic Advisers generally identifies international funds by reference to a fund's name, policies, or classification by a third-party ranking or ratings organization.
<R>Strategic Advisers may actively adjust the allocation of the fund's assets at any time. For current information on fund holdings, please call 1-800-835-5095 (plan accounts) or 1-800-544-3455 (all other accounts) or visit the web site at www.401k.com (plan accounts) or www.fidelity.com (all other accounts). For information on the underlying funds, see the underlying funds' prospectuses. A copy of any underlying Fidelity fund's prospectus is available at www.fidelity.com or www.advisor.fidelity.com. For a copy of any other underlying fund's prospectus, visit the web site of the company that manages or sponsors that underlying fund.</R>
Prospectus
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers considers a variety of factors including, but not limited to, a sub-adviser's investment approach, the characteristics of a sub-adviser's typical investment portfolio, and a sub-adviser's performance patterns in different market environments.
Common types of investment approaches that a sub-adviser may use in selecting investments for a fund include, but are not limited to, quantitative analysis, fundamental analysis, or a combination of both approaches. Quantitative analysis refers to programmatic models that analyze such factors as growth potential, valuation, liquidity, and investment risk based on data inputs. Fundamental analysis involves a bottom-up assessment of a company's potential for success in light of factors including its financial condition, earnings outlook, strategy, management, industry position, and economic and market conditions.
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
The fund may also use various techniques, such as buying and selling futures contracts, to increase or decrease its exposure to changing security prices or other factors that affect security values. The fund may also enter into foreign currency forward and options contracts for hedging purposes. In addition, the fund may have indirect exposure to derivatives through its investments in underlying funds.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Description of Principal Security Types
In addition to investing in underlying funds, the fund may invest directly in the following principal security types:
Equity securities represent an ownership interest, or the right to acquire an ownership interest, in an issuer. Different types of equity securities provide different voting and dividend rights and priority in the event of the bankruptcy of the issuer. Equity securities include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, and warrants.
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on the performance of the underlying funds and securities in which it invests and on changes in market conditions and interest rates and in response to other economic, political, or financial developments. The fund's reaction to these developments will be affected by the types of underlying funds and securities in which the fund invests, the financial condition, industry and economic sector, and geographic location of an issuer, and the fund's level of investment in the securities of that underlying fund or issuer.
If Strategic Advisers' or a sub-adviser's allocation strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective. The portfolio managers' evaluations and assumptions in selecting underlying funds or individual securities may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.
When your shares are sold they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
<R> Multiple Sub-Adviser Risk. Because each sub-adviser manages its allocated portion, if any, independently from another sub-adviser, it is possible that the sub-advisers' security selection processes may not complement one another. As a result, the fund's aggregate exposure to a particular industry or group of industries, or to a single issuer, could unintentionally be larger or smaller than intended. Because each sub-adviser directs the trading for its own portion, if any, of the fund, and does not aggregate its transactions with those of the other sub-advisers, the fund may incur higher brokerage costs than would be the case if a single sub-adviser were managing the entire fund.</R>
Investing in Other Funds. Regulatory restrictions may limit the amount that one fund can invest in another, and in certain cases further limit investments to the extent a fund's shares are already held by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The fund bears all risks of investment strategies employed by the underlying funds. The fund does not control the investments of the underlying funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the fund would not engage in directly. Aggregation of underlying fund holdings may result in indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase volatility.
Prospectus
Stock Market Volatility. The value of equity securities fluctuates in response to issuer, political, market, and economic developments. Fluctuations can be dramatic over the short as well as long term, and different parts of the market and different types of equity securities can react differently to these developments. For example, large cap stocks can react differently from small cap stocks, "growth" stocks can react differently from "value" stocks, and stocks selected using quantitative or technical analysis can react differently than stocks selected using fundamental analysis. Issuer, political, or economic developments can affect a single issuer, issuers within an industry or economic sector or geographic region, or the market as a whole. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact the market as a whole. Terrorism and related geo-political risks have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
<R> Foreign Exposure. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; withholding or other taxes; trading, settlement, custodial, and other operational risks; and the less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets. All of these factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and potentially less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can perform differently from the U.S. market.</R>
Investing in emerging markets can involve risks in addition to and greater than those generally associated with investing in more developed foreign markets. The extent of economic development; political stability; market depth, infrastructure, and capitalization; and regulatory oversight can be less than in more developed markets. Emerging market economies can be subject to greater social, economic, regulatory, and political uncertainties. All of these factors can make emerging market securities more volatile and potentially less liquid than securities issued in more developed markets.
<R>Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers or providers in, or foreign exchange rates with, a different country or region.</R>
<R> Geographic Exposure. Social, political, and economic conditions and changes in regulatory, tax, or economic policy in a country or region could significantly affect the market in that country or region. From time to time, a small number of companies and industries may represent a large portion of the market in a particular country or region, and these companies and industries can be sensitive to adverse social, political, economic, currency, or regulatory developments. Similarly, from time to time, an underlying fund may invest a large portion of its assets in the securities of issuers located in a single country or a limited number of countries. If an underlying fund invests in this manner, there is a higher risk that social, political, economic, tax (such as a tax on foreign investments or financial transactions), currency, or regulatory developments in those countries may have a significant impact on the underlying fund's investment performance.</R>
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Industry Exposure. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry or a group of related industries, and the securities of companies in that industry or group of industries could react similarly to these or other developments. In addition, from time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry or a group of related industries as a whole, and these companies can be sensitive to adverse economic, regulatory, or financial developments.
Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's value. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers. Smaller issuers can have more limited product lines, markets, or financial resources.
<R> Investing in ETFs. ETFs may trade in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) at prices below the value of their underlying portfolios and may not be liquid. An ETF that is not actively managed cannot sell poorly performing stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in its index or other benchmark. ETFs that track an index are subject to tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to its index or other benchmark).</R>
Quantitative Investing. The value of securities selected using quantitative analysis can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis. The factors used in quantitative analysis and the weight placed on those factors may not be predictive of a security's value. In addition, factors that affect a security's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model.
<R>In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser, if any, may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Prospectus
The following policy is fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
<R>The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates the fund's NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing the fund's NAV. Fidelity calculates net asset value separately for each class of shares of a multiple class fund.</R>
NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the SEC.
To the extent that the fund's assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some of the fund's assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) are valued at their respective NAVs. For an explanation of the circumstances under which the underlying funds will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the underlying funds' prospectuses and statements of additional information (SAIs). The fund's NAV is calculated using the values of the underlying funds in which it invests. Other assets (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations or official closing prices. Certain short-term securities are valued on the basis of amortized cost. If market quotations or official closing prices are not readily available or, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, are deemed unreliable for a security, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before the fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Arbitrage opportunities may exist when trading in a portfolio security or securities is halted and does not resume before a fund calculates its NAV. These arbitrage opportunities may enable short-term traders to dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Securities trading in overseas markets present time zone arbitrage opportunities when events affecting portfolio security values occur after the close of the overseas markets but prior to the close of the U.S. market. Fair valuation of a fund's portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that fair value pricing policies will prevent dilution of a fund's NAV by short-term traders.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Although the fund has policies regarding excessive trading, these too may not be effective to prevent short-term NAV arbitrage trading, particularly in regard to omnibus accounts.
Fair value pricing is based on subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value of a security may differ materially from the value that would be realized if the security were sold.
Prospectus
THE FUND IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO CERTAIN EMPLOYER-SPONSORED RETIREMENT PLANS AND FIDELITY BROKERAGE OR MUTUAL FUND ACCOUNTS. PLEASE SEE "FUND SUMMARY - PURCHASE AND SALE OF SHARES" ABOVE FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS.
Fidelity Investments was established in 1946 to manage one of America's first mutual funds. Today, Fidelity is one of the world's largest providers of financial services.
In addition to its mutual fund business, the company operates one of America's leading brokerage firms, Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC. Fidelity is also a leader in providing tax-advantaged retirement plans for individuals investing on their own or through their employer.
Subject to the purchase and sale requirements stated in this prospectus, you may buy or sell shares of a fund through a Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity mutual fund account. If you buy or sell shares of a fund (other than by exchange) through a Fidelity brokerage account, your transactions generally involve your Fidelity brokerage core (a settlement vehicle included as part of your Fidelity brokerage account).
If you do not currently have a Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity mutual fund account and would like to invest in a fund, you may need to complete an application. For more information about a Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity mutual fund account, please visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com, call 1-800-FIDELITY, or visit a Fidelity Investor Center (call 1-800-544-9797 for the center nearest you).
<R>You may also buy or sell shares of the fund through a retirement account (such as an IRA or an account funded through salary deductions) or an investment professional. Retirement specialists are available at 1-800-544-4774 to answer your questions about Fidelity retirement products. If you buy or sell shares of a fund through a retirement account or an investment professional, the procedures for buying, selling, and exchanging shares of the fund and the account features, policies, and fees may differ from those discussed in this prospectus. Fees in addition to those discussed in this prospectus may also apply. For example, you may be charged a transaction fee if you buy or sell shares of the fund through a non-Fidelity broker or other investment professional.</R>
You should include the following information with any order to buy, sell, or exchange shares:
Certain methods of contacting Fidelity, such as by telephone or electronically, may be unavailable or delayed (for example, during periods of unusual market activity). In addition, the level and type of service available may be restricted based on criteria established by Fidelity.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase or exchange, including transactions deemed to represent excessive trading, at any time.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
<R>The Board of Trustees has adopted policies designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares. Excessive trading activity in the fund is measured by the number of roundtrip transactions in a shareholder's account and each class of a multiple class fund is treated separately. A roundtrip transaction occurs when a shareholder sells fund shares (including exchanges) within 30 days of the purchase date.</R>
<R>Shareholders with two or more roundtrip transactions in a single fund within a rolling 90-day period will be blocked from making additional purchases or exchange purchases of the fund for 85 days. Shareholders with four or more roundtrip transactions across all Fidelity funds within any rolling 12-month period will be blocked for at least 85 days from additional purchases or exchange purchases across all Fidelity funds. Any roundtrip within 12 months of the expiration of a multi-fund block will initiate another multi-fund block. Repeat offenders may be subject to long-term or permanent blocks on purchase or exchange purchase transactions in any account under the shareholder's control at any time. In addition to enforcing these roundtrip limitations, the fund may in its discretion restrict, reject, or cancel any purchases or exchanges that, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, may be disruptive to the management of the fund or otherwise not be in the fund's interests.</R>
The following transactions are exempt from the fund's excessive trading policy described above: (i) transactions of $1,000 or less, (ii) systematic withdrawal and/or contribution programs, (iii) mandatory retirement distributions, and (iv) transactions initiated by a plan sponsor or sponsors of certain employee benefit plans or other related accounts. In addition, the fund's excessive trading policy does not apply to transactions initiated by the trustee or adviser to a donor-advised charitable gift fund, qualified fund of fund(s), or other strategy funds. A qualified fund of fund(s) is a mutual fund, qualified tuition program, or other strategy fund consisting of qualified plan assets that either applies the fund's excessive trading policies to shareholders at the fund of fund(s) level, or demonstrates that the fund of fund(s) has an investment strategy coupled with policies designed to control frequent trading that are reasonably likely to be effective as determined by the fund's Treasurer.
Prospectus
Omnibus accounts, in which shares are held in the name of an intermediary on behalf of multiple investors, are a common form of holding shares among retirement plans and financial intermediaries such as brokers, advisers, and third-party administrators. Individual trades in omnibus accounts are often not disclosed to the fund, making it difficult to determine whether a particular shareholder is engaging in excessive trading. Excessive trading in omnibus accounts is likely to go undetected by the fund and may increase costs to the fund and disrupt its portfolio management.
Under policies adopted by the Board of Trustees, intermediaries will be permitted to apply the fund's excessive trading policy (described above), or their own excessive trading policy if approved by Strategic Advisers. In these cases, the fund will typically not request or receive individual account data but will rely on the intermediary to monitor trading activity in good faith in accordance with its or the fund's policies. Reliance on intermediaries increases the risk that excessive trading may go undetected. For other intermediaries, the fund will generally monitor trading activity at the omnibus account level to attempt to identify disruptive trades. The fund may request transaction information, as frequently as daily, from any intermediary at any time, and may apply the fund's policy to transactions that exceed thresholds established by the Board of Trustees. The fund may prohibit purchases of fund shares by an intermediary or by some or all of any intermediary's clients. There is no assurance that Strategic Advisers will request data with sufficient frequency to detect or deter excessive trading in omnibus accounts effectively.
If you purchase or sell fund shares through a financial intermediary, you may wish to contact the intermediary to determine the policies applicable to your account.
For employer-sponsored retirement plans, only participant directed exchanges count toward the roundtrip limits. Employer-sponsored retirement plan participants whose activity triggers a purchase or exchange block will be permitted one trade every calendar quarter. In the event of a block, employer and participant contributions and loan repayments by the participant may still be invested in the fund.
The fund will monitor aggregate trading activity of adviser transactions to attempt to identify excessive trading in qualified wrap programs, as defined below. Excessive trading by an adviser will lead to fund blocks and the wrap program will lose its qualified status. Adviser transactions will not be matched with client-directed transactions unless the wrap program ceases to be a qualified wrap program (but all client-directed transactions will be subject to the fund's excessive trading policy). A qualified wrap program is: (i) a program whose adviser certifies that it has investment discretion over $100 million or more in client assets invested in mutual funds at the time of the certification, (ii) a program in which the adviser directs transactions in the accounts participating in the program in concert with changes in a model portfolio, and (iii) managed by an adviser who agrees to give Strategic Advisers sufficient information to permit Strategic Advisers to identify the individual accounts in the wrap program.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
The fund reserves the right at any time to restrict purchases or exchanges or impose conditions that are more restrictive on excessive or disruptive trading than those stated in this prospectus. The fund's Treasurer is authorized to suspend the fund's policies during periods of severe market turbulence or national emergency. The fund reserves the right to modify its policies at any time without prior notice.
The fund does not knowingly accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares by investors, except to the extent permitted by the policies described above.
In addition to these policies, the fund imposes a short-term redemption fee on redemptions from the fund, which is discussed in "Selling Shares." As described in "Valuing Shares," the fund also uses fair value pricing to help reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders. There is no assurance that the fund's excessive trading policy will be effective, or will successfully detect or deter excessive or disruptive trading.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its NAV. The fund's shares are sold without a sales charge.
Your shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after your investment is received in proper form.
The fund has authorized certain intermediaries to accept orders to buy shares on its behalf. When authorized intermediaries receive an order in proper form, the order is considered as being placed with the fund, and shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after the order is received by the authorized intermediary. Orders by funds of funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.
<R>Provided the fund receives an order to buy shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to buy shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.</R>
There is no minimum balance or purchase minimum for investments through Portfolio Advisory Services, a mutual fund or a qualified tuition program for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager, certain Fidelity retirement accounts funded through salary deduction, or fund positions opened with the proceeds of distributions from such retirement accounts or from a Fidelity systematic withdrawal service. In addition, the fund may waive or lower purchase minimums in other circumstances.
Prospectus
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
If your payment is not received and collected, your purchase may be canceled and you could be liable for any losses or fees the fund or Fidelity has incurred.
Certain financial institutions that have entered into sales agreements with FDC may enter confirmed purchase orders on behalf of customers by phone, with payment to follow no later than the time when fund shares are priced on the following business day. If payment is not received by that time, the order will be canceled and the financial institution could be held liable for resulting fees or losses.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.
If you sell your shares after holding them less than 30 days, a 1.00% short-term redemption fee may be deducted from the redemption amount. For this purpose, shares held longest will be treated as being redeemed first and shares held shortest as being redeemed last. The fees are paid to the fund, not Strategic Advisers, and are designed to help offset the brokerage commissions, market impact, and other costs associated with short-term shareholder trading.
<R>The short-term redemption fee does not apply to: (i) redemptions of shares acquired by reinvesting dividends and distributions; (ii) rollovers, transfers, and changes of account registration within the fund, or transfers between classes of a multiple class fund (if applicable) as long as the money never leaves the fund; and (iii) redemptions in kind.</R>
The fund also permits waivers of the short-term redemption fee for the following transactions:
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
The application of short-term redemption fees and waivers may vary among intermediaries and certain intermediaries may not apply the waivers listed above. If you purchase or sell fund shares through an intermediary, you should contact your intermediary for more information on whether the short-term redemption fee will be applied to redemptions of your shares.
The fund reserves the right to modify or eliminate the short-term redemption fee or waivers at any time. Investment advisers or their affiliates may pay short-term redemption fees on behalf of investors in managed accounts. Unitized group accounts consisting of qualified plan assets may be treated as a single account for redemption fee purposes.
Fidelity seeks to identify intermediaries that hold fund shares in omnibus accounts and will refuse their purchase orders if they do not agree to track and remit short-term redemption fees based on the transactions of underlying investors. There are no assurances that Fidelity will successfully identify all intermediaries or that the intermediaries will properly assess short-term redemption fees.
Your shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
<R>The fund has authorized certain intermediaries to accept orders to sell shares on its behalf. When authorized intermediaries receive an order in proper form, the order is considered as being placed with the fund, and shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after the order is received by the authorized intermediary, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable. Orders by funds of funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.</R>
<R>Provided the fund receives an order to sell shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to sell shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.</R>
A signature guarantee is designed to protect you and Fidelity from fraud. Fidelity may require that your request be made in writing and include a signature guarantee in certain circumstances, such as:
Prospectus
You should be able to obtain a signature guarantee from a bank, broker (including Fidelity Investor Centers), dealer, credit union (if authorized under state law), securities exchange or association, clearing agency, or savings association. A notary public cannot provide a signature guarantee.
When you place an order to sell shares, note the following:
An exchange involves the redemption of all or a portion of the shares of one fund and the purchase of shares of another fund.
If you hold your shares of the fund through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, your shares of the fund may be exchanged into shares of any class of a Fidelity fund available through your plan. If you hold your shares of the fund through a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, your shares of the fund may be exchanged into shares of other Fidelity funds.
However, you should note the following policies and restrictions governing exchanges:
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
The fund may terminate or modify exchange privileges in the future.
Other funds may have different exchange restrictions and minimums, and may impose redemption fees of up to 2.00% of the amount exchanged. Check each fund's prospectus for details.
<R>The following features may be available to buy and sell shares of the fund or to move money to and from your account, if you are investing through a Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity mutual fund account. Please visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com or call 1-800-544-6666 for more information.</R>
<R> Electronic Funds Transfer: electronic money movement through the Automated Clearing House </R> • To transfer money between a bank account and a Fidelity brokerage account or Fidelity mutual fund account. • You can use electronic funds transfer to: - Make periodic (automatic) purchases of Fidelity fund shares or payments to your Fidelity brokerage account. - Make periodic (automatic) redemptions of Fidelity fund shares or withdrawals from your Fidelity brokerage account. |
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<R> Wire: electronic money movement through the Federal Reserve wire system </R> • To transfer money between a bank account and a Fidelity brokerage account or Fidelity mutual fund account.
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Automatic Transactions: periodic (automatic) transactions • To directly deposit all or a portion of your compensation from your employer (or the U.S. Government, in the case of Social Security) into a Fidelity brokerage account or Fidelity mutual fund account. • To make contributions from a Fidelity mutual fund account to a Fidelity mutual fund IRA. • To sell shares of a Fidelity money market fund and simultaneously to buy shares of another Fidelity fund in a Fidelity mutual fund account. |
The following policies apply to you as a shareholder.
Statements that Fidelity sends to you include the following:
<R></R>
Electronic copies of most financial reports and prospectuses are available at Fidelity's web site. To participate in Fidelity's electronic delivery program, call Fidelity or visit Fidelity's web site for more information.
You may initiate many transactions by telephone or electronically. Fidelity will not be responsible for any loss, cost, expense, or other liability resulting from unauthorized transactions if it follows reasonable security procedures designed to verify the identity of the investor. Fidelity will request personalized security codes or other information, and may also record calls. For transactions conducted through the Internet, Fidelity recommends the use of an Internet browser with 128-bit encryption. You should verify the accuracy of your confirmation statements upon receipt and notify Fidelity immediately of any discrepancies in your account activity. If you do not want the ability to sell and exchange by telephone, call Fidelity for instructions. Additional documentation may be required from corporations, associations, and certain fiduciaries.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
You may also be asked to provide additional information in order for Fidelity to verify your identity in accordance with requirements under anti-money laundering regulations. Accounts may be restricted and/or closed, and the monies withheld, pending verification of this information or as otherwise required under these and other federal regulations.
If you hold your shares of the fund in a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, Fidelity may deduct a small balance maintenance fee of $12.00 from a fund balance with a value of less than $2,000 in shares. It is expected that fund balances will be valued after November 1 but prior to December 31 of each calendar year. Fund positions opened after September 30 will not be subject to the fee for that calendar year. The fee, which is payable to Fidelity, is designed to offset in part the relatively higher costs of servicing smaller fund positions. This fee will not be deducted from fund positions opened after January 1 of that calendar year if those positions use certain regular investment plans.
If your fund balance falls below $2,000 worth of shares ($500 for fund balances in Fidelity Simplified Employee Pension-IRA and Keogh accounts, and Non-Fidelity Prototype Retirement accounts) for any reason, including solely due to declines in NAV, and you do not increase your balance, Fidelity may sell all of your shares and send the proceeds to you after providing you with at least 30 days' notice to reestablish the minimum balance. Your shares will be sold at the NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable, on the day Fidelity closes your fund position. Certain fund positions are not subject to these balance requirements and will not be closed for failure to maintain a minimum balance.
Fidelity may charge a fee for certain services, such as providing historical account documents.
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
The fund normally pays dividends and capital gain distributions in April and December.
If you hold your shares of the fund through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, all dividends and capital gains distributions paid will be automatically reinvested. If you hold your shares of the fund in a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, when you open an account, specify on your application how you want to receive your distributions. The following distribution options are available for shares of the fund:
1. Reinvestment Option. Your dividends and capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional shares of the fund. If you do not indicate a choice on your application, you will be assigned this option.
Prospectus
2. Income-Earned Option. Your capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional shares of the fund. Your dividends will be paid in cash.
3. Cash Option. Your dividends and capital gain distributions will be paid in cash.
4. Directed Dividends ® Option. Your dividends will be automatically invested in shares of another identically registered Fidelity fund. Your capital gain distributions will be automatically invested in shares of another identically registered Fidelity fund, automatically reinvested in additional shares of the fund, or paid in cash.
If the distribution option you prefer is not listed on your account application, or if you want to change your current distribution option, visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com or call 1-800-544-6666 for more information.
If you elect to receive distributions paid in cash by check and the U.S. Postal Service does not deliver your checks, your distribution option may be converted to the Reinvestment Option. You will not receive interest on amounts represented by uncashed distribution checks.
If your dividend check(s) remains uncashed for more than six months, your check(s) may be invested in additional shares of the fund at the NAV next calculated on the day of the investment.
As with any investment, your investment in the fund could have tax consequences for you. If you are not investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account, you should consider these tax consequences.
Taxes on distributions. If you hold your shares of the fund through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, distributions by the fund to tax-advantaged retirement plan accounts are not taxable currently. If you hold your shares of the fund in a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes.
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including dividends and distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable to you as ordinary income, while certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of long-term capital gains, are taxable to you generally as capital gains. A percentage of certain distributions of dividends may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
<R>If you buy shares when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.</R>
Any taxable distributions you receive from the fund will normally be taxable to you when you receive them, regardless of your distribution option.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Taxes on transactions. If you hold your shares of the fund through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, exchanges within a tax-advantaged retirement plan account will not result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. Please consult your tax advisor regarding the tax treatment of distributions from a tax-advantaged retirement plan account. If you hold your shares of the fund in a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, your redemptions, including exchanges, may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on your investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of your shares and the price you receive when you sell them.
Prospectus
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
The fund employs a multi-manager and a fund of funds investment structure. Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of sub-advisers or underlying funds.
<R> Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. The address of Strategic Advisers and its affiliates, unless otherwise indicated below, is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R>As of December 31, 2012, Strategic Advisers had approximately $320.7 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
As the manager, Strategic Advisers has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
<R> Causeway, at 11111 Santa Monica Boulevard, 15th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90025, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, Causeway had approximately $17.0 billion in assets under management. Causeway provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> MFS, at 111 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02199, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, MFS had approximately $339.0 billion in assets under management. MFS provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Pyramis, at 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. Pyramis is an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. As of December 31, 2012, Pyramis had approximately $31.7 billion in discretionary assets under management. Pyramis provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> William Blair, at 222 W. Adams St., Chicago, IL 60606, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, William Blair had approximately $52.1 billion in assets under management. William Blair provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> StrategicAdvisers </R>
<R>Wilfred Chilangwa is lead portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since May 2012. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1997, Mr. Chilangwa has worked as a senior fund analyst, an international strategist, and a portfolio manager.</R>
Causeway
<R>The portion of the fund managed by Causeway is managed by a team of portfolio managers comprised of Sarah H. Ketterer, Harry W. Hartford, James A. Doyle, Jonathan P. Eng, Kevin Durkin, Conor Muldoon, Foster Corwith, and Alessandro Valentini.</R>
<R>Sarah H. Ketterer is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which she has managed since May 2012. Ms. Ketterer is the chief executive officer of Causeway. Ms. Ketterer co-founded Causeway in June 2001. Prior to that, she was with the Hotchkis and Wiley division of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, L.P. (HW-MLIM) since 1996, where she was a managing director and co-head of the International and Global Value Equity Team in Los Angeles.</R>
Prospectus
<R>Harry W. Hartford is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2012. Mr. Hartford is the president of Causeway. Mr. Hartford co-founded Causeway in June 2001. Prior to that, he was with HW-MLIM since 1996, where he was a managing director and co-head of the International and Global Value Equity Team in Los Angeles.</R>
<R>James A. Doyle is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2012. Mr. Doyle is a director of Causeway. Mr. Doyle joined the firm in June 2001. Previously, Mr. Doyle was with HW-MLIM since 1997, where he was a vice president and the head of investment research for the International and Global Value Equity Team in Los Angeles.</R>
<R>Jonathan P. Eng is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2012. Mr. Eng is a director of Causeway. Mr. Eng joined the firm in July 2001. From 1997 to July 2001, Mr. Eng was with HW-MLIM in Los Angeles and London, where he was an equity research associate for the International and Global Value Equity Team.</R>
<R>Kevin Durkin is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2012. Mr. Durkin is a director of Causeway. Mr. Durkin joined the firm in June 2001. From 1999 to June 2001, Mr. Durkin was with HW-MLIM in Los Angeles, where he was an equity research associate for the International and Global Value Equity Team.</R>
<R>Conor Muldoon is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2012. Mr. Muldoon is a director of Causeway. Mr. Muldoon joined the firm in June 2003. From 1995 to June 2003, Mr. Muldoon was an investment consultant for Fidelity Investments where he served as a liaison between institutional clients and investment managers within Fidelity.</R>
<R>Foster Corwith is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since April 2013. Mr. Corwith is a director of Causeway. Mr. Corwith joined the firm in July 2006. During the summer of 2005, Mr. Corwith was a research associate at Deutsche Asset Management, where he was responsible for researching consumer staples companies. From 2003 to 2004, Mr. Corwith was a project manager in the Corporate Services group of The Bank of New York, where he oversaw the integration of trading platforms for 200 broker-dealer clients acquired during the firm's merger with Mellon Financial. From 2001-2003, Mr. Corwith was an analyst in Credit Suisse First Boston's prime brokerage unit, where he worked as a liaison between the group's security lending, technology, and account management groups. From 2000-2001, Mr. Corwith was a management trainee at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, working with the equity research team.</R>
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
<R>Alessandro Valentini is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since April 2013. Mr. Valentini is a director of Causeway. Mr. Valentini joined the firm in July 2006. During the summer of 2005, Mr. Valentini worked as a research analyst at Thornburg Investment Management, where he conducted fundamental research for the International Value Fund and the Value Fund, focusing on the European telecommunication and Canadian oil sectors. From 2000 to 2004, Mr. Valentini worked as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs in the European Equities Research-Sales division in New York.</R>
MFS
The portion of the fund managed by MFS in the International Value strategy is managed by portfolio managers Benjamin Stone and Barnaby Wiener. The portfolio managers of the portion of the fund managed by MFS in the Research International strategy are Jose Luis Garcia and Thomas Melendez, with Messrs. Garcia and Melendez providing general oversight of a team of investment professionals responsible for security selection.
<R>Benjamin Stone is co-manager of MFS' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2012. Mr. Stone is an Investment Officer of MFS and has been employed in the investment area of MFS since 2005. </R>
<R>Barnaby Wiener is co-manager of MFS' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2012. Mr. Wiener is an Investment Officer of MFS and has been employed in the investment area of MFS since 1998. </R>
<R>Jose Luis Garcia and Thomas Melendez are each co-managers of MFS' portion of the fund's assets, which they have managed since May 2012. Messrs. Garcia and Melendez are each Investment Officers of MFS and have been employed in the investment area of MFS since 2002.</R>
Pyramis
<R>Cesar Hernandez, CFA, is portfolio manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2012. Mr. Hernandez developed the Select International discipline at Fidelity and is responsible for managing the Select International and the Select Global Strategies. Mr. Hernandez joined Fidelity Investments as a portfolio manager in 1989.</R>
William Blair
<R>W. George Greig, a partner of William Blair, serves as a portfolio manager for William Blair's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2012. He currently serves as the global strategist for William Blair's Investment Management Department and has headed William Blair's international investment management team since 1996. </R>
The SAI provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by the portfolio managers.
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.
Prospectus
The fund pays a management fee to Strategic Advisers. The management fee is calculated and paid to Strategic Advisers every month.
The fund's management fee is calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets. Because the fund's management fee rate may fluctuate, the fund's management fee may be higher or lower in the future. The fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.05% of the fund's average daily net assets.
In return for the services of the fund's sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers will pay each of the fund's sub-advisers the fee (as described above) payable to that sub-adviser.
<R>The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract and sub-advisory agreements for the fund is available in the fund's semi-annual report for the fiscal period ended August 31, 2012 and in the fund's annual report for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, agree to reimburse a class for, or waive, management fees and other expenses above a specified limit. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid by a class if expenses fall below the specified limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.</R>
Reimbursement or waiver arrangements can decrease expenses and boost performance.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, approximately 99.14% of the fund's total outstanding shares were held by Strategic Advisers and/or another entity or entities of which FMR LLC is the ultimate parent.</R>
<R>The fund is composed of multiple classes of shares. All classes of the fund have a common investment objective and investment portfolio.</R>
FDC distributes the fund's shares.
<R>Intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), may receive from Strategic Advisers, FMR, FDC, and/or their affiliates compensation for providing recordkeeping and administrative services, as well as other retirement plan expenses, and compensation for services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund. These payments are described in more detail in this section and in the SAI.</R>
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
The fund has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) with respect to its shares that recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, service-providers, and administrators, that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Affiliates of Strategic Advisers may receive service fees or distribution fees or both with respect to underlying funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork.
<R>If payments made by Strategic Advisers to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of a class's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.</R>
From time to time, FDC may offer special promotional programs to investors who purchase shares of Fidelity funds. For example, FDC may offer merchandise, discounts, vouchers, or similar items to investors who purchase shares of certain Fidelity funds during certain periods. To determine if you qualify for any such programs, contact Fidelity or visit our web site at www.fidelity.com.
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
Prospectus
<R>The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the financial history of the fund's shares for the period of operations. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of the fund. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in shares of the fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial highlights and financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report. A free copy of the annual report is available upon request.</R>
<R> Period ended February 28, |
2013 E </R> |
<R> Selected Per-Share Data |
</R> |
<R> Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 10.00 </R> |
<R> Income from Investment Operations |
</R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) D |
.11 </R> |
<R> Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
1.05 </R> |
<R> Total from investment operations |
1.16 </R> |
<R> Distributions from net investment income |
(.10) </R> |
<R> Distributions from net realized gain |
(.02 ) </R> |
<R> Total distributions |
(.12 ) </R> |
<R> Redemption fees added to paid in capital D |
- G </R> |
<R> Net asset value, end of period |
$ 11.04 </R> |
<R> Total Return B, C |
11.64% </R> |
<R> Ratios to Average Net Assets F |
</R> |
<R> Expenses before reductions |
1.29% A </R> |
<R> Expenses net of fee waivers, if any |
1.18% A </R> |
<R> Expenses net of all reductions |
1.16% A </R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) |
1.26% A </R> |
<R> Supplemental Data |
</R> |
<R> Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$ 56,164 </R> |
<R> Portfolio turnover rate H |
42% A </R> |
<R> A Annualized </R>
<R> B Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized. </R>
<R> C Total returns would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reduced during the applicable periods shown. </R>
<R> D Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period. </R>
<R> E For the period May 2, 2012 (commencement of operations) to February 28, 2013. </R>
<R> F Expense ratios reflect operating expenses of the class. Expenses before reductions do not reflect amounts reimbursed by the investment adviser or reductions from brokerage service arrangements or reductions from other expense offset arrangements and do not represent the amount paid by the class during periods when reimbursements or reductions occur. Expense ratios before reductions for start-up periods may not be representative of longer-term operating periods. Expenses net of fee waivers reflect expenses after reimbursement by the investment adviser but prior to reductions from brokerage service arrangements or other expense offset arrangements. Expenses net of all reductions represent the net expenses paid by the class. Fees and expenses of the Underlying Funds are not included in the class' annualized ratios. The class indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the Underlying Funds. </R>
<R> G Amount represents less than $.01 per share. </R>
<R> H Amounts do not include the portfolio turnover activity of any Underlying Funds. </R>
Notes
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account. For individual investors opening an account: When you open an account, you will be asked for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow Fidelity to identify you. You may also be asked to provide documents that may help to establish your identity, such as your driver's license. For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account such as name, residential address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity. |
<R>You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.</R>
<R>For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call 1-800-835-5095 (plan accounts) or 1-800-544-3455 (all other accounts). In addition, you may visit the web site at www.401k.com (plan accounts) or www.fidelity.com (all other accounts) for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.</R>
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number, 811-21991 |
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design, FundsNetwork, FAST, and Directed Dividends are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R>1.938039.102 STG-PRO-0413</R>
Strategic Advisers ® International Multi-Manager Fund (FMJDX)
<R> A Class of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund </R>
A Fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R>This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. Portions of the fund's annual report are incorporated herein. The annual report is supplied with this SAI.</R>
<R>To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated April 29, 2013, or an annual report, please call Fidelity at 1-800-835-5095 (plan accounts) or 1-800-544-3455 (all other accounts) or visit the web site at www.401k.com (plan accounts) or www.fidelity.com (all other accounts).</R>
<R>STG-PTB-0413
1.938040.103</R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
|
PAGE |
Investment Policies and Limitations |
|
<R>Special Geographic Considerations |
36</R> |
<R>Portfolio Transactions |
45 </R> |
<R>Valuation |
54 </R> |
<R>Buying, Selling, and Exchanging Information |
55</R> |
<R>Distributions and Taxes |
55 </R> |
<R>Trustees and Officers |
56 </R> |
<R>Control of Investment Advisers |
62 </R> |
<R>Management Contract |
63 </R> |
<R>Proxy Voting Guidelines |
73 </R> |
<R>Distribution Services |
83 </R> |
<R>Transfer and Service Agent Agreements |
84 </R> |
<R>Description of the Trust |
84 </R> |
<R>Fund Holdings Information |
85 </R> |
<R>Financial Statements |
86 </R> |
<R>Appendix |
86 </R> |
<R> |
</R> |
<R> |
</R> |
<R> |
</R> |
<R> |
</R> |
<R> |
</R> |
<R> |
</R> |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not with respect to 75% of the fund's total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except in connection with the insurance program established by the fund pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission or as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry (provided that investments in other investment companies shall not be considered an investment in any particular industry for purposes of this investment limitation).
<R>For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities, Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) looks through to the U.S. Government securities.</R>
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The acquisitions of loans and loan participations excluded from the fund's lending limitation discussed above are only those loans and loan participations considered securities within the meaning of the 1940 Act.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, and provided that transactions in futures contracts and options are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 15% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
<R>To the extent that the fund acquires the shares of an underlying fund in accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, the underlying fund is not obligated to redeem its shares in an amount exceeding 1% of its shares outstanding during any period of less than 30 days. Those underlying fund shares will not be treated as illiquid securities for purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation described above to the extent that the fund is able to dispose of such securities by distributing them in kind to redeeming shareholders. (See "Securities of Other Investment Companies" on page 33 .)</R>
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to lend assets other than securities to other parties, except by (a) lending money (up to 15% of the fund's net assets) to a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) assuming any unfunded commitments in connection with the acquisition of loans, loan participations, or other forms of debt instruments. (This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities, to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.)
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
<R>For the fund's limitations on futures and options transactions, see the section entitled "Futures, Options, and Swaps" on page 27 .</R>
Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitations, the underlying funds in which the fund may invest have adopted certain investment limitations that may be more or less restrictive than those listed above, thereby permitting the fund to engage indirectly in investment strategies that are prohibited under the investment limitations listed above. The investment limitations of each underlying fund are set forth in its registration statement.
In accordance with its investment program as set forth in the prospectus, the fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in any one underlying Fidelity fund. Although the fund does not intend to concentrate its investments in a particular industry, the fund may indirectly concentrate in a particular industry or group of industries through its investments in one or more underlying funds.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
Strategic Advisers ® International Multi-Manager Fund may have exposure to instruments, techniques, and risks either directly or indirectly through an investment in an underlying fund. An underlying fund may invest in the same or other types of instruments and its adviser may employ the same or other types of techniques. Strategic Advisers ® International Multi-Manager Fund's performance will be affected by the instruments, techniques, and risks associated with an underlying fund, in proportion to the amount of assets that the fund allocates to that underlying fund.
<R>On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "a fund" or "the fund" may relate to Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund or an underlying fund, and references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to Strategic Advisers (or its affiliates) or a sub-adviser of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, or an adviser of an underlying fund.</R>
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
<R> Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of short-term bond or money market funds, including (for Fidelity funds and other advisory clients only) shares of Fidelity central funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.</R>
<R> Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Notice of Exclusion. The trust, on behalf of the Fidelity fund to which this SAI relates, has filed with the National Futures Association a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the CFTC promulgated thereunder, with respect to the fund's operation. Accordingly, neither the fund nor its adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or a CPO. However, the CFTC has adopted certain rule amendments that significantly affect the continued availability of this exclusion, and may subject advisers to funds to regulation by the CFTC. As of the date of this SAI, the adviser does not expect to register as a CPO of the fund. However, there is no certainty that a fund or its adviser will be able to rely on an exclusion in the future as the fund's investments change over time. A fund may determine not to use investment strategies that trigger additional CFTC regulation or may determine to operate subject to CFTC regulation, if applicable. If a fund or its adviser operates subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.</R>
Common Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock, although related proceedings can take time to resolve and results can be unpredictable.
Convertible Securities are bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption or conversion, the fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
Country or Geographic Region. Various factors may be considered in determining whether an investment is tied economically to a particular country or region, including: whether the investment is issued or guaranteed by a particular government or any of its agencies, political subdivisions, or instrumentalities; whether the investment has its primary trading market in a particular country or region; whether the issuer is organized under the laws of, derives at least 50% of its revenues from, or has at least 50% of its assets in a particular country or region; whether the investment is included in an index representative of a particular country or region; and whether the investment is exposed to the economic fortunes and risks of a particular country or region.
Debt Securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay interest but are sold at a deep discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, and mortgage and other asset-backed securities.
<R> Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments. An ETF may seek to replicate the performance of a specified index or may be actively managed.</R>
Typically, ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks (typically, 50,000 shares) often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.
<R>Some of the risks of investing in an ETF that tracks an index are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.</R>
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
<R> ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their intraday indicative value. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. </R>
Exposure to Foreign and Emerging Markets. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Foreign investments involve risks relating to local political, economic, regulatory, or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments, and may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Such actions may include expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. Additionally, governmental issuers of foreign debt securities may be unwilling to pay interest and repay principal when due and may require that the conditions for payment be renegotiated. There is no assurance that a fund's adviser will be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies and of dividends and interest paid with respect to such securities will fluctuate based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar. From time to time, a fund may invest a large portion of its assets in the securities of issuers located in a single country or a limited number of countries. If a fund invests in this manner, there is a higher risk that social, political, economic, tax (such as a tax on foreign investments), or regulatory developments in those countries may have a significant impact on the fund's investment performance.
It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for foreign securities will be on an exchange or in over-the-counter (OTC) markets located outside of the United States. Foreign stock markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign security trading, settlement and custodial practices (including those involving securities settlement where fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment) are often less developed than those in U.S. markets, and may result in increased investment or valuation risk or substantial delays in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of, or breach of duty by, a foreign broker-dealer, securities depository, or foreign subcustodian. In addition, the costs associated with foreign investments, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions, and custodial costs, are generally higher than with U.S. investments.
Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors than U.S. markets. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Adequate public information on foreign issuers may not be available, and it may be difficult to secure dividends and information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. OTC markets tend to be less regulated than stock exchange markets and, in certain countries, may be totally unregulated. Regulatory enforcement may be influenced by economic or political concerns, and investors may have difficulty enforcing their legal rights in foreign countries.
Some foreign securities impose restrictions on transfer within the United States or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than foreign securities of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks include foreign exchange risk as well as the political and economic risks of the underlying issuer's country.
The risks of foreign investing may be magnified for investments in emerging markets. Security prices in emerging markets can be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
Foreign Currency Transactions. A fund may conduct foreign currency transactions on a spot ( i.e., cash) or forward basis ( i.e., by entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies). Although foreign exchange dealers generally do not charge a fee for such conversions, they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the counterparty desire to resell that currency to the dealer. Forward contracts are customized transactions that require a specific amount of a currency to be delivered at a specific exchange rate on a specific date or range of dates in the future. Forward contracts are generally traded in an interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The parties to a forward contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated currency exchange.
The following discussion summarizes the principal currency management strategies involving forward contracts that could be used by a fund. A fund may also use swap agreements, indexed securities, and options and futures contracts relating to foreign currencies for the same purposes. Forward contracts not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying currency. All of these instruments and transactions are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default.
<R>A "settlement hedge" or "transaction hedge" is designed to protect a fund against an adverse change in foreign currency values between the date a security denominated in a foreign currency is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in an underlying security transaction for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars "locks in" the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used to protect a fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected.</R>
<R>A fund may also use forward contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in a foreign currency. For example, if a fund owned securities denominated in pounds sterling, it could enter into a forward contract to sell pounds sterling in return for U.S. dollars to hedge against possible declines in the pound's value. Such a hedge, sometimes referred to as a "position hedge," would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. A fund could also attempt to hedge the position by selling another currency expected to perform similarly to the pound sterling. This type of hedge, sometimes referred to as a "proxy hedge," could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield, or efficiency, but generally would not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a direct hedge into U.S. dollars. Proxy hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated.</R>
A fund may enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a "cross-hedge," will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if a fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. A fund may cross-hedge its U.S. dollar exposure in order to achieve a representative weighted mix of the major currencies in its benchmark index and/or to cover an underweight country or region exposure in its portfolio. Cross-hedges protect against losses resulting from a decline in the hedged currency, but will cause a fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases.
<R>Successful use of currency management strategies will depend on an adviser's skill in analyzing currency values. Currency management strategies may substantially change a fund's investment exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and could result in losses to a fund if currencies do not perform as an adviser anticipates. For example, if a currency's value rose at a time when a fund had hedged its position by selling that currency in exchange for dollars, the fund would not participate in the currency's appreciation. If a fund hedges currency exposure through proxy hedges, the fund could realize currency losses from both the hedge and the security position if the two currencies do not move in tandem. Similarly, if a fund increases its exposure to a foreign currency and that currency's value declines, the fund will realize a loss. Foreign currency transactions involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that a fund's hedging strategies will be ineffective. Moreover, it is impossible to precisely forecast the market value of portfolio securities at the expiration of a foreign currency forward contract. Accordingly, a fund may be required to buy or sell additional currency on the spot market (and bear the expenses of such transaction), if an adviser's predictions regarding the movement of foreign currency or securities markets prove inaccurate.</R>
<R>A fund may be required to limit its hedging transactions in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options in order to maintain its classification as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Hedging transactions could result in the application of the mark-to-market provisions of the Code, which may cause an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a fund and could affect whether dividends paid by a fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. A fund will cover its exposure to foreign currency transactions with liquid assets in compliance with applicable requirements. There is no assurance that an adviser's use of currency management strategies will be advantageous to a fund or that it will employ currency management strategies at appropriate times.</R>
Options and Futures Relating to Foreign Currencies. Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges (and have margin requirements) and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The underlying instrument of a currency option may be a foreign currency, which generally is purchased or delivered in exchange for U.S. dollars, or may be a futures contract. The purchaser of a currency call obtains the right to purchase the underlying currency, and the purchaser of a currency put obtains the right to sell the underlying currency.
<R>The uses and risks of currency options and futures are similar to options and futures relating to securities or indexes, as discussed below. A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and may purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. Currency options may also be purchased or written in conjunction with each other or with currency futures or forward contracts. Currency futures and options values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates, but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated security from a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of a fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the fund's investments exactly over time.</R>
<R>Currency options traded on U.S. or other exchanges may be subject to position limits which may limit the ability of the fund to reduce foreign currency risk using such options.</R>
Foreign Repurchase Agreements. Foreign repurchase agreements involve an agreement to purchase a foreign security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price in either U.S. dollars or foreign currency. Unlike typical U.S. repurchase agreements, foreign repurchase agreements may not be fully collateralized at all times. The value of a security purchased by a fund may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to repurchase the security. In the event of default by the counterparty, a fund may suffer a loss if the value of the security purchased is less than the agreed-upon repurchase price, or if the fund is unable to successfully assert a claim to the collateral under foreign laws. As a result, foreign repurchase agreements may involve higher credit risks than repurchase agreements in U.S. markets, as well as risks associated with currency fluctuations. In addition, as with other emerging market investments, repurchase agreements with counterparties located in emerging markets or relating to emerging markets may involve issuers or counterparties with lower credit ratings than typical U.S. repurchase agreements.
Fund's Rights as an Investor. Fidelity funds do not intend to direct or administer the day-to-day operations of any company. A fund may, however, exercise its rights as a shareholder or lender and may communicate its views on important matters of policy to a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders, and holders of a company's other securities when such matters could have a significant effect on the value of the fund's investment in the company. The activities in which a fund may engage, either individually or in conjunction with others, may include, among others, supporting or opposing proposed changes in a company's corporate structure or business activities; seeking changes in a company's directors or management; seeking changes in a company's direction or policies; seeking the sale or reorganization of the company or a portion of its assets; supporting or opposing third-party takeover efforts; supporting the filing of a bankruptcy petition; or foreclosing on collateral securing a security. This area of corporate activity is increasingly prone to litigation and it is possible that a fund could be involved in lawsuits related to such activities. Such activities will be monitored with a view to mitigating, to the extent possible, the risk of litigation against a fund and the risk of actual liability if a fund is involved in litigation. No guarantee can be made, however, that litigation against a fund will not be undertaken or liabilities incurred. The fund's proxy voting guidelines are included in this SAI.
<R> Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. If a fund invests a significant portion of its assets in derivatives, its investment exposure could far exceed the value of its portfolio securities and its investment performance could be primarily dependent upon securities it does not own.</R>
Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.
The limitations on the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps, and the fund's policies regarding futures contracts, options, and swaps may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts.
<R> Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts and the price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities or baskets of securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indexes (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indexes of securities prices (including foreign indexes for funds that seek foreign exposure). Futures on indexes and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out by offsetting purchases or sales of futures contracts before then if a liquid market is available. A fund may realize a gain or loss by closing out its futures contracts.</R>
<R>The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the underlying instrument. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.</R>
<R>The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by a fund, but is instead a settlement between a fund and the FCM of the amount one would owe the other if the fund's contract expired. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is also required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.</R>
<R>Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement, and margin procedures that are different from those for U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may not involve a clearing mechanism or related guarantees and may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to a fund. Because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuation.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.</R>
<R>If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
<R>Futures contracts on U.S. Government securities historically have reacted to an increase or decrease in interest rates in a manner similar to the manner in which the underlying U.S. Government securities reacted. To the extent, however, that a fund enters into such futures contracts, the value of these futures contracts will not vary in direct proportion to the value of the fund's holdings of U.S. Government securities. Thus, the anticipated spread between the price of the futures contract and the hedged security may be distorted due to differences in the nature of the markets. The spread also may be distorted by differences in initial and variation margin requirements, the liquidity of such markets and the participation of speculators in such markets.</R>
<R> Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, baskets of assets or securities, indexes of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). Options may be traded on an exchange or OTC. The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. Depending on the terms of the contract, upon exercise, an option may require physical delivery of the underlying instrument or may be settled through cash payments. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.</R>
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
<R>The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right (but not the obligation) to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.</R>
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
<R>Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer should mitigate the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.</R>
<R>Where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price to close out the put or call option on the secondary market may move more or less than the price of the related security.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for exchange-traded options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.</R>
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
<R>A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps (swaptions), which are generally options on interest rate swaps. An option on a swap gives a party the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, a fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes (sells) an option on a swap than it will incur when it purchases an option on a swap. When a fund purchases an option on a swap, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when a fund writes an option on a swap, upon exercise of the option the fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement. A fund that writes an option on a swap receives the premium and bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the preset rate on the underlying interest rate swap. Whether a fund's use of options on swaps will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend on the adviser's ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Options on swaps may involve risks similar to those discussed below in "Swap Agreements."</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
<R> Swap Agreements. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term. Most swap agreements are currently traded over-the-counter. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange one or more payments based, for example, on the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, indexes, or other financial or economic interests). The gross payments to be exchanged between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.</R>
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness.
<R>A fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. In order to cover its outstanding obligations to a swap counterparty, a fund would generally be required to provide margin or collateral for the benefit of that counterparty. If a counterparty to a swap transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited temporarily or permanently in exercising its right to the return of related fund assets designated as margin or collateral in an action against the counterparty.</R>
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<R>Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that an adviser will not accurately forecast market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other economic factors in establishing swap positions for a fund. If an adviser attempts to use a swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, a fund may be exposed to the risk that the swap will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment, which could cause substantial losses for a fund. While hedging strategies involving swap instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Swaps are complex and often valued subjectively.</R>
Illiquid Securities cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity fund's adviser determines the liquidity of the fund's investments and, through reports from the fund's adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid securities.
Various factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments, including (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
Increasing Government Debt. The total public debt of the United States and other countries around the globe as a percent of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented.
A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt cost higher and cause a country to sell additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In the worst case, unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns.
On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States one level to "AA+" from "AAA." While Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the United States' short-term sovereign credit rating as "A-1+," there is no guarantee that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services will not decide to lower this rating in the future. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services stated that its decision was prompted by its view on the rising public debt burden and its perception of greater policymaking uncertainty. The market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government may be adversely affected by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services decisions to downgrade the long-term sovereign credit rating of the United States.
<R> Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indexes, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.</R>
<R>Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indexes. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.</R>
Indexed securities may have principal payments as well as coupon payments that depend on the performance of one or more interest rates. Their coupon rates or principal payments may change by several percentage points for every 1% interest rate change.
Mortgage-indexed securities, for example, could be structured to replicate the performance of mortgage securities and the characteristics of direct ownership.
Inflation-protected securities, for example, can be indexed to a measure of inflation, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
<R>Commodity-indexed securities, for example, can be indexed to a commodities index such as the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return SM .</R>
Gold-indexed securities typically provide for a maturity value that depends on the price of gold, resulting in a security whose price tends to rise and fall together with gold prices.
Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Insolvency of Issuers, Counterparties, and Intermediaries. Issuers of fund portfolio securities or counterparties to fund transactions that become insolvent or declare bankruptcy can pose special investment risks. In each circumstance, risk of loss, valuation uncertainty, increased illiquidity, and other unpredictable occurrences may negatively impact an investment. Each of these risks may be amplified in foreign markets, where security trading, settlement, and custodial practices can be less developed than those in the U.S. markets, and bankruptcy laws differ from those of the U.S.
As a general matter, if the issuer of a fund portfolio security is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock have priority over the claims of common stock owners. These events can negatively impact the value of the issuer's securities and the results of related proceedings can be unpredictable.
If a counterparty to a fund transaction, such as a swap transaction, a short sale, a borrowing, or other complex transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise rights to obtain the return of related fund assets or in exercising other rights against the counterparty. In addition, insolvency and liquidation proceedings take time to resolve, which can limit or preclude a fund's ability to terminate a transaction or obtain related assets or collateral in a timely fashion. Uncertainty may also arise upon the insolvency of a securities or commodities intermediary such as a broker-dealer or futures commission merchant with which a fund has pending transactions. If an intermediary becomes insolvent, while securities positions and other holdings may be protected by U.S. or foreign laws, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these protections are available to specific trades based on the circumstances. Receiving the benefit of these protections can also take time to resolve, which may result in illiquid positions.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a Fidelity fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) or its affiliates. A Fidelity fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. A Fidelity fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
<R> Investments by Funds of Funds or Other Large Shareholders. Certain funds and accounts that are managed by FMR or its affiliates (including funds of funds) invest in other funds and may at times have substantial investments in one or more other funds.</R>
<R> A fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by funds of funds, other large shareholders, or similarly managed accounts. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a fund's portfolio. In addition, when funds of funds or other investors own a substantial portion of a fund's shares, a large redemption by such an investor could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a fund of funds or other significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the fund's shares.</R>
<R>When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful. A high volume of redemption requests can impact a fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments.</R>
Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. Direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve a risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a fund supply additional cash to a borrower on demand. A fund may acquire loans by buying an assignment of all or a portion of the loan from a lender or by purchasing a loan participation from a lender or other purchaser of a participation.
Lenders and purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of foreign countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.
Direct lending and investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the lender/purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary.
A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest.
Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate lenders/purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a lender/purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
For a Fidelity fund that limits the amount of total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry, the fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require a fund, in appropriate circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for these purposes. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
Because the risk of default is higher for lower-quality debt securities, research and credit analysis are an especially important part of managing securities of this type. Such analysis may focus on relative values based on factors such as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earnings prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer, in an attempt to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved, or is expected to improve in the future.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Precious Metals. Precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, at times have been subject to substantial price fluctuations over short periods of time and may be affected by unpredictable monetary and political policies such as currency devaluations or revaluations, economic and social conditions within a country, trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries. The prices of gold and other precious metals, however, are less subject to local and company-specific factors than securities of individual companies. As a result, precious metals may be more or less volatile in price than securities of companies engaged in precious metals-related businesses. Investments in precious metals can present concerns such as delivery, storage and maintenance, possible illiquidity, and the unavailability of accurate market valuations. Although precious metals can be purchased in any form, including bullion and coins, a Fidelity fund intends to purchase only those forms of precious metals that are readily marketable and that can be stored in accordance with custody regulations applicable to mutual funds. A fund may incur higher custody and transaction costs for precious metals than for securities. Also, precious metals investments do not pay income.
For a fund to qualify as a regulated investment company under current federal tax law, gains from selling precious metals may not exceed 10% of the fund's gross income for its taxable year. This tax requirement could cause a fund to hold or sell precious metals or securities when it would not otherwise do so.
Preferred Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Equity real estate investment trusts own real estate properties, while mortgage real estate investment trusts make construction, development, and long-term mortgage loans. Their value may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property of the trusts, the creditworthiness of the issuer, property taxes, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements, such as those relating to the environment. Both types of trusts are dependent upon management skill, are not diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers, self-liquidation, and the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
<R> Reforms and Government Intervention in the Financial Markets. Economic downturns can trigger various economic, legal, budgetary, tax, and regulatory reforms across the globe. Instability in the financial markets in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn led the U.S. Government and other governments to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility, and in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Reforms are ongoing and their effects are uncertain. Federal, state, local, foreign, and other governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which a fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Reforms may also change the way in which a fund is regulated and could limit or preclude a fund's ability to achieve its investment objective or engage in certain strategies. Also, while reforms generally are intended to strengthen markets, systems, and public finances, they could affect fund expenses and the value of fund investments.</R>
The value of a fund's holdings is also generally subject to the risk of future local, national, or global economic disturbances based on unknown weaknesses in the markets in which a fund invests. In the event of such a disturbance, the issuers of securities held by a fund may experience significant declines in the value of their assets and even cease operations, or may receive government assistance accompanied by increased restrictions on their business operations or other government intervention. In addition, it is not certain that the U.S. Government or foreign governments will intervene in response to a future market disturbance and the effect of any such future intervention cannot be predicted.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its right to liquidate assets related to a repurchase agreement with an insolvent counterparty. A Fidelity fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities Lending. Securities lending allows a fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The fund seeks to maintain the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased.
Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies (which include business development companies (BDCs)), unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. For certain investment companies, such as BDCs, these expenses may be significant. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.
The securities of closed-end funds may be leveraged. As a result, a fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. An investment in securities of closed-end funds that use leverage may expose a fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the fund's long-term returns on such securities will be diminished.
The extent to which a fund can invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws.
Short Sales. Short sales involve the market sale of a security a fund has borrowed from a prime broker with which it has a contractual relationship, with the expectation that the security will underperform either the market or the securities that the fund holds long. A fund closes a short sale by purchasing the same security at the current market price and delivering it to the prime broker.
Until a fund closes out a short position, the fund is obligated to pay the prime broker (from which it borrowed the security sold short) interest as well as any dividends that accrue during the period of the loan. While a short position is outstanding, a fund must also pledge a portion of its assets to the prime broker as collateral for the borrowed security. The collateral will be marked to market daily.
Short positions create a risk that a fund will be required to cover them by buying the security at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the fund. A short position in a security poses more risk than holding the same security long. Because a short position loses value as the security's price increases, the loss on a short sale is theoretically unlimited. The loss on a long position is limited to what a fund originally paid for the security together with any transaction costs. A fund may not always be able to borrow a security the fund seeks to sell short at a particular time or at an acceptable price. As a result, a fund may be unable to fully implement its investment strategy due to a lack of available stocks or for other reasons. It is possible that the market value of the securities a fund holds in long positions will decline at the same time that the market value of the securities the fund has sold short increases, thereby increasing the fund's potential volatility. Because a fund may be required to pay dividends, interest, premiums and other expenses in connection with a short sale, any benefit for the fund resulting from the short sale will be decreased, and the amount of any ultimate gain will be decreased or of any loss will be increased, by the amount of such expenses.
A fund may also enter into short sales against the box. Short sales "against the box" are short sales of securities that a fund owns or has the right to obtain (equivalent in kind or amount to the securities sold short). If a fund enters into a short sale against the box, it will be required to set aside securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short (or securities convertible or exchangeable into such securities) and will be required to hold such securities while the short sale is outstanding. A fund will incur transaction costs, including interest expenses, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales against the box.
Sources of Liquidity or Credit Support. Issuers may employ various forms of credit and liquidity enhancements, including letters of credit, guarantees, swaps, puts, and demand features, and insurance provided by domestic or foreign entities such as banks and other financial institutions. An adviser and its affiliates may rely on their evaluation of the credit of the issuer or the credit of the liquidity or credit enhancement provider in determining whether to purchase or hold a security supported by such enhancement. In evaluating the credit of a foreign bank or other foreign entities, factors considered may include whether adequate public information about the entity is available and whether the entity may be subject to unfavorable political or economic developments, currency controls, or other government restrictions that might affect its ability to honor its commitment. Changes in the credit quality of the issuer and/or entity providing the enhancement could affect the value of the security or a fund's share price.
Sovereign Debt Obligations are issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies, including debt of Latin American nations or other developing countries. Sovereign debt may be in the form of conventional securities or other types of debt instruments such as loans or loan participations. Sovereign debt of developing countries may involve a high degree of risk, and may be in default or present the risk of default. Governmental entities responsible for repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal and pay interest when due, and may require renegotiation or rescheduling of debt payments. In addition, prospects for repayment of principal and payment of interest may depend on political as well as economic factors. Although some sovereign debt, such as Brady Bonds, is collateralized by U.S. Government securities, repayment of principal and payment of interest is not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument ( e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
<R> Temporary Defensive Policies. </R>
<R> In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, a fund may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If a fund does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund reserves the right to invest without limitation in preferred stocks and investment-grade debt instruments for temporary, defensive purposes.
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments which entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss.
Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
<R> SPECIAL GEOGRAPHIC CONSIDERATIONS </R>
<R> Emerging Markets. Investing in companies domiciled in emerging market countries may be subject to potentially higher risks than investments in developed countries. These risks include: (i) less social, political, and economic stability; (ii) greater illiquidity and price volatility due to smaller or limited local capital markets for such securities, or low or non-existent trading volumes; (iii) foreign exchanges and broker-dealers may be subject to less scrutiny and regulation by local authorities; (iv) local governments may decide to seize or confiscate securities held by foreign investors and/or local governments may decide to suspend or limit an issuer's ability to make dividend or interest payments; (v) local governments may limit or entirely restrict repatriation of invested capital, profits, and dividends; (vi) capital gains may be subject to local taxation, including on a retroactive basis; (vii) issuers facing restrictions on dollar or euro payments imposed by local governments may attempt to make dividend or interest payments to foreign investors in the local currency; (viii) investors may experience difficulty in enforcing legal claims related to the securities and/or local judges may favor the interests of the issuer over those of foreign investors; (ix) bankruptcy judgments may only be permitted to be paid in the local currency; (x) limited public information regarding the issuer may result in greater difficulty in determining market valuations of the securities, and (xi) infrequent financial reporting, substandard disclosure, and differences in accounting standards may make it difficult to ascertain the financial health of an issuer. In addition, unlike developed countries, many emerging countries' economic growth highly depends on exports and inflows of external capital, making them more vulnerable to the downturns of the world economy. The recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for their exports and tightened international credit supplies and, as a result, many emerging countries faced significant economic difficulties and some countries fell into recession.</R>
<R>Many emerging market countries suffer from uncertainty and corruption in their legal frameworks. Legislation may be difficult to interpret and laws may be too new to provide any precedential value. Laws regarding foreign investment and private property may be weak or non-existent. Sudden changes in governments may result in policies that are less favorable to investors such as policies designed to expropriate or nationalize "sovereign" assets. Certain emerging market countries in the past have expropriated large amounts of private property, in many cases with little or no compensation, and there can be no assurance that such expropriation will not occur in the future.</R>
<R>Many emerging market countries in which a fund may invest lack the social, political, and economic stability characteristic of the U.S. Political instability among emerging market countries can be common and may be caused by an uneven distribution of wealth, social unrest, labor strikes, civil wars, and religious oppression. Economic instability in emerging market countries may take the form of: (i) high interest rates; (ii) high levels of inflation, including hyperinflation; (iii) high levels of unemployment or underemployment; (iv) changes in government economic and tax policies, including confiscatory taxation (or taxes on foreign investments); and (v) imposition of trade barriers.</R>
<R>Currencies of emerging market countries are subject to significantly greater risks than currencies of developed countries. Some emerging market currencies may not be internationally traded or may be subject to strict controls by local governments, resulting in undervalued or overvalued currencies. Some emerging market countries have experienced balance of payment deficits and shortages in foreign exchange reserves. As a result, some governments have responded by restricting currency conversions. Future restrictive exchange controls could prevent or restrict a company's ability to make dividend or interest payments in the original currency of the obligation (usually U.S. dollars). In addition, even though the currencies of some emerging market countries may be convertible into U.S. dollars, the conversion rates may be artificial to their actual market values.</R>
<R>Governments of many emerging market countries have become overly reliant on the international capital markets and other forms of foreign credit to finance large public spending programs which cause huge budget deficits. Often, interest payments have become too overwhelming for these governments to meet, as these payments may represent a large percentage of a country's total GDP. Accordingly, these foreign obligations have become the subject of political debate and served as fuel for political parties of the opposition, which pressure governments not to make payments to foreign creditors, but instead to use these funds for social programs. Either due to an inability to pay or submission to political pressure, the governments have been forced to seek a restructuring of their loan and/or bond obligations, have declared a temporary suspension of interest payments, or have defaulted on their outstanding debt obligations. These events have adversely affected the values of securities issued by the governments and corporations domiciled in these emerging market countries and have negatively affected not only their cost of borrowing, but their ability to borrow in the future as well.</R>
<R>In addition to their over-reliance on international capital markets, many emerging economies are also highly dependent on international trade and exports, including exports of oil and other commodities. As a result, these economies are particularly vulnerable to downturns of the world economy. The recent global financial crisis tightened international credit supplies and weakened global demand for their exports and, as a result, certain of these economies faced significant difficulties and some economies fell into recession. Although certain economies in emerging market countries have recently shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. The reduced demand for exports and lack of available capital for investment resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy may limit recovery by emerging market countries.</R>
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<R> Canada. </R>
<R> Political. Canada's parliamentary system of government is, in general, stable. Quebec does have a "separatist" opposition party whose objective is to achieve sovereignty and increased self-governing legal and financial powers for the province. To date, referendums on Quebec sovereignty have been defeated. If a referendum about the independence of Quebec were successful, the Canadian federal government may be obliged to negotiate with Quebec.</R>
Economic. Canada is a major producer of commodities such as forest products, metals, agricultural products, and energy related products like oil, gas, and hydroelectricity. Accordingly, changes in the supply and demand of base commodity resources and industrial and precious metals and materials, both domestically and internationally, can have a significant effect on Canadian market performance.
<R>The U.S. is Canada's largest trading partner and developments in economic policy and U.S. market conditions have a significant impact on the Canadian economy. The expanding economic and financial integration of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico through the North American Free Trade Agreement may make the Canadian economy and securities market more sensitive to North American trade patterns. However, growth in developing countries overseas, particularly China, may change the composition of Canada's trade and foreign investment composition in the near future.</R>
<R>In recent years, economic growth slowed down in certain sectors of the Canadian economy. The Canadian economy suffered from a recession due, in part, to the recent global financial crisis. The weaker economy resulted in lower tax collections and increased support being provided to Canadians through government programs, which increased the Canadian budget deficit. While the Canadian economy has shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. Growth forecasts remain modest due to ongoing fiscal consolidation, the effects of the economic slowdown in the U.S., and weakened demand for Canadian exports and investment as a result of the European crisis. Furthermore, the strength of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar may negatively affect Canada's ability to export, which could limit Canada's economic recovery.</R>
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<R> Europe. The European Union (EU) is an intergovernmental and supranational union of most Western European countries and a growing number of Eastern European countries, each known as a member state. One of the key activities of the EU is the establishment and administration of a common single market, consisting of, among other things, a common trade policy. In order to pursue this goal, member states established, among other things, the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), which sets out different stages and commitments that member states need to follow to achieve greater economic policy coordination and monetary cooperation, including the adoption of a single currency, the euro. While all EU member states participate in the economic union, only certain EU member states have adopted the euro as their currency. When a member state adopts the euro as its currency, the member state no longer controls its own monetary policies. Instead, the authority to direct monetary policy is exercised by the European Central Bank.</R>
<R>While economic and monetary convergence in the EU may offer new opportunities for those investing in the region, investors should be aware that the success of the EU is not wholly assured. European countries can be significantly affected by the tight fiscal and monetary controls that the EMU imposes on its members or with which candidates for EMU membership are required to comply. Europe must grapple with a number of challenges, any one of which could threaten the survival of this monumental undertaking. The countries adopting the euro must adjust to a unified monetary system, the absence of exchange rate flexibility, and the loss of economic sovereignty. Europe's economies are diverse, its governments are decentralized, and its cultures differ widely. Unemployment in some European countries has historically been higher than in the U.S. and could pose political risk. Many EU nations are susceptible to high economic risks associated with high levels of debt, notably due to investments in sovereign debts of European countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the Republic of Ireland. One or more member states might exit the EU, placing its currency and banking system in jeopardy. The EU currently faces major issues involving its membership, structure, procedures and policies; including the adoption, abandonment or adjustment of the new constitutional treaty, the EU's enlargement to the south and east, and resolution of the EU's problematic fiscal and democratic accountability. Efforts of the member states to continue to unify their economic and monetary policies may increase the potential for similarities in the movements of European markets and reduce the benefit of diversification within the region.</R>
<R> Political. The EU has been extending its influence to the east. It has accepted several Eastern European countries as new members, and has plans to accept several more in the medium-term. It is hoped that membership for these states will help cement economic and political stability in the region. For these countries, membership serves as a strong political impetus to employ tight fiscal and monetary policies. Nevertheless, new member states that were former Soviet satellites remain burdened to various extents by the inherited inefficiencies of centrally planned economies similar to what existed under the former Soviet Union. Further expansion of the EU has long-term economic benefits, but certain European countries are not viewed as currently suitable for membership, especially the troubled economies of countries further east. Also, as the EU continues to enlarge, the candidate countries' accessions may grow more controversial. Some member states may repudiate certain candidate countries joining the EU upon concerns about the possible economic, immigration, and cultural implications that may result from such enlargement. The current and future status of the EU therefore continues to be the subject of political controversy, with widely differing views both within and between member states. Also, Russia may be opposed to the expansion of the EU to members of the former Soviet bloc and may, at times, take actions that could negatively impact EU economic activity.</R>
It is possible that the gap between rich and poor within the EU's member countries, and particularly among new members that have not met the requirements for joining the EMU may increase, and that realigning traditional alliances could alter trading relationships and potentially provoke divisive socioeconomic splits.
<R>In the transition to the single economic system, significant political decisions will be made that may affect the market regulation, subsidization, and privatization across all industries, from agricultural products to telecommunications.</R>
<R> Economic. As economic conditions across member states may vary widely, there is continued concern about national-level support for the euro and the accompanying coordination of fiscal and wage policy among EMU member countries. Member countries must maintain tight control over inflation, public debt, and budget deficits in order to qualify for participation in the euro. These requirements severely limit EMU member countries' ability to implement monetary policy to address regional economic conditions.</R>
<R>The recent global financial crisis brought several small economies in Europe to the brink of bankruptcy and many other economies into recession and weakened the banking and financial sectors of many European countries. As a result, the governments of many European countries are now facing a serious economic crisis as high levels of public debt and substantial budget deficits hinder economic growth in the region and threaten the continued viability of the EMU. Due to these large public deficits, some European issuers have had difficulty accessing capital and may be dependent on emergency assistance from European governments and institutions to avoid defaulting on their outstanding debt obligations. The availability of such assistance, however, may be contingent on an issuer's implementation of certain reforms or reaching a required level of performance, which may increase the possibility of default. Such prospects have injected significant volatility into European markets, which may reduce the liquidity or value of a fund's investments in the region. Likewise, the high levels of public debt raise the possibility that certain European issuers may be forced to restructure their debt obligations, which could cause a fund to lose the value of its investments in any such issuer.</R>
<R>As European policy makers take unprecedented steps to respond to the ongoing economic crisis in the region, there is an increased risk that regulatory uncertainty could have a negative effect on the value of a fund's investments in the region. For example, the French parliament recently adopted a financial transactions tax that imposes a tax on, among other transactions, acquisitions of equities in listed companies that have their registered offices in France and that exceed a specified market capitalization. The European Commission has proposed plans for an EU-wide financial transactions tax to take effect in 2014, although it remains unclear whether such a tax will be agreed upon by EU member countries. Moreover, governments across the EMU are facing increasing opposition to certain crisis response measures. For example, efforts to reduce public spending in certain countries have been countered by large-scale protests. As a result, many governments in the region have collapsed or been voted out of office. Leaders in some of these countries have openly questioned the sustainability of the EMU, which raises the risk that certain member states will abandon the euro or that the euro may cease to exist as a single currency in its current form. Any such occurrence would likely have wide-ranging effects on global markets that are difficult to predict. However, these effects would likely have a negative impact on a fund's investments in the region.</R>
<R>Furthermore, the ongoing economic crisis has limited the prospect of short-term growth and economic recovery in the region, which raises the risk that Europe will fall into another recession. Economic challenges facing the region include high levels of public debt, significant rates of unemployment, aging populations, over-regulation of non-financial businesses, persistent trade deficits, rigid labor markets, and inability to access credit. Although certain of these challenges may weigh more heavily on some European economies than others, the economic integration of the region increases the likelihood that recession in one country may spread to others. Should Europe fall into another recession, the value of a fund's investments in the region may be affected.</R>
<R> Currency. Investing in euro-denominated (or other European currencies-denominated) securities entails risk of being exposed to a currency that may not fully reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the disparate European economies. In addition, many European countries rely heavily upon export-dependent businesses and any strength in the exchange rate between the euro and the U.S. dollar can have either a positive or a negative effect upon corporate profits and the performance of EU investments. Currencies have become more volatile, subjecting a fund's foreign investments to additional risks.</R>
<R> Nordic Countries. The Nordic countries relate to European integration in different ways. Norway and Iceland are outside the EU, although they are members of the European Economic Area. Denmark, Finland, and Sweden are all EU members, but only Finland has adopted the euro as its currency. Faced with stronger global competition, the Nordic countries - Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden - have had to scale down their historically generous welfare programs, resulting in drops in domestic demand and increased unemployment. Major industries in the region, such as forestry, agriculture, and oil, are heavily resource-dependent and face pressure as a result of high labor costs. Economic growth in many Nordic countries continues to be constrained by tight labor markets and adverse European and global economic conditions. Although certain Nordic countries have recently exhibited signs of economic growth, any such growth may be limited by the European crisis and the weakened global economy.</R>
Eastern Europe. Investing in the securities of Eastern European issuers is highly speculative and involves risks not usually associated with investing in the more developed markets of Western Europe. Political and economic reforms are too recent to establish a definite trend away from centrally planned economies and state-owned industries. Investments in Eastern European countries may involve risks of nationalization, expropriation, and confiscatory taxation.
<R>Many Eastern European countries continue to move towards market economies at different paces with appropriately different characteristics. Most Eastern European markets suffer from thin trading activity, dubious investor protections, and often a dearth of reliable corporate information. Information and transaction costs, differential taxes, and sometimes political or transfer risk give a comparative advantage to the domestic investor rather than the foreign investor. In addition, these markets are particularly sensitive to social, political, economic, and currency events in Western Europe and Russia and may suffer heavy losses as a result of their trading and investment links to these economies and currencies. Additionally, Russia may attempt to assert its influence in the region through economic or even military measures, as it did with Georgia in the summer of 2008.</R>
In some of the countries of Eastern Europe, there is no stock exchange or formal market for securities. Such countries may also have government exchange controls, currencies with no recognizable market value relative to the established currencies of Western market economies, little or no experience in trading in securities, no accounting or financial reporting standards, a lack of banking and securities infrastructure to handle such trading and a legal tradition that does not recognize rights in private property. Credit and debt issues and other economic difficulties affecting Western Europe and its financial institutions can negatively affect Eastern European countries.
<R>Eastern European economies may also be particularly susceptible to the international credit market due to their reliance on bank related inflows of foreign capital. The recent global financial crisis restricted international credit supplies and several Eastern European economies faced significant credit and economic crises. Although some Eastern European economies are expanding again, major challenges are still present as a result of their continued dependence on the Western European zone for credit and trade. Accordingly, the European crisis may present serious risks for Eastern European economies, which may have a negative effect on a fund's investments in the region.</R>
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<R> Japan. Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, emphasis on education, and a comparatively small defense allocation have helped Japan advance with extraordinary speed to become one of the largest economic powers along with the U.S. and the EU. Despite its impressive history, investors face special risks when investing in Japan.</R>
<R> Economic. For three decades from the 1960s through the 1980s, Japan's overall real economic growth had been spectacular. However, growth slowed markedly in the 1990s and Japan's economy fell into a long recession. After a few years of mild recovery in the mid-2000s, the Japanese economy fell into another recession as a result of the recent global financial crisis.</R>
While Japan experienced an increase in exports relative to recent years, the rate of export growth has since slowed and the rapid appreciation in the value of the yen has negatively impacted Japan's exports. This economic recession was likely compounded by Japan's massive government debt, the aging and shrinking of the population, an unstable financial sector, low domestic consumption, and certain corporate structural weaknesses, which remain some of the major long-term problems of the Japanese economy.
<R>Overseas trade is important to Japan's economy and Japan's economic growth is significantly driven by its exports. Japan has few natural resources and must export to pay for its imports of these basic requirements. Meanwhile, Japan's aging and shrinking population increases the cost of the country's pension and public welfare system and lowers domestic demand, making Japan more dependent on exports to sustain its economy. Therefore, any developments that negatively affect Japan's exports could present risks to a fund's investments in Japan. For example, domestic or foreign trade sanctions or other protectionist measures could harm Japan's economy. Likewise, any escalation of tensions with China or South Korea over disputed territorial claims may adversely impact Japan's trading relationship with two of its largest trading partners. Furthermore, reduced demand for Japan's exports resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy could present additional risks to a fund's investments in Japan.</R>
<R>Japan's recovery from the recession has been affected by economic distress resulting from the earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck northeastern Japan in March 2011 causing major damage along the coast, including damage to nuclear power plants in the region. Following the earthquake, Japan's financial markets fluctuated dramatically. The government injected capital into the economy and proposed plans for massive spending on reconstruction efforts in disaster-affected areas in order to stimulate economic growth. The full extent of the natural disaster's impact on Japan's economy and foreign investment in Japan is difficult to estimate. The risks of natural disasters of varying degrees, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, and the resulting damage, continue to exist.</R>
A pressing need to sustain Japan's economic recovery and improve its economic growth is the task of overhauling the nation's financial institutions. Banks, in particular, may have to reform themselves to become more competitive. Successful financial sector reform would contribute to Japan's economic recovery at home and would benefit other economies in Asia. Internal conflict over the proper way to reform the banking system continues to exist. Currently, Japanese banks are facing difficulties generating profits. Currency fluctuations may also significantly affect Japan's economy.
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<R> Asia Pacific Region (ex Japan). Many countries in the region have historically faced political uncertainty, corruption, military intervention, and social unrest. Examples include military threats on the Korean peninsula and along the Taiwan Strait, the ethnic, sectarian, and separatist violence found in Indonesia, and the nuclear arms threats between India and Pakistan. To the extent that such events continue in the future, they can be expected to have a negative effect on economic and securities market conditions in the region. In addition, the Asia Pacific geographic region has historically been prone to natural disasters. The occurrence of a natural disaster in the region could negatively impact the economy of any country in the region.</R>
<R> Economic. The economies of many countries in the region are heavily dependent on international trade and are accordingly affected by protective trade barriers and the economic conditions of their trading partners, principally, the U.S., Japan, China, and the European Union. The countries in this region are also heavily dependent on exports and are thus particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. High food, fuel and other commodities' prices, as well as volatile capital inflows, may pose challenges to countries in this region in the near future. The recent global financial crisis spread to the region, significantly lowering its exports and foreign investments in the region, which are driving forces of its economic growth. In addition, the economic crisis also significantly affected consumer confidence and local stock markets. Although the economies of many countries in the region have recently shown signs of recovery from the crisis, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. Furthermore, any such recovery may be limited or hindered by the reduced demand for exports and lack of available capital for investment resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy.</R>
<R> The Republic of Korea (South Korea). Investors should be aware that investing in South Korea involves risks not typically associated with investing in the U.S. securities markets. Although relations between North Korea and South Korea had begun to improve in the past few years, recent developments are troubling. As a result, these relations still remain tense and the possibility of military action between the two countries still exists.</R>
<R> Corporate and financial sector restructuring initiated by the Korean government, in conjunction with the IMF, after the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis can be expected to continue, but its full impact cannot be predicted yet. The Korean economy's reliance on international trade makes it highly sensitive to fluctuations in international commodity prices, currency exchange rates and government regulation, and vulnerable to downturns of the world economy. For example, the recent global financial crisis led to large capital outflows from South Korea, which caused the deterioration of the country's currency, domestic asset markets, and credit conditions. The South Korean economy began showing signs of recovery from this downturn in 2009. Although South Korea's initial recovery was faster than many other developed nations, South Korea's growth has since slowed and any continued recovery may be gradual as the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for South Korean exports. The South Korean economy's long-term challenges include a rapidly aging population, inflexible labor market, and overdependence on exports to drive economic growth.</R>
<R> China Region. As with all transition economies, China's ability to develop and sustain a credible legal, regulatory, monetary, and socioeconomic system could influence the course of outside investment. Hong Kong is closely tied to China, economically and through China's 1997 acquisition of the country as a Special Autonomous Region (SAR).</R>
<R> Hong Kong's success depends, in large part, on its ability to retain the legal, financial, and monetary systems that it currently has in place, which allows economic freedom and market expansion. Although many Taiwanese companies heavily invest in China, a state of hostility continues to exist between China and Taiwan, which Beijing has long deemed a part of China and has made a nationalist cause of recovering it. Taiwan's political stability and ability to sustain its economic growth could be significantly affected by its political and economic relationship with China.</R>
<R>The recent global financial crisis caused a marked slowdown in economic growth in the region, leading local governments, especially the Chinese government, to take unprecedented steps to shore up economic growth and prevent widespread unemployment. Although China has experienced economic growth in recent years, recent economic data shows that growth is slowing. Demand for Chinese exports by Western countries, including the U.S. and Europe, may weaken due to the effects of relatively limited economic growth in those countries resulting from the financial crisis in the United States and the crisis in Europe. However, the Chinese government continues to maintain certain of these measures and may introduce more in the future, including measures intended to increase growth and to contain social unrest, which is an increasing risk.</R>
In addition to the risks inherent in investing in the emerging markets, the risks of investing in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan merit special consideration.
People's Republic of China. The government of the People's Republic of China is dominated by the one-party rule of the Chinese Communist Party.
China's economy has transitioned from a rigidly central-planned state-run economy to one that has been only partially reformed by more market-oriented policies. Although the Chinese government has implemented economic reform measures, reduced state ownership of companies and established better corporate governance practices, a substantial portion of productive assets in China are still owned by the Chinese government. The government continues to exercise significant control over regulating industrial development and, ultimately, control over China's economic growth through the allocation of resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies.
<R>At times, China's economy has been subject to the risks of overheating, which leads to the government's attempt to slow down the pace of growth through administrative measures. The recent global financial crisis, however, changed this course for some time, as China's economic growth slowed, due, in part, to weakened demand for its exports and reduced foreign investments in the country. The Chinese economy then showed strong signs of recovery from this slowed growth, but a recovery of China's trading partners may also be necessary to sustain China's continued growth and measures to control growth may be adopted again. In the short term, China's economy faces problems of inflation and local government debt, which swelled in recent years as a result of certain economic stimulus policies. Furthermore, the economy faces the prospect of prolonged weakness in demand for Chinese exports as its major trading partners, such as the United States, Japan, and Europe, continue to experience economic uncertainty stemming from the global financial crisis and European crisis, among other things. Over the long term, China's aging infrastructure, worsening environmental conditions and rapidly widening urban and rural income gap, which all carry political and economic implications, are among the country's major challenges. In addition, tensions resulting from China's territorial claims in the region may present risks to diplomatic and trade relations with certain of China's regional trade partners. Any escalation of these tensions could further reduce international demand for Chinese goods and services, which could have a negative effect on a fund's investments in the securities of Chinese issuers.</R>
As with all transition economies, China's ability to develop and sustain a credible legal, regulatory, monetary, and socioeconomic system could influence the course of outside investment. The Chinese legal system, in particular, constitutes a significant risk factor for investors. The Chinese legal system is based on statutes. Since the late 1970s, Chinese legislative bodies have promulgated laws and regulations dealing with various economic matters such as foreign investment, corporate organization and governance, commerce, taxation, and trade. However, these laws are relatively new and published court decisions based on these laws are limited and non-binding. The interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations are uncertain.
<R>China continues to limit direct foreign investments generally in industries deemed important to national interests. Foreign investment in domestic securities are also subject to substantial restrictions. Some believe that China's currency is undervalued. Currency fluctuations could significantly affect China and its trading partners. China continues to exercise control over the value of its currency, rather than allowing the value of the currency to be determined by market forces. This type of currency regime may experience sudden and significant currency adjustments, which may adversely impact investment returns.</R>
<R> Hong Kong. In 1997, Great Britain handed over control of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China. Since that time, Hong Kong has been governed by a semi-constitution known as the Basic Law, which guarantees a high degree of autonomy in certain matters until 2047, while defense and foreign affairs are the responsibility of the central government in Beijing. The chief executive of Hong Kong is appointed by the Chinese government. However, Hong Kong is able to participate in international organizations and agreements and it continues to function as an international financial center, with no exchange controls, free convertibility of the Hong Kong dollar and free inward and outward movement of capital. The Basic Law also guarantees existing freedoms, including the freedom of speech, assembly, press, and religion, as well as the right to strike and travel. Business ownership, private property, the right of inheritance and foreign investment are also protected by law. By treaty, China has committed to preserve Hong Kong's autonomy until 2047. Nevertheless, if China were to exert its authority so as to alter the economic, political, or legal structures or the existing social policy of Hong Kong, investor and business confidence in Hong Kong could be negatively affected, which in turn could negatively affect markets and business performance.</R>
<R>The global financial crisis forced Hong Kong's economy into a recession. Recently, however, Hong Kong's economy has shown signs of recovery from this recession. This recovery can be attributed, in large part, to the combined efforts of both China and Hong Kong to shore up domestic economic growth. As these measures continue to take effect, their long-term impact on the growth of Hong Kong's economy is unpredictable. However, Hong Kong's recovery has raised concerns about possible overheating in certain sectors of its economy, such as its real estate market, which could limit Hong Kong's future growth. In addition, because of Hong Kong's heavy reliance on international trade and global financial markets, Hong Kong remains exposed to significant risks as a result of the European crisis and weakened global economy. The negative effects of the European downturn on the global economy could push Hong Kong into another recession. Likewise, due to Hong Kong's close political and economic ties with China, any economic stagnation on the mainland could have a negative impact on Hong Kong's economy.</R>
<R> Taiwan. For decades, a state of hostility has existed between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China. Beijing has long deemed Taiwan a part of the "one China" and has made a nationalist cause of recovering it. In the past, China has staged frequent military provocations off the coast of Taiwan and made threats of full-scale military action. Foreign trade has been the engine of rapid growth in Taiwan and has transformed the island into one of Asia's great exporting nations. As an export-oriented economy, Taiwan depends on an open world trade regime and remains vulnerable to downturns in the world economy. Taiwanese companies continue to compete mostly on price, producing generic products or branded merchandise on behalf of multinational companies. Accordingly, these businesses can be particularly vulnerable to currency volatility and increasing competition from neighboring lower-cost countries. Moreover, many Taiwanese companies are heavily invested in mainland China and other countries throughout Southeast Asia, making them susceptible to political events and economic crises in these parts of the region. Significantly, Taiwan and China recently entered into agreements covering banking, securities, and insurance. Closer economic links with the mainland may bring greater opportunities for the Taiwanese economy, but also poses new challenges. For example, foreign direct investment in China has resulted in Chinese import substitution away from Taiwan's exports and a restriction of potential job creation in Taiwan. As a result of the recent global financial crisis, the demand for exports decreased and Taiwan entered into a recession. Although Taiwan's economy has recently shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. In addition, the effects of the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for Taiwan's exports, which could force its economy into another recession.</R>
<R> India. The value of a fund's investments in Indian securities may be affected by, among other things, political developments, rapid changes in government regulation, state intervention in private enterprise, nationalization or expropriation of foreign assets, legal uncertainty, high rates of inflation or interest rates, currency volatility, and civil unrest. In addition, any escalation of tensions with Pakistan may have a negative impact on a fund's investments in India. Likewise, political, social and economic disruptions caused by domestic sectarian violence or terrorist attacks may also present risks to a fund's investments in India.</R>
<R>The Indian economy is heavily dependent on exports and is vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. Recently, the Indian economy began showing signs of recovery from the effects of the global financial crisis. However, this recovery may be limited by the European crisis and weakened global economy. In the event that India's economic recovery slows, a fund's investments in Indian securities may be harmed.</R>
<R>Furthermore, restrictions or controls applicable to foreign investment in the securities of issuers in India may also adversely affect a fund's investments within the country. The availability of financial instruments with exposure to Indian financial markets may be substantially limited by restrictions on foreign investors. Foreign investors are required to observe certain investment restrictions, including limits on shareholdings, which may impede a fund's ability to invest in certain issuers or to fully pursue its investment objective. These restrictions may also have the effect of reducing demand for, or limiting the liquidity of, such investments. There can be no assurance that the Indian government will not impose restrictions on foreign capital remittances abroad or otherwise modify the exchange control regime applicable to foreign investors in such a way that may adversely affect the ability of a fund to repatriate their income and capital.</R>
<R>Shares of many Indian issuers are held by a limited number of persons and financial institutions, which may limit the number of shares available for investment. In addition, further issuances of securities by Indian issuers in which a fund has invested could dilute the investments of existing shareholders and could adversely affect the market price of such securities. Sales of securities by such issuer's major shareholders may also significantly and adversely affect other shareholders. Moreover, a limited number of issuers represent a disproportionately large percentage of market capitalization and trading value in India.</R>
<R> Indonesia. Indonesia has restored financial stability and pursued sober fiscal policies since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, but many economic development problems remain, including high unemployment, a fragile banking sector, endemic corruption, inadequate infrastructure, a poor investment climate, inflationary pressures and unequal resource distribution among regions. These problems may limit the country's ability to contain the severe and negative impact of the recent global financial crisis on its economy. In addition, Indonesia continues to be at risk of ethnic, sectarian, and separatist violence. Furthermore, slow budgetary disbursements have created challenges for government programs related to infrastructure, secondary education, and certain social policies. Rises in global commodity prices may also present risks to Indonesia's growth potential. Keys to future growth remain internal reform, peaceful resolution of internal conflicts, bolstering the confidence of international and domestic investors, and strong global economic growth.</R>
<R> Thailand. Thailand has a well-developed infrastructure and a free-enterprise economy, which is welcoming to certain foreign investment. Increased consumption and investment spending and strong export industries continue to sustain economic growth. Moreover, Bangkok has pursued preferential trade agreements with a variety of partners in an effort to boost exports and maintain high growth, and in 2004 began negotiations on a free trade agreement with the U.S. However, weakening fiscal discipline, separatist violence in the south, the intervention by the military in civilian spheres, and continued political instability may cause additional risks for investments in Thailand. In addition, natural disasters may affect economic growth in the country. For example, in late 2011, historic floods devastated industrial areas north of Bangkok, which severely harmed Thailand's manufacturing sector and reduced the country's economic growth. Although the Thai economy may already be showing signs of recovery from this disaster, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as demand for Thai goods and services could decline due to the effects of the European sovereign debt crisis and weakened global economy.</R>
<R> Philippines. Because of its relatively low dependence on exports and high domestic rates of consumption, as well as substantial remittances received from large overseas populations, the Philippines was one of the few countries in Asia to navigate the recent global financial crisis without falling into recession. Although the economy of the Philippines has shown signs of growth in recent years, there can be no assurances that such growth will continue. Reduced demand for exports from the Philippines as a result of the European crisis and weakened global economy, as well as lower remittances from Filipino immigrants abroad, may negatively impact economic growth in the Philippines. Furthermore, certain weaknesses in the economy, such as inadequate infrastructure, high poverty rates, uneven wealth distribution, low fiscal revenues, endemic corruption, inconsistent regulation, unpredictable taxation, unreliable judicial processes, and the appropriation of foreign assets may present risks to a fund's investments in the Philippines. In addition, investments in the Philippines are subject to risks arising from political or social unrest, including threats from military coups, terrorist groups and separatist movements. Likewise, the Philippines is prone to natural disasters such as typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes and flooding, which may also present risks to a fund's investments in the Philippines.</R>
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<R> Latin America. As an emerging market, Latin America historically suffered from social, political, and economic instability. For investors, this has meant additional risk caused by periods of regional conflict, political corruption, totalitarianism, protectionist measures, nationalization, hyperinflation, debt crises, sudden and large currency devaluation, and intervention by the military in civilian and economic spheres. For example, at times the government of Brazil has imposed a tax on foreign investment in Brazilian stocks and bonds, which may affect the value of a fund's investments in the securities of Brazilian issuers. However, in some Latin American countries, a move to sustainable democracy and a more mature and accountable political environment is under way. Domestic economies have been deregulated, privatization of state-owned companies is almost completed and foreign trade restrictions have been relaxed.</R>
<R> Nonetheless, to the extent that events such as those listed above continue in the future, they could reverse favorable trends toward market and economic reform, privatization, and removal of trade barriers, and result in significant disruption in securities markets in the region. In addition, recent favorable economic performance in much of the region has led to a concern regarding government overspending in certain Latin American countries. Investors in the region continue to face a number of potential risks. Certain Latin American countries depend heavily on exports to the U.S. and investments from a small number of countries. Accordingly, these countries may be sensitive to fluctuations in demand, exchange rates and changes in market conditions associated with those countries. The economic growth of most Latin American countries is highly dependent on commodity exports and the economies of certain Latin American countries, particularly Mexico and Venezuela, are highly dependent on oil exports. As a result, these economies are particularly susceptible to fluctuations in the price of oil and other commodities and currency fluctuations. The recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for oil and other commodities and, as a result, Latin American countries faced significant economic difficulties that led certain countries into recession. If global economic conditions worsen, prices for Latin American commodities may experience increased volatility and demand may continue to decrease. Although certain of these countries have recently shown signs of recovery, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. In addition, prolonged economic difficulties may have negative effects on the transition to a more stable democracy in some Latin American countries. In certain countries, political risk, including nationalization risk, is high.</R>
<R>A number of Latin American countries are among the largest debtors of developing countries and have a long history of reliance on foreign debt and default. The majority of the region's economies have become highly dependent upon foreign credit and loans from external sources to fuel their state-sponsored economic plans. Historically, government profligacy and ill-conceived plans for modernization have exhausted these resources with little benefit accruing to the economy. Most countries have been forced to restructure their loans or risk default on their debt obligations. In addition, interest on the debt is subject to market conditions and may reach levels that would impair economic activity and create a difficult and costly environment for borrowers. Accordingly, these governments may be forced to reschedule or freeze their debt repayment, which could negatively affect local markets. Because of their dependence on foreign credit and loans, a number of Latin American economies faced significant economic difficulties and some economies fell into recession as the recent global financial crisis tightened international credit supplies. While the region has recently shown signs of economic improvement, recovery from past economic downturns in Latin America has historically been slow, and any such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. The European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for exports from Latin America and limit the availability of foreign credit for some countries in the region. As a result, a fund's investments in Latin American securities could be harmed if economic recovery in the region is limited.</R>
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<R> Russia. Investing in Russian securities is highly speculative and involves significant risks and special considerations not typically associated with investing in the securities markets of the U.S. and most other developed countries.</R>
Political. Over the past century, Russia has experienced political and economic turbulence and has endured decades of communist rule under which tens of millions of its citizens were collectivized into state agricultural and industrial enterprises. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's government has been faced with the daunting task of stabilizing its domestic economy, while transforming it into a modern and efficient structure able to compete in international markets and respond to the needs of its citizens. However, to date, many of the country's economic reform initiatives have floundered as the proceeds of IMF and other economic assistance have been squandered or stolen. In this environment, there is always the risk that the nation's government will abandon the current program of economic and political reform and replace it with radically different political and economic policies that would be detrimental to the interests of foreign and private investors.
In the last few years, as significant income from oil and commodity exports has boosted Russia's economy, Russia's government has begun to make bolder steps to re-assert its regional geopolitical influence (including military steps). Such steps may increase tensions between Russia and its neighbors and Western countries and may negatively affect economic growth.
Economic. Many of Russia's businesses have failed to mobilize the available factors of production because the country's privatization program virtually ensured the predominance of the old management teams that are largely non-market-oriented in their management approach. Poor accounting standards, inept management, pervasive corruption, insider trading and crime, and inadequate regulatory protection for the rights of investors all pose a significant risk, particularly to foreign investors. In addition, there is the risk that the Russian tax system will not be reformed to prevent inconsistent, retroactive, and/or exorbitant taxation, or, in the alternative, the risk that a reformed tax system may result in the inconsistent and unpredictable enforcement of the new tax laws.
Compared to most national stock markets, the Russian securities market suffers from a variety of problems not encountered in more developed markets. There is little long-term historical data on the Russian securities market because it is relatively new and a substantial proportion of securities transactions in Russia are privately negotiated outside of stock exchanges. The inexperience of the Russian securities market and the limited volume of trading in securities in the market may make obtaining accurate prices on portfolio securities from independent sources more difficult than in more developed markets. Additionally, there is little solid corporate information available to investors. As a result, it may be difficult to assess the value or prospects of an investment in Russian companies.
<R>Because of the recent formation of the Russian securities market as well as the underdeveloped state of the banking and telecommunications systems, settlement, clearing and registration of securities transactions are subject to significant risks. Ownership of shares (except where shares are held through depositories that meet the requirements of the 1940 Act) is defined according to entries in the company's share register and normally evidenced by extracts from the register or by formal share certificates. However, these services are carried out by the companies themselves or by registrars located throughout Russia. These registrars are not necessarily subject to effective state supervision nor are they licensed with any governmental entity and it is possible for a fund to lose its registration through fraud, negligence, or even mere oversight. While a fund will endeavor to ensure that its interest continues to be appropriately recorded either itself or through a custodian or other agent inspecting the share register and by obtaining extracts of share registers through regular confirmations, these extracts have no legal enforceability and it is possible that subsequent illegal amendment or other fraudulent act may deprive a fund of its ownership rights or improperly dilute its interests. In addition, while applicable Russian regulations impose liability on registrars for losses resulting from their errors, it may be difficult for a fund to enforce any rights it may have against the registrar or issuer of the securities in the event of loss of share registration. Furthermore, significant delays or problems may occur in registering the transfer of securities, which could cause a fund to incur losses due to a counterparty's failure to pay for securities the fund has delivered or the fund's inability to complete its contractual obligations because of theft or other reasons. A recently enacted law authorizes the establishment of a centralized securities depository (CSD), which, in effect, will become the exclusive settlement organization for publicly traded Russian companies and investment funds in Russia. Once the CSD is fully functional, it should enhance the efficiency and transparency of the Russian securities market.</R>
<R>The Russian economy is heavily dependent upon the export of a range of commodities including most industrial metals, forestry products, oil, and gas. Accordingly, it is strongly affected by international commodity prices and is particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. As the recent global financial crisis caused price volatility in commodities, especially oil, many sectors in the Russian economy fell into turmoil, pushing the whole economy into recession. In addition, prior to the global financial crisis, Russia's economic policy encouraged excessive foreign currency borrowing as high oil prices increased investor appetite for Russian financial assets. As a result of this credit boom, Russia reached alarming debt levels and suffered from the effects of tight credit markets. Although the country is still plagued by high debt levels, the Russian economy has recently shown signs of recovery from the recession. However, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as Russia continues to face significant economic challenges. In the near term, the fallout from the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for Russian exports such as oil and gas, which could limit Russia's economic recovery. Over the long-term, Russia faces challenges including a shrinking workforce, a high level of corruption, and difficulty in accessing capital for smaller, non-energy companies and poor infrastructure in need of large investments.</R>
<R> Currency. Foreign investors also face a high degree of currency risk when investing in Russian securities and a lack of available currency hedging instruments. In a surprise move in August 1998, Russia devalued the ruble, defaulted on short-term domestic bonds, and imposed a moratorium on the repayment of its international debt and the restructuring of the repayment terms. These actions have negatively affected Russian borrowers' ability to access international capital markets and have had a damaging impact on the Russian economy. In light of these and other government actions, foreign investors could face the possibility of further devaluations. In addition, there is the risk that the government may impose capital controls on foreign portfolio investments in the event of extreme financial or political crisis. Such capital controls could prevent the sale of a portfolio of foreign assets and the repatriation of investment income and capital. Such risks have led to heightened scrutiny of Russian liquidity conditions, which in turn creates a heightened risk of the repatriation of ruble assets by nervous foreign investors. The recent economic turmoil in Russia caused the Russian ruble to depreciate as unemployment levels increased and global demand for oil exports decreased. As the global economy faces another economic crisis, the Russian central bank may need to manage bank liquidity carefully to avoid undue pressures on Russia's banks and other financial institutions and the ruble.</R>
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<R> The Middle East and Africa. Investing in Middle Eastern and African securities is highly speculative and involves significant risks and special considerations not typically associated with investing in the securities markets of the U.S. and most other developed countries.</R>
<R> Political. Many Middle Eastern and African countries historically have suffered from political instability. Despite a growing trend towards democratization, especially in Africa, significant political risks continue to affect some Middle Eastern and African countries. These risks may include substantial government control over the private sector, corrupt leaders, civil unrest, suppression of opposition parties that can lead to further dissidence and militancy, fixed elections, terrorism, coups, and war. Recently, several countries in the Middle East and North Africa have experienced pro-democracy movements that resulted in swift regime changes. In some cases, these movements have led to armed conflict involving local factions, regional allies or international forces. These changes, in the short term, have affected the status and speed of economic reforms in the region. Because many Middle East and African nations have a history of dictatorship, military intervention, and corruption, there can be no guarantee that recent movements toward a more democratic process will continue. Therefore, the long-term effects of the ongoing regime changes are largely unpredictable. In addition, there is an increasing risk that historical animosities, border disputes, or defense concerns may lead to further armed conflict in the region. In all regions, if such developments were to occur, it could have a negative effect on economic growth and reverse favorable trends toward economic and market reform, privatization, and the removal of trade barriers. Such developments could also result in significant disruptions in securities markets, which may have wider consequences for the global economy.</R>
<R> Economic. Middle Eastern and African countries historically have suffered from economic instability. Underdeveloped infrastructure, high unemployment rates, a comparatively unskilled labor force, and inconsistent access to capital have contributed to economic instability in the region. Furthermore, certain Middle Eastern and African markets may face a higher concentration of market capitalization, greater illiquidity and greater price volatility than that found in more developed markets of Western Europe or the U.S. Additionally, certain countries in the region have a history of nationalizing or expropriating foreign assets, which could cause a fund to lose the value of its investments in those countries. Despite a growing trend towards economic diversification, many Middle Eastern and African economies remain heavily dependent upon a limited range of commodities. These include gold, silver, copper, cocoa, diamonds, natural gas and petroleum. These economies are greatly affected by international commodity prices and are particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. As the recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for oil, gas, and other commodities, some countries in the region faced significant economic difficulties and many countries have been forced to scale down their infrastructure development and the size of their public welfare systems, which could have long-term economic, social, and political implications. Although certain economies in Africa and the Middle East have recently shown signs of recovery from the recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for exports from the region.</R>
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<R>The largest economy in Africa is South Africa. The country has a two-tiered, developing economy with one tier similar to that of a developed country and the second tier having only the most basic infrastructure. High interest rates, power shortages, and weakening commodities prices, along with the recent economic crisis, caused South Africa to enter a recession in 2009 for the first time in 18 years. The South African Government, both before and during the recession, implemented policies designed to reduce trade and investment restrictions and privatize certain industries. However, ethnic and civil conflicts, the HIV health crisis, uncertainty surrounding government policy, and political instability have led to uneven wealth distribution within the country and may cause additional risks for investments in South Africa. These problems likely compounded the economic difficulties that South Africa faced as the negative effects of the global financial crisis spread to the country. Although the South African economy has recently shown signs of recovery, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as political, social, and labor unrest could affect the South African economy. In addition, reduced demand for South African exports due to the European crisis and weakened global economy may limit any such recovery.</R>
Currency. Certain Middle Eastern and African countries have currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar or euro, rather than at levels determined by market forces. This type of currency regime may experience sudden and significant currency adjustments, which may adversely impact investment returns.
To the extent that Strategic Advisers grants investment management authority over an allocated portion of the fund's assets to a sub-adviser (see the section entitled "Management Contract"), that sub-adviser is authorized to provide the services described in the respective sub-advisory agreement, and in accordance with the policies described in this section.
Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities are placed on behalf of the fund by Strategic Advisers (either directly or through its affiliates) or a sub-adviser, pursuant to authority contained in the management contract and the respective sub-advisory agreement.
Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
<R>The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in affiliated funds, but it may incur such costs when it invests in non-affiliated funds and when it invests directly in other types of securities, including ETFs.</R>
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review Strategic Advisers' and its affiliates' and each sub-adviser's performance of their respective responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
Strategic Advisers.
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Strategic Advisers, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Strategic Advisers or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.</R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Strategic Advisers or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services Strategic Advisers or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Strategic Advisers' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Strategic Advisers or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.</R>
Research Contracts. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Strategic Advisers or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) who have entered into arrangements with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
<R>Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), with whom they are under common control, provided Strategic Advisers or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade-execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.</R>
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Strategic Advisers to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
<R> Causeway Capital Management LLC (Causeway). </R>
<R> In executing fund transactions with brokers and dealers, Causeway seeks to obtain the best available price in the best available market so that the fund's total cost is or proceeds are the most favorable under the circumstances, taking into account all relevant factors, including, the size and nature of an order, the difficulty of execution, and the full range and quality of a broker-dealer's services, including among other things:</R>
Causeway does not adhere to any rigid formulas in selecting broker-dealers, but will weigh a combination of some or all of the preceding criteria. The determinative factor is not the lowest possible commission cost, but whether the transaction represents the best qualitative execution for the fund and Causeway's other clients. Causeway's traders monitor prices by comparing fills to the stock's volume-weighted average price ("VWAP") for the trading day. Portfolio managers and research analysts assess brokers based on research services and communicate research rankings to the Trading Desk. Portfolio managers and traders receive monthly and annual reports listing brokers and commissions by country, monitor the amount of commissions allocated among broker-dealers and seek to allocate transactions to broker-dealers who provide superior execution and research services. Causeway also uses a third party service provider to assist the firm in assessing best execution.
Causeway may consider proprietary or third party brokerage and research services provided by broker-dealers as a factor in their selection. Causeway may effect securities transactions that cause the fund to pay an amount of commission in excess of the amount of commission another broker-dealer would have charged; provided, that Causeway determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of brokerage and research services provided by the broker-dealer used by Causeway, viewed in terms of either the specific transaction or Causeway's overall responsibilities to the fund and other accounts for which it exercises investment discretion.
To the extent research services may be a factor in selecting broker-dealers, such services may be in written form or through direct contact with individuals and may include information about securities, companies, industries, markets, economics, the valuation of investments and portfolio strategy. Research may be in the form of research reports, electronic market data, computer and technical market analyses, and access to research analysts, corporate management personnel, and industry experts. Brokerage and research services furnished by broker-dealers may be used in servicing all Causeway's accounts and not all such services may be used in connection with the fund or any other particular account of Causeway which paid commissions to the broker-dealer providing such services.
Pursuant to SEC interpretative guidance, Causeway uses commission sharing arrangements ("CSAs") with certain brokers. These CSA brokers execute trades and credit soft dollars to pools from which Causeway directs payments to the CSA brokers, third-party brokers, and independent research providers based on commission targets. The use of CSAs is intended to assist Causeway in providing credits to brokers who, in its judgment, provide the best access to analysts and management, and to independent research providers, while using reliable execution brokers which Causeway believes will benefit Causeway's accounts, including the fund.
Causeway may aggregate or "block" purchase and sale orders - including IPOs and new issues - to seek the efficiencies that may be available for larger transactions when it determines that investment decisions are appropriate for each participating account and it believes that aggregation is consistent with its duty to seek best execution for its clients. Prior to placing the order, Causeway computes the allocation it intends to make among participating client accounts. When aggregating orders, participating clients receive the average share price for all the transactions in that security for the aggregated order on a given business day, with transaction costs shared pro rata based on each client's participation.
If the aggregated order is entirely filled, Causeway will allocate the securities among clients in accordance with its previous allocation computation. Securities purchased or sold in an aggregated order that is not completely filled on a trading day are allocated pro rata, when possible, to the participating client accounts in proportion to the size of the order placed for each account. Causeway may, however, increase or decrease the amount of securities allocated to each account if necessary due to cash constraints or to avoid holding odd-lot or small numbers of shares for particular clients. Additionally, if Causeway is unable to fully execute an aggregated order and Causeway determines that it would be impractical to allocate a small number of securities among the accounts participating in the transaction on a pro rata basis, Causeway may allocate such securities in a manner determined in good faith to be a fair allocation.
<R> Massachusetts Financial Services Company (MFS). </R>
<R> Specific decisions to purchase or sell securities for the fund are made by persons affiliated with MFS. Any such person may serve other clients of MFS or any subsidiary of MFS in a similar capacity.</R>
MFS places all fund orders for the purchase or sale of securities with the primary objective of seeking to obtain the best price and execution from responsible broker/dealers at competitive rates. MFS seeks to deal with broker/dealers that can meet a high standard of quality regarding execution services. MFS may also place value on a broker/dealer's ability to provide useful research assistance. MFS takes into account all factors it deems relevant, including by way of illustration: price; the size of the transaction; the nature of the market of the security; the amount of the commission; the timing and impact of the transaction taking into account market prices and trends; the reputation, experience and financial stability of the broker/dealer involved; the willingness of the broker/dealer to commit capital; the need for anonymity in the market; and the quality of services rendered by the broker/dealer in other transactions, including the quality of the broker/dealer's research.
<R>In certain circumstances, such as a buy in for failure to deliver, MFS is not able to select the broker/dealer who will transact to cover the failure. For example, if the fund sells a security short and is unable to deliver the securities sold short the broker/dealer through whom the fund sold short must deliver securities purchased for cash, i.e., effect a buy-in, unless it knows that the fund either is in the process of forwarding the securities to the broker/dealer or will do so as soon as possible without undue inconvenience or expense. Similarly, there can also be a failure to deliver in a long transaction and a resulting buy-in by the broker/dealer through whom the securities were sold. If the broker/dealer effects a buy-in, MFS will be unable to control the trading techniques, methods, venues or any other aspect of the trade used by the broker/dealer.</R>
Commission rates vary depending upon trading techniques, methods, venues and broker/dealers selected as well as the market(s) in which the security is traded and its relative liquidity. As noted above, MFS may utilize numerous broker/dealers and trading venues and strategies in order to seek the best execution for client transactions. MFS periodically and systematically reviews the performance of the broker/dealers that execute fund transactions, including the commission rates paid to broker/dealers by considering the value and quality of brokerage and research services provided. The quality of a broker/dealer's services is measured by analyzing various factors that could affect the execution of trades. These factors include the ability to execute trades with a minimum of market impact, the speed and efficiency of executions, electronic trading capabilities, adequacy of capital, research provided to the adviser, and accommodation of the adviser's special needs. MFS may employ outside vendors to provide reports on the quality of broker/dealer executions.
In the case of securities traded in the over-the-counter market, portfolio transactions may be effected either on an agency basis, which involves the payment of negotiated brokerage commissions to the broker/dealer, including electronic communication networks, or on a principal basis at net prices without commissions, but which include compensation to the broker/dealer in the form of a mark-up or mark-down, depending on where MFS believes best execution is available. In the case of securities purchased from underwriters, the cost of such securities generally includes a fixed underwriting commission or concession. From time to time, soliciting dealer fees are available to MFS on tender or exchange offers. Such soliciting or dealer fees are, in effect, recaptured by the fund.
In allocating brokerage, MFS may take into consideration the receipt of research and brokerage services, consistent with its obligation to seek best price and execution for fund transactions. As permitted by Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended ("Section 28(e)"), MFS may cause the fund to pay a broker/dealer which provides "brokerage and research services" (as defined by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) to MFS an amount of commission for effecting a securities transaction for the fund in excess of the amount other broker/dealers would have charged for the transaction if MFS determines in good faith that the greater commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by the effecting broker/dealer viewed in terms of either a particular transaction or MFS' overall responsibilities to the fund and its other clients. "Commissions," as interpreted by the SEC, include fees paid to brokers for trades conducted on an agency basis, and certain mark-ups, markdowns, commission equivalents and other fees received by dealers in riskless principal transactions placed in the NASDAQ market.
The term "brokerage and research services" includes advice as to the value of securities, the advisability of investing in, purchasing or selling securities, and the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities; furnishing analyses and reports concerning issuers, industries, securities, economic factors and trends, portfolio strategy, and the performance of accounts; and effecting securities transactions and performing functions incidental thereto (such as clearance and settlement) or required in connection therewith by applicable rules. Such services ("Research") includes statistical, research, and other factual information or services such as: investment research reports; access to analysts; execution systems and trading analytics; reports or databases containing corporate, fundamental, and technical analyses; portfolio modeling strategies; and economic research services, such as publications, chart services, and advice from economists concerning macroeconomics information, and analytical investment information about particular corporations. Such brokerage and research services are provided to MFS for no consideration other than brokerage or underwriting commissions. In determining whether a service or product qualifies as "brokerage and research services," MFS evaluates whether the service or product provides lawful and appropriate assistance to MFS in carrying out its investment decision-making responsibilities. It is often not possible to place a dollar value on the brokerage and research services MFS receives from brokers. The determination and evaluation of the reasonableness of the brokerage commissions paid in connection with portfolio transactions is based primarily on the professional opinions of the persons responsible for the placement and review of such transactions.
MFS has entered into Client Commission Agreements with broker/dealers that are involved from time to time in executing, clearing or settling securities transactions on behalf of the fund ("Executing Brokers") which provide for the Executing Brokers to pay a portion of the Commissions paid by the fund for securities transactions ("Pooled Commissions") to providers of Research ("Research Providers"). Such Research Providers produce Research for the benefit of MFS.
Because a Research Provider may play no role in executing client securities transactions, any Research prepared by that Research Provider may constitute third party research. MFS may use brokerage commissions, including Pooled Commissions, from the fund's portfolio transactions to acquire Research, subject to the procedures and limitations described in this discussion.
<R>From time to time, MFS prepares a list of Research Providers that have been deemed by MFS to provide valuable Research ("Research Firms") as determined periodically by MFS' investment staff ("Research Votes"). Executing Brokers are eligible to be included in the list of Research Firms. All trades with Research Firms will be effected in accordance with MFS' obligation to seek best execution for its client accounts. MFS uses a Research Vote as a guide for allocating Pooled Commissions. Compensation for Research may also be made pursuant to commissions paid on trades ("Trade Commissions") executed by a Research Provider who is registered as a broker/dealer ("Broker Provider"). Under normal circumstances, Executing Brokers are compensated for Research solely through Trade Commissions. To the extent that payments for Research to a Broker Provider other than an Executing Broker are made pursuant to Trade Commissions, MFS will reduce the amount of Pooled Commissions to be paid to that Broker Provider for its Research. However, MFS will reduce the amount of Pooled Commissions to be paid to that Broker Provider by less than the full amount of Trade Commissions paid to that Broker Provider. Research Votes are also used as a guide for allocating cash payments, if any, made by MFS from its own resources and Pooled Commissions to Research Firms that are not Broker Providers. Neither MFS nor the fund have an obligation to any Research Firm if the amount of Trade Commissions and Pooled Commissions paid to the Research Firm is less than the applicable non-binding target. MFS reserves the right to pay cash to the Research Firm from its own resources in an amount MFS determines in its discretion.</R>
If MFS determines that any service or product has a mixed use (i.e., it also serves functions that do not assist the investment decision-making or trading process), MFS may allocate the costs of such service or product accordingly in its reasonable discretion. MFS will allocate Trade Commissions and Pooled Commissions to Research Firms only for the portion of the service or product that MFS determines assists it in the investment decision-making or trading process and will pay for the remaining value of the product or service in cash.
In effecting portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund and MFS' other clients, MFS from time to time may instruct the broker/dealer that executes a transaction to allocate, or "step out," a portion of such transaction to another broker/dealer. The broker/dealer to which MFS has "stepped out" would then settle and complete the designated portion of the transaction, and the executing broker/dealer would settle and complete the remaining portion of the transaction that has not been "stepped out." Each broker/dealer may receive a commission or brokerage fee with respect to that portion of the transaction that it settles and completes.
The advisory fee paid by the fund to MFS is not reduced as a consequence of MFS' receipt of Research. To the extent the fund's portfolio transactions are used to obtain Research, the brokerage commissions paid by the fund might exceed those that might otherwise be paid for execution only. The Research received may be useful and of value to MFS or its affiliates in serving both the fund and other clients of MFS or its affiliates; accordingly, not all of the Research provided by broker/dealers through which the fund effects securities transactions may be used by MFS in connection with the fund. MFS, through the use of the Research, avoids the additional expenses that it would incur if it attempted to develop comparable information through its own staff or if it purchased such Research with its own resources.
In certain instances there are securities that are suitable for the fund's portfolio as well as for one or more of the other clients of MFS or of any subsidiary of MFS (or that MFS believes should no longer be held by the fund's portfolio or by other clients of MFS or any subsidiary of MFS). It is possible that a particular security is bought or sold for only one client even though it might be held by, or bought or sold for, other clients. Likewise, a particular security may be bought for one or more clients when one or more other clients are selling that same security. Some simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several clients receive investment advice from the same investment adviser, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objectives of more than one client. Transactions for each client are generally effected independently unless MFS determines to purchase or sell the same securities for several clients at approximately the same time. MFS may, but is not required to, aggregate together purchases and sales for several clients and will allocate the trades in a fair and equitable manner, across participating clients. MFS has adopted policies that are reasonably designed to ensure that when two or more clients are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, the securities are allocated among clients in a manner believed by MFS to be fair and equitable to each. With respect to proprietary accounts of MFS or its subsidiaries, allocations otherwise than in the context of equity initial public offerings, equity limited offerings or fixed income new issues will be made only to accounts that have been established and seeded with not more than $25 million: (1) in a commingled vehicle advised by MFS or an affiliate that is available for purchase by unaffiliated third parties ("New MFS Fund"); or (2) for the purpose of establishing a performance record to enable MFS or the subsidiary to offer the account's investment style to unaffiliated third parties or if the account is being offered to the general public. Other proprietary accounts will not participate in the investment opportunity until after it has been allocated to other accounts. Proprietary accounts include other accounts (1) owned beneficially solely by MFS or its subsidiaries; (2) in which the officers and employees of MFS or trustees/managers of any registered investment companies for which MFS serves as the primary investment advisor are the principal owners; or (3) invested in an investment strategy that is 25% or more owned by MFS or any of its direct or indirect subsidiaries, its officers and employees and that MFS has determined in its discretion to be an alternative account. With respect to allocations of equity initial public offerings, equity limited offerings or fixed income new issues, these policies prohibit allocations to: (1) Private Portfolio Management accounts; (2) accounts principally owned by officers or employees of MFS or its subsidiaries or trustees/managers of any registered investment companies for which MFS serves as the primary investment advisor and which are not being offered to unaffiliated third parties; or (3) a proprietary account (other than a New MFS Fund). However, these policies do not prohibit allocations to funds or other accounts owned beneficially by Sun Life of Canada (U.S.) Financial Services Holdings, Inc., or Sun Life Financial Inc., or their affiliates other than MFS and its direct and indirect subsidiaries.
It is recognized that in some cases this system could have a detrimental effect on the price or availability of a security as far as the fund is concerned.
Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis).
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Pyramis or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Pyramis, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Pyramis or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Pyramis' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Pyramis or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and character of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Pyramis and/or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for lessening or avoiding market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Pyramis and/or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Pyramis and/or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Pyramis and/or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Pyramis or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker is generally the same as the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Pyramis and/or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Pyramis) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Pyramis or its affiliates.
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. Pyramis or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Pyramis' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. </R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Pyramis or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in their investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Pyramis or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefits to Pyramis. Pyramis' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these products or services with their own resources. However, the trading desks of Pyramis and its affiliates are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services that Pyramis or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Pyramis or its affiliates or might not have an explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Pyramis or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Pyramis' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Pyramis or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Pyramis or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Pyramis' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Pyramis or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Pyramis or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Pyramis, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Pyramis or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Pyramis or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Pyramis or its affiliates.</R>
<R> Research Contracts. Pyramis or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Pyramis or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Pyramis or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Pyramis or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Pyramis or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Pyramis' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately ( e.g., with hard dollars), rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Pyramis' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.</R>
Commission Recapture
Pyramis or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Pyramis) who have entered into arrangements with Pyramis or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
Pyramis or its affiliates may be authorized to place portfolio transactions with Fidelity Capital Markets (FCM), a division of NFS, an affiliated broker-dealer of Pyramis and its affiliates, or other broker-dealers with whom they are under common control, and use CrossStream, an alternative trading system operated by NFS, if they reasonably believe the quality of the transaction is comparable to what it would be with other qualified broker-dealers. With respect to trades that are executed by Pyramis' affiliates, Pyramis and such affiliate seek to ensure that the trade execution obtained is comparable to that of unaffiliated brokers and that the continued use of such affiliate is appropriate. In addition, Pyramis or its affiliates may place trades with broker-dealers that use NFS as a clearing agent.
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Securities Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Pyramis or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers or may engage a third party to do so.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Pyramis or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Pyramis or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Pyramis to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
<R> William Blair & Company, LLC (William Blair). </R>
<R> Decisions on portfolio transactions (including the decision to buy or sell, the appropriate price, allocation of brokerage, use of a broker as agent or dealer as principal and negotiation of commissions) normally are made by William Blair. In purchasing and selling portfolio securities, William Blair seeks to obtain the most favorable overall result, taking into account the net price, the method of execution and research services provided by the broker. Such research services include economic forecasts and analytical, narrative and statistical reports on industries and companies for consideration by William Blair's other clients. Portfolio transactions may increase or decrease the return of a fund depending upon William Blair's ability to correctly time and execute such transactions. </R>
Selection of a broker for a particular portfolio transaction depends on many factors, some of which are subjective and that include the net price, confidentiality, reliability, integrity, size and nature of the transaction and the market in which it is to occur and any research or other services that the broker has provided. William Blair does not consider the sale of fund shares in selecting brokers. Transactions in over-the-counter securities are generally executed as principal trades with primary market makers, except where it is believed that a better combination of price and execution could otherwise be obtained. William Blair determines the overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions and of premiums and discounts on principal transactions (which do not involve commissions) by review of comparable trades for William Blair's other clients and in the market generally. If more than one broker is believed to be equally qualified to effect a portfolio transaction, William Blair may assign the transaction to a broker that has furnished research services, but William Blair has no agreement, formula or policy as to allocation of brokerage.
The fund may pay to brokers that provide research services to William Blair a commission higher than another broker might have charged if it is determined that the commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services that are provided, viewed in terms of either the particular transaction or William Blair's overall responsibility to its advisory accounts. The extent to which such commissions exceed commissions solely for execution cannot be determined, but such research services, which are involved in portfolio transactions for the fund and for William Blair's other advisory accounts, can be of benefit to both the fund and such other accounts. The value of research services that are provided by brokers who handle portfolio transactions for the fund cannot be precisely determined and such services are supplemental to William Blair's own efforts, which are undiminished thereby. William Blair does not believe that its expenses are reduced by reason of such services, which benefit the fund and William Blair's other clients. William Blair receives research products and services from broker/dealers and third parties in the form of written reports on individual companies and industries of particular interest to William Blair, general economic conditions, pertinent federal and state legislative developments and changes in accounting practices; direct access by telephone or meetings with leading research analysts throughout the financial community, corporate management personnel and industry experts; comparative performance and evaluation and technical measurement services for issuers, industries and the market as a whole; access to and monitoring of equity valuation models; and services from recognized experts on investment matters of particular interest to William Blair.
Commissions Paid
A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
<R>For the fiscal period May 2, 2012 to February 28, 2013, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 42% (annualized). Variations in turnover rate may be due to a fluctuating volume of shareholder purchase and redemption orders, market conditions, and/or changes in Strategic Advisers' investment outlook.</R>
<R>During the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013, the fund held securities issued by one or more of its regular brokers or dealers or a parent company of its regular brokers or dealers. The following table shows the aggregate value of the securities of the regular broker or dealer or parent company held by the fund as of the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013.</R>
<R>The following table shows the total amount of brokerage commissions paid by the fund, comprising commissions paid on securities and/or futures transactions, as applicable, for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013. The total amount of brokerage commissions paid is stated as a dollar amount and a percentage of the fund's average net assets.</R>
<R>Fiscal Year
|
|
Dollar
|
Percentage of
|
<R>2013 A |
|
$ 68,491 |
0.16% B </R> |
<R> A From May 2, 2012.</R>
<R> B Annualized.</R>
<R>During the fiscal period May 2, 2012 to February 28, 2013, the fund paid $58,759 in brokerage commissions to firms that may have provided research or brokerage services involving approximately $61,027,871 of transactions.</R>
<R>The class's NAV is the value of a single share. The NAV of the class is computed by adding the class's pro rata share of the value of the fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting the class's pro rata share of the fund's liabilities, subtracting the liabilities allocated to the class, and dividing the result by the number of shares of that class that are outstanding.</R>
The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for pricing, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers has established the Strategic Advisers Fair Value Committee (Strategic Advisers Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities. The Strategic Advisers Committee may rely on information and recommendations provided by affiliates of Strategic Advisers in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, including the fair valuation of securities.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) held by the fund are valued at their respective NAVs. If an underlying fund's NAV is unavailable, shares of that underlying fund will be fair valued in good faith by the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by the fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity non-money market fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
<R>Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques.</R>
Short-term securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less for which market quotations and information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates current value.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
<R>Prices described above are obtained from pricing services that have been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available and the funds may use more than one of these services. The funds may also discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time. Strategic Advisers engages in oversight activities with respect to the fund's pricing services, which includes, among other things, testing the prices provided by pricing services prior to calculation of a fund's NAV, conducting periodic due diligence meetings, and periodically reviewing the methodologies and inputs used by these services.</R>
<R>Foreign securities and instruments are valued in their local currency following the methodologies described above. Foreign securities, instruments and currencies are translated to U.S. dollars, based on foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by a pricing service as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which uses a proprietary model to determine the exchange rate. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at an interpolated rate based on days to maturity between the closest preceding and subsequent settlement period reported by the third party pricing service.</R>
The Board of Trustees of the underlying Fidelity funds has ultimate responsibility for pricing portfolio securities and assets held by those funds, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee and the Strategic Advisers Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and ADRs, market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. This technique involves initially valuing an instrument at its cost as adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount rather than its current market value. The amortized cost value of an instrument may be higher or lower than the price a money market fund would receive if it sold the instrument.
At such intervals as they deem appropriate, the Trustees of an underlying Fidelity money market fund consider the extent to which NAV calculated using market valuations would deviate from the $1.00 per share calculated using amortized cost valuation. If the Trustees believe that a deviation from a money market fund's amortized cost per share may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Trustees have agreed to take such corrective action, if any, as they deem appropriate to eliminate or reduce, to the extent reasonably practicable, the dilution or unfair results. Such corrective action could include selling portfolio instruments prior to maturity to realize capital gains or losses or to shorten average portfolio maturity; withholding dividends; redeeming shares in kind; establishing NAV by using available market quotations; and such other measures as the Trustees may deem appropriate.
<R> BUYING, SELLING, AND EXCHANGING INFORMATION </R>
<R>The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the class's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.</R>
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
<R> Dividends. Distributions by the fund to tax-advantaged retirement plan accounts are not taxable currently. For all other accounts, a portion of the fund's income may qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, but it is unlikely that all of the fund's income will qualify for the deduction. A portion of the fund's dividends, when distributed to individual shareholders, may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).</R>
Capital Gain Distributions. Unless your shares of the fund are held in a tax-advantaged retirement plan, the fund's long-term capital gain distributions, including amounts attributable to an underlying fund's long-term capital gain distributions, are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.
Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. As a general matter, if, at the close of its fiscal year, more than 50% of the fund's total assets is invested in securities of foreign issuers, the fund may elect to pass through eligible foreign taxes paid and thereby allow shareholders to take a deduction or, if they meet certain holding period requirements with respect to fund shares, a credit on their individual tax returns. In addition, if at the close of each quarter of its fiscal year at least 50% of the fund's total assets is represented by interests in other regulated investment companies, the same rules will apply to any foreign tax credits that underlying funds pass through to the fund. The amount of foreign taxes paid by the fund will be reduced to the extent that the fund lends securities over the dividend record date. Special rules may apply to the credit for individuals who receive dividends qualifying for the long-term capital gains tax rate.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
<R>The Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and executive officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. If the interests of the fund and an underlying Fidelity fund were to diverge, a conflict of interest could arise and affect how the Trustees and Member of the Advisory Board fulfill their fiduciary duties to the affected funds. Strategic Advisers has structured the fund to avoid these potential conflicts, although there may be situations where a conflict of interest is unavoidable. In such instances, Strategic Advisers, the Trustees, and Member of the Advisory Board would take reasonable steps to minimize and, if possible, eliminate the conflict. Except for Mary C. Farrell, each of the Trustees oversees 26 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. Ms. Farrell oversees 20 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.</R>
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. The executive officers and Advisory Board Member hold office without limit in time, except that any officer and Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
<R>Each Trustee who is not an interested person of the trust and the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) is referred to herein as an Independent Trustee.</R>
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Fund's Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also engage professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates with experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. Additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, may be considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. Roger T. Servison is an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) and currently serves as Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Ralph F. Cox serves as the lead Independent Trustee and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
<R>Fidelity funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees asset allocation funds as well as the Fidelity enhanced index funds. Other boards oversee Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds and Fidelity's equity and high income funds. The fund may invest in Fidelity funds overseen by such other Boards. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues.</R>
The Trustees primarily operate as a full Board, but also operate in committees, to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board has charged Strategic Advisers and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through Strategic Advisers, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. Board oversight of different aspects of the fund's activities is exercised primarily through the full Board, but also through the Audit and Compliance Committee. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees."
Interested Trustees *:
<R>Correspondence intended for each Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience + </R> |
|
<R>Roger T. Servison (1945)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Servison is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Servison serves as President of Strategic New Business Development for Fidelity Investments and serves as a Director of Strategic Advisers. Previously, Mr. Servison oversaw Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company (2005-2006) and Strategic Advisers (2005-2007). Mr. Servison also served as President and a Director of Fidelity Brokerage Services (Japan), LLC (1994-2004). |
<R>Derek L. Young (1964)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2012</R> Mr. Young is Vice President of Fidelity's Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present), President and a Director of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2011-present), President of Fidelity Global Asset Allocation (GAA) (2011-present), and Vice Chairman of Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2011-present). Previously, Mr. Young served as Chief Investment Officer of GAA (2009-2011) and as a portfolio manager. |
* Trustees have been determined to be "Interested Trustees" by virtue of, among other things, their affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with Strategic Advisers.
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees :
Correspondence intended for each Independent Trustee (that is, the Trustees other than the Interested Trustees) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience + </R> |
|
<R>Peter C. Aldrich (1944)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Aldrich is a Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Director of the funds of BlackRock Realty Group (2006-present). Previously, Mr. Aldrich served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010), a Managing Member of Poseidon, LLC (foreign private investment, 1998-2004), and Chairman and Managing Member of AEGIS, LLC (foreign private investment, 1997-2004). Mr. Aldrich also served as Faculty Chairman of The Research Council on Global Investment of The Conference Board (business and professional education non-profit, 1999-2004). Mr. Aldrich is a Member of the Boards of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and an Overseer of the Longy School of Music. |
<R>Amy Butte Liebowitz (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2011</R> Ms. Butte Liebowitz was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of TILE Financial (financial internet service, 2008-2012). Previously, Ms. Butte Liebowitz served as the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of MF Global (broker-dealer, 2006-2008), and Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange (2004-2006). Ms. Butte Liebowitz is a member of the Boards of Directors of Accion International and the New York Women's Forum, as well as an alumna of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader program. |
<R>Ralph F. Cox (1932)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Cox is President of RABAR Enterprises (management consulting for the petroleum industry). Mr. Cox is a Director of Abraxas Petroleum (exploration and production). Mr. Cox is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Business and Engineering Schools of Texas A&M University and the Engineering School of University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Mr. Cox served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010) and as an Advisory Director of CH2M Hill Companies (engineering, 1981-2011). Mr. Ralph F. Cox and Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. are not related. |
<R>Mary C. Farrell (1949)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2013</R> Ms. Farrell is a Director of the W.R. Berkley Corporation (insurance provider) and President (2009-present) and Director (2006-present) of the Howard Gilman Foundation (charitable organization). Previously, Ms. Farrell was Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at UBS Wealth Management USA and Co-Head of UBS Wealth Management Investment Strategy & Research Group (2003-2005). Ms. Farrell also served as Investment Strategist at PaineWebber (1982-2000) and UBS PaineWebber (2000-2002). Ms. Farrell also serves as Trustee on the Board of Overseers of the New York University Stern School of Business, the Board of Trustees of Yale-New Haven Hospital and is a member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II. |
<R>Karen Kaplan (1960)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Ms. Kaplan is President of Hill Holliday (advertising and specialized marketing, 2007-present). Ms. Kaplan is a Director of DSM (dba Delta Dental and DentaQuest) (2004-present), Director of Vera Bradley (2012-present), Member of the Board of Governors of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston (2010-present), Member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference for Women (2008-present), Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (2006-present), Board of Directors of Jobs for Massachusetts (2012-present), National Association of Corporate Directors Chapter (2012-present), and Board of Directors of the Post Office Square Trust (2012-present). She is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, an action oriented community of the most effective CEOs, heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, and non-governmental leaders in the world. Previously, Ms. Kaplan served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010), President of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2008-2010), Treasurer of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2002-2006), Vice Chair of the Board of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2003-2010), Director of United Way of Massachusetts Bay (2004-2006), Director of ADVO (direct mail marketing, 2003-2007), and Director of Tweeter Home Entertainment Group (2006-2007). |
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Member and Executive Officers :
<R>Correspondence intended for each executive officer and Howard E. Cox, Jr. may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupation </R> |
|
<R>Howard E. Cox, Jr. (1944)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2009</R> Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II. Mr. Cox is a Member of the Advisory Board of Devonshire Investors (2009-present). Mr. Cox serves as an Advisory Partner of Greylock (venture capital) and a Director of Stryker Corporation (medical products and services). Previously, Mr. Cox served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010) and a Member of the Secretary of Defense's Business Board of Directors (2008-2010). Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. and Mr. Ralph F. Cox are not related. |
<R>Kenneth B. Robins (1969)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2010</R> President and Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Robins also serves as President and Treasurer of other Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds (2008-present) and Assistant Treasurer of other Fidelity Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present). Mr. Robins is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Robins served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2005-2008) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2006-2008). |
<R>Marc Bryant (1966)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2010</R> Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of the fund. Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Fidelity Investments. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Mr. Bryant served as a Senior Vice President and the Head of Global Retail Legal for AllianceBernstein L.P. (2006-2010), and as the General Counsel for ProFund Advisors LLC (2001-2006). |
<R>Elizabeth Paige Baumann (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2012</R> Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer of the fund. Ms. Baumann also serves as AML Officer of the Fidelity funds (2012-present) and The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2012-present), Chief AML Officer of FMR LLC (2012-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Baumann served as Vice President and Deputy Anti-Money Laundering Officer (2007-2012). |
<R>Nicholas E. Steck (1964)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2009</R> Chief Financial Officer of the fund. Mr. Steck serves as Senior Vice President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. During the period 2002 to 2009, Mr. Steck served as a Compliance Officer of FMR, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc., FMR LLC, Fidelity Research & Analysis (U.K.) Inc., Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. |
<R>Laura M. Doherty (1969)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2009</R> Chief Compliance Officer of the fund. Ms. Doherty also serves as Senior Vice President of the Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Doherty served as a Vice President in Fidelity's Corporate Audit department (1998-2008). |
<R>Adrien E. Deberghes (1967)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2011</R> Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Deberghes also serves as Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) and Deputy Treasurer (2008-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Deberghes served as Senior Vice President of Mutual Fund Administration at State Street Corporation (2007-2008), Senior Director of Mutual Fund Administration at Investors Bank & Trust (2005-2007), and Director of Finance for Dunkin' Brands (2000-2005). |
<R>Stephanie J. Dorsey (1969)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2012</R> Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Ms. Dorsey also serves as President and Treasurer (2013-present) and Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Dorsey served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2008-2013), Treasurer (2004-2008) of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds and Vice President (2004-2008) of JPMorgan Chase Bank. |
<R>Jonathan Davis (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2010</R> Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Davis is also Assistant Treasurer of certain Fidelity funds. Mr. Davis is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2003-2010). |
<R>Margaret A. Carey (1973)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009</R> Assistant Secretary of the fund. Ms. Carey also serves as Assistant Secretary of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present), Vice President, Associate General Counsel (2007-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). |
Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established two committees to supplement the work of the Board as a whole. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
<R>The Audit and Compliance Committee is composed of Ms. Butte Liebowitz (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, Mr. Ralph Cox, and Mses. Farrell and Kaplan. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The committee determines whether at least one member of the committee is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined in rules promulgated by the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The committee normally meets in conjunction with in person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee meets separately periodically with the fund's Treasurer, the fund's Chief Financial Officer, the fund's CCO, personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and the fund's outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the fund for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the fund and the fund's service providers, (ii) the financial reporting processes of the fund, (iii) the independence, objectivity and qualification of the auditors to the fund, (iv) the annual audits of the fund's financial statements, and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the fund. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations (Auditor Independence Regulations) of the SEC. In furtherance of the foregoing, the committee has adopted (and may from time to time amend or supplement) and provides oversight of policies and procedures for non-audit engagements by outside auditors of the fund. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the fund and for resolving disagreements between the fund and any outside auditor regarding the fund's financial reporting, and has sole authority to hire and fire any auditor. Auditors of the fund report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the fund and any service providers consistent with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Ethics and Independence Rule 3526, Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence. The committee will discuss with the outside auditors any such disclosed relationships and their impact on the auditor's independence and objectivity. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the Auditor Independence Regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the fund's service providers' internal controls and reviews with management, internal auditors, and outside auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of the fund's and service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the fund's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the fund's or service provider's internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will review with counsel any legal matters that may have a material impact on the fund's financial statements and any material reports or inquiries received from regulators or governmental agencies. The committee reviews at least annually a report from the outside auditor describing (i) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control review, peer review, or PCAOB examination of the auditing firm and (ii) any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm since the most recent report and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the fund's financial reporting process and will receive reports from an outside auditor relating to (i) critical accounting policies and practices used by the fund, (ii) alternative accounting treatments that the auditor has discussed with Strategic Advisers, and (iii) other material written communications between the auditor and Strategic Advisers (as determined by the auditor). The committee will discuss with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the fund. The committee will review with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC (to the extent relevant) the results of audits of the fund's financial statements. The committee will review periodically the fund's major internal controls exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. The committee also oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the fund and its service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee of the Board of Trustees or reserved to the Board itself. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the fund. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO and, if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports on significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the fund's compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1 and quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of Mr. Ralph Cox (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, and Mses. Butte Liebowitz, Farrell, and Kaplan. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the code of ethics and any supplemental policies regarding personal securities transactions applicable to the Independent Trustees. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the fund's or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the fund's expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the fund, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012 (or as of March 31, 2013 for Ms. Farrell, Trustee as of March 5, 2013).</R>
Interested Trustees |
||
<R>
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Roger T. Servison |
DerekL. Young </R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund |
none |
none </R> |
<R>
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
none |
none </R> |
<R></R>
<R>Independent Trustees</R> |
|||||
<R>
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Peter C. Aldrich |
Mary C. Farrell |
Amy Butte Liebowitz |
Ralph F. Cox |
Karen Kaplan </R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund |
none |
none |
none |
none |
none </R> |
<R>
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
over $100,000 |
none |
none |
over $100,000 |
none </R> |
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board for his or her services for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, or calendar year ended December 31, 2012, as applicable.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Compensation Table 1 </R> |
||||||
<R>
AGGREGATE
|
Peter C.
|
Mary C.
|
Amy
|
Ralph F.
|
Karen
|
</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund+ |
$ 122 |
$ 0 |
$ 122 |
$ 122 |
$ 122 |
</R> |
<R>
TOTAL COMPENSATION
|
$ 137,500 |
$ 0 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
</R> |
<R> 1 Roger T. Servison, Howard E. Cox, Jr., and Derek L. Young are interested persons and are compensated by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate (including FMR).</R>
<R> 2 Effective March 5, 2013, Ms. Farrell serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II.</R>
+ Estimated for the fund's first full year.
<R> A Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, for 26 funds of two trusts.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and officers of the fund owned, in the aggregate, less than 1% of the fund's total outstanding shares.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the following owned of record and/or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding shares of a class:</R>
<R>* The ownership information shown above is for a class of shares of the fund.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, approximately 99.14% of the fund's total outstanding shares was held of record and/or beneficially by FIMM LLC, Boston, MA.</R>
<R>A shareholder owning of record or beneficially more than 25% of a fund's outstanding shares may be considered a controlling person. That shareholder's vote could have a more significant effect on matters presented at a shareholders' meeting than votes of other shareholders.</R>
CONTROL OF INVESTMENT ADVISERS
<R>FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of Strategic Advisers and Pyramis Global Advisers, LLC (Pyramis). The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Abigail P. Johnson family, directly or through trusts, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.</R>
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
Causeway was founded in 2001 and is a Delaware limited liability company. Sarah H. Ketterer and Harry W. Hartford, chief executive officer and president of Causeway, respectively, control Causeway through their executive offices and their voting control of Causeway.
MFS and its predecessor organizations have a history of money management dating from 1924. MFS is a subsidiary of Sun Life of Canada (U.S.) Financial Services Holdings, Inc., which in turn is an indirect majority-owned subsidiary of Sun Life Financial Inc. (a diversified financial services company).
Pyramis is a registered investment adviser. FMR LLC is the ultimate parent company of Pyramis. Information regarding the ownership of FMR LLC is disclosed above.
<R>William Blair is a limited liability company that is 100% owned by WBC Holdings, L.P., a limited partnership. The affairs of William Blair are controlled by the general partner of WBC Holdings, L.P., WBC GP, L.L.C., which in turn, is controlled by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is comprised of, John R. Ettelson, Brent W. Gledhill, Arthur J. Simon, W. George Greig, Richard P. Kiphart, John C. Moore, and Michelle R. Seitz.</R>
Strategic Advisers, Causeway, MFS, Pyramis, William Blair (the Investment Advisers), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and the fund have adopted codes of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that set forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establish procedures for personal investing, and restrict certain transactions. Employees subject to the codes of ethics, including the Investment Advisers' investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.
The fund has entered into a management contract with Strategic Advisers, pursuant to which Strategic Advisers furnishes investment advisory and other services.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Strategic Advisers has retained Causeway, MFS, Pyramis, and William Blair to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. The sub-advisers do not sponsor the fund.
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
Management and Sub-Advisory Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, Strategic Advisers acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, directs the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. Strategic Advisers is authorized, in its discretion, to allocate the fund's assets pursuant to its investment strategy. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates provide the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensate all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of Strategic Advisers, and compensate all personnel of the fund or Strategic Advisers performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
Under its respective sub-advisory agreement, and subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, each sub-adviser directs the investment of its allocated portion of the fund's assets in accordance with the fund's investment objective, policies and limitations.
<R> Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to Strategic Advisers and the fees payable to the transfer agent and pricing and bookkeeping agent, the fund or each class thereof, as applicable, pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by those parties. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders; however, under the terms of the fund's transfer agent agreement, the transfer agent bears these costs. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.</R>
Management Fees. For the services of Strategic Advisers under the management contract, the fund pays Strategic Advisers a monthly management fee calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets; provided, however, that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.05% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>The following table shows the amount of management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers for the past fiscal year.</R>
<R> A Fund commenced operations on May 2, 2012.</R>
<R> B Annualized.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of a class's operating expenses. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.</R>
<R>Expense reimbursements by Strategic Advisers will increase the class's returns, and repayment of the reimbursement by the class will decrease its returns.</R>
<R> Sub-Adviser - Causeway. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Causeway pursuant to which Causeway may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Causeway fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Causeway pursuant to a separately negotiated investment mandate (a "Strategy"). The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Causeway under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Causeway pursuant to that Strategy.</R>
<R> Sub-Adviser - MFS. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with MFS pursuant to which MFS may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays MFS fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by MFS pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by MFS under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by MFS pursuant to that Strategy.</R>
Sub-Adviser - Pyramis. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Pyramis pursuant to which Pyramis may provide investment advisory services for the fund.
<R>Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Pyramis fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Pyramis pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Pyramis under a particular Strategy based on the following rate schedule:</R>
Select International: |
<R>0.45% of the first $200 million in assets;</R> |
<R>0.40% of the next $450 million in assets; and</R> |
0.35% on any amount in excess of $650 million in assets |
Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Pyramis pursuant to that Strategy.
<R> Sub-Adviser - William Blair. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with William Blair pursuant to which William Blair may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays William Blair fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by William Blair pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by William Blair under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by William Blair pursuant to that Strategy.</R>
<R>The following table shows the amount of sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to Pyramis for the past fiscal year.</R>
<R> A Fund commenced operations on May 2, 2012.</R>
<R> B Annualized.</R>
<R>The following table shows the aggregate amount of sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to unaffiliated sub-advisers for the past fiscal year.</R>
<R> A Fund commenced operations on May 2, 2012.</R>
<R> B Annualized.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Strategic Advisers. </R>
<R> Wilfred Chilangwa is an employee of Strategic Advisers, a subsidiary of FMR LLC and an affiliate of FMR. Strategic Advisers is the adviser to the fund. </R>
<R>Mr. Chilangwa is the lead portfolio manager of the fund and receives compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Strategic Advisers or at the election of the portfolio manager. </R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of a broad range of Strategic Advisers funds and accounts, including the fund. Accounts may include model portfolios designed for asset allocation, retirement planning, or tax-sensitive goals. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s), and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with the portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and peer group. A subjective component of the bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Strategic Advisers. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of his fund is based on the fund's pre-tax investment performance measured against the MSCI ® EAFE ® Index (net MA tax), and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund (based on the performance of the fund's retail class) within the Morningstar ® Foreign Large Blend Category. The portfolio manager may be compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Strategic Advisers' parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates. </R>
<R></R>
<R>The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics. </R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Chilangwa as of February 28, 2013: </R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
5 |
184 |
none</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 16,438 |
$ 16,673 |
none</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($56 (in millions) assets managed). The amount of assets managed of the fund reflects trades and other assets as of the close of the business day prior to the fund's fiscal year-end.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Chilangwa was $10,001 - $50,000.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Causeway. The employees of Causeway who act as portfolio managers of the fund are Sarah H. Ketterer, Harry W. Hartford, James A. Doyle, Jonathan P. Eng, Kevin Durkin, Conor Muldoon, Foster Corwith, and Alessandro Valentini. Ms. Ketterer and Mr. Hartford, the chief executive officer and president of Causeway, respectively, receive annual salary and are entitled, as controlling owners of the firm, to distributions of the firm's profits based on their ownership interests. They do not receive incentive compensation. Messrs. Doyle, Eng, Durkin, Muldoon, Corwith, and Valentini receive salary, incentive compensation equity and/or synthetic equity awards, and distributions of firm profits based on their minority ownership interests. Salary and incentive compensation are determined by the firm's Operating Committee, led by Ms. Ketterer and Mr. Hartford, weighing a variety of objective and subjective factors. No specific formula is used and salary and incentive compensation are not based on the specific performance of the fund or any single client account managed by Causeway. The following factors are among those considered in determining incentive compensation: individual research contribution, portfolio management contribution, group research contribution and client service contribution.</R>
<R>Causeway's portfolio managers also manage their own personal accounts and other accounts, including corporations, pension plans, public retirement plans, Taft-Hartley pension plans, endowments and foundations, mutual funds, charities, private trusts, wrap fee programs, and other institutions (collectively, "Other Accounts"). In managing the Other Accounts, the portfolio managers employ investment strategies similar to that used in managing the fund, subject to certain variations in investment restrictions. The portfolio managers purchase and sell securities for the fund that they also recommend to Other Accounts. The portfolio managers at times give advice or take action with respect to certain accounts that differs from the advice given other accounts with similar investment strategies. Certain of the Other Accounts pay higher or lower management fee rates than the fund or pay performance-based fees to Causeway. Ms. Ketterer and Mr. Hartford hold a controlling interest in the Causeway's equity and Messrs. Doyle, Eng, Durkin, Muldoon, Corwith, and Valentini have minority interests in Causeway's equity.</R>
Actual or potential conflicts of interest arise from the fund's portfolio managers' management responsibilities with respect to the Other Accounts and their own personal accounts. These responsibilities may cause portfolio managers to devote unequal time and attention across client accounts and the differing fees, incentives and relationships with the various accounts provide incentives to favor certain accounts. Causeway has written compliance policies and procedures designed to mitigate or manage these conflicts of interest. These include policies and procedures to seek fair and equitable allocation of investment opportunities (including IPOs) and trade allocations among all client accounts and policies and procedures concerning the disclosure and use of portfolio transaction information. Causeway also has a Code of Ethics which, among other things, limits personal trading by portfolio managers and other employees of Causeway. There is no guarantee that any such policies or procedures will cover every situation in which a conflict of interest arises.
Causeway's portfolio managers to the fund have responsibility for the day-to-day management of accounts other than the fund. Information regarding these other accounts is set forth below.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Ms. Ketterer as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($10 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Ms. Ketterer was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Hartford as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($10 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Hartford was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Doyle as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($10 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Doyle was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Eng as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($10 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Eng was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Durkin as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($10 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Durkin was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Muldoon as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($10 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Muldoon was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Corwith as of April 1, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($10 (in millions) assets managed) as of February 28, 2013.</R>
<R>As of April 1, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Corwith was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Valentini as of April 1, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($10 (in millions) assets managed) as of February 28, 2013.</R>
<R>As of April 1, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Valentini was none.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - MFS. Portfolio manager compensation is reviewed annually. As of December 31, 2012, portfolio manager total cash compensation is a combination of base salary and performance bonus:</R>
Base Salary - Base salary represents a smaller percentage of portfolio manager total cash compensation than performance bonus.
Performance Bonus - Generally, the performance bonus represents more than a majority of portfolio manager total cash compensation.
<R>With respect to Thomas Melendez, portfolio manager of the fund, the performance bonus is based on the results of an annual internal peer review process (conducted by other portfolio managers, analysts, traders, and non-investment personnel) and management's assessment of overall portfolio manager contributions to investor relations, the investment process and overall performance (distinct from fund and other account performance). This performance bonus may be in the form of cash and/or a deferred cash award, at the discretion of management. A deferred cash award is issued for a cash value and becomes payable over a three-year vesting period if the portfolio manager remains in the continuous employ of MFS or its affiliates. During the vesting period, the value of the unfunded deferred cash award will fluctuate as though the portfolio manager had invested the cash value of the award in an MFS Fund(s) selected by the portfolio manager. A selected fund may be, but is not required to be, a fund that is managed by the portfolio manager.</R>
With respect to Jose Luis Garcia, Benjamin Stone, and Barnaby Wiener, portfolio managers of the fund, the performance bonus is based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative factors, generally with more weight given to the former and less weight given to the latter.
<R>The quantitative portion is based on the pre-tax performance of assets managed by the portfolio manager over one-, three-, and five-year periods relative to peer group universes and/or indices ("benchmarks"). As of December 31, 2012, the following benchmarks were used to measure the following portfolio managers' performance for the following Fund:</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund |
Jose Luis Garcia |
MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Index</R> |
<R> |
Benjamin Stone |
MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Value Index</R> MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Index |
<R> |
Barnaby Wiener |
MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Value Index</R> |
<R>Additional or different benchmarks, including versions of indices, custom indices, and linked indices that include performance of different indices for different portions of the time period, may also be used. Primary weight is given to portfolio performance over a three-year time period with lesser consideration given to portfolio performance over one and five-year periods (adjusted as appropriate if the portfolio manager has served for less than five years). </R>
<R>The qualitative portion is based on the results of an annual internal peer review process (conducted by other portfolio managers, analysts, and traders) and management's assessment of overall portfolio manager contributions to investor relations and the investment process (distinct from fund and other account performance). This performance bonus may be in the form of cash and/or a deferred cash award, at the discretion of management. A deferred cash award is issued for a cash value and becomes payable over a three-year vesting period if the portfolio manager remains in the continuous employ of MFS or its affiliates. During the vesting period, the value of the unfunded deferred cash award will fluctuate as though the portfolio manager had invested the cash value of the award in an MFS Fund(s) selected by the portfolio manager. A selected fund may be, but is not required to be, a fund that is managed by the portfolio manager.</R>
Portfolio managers also typically benefit from the opportunity to participate in the MFS Equity Plan. Equity interests and/or options to acquire equity interests in MFS or its parent company are awarded by management, on a discretionary basis, taking into account tenure at MFS, contribution to the investment process, and other factors.
Finally, portfolio managers also participate in benefit plans (including a defined contribution plan and health and other insurance plans) and programs available generally to other employees of MFS. The percentage such benefits represent of any portfolio manager's compensation depends upon the length of the individual's tenure at MFS and salary level, as well as other factors.
MFS seeks to identify potential conflicts of interest resulting from a portfolio manager's management of both the fund and other accounts, and has adopted policies and procedures designed to address such potential conflicts.
The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) gives rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives and strategies, benchmarks, time horizons and fees as a portfolio manager must allocate his or her time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In certain instances there are securities which are suitable for the fund's portfolio as well as for accounts of MFS or its subsidiaries with similar investment objectives. The fund's trade allocation policies may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed or are delayed in getting executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts of MFS or its subsidiaries. A portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely affect the value of the fund's investments. Investments selected for funds or accounts other than the fund may outperform investments selected for the fund.
When two or more clients are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, the securities are allocated among clients in a manner believed by MFS to be fair and equitable to each. It is recognized that in some cases this system could have a detrimental effect on the price or volume of the security as far as the fund is concerned. In most cases, however, MFS believes that the Fund's ability to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions for the fund.
MFS and/or a portfolio manager may have a financial incentive to allocate favorable or limited opportunity investments or structure the timing of investments to favor accounts other than the fund, for instance, those that pay a higher advisory fee and/or have a performance adjustment and/or include an investment by the portfolio manager.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Melendez as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($24 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Melendez was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Garcia as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($24 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Garcia was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Stone as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($24 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Stone was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Wiener as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($24 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Wiener was none.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Pyramis. Cesar Hernandez is the portfolio manager of Pyramis' allocated portion of the fund's assets and receive compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio managers compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of each portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Pyramis or at the election of the portfolio manager.</R>
Each portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and experience at FMR, Pyramis or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of each portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, if applicable, and (ii) the investment performance of other Pyramis equity funds and accounts. The pre-tax investment performance of each portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to the portfolio manager's tenure on those fund(s) and account(s) and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over the portfolio manager's tenure. Each component is calculated separately over each portfolio manager's tenure on those fund(s) and account(s) over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with each portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index, and peer group, if applicable. A smaller, subjective component of each portfolio manager's bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to and leadership within the Pyramis investment platform.
The portion of Mr. Hernandez's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of Pyramis' Select International strategy is based on the pre-tax investment performance of the strategy measured against the MSCI ® EAFE ® Index (Net). Each portfolio manager also is compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of Pyramis Global Advisors Holdings Corp, Pyramis' parent company. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of Pyramis and its affiliates.
A portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, a portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. A portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as a portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by FMR or an affiliate. A portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. For example, a portfolio manager may manage other funds or accounts that engage in short sales, and could sell short a security for such other fund or account that the fund also trades or holds. Although Pyramis monitors such transactions to attempt to ensure equitable treatment of both the fund and a fund or account that engages in short sales, there can be no assurance that the price of a security held by the fund would not be impacted as a result. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Hernandez as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($12 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Hernandez was none.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - William Blair. The compensation of William Blair's portfolio managers is based on the firm's mission: "to achieve success for its clients." W. George Greig is a portfolio manager of the fund and a partner of William Blair, and his compensation consists of a fixed base salary, a share of the firm's profits and, in some instances, a discretionary bonus. The discretionary bonus as well as any potential changes to a principal's ownership stakes is determined by the head of William Blair's Investment Management Department, subject to the approval of William Blair's Executive Committee, and is based entirely on a qualitative assessment rather than a formula. The discretionary bonus rewards specific accomplishments in the prior year, including short-term and long-term investment performance, quality of research ideas, and other contributions to William Blair and its clients. Changes in ownership stake are based on an individual's sustained, multi-year contribution to long-term investment performance, and to William Blair's revenue, profitability, intellectual capital and brand reputation. The compensation process is a subjective one that takes into account the factors described above. Portfolio managers do not receive any direct compensation based upon the performance of any individual client account and no indices are used to measure performance. In addition, there is no particular weighting or formula for evaluating the factors.</R>
The portfolio manager's compensation may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Potential conflicts of interest that may arise include, for example, conflicts among investment strategies, conflicts in the allocation of investment opportunities, or conflicts due to different fees. Some accounts have higher fees, including performance fees, than others. Fees charged to clients may differ depending upon a number of factors including, but not limited to, the particular strategy, the size of the portfolio being managed, the relationship with the client, the service requirements and the asset class involved. Fees may also differ based on the account type (e.g., separately managed accounts, mutual funds, and wrap accounts). Based on these factors, a client may pay higher fees than another client in the same strategy. In addition, clients with larger assets under management generate more revenue for William Blair than smaller accounts. These differences may give rise to a potential conflict that a portfolio manager would favor the higher fee-paying account over the other or allocate more time to the management of one account over another. Furthermore, if a greater proportion of a portfolio manager's compensation could be derived from an account or group of accounts than other accounts under the portfolio manager's management, there could be an incentive for the portfolio manager to favor the accounts that could have a greater impact on the portfolio manager's compensation. While William Blair does not monitor the specific amount of time that a portfolio manager spends on a single portfolio, senior William Blair personnel periodically review the performance of William Blair's portfolio managers as well as periodically assess whether the portfolio manager has adequate resources to effectively manage the accounts assigned to that portfolio manager. As part of its obligation to mitigate such conflicts, William Blair has adopted trade allocation policies and procedures that seek to manage, monitor and, to the extent possible, minimize the effects of these conflicts.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Greig as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
14 |
19 |
58</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 9,560 |
$ 3,028 |
$ 9,604</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($9 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Greig was none.</R>
<R> Proxy Voting - Strategic Advisers. </R>
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of the fund, after consultation with Strategic Advisers. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Strategic Advisers and its affiliates and by the Independent Trustees of the fund, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. The funds in the trust generally intend to vote shares of underlying funds using echo voting procedures (that is, in the same proportion as the holders of all other shares of the particular underlying fund).
B. Any proposals not covered by paragraph A above or other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate Strategic Advisers analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review and approval by the General Counsel or Compliance Officer of FMR or the General Counsel of FMR LLC.
<R> Sub-Advisers: </R>
Proxy voting policies and procedures are used by a sub-adviser to determine how to vote proxies relating to the securities held by its allocated portion of the fund's assets. The proxy voting policies and procedures used by the sub-advisers are described below.
Causeway votes the proxies of companies owned by clients who have granted Causeway voting authority. Causeway votes proxies solely in the best interests of clients in accordance with its Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures. Causeway's policies and procedures are designed to ensure, to the extent feasible, that votes cast are consistent with certain basic principles: (i) increasing shareholder value; (ii) maintaining or increasing shareholder influence over the board of directors and management; (iii) establishing and enhancing a strong and independent board of directors; (iv) maintaining or increasing the rights of shareholders; and (v) aligning the interests of management and employees with those of shareholders with a view toward the reasonableness of executive compensation and shareholder dilution.
Causeway's guidelines also recognize that a company's management is charged with day-to-day operations and, therefore, Causeway generally votes on routine business matters in favor of management's proposals or positions. Under its guidelines, Causeway generally votes for distributions of income, appointment of auditors, director compensation (unless deemed excessive), management's slate of director nominees (except nominees with poor attendance or who have not acted in the best interests of shareholders), financial results/director and auditor reports, share repurchase plans, and changing corporate names and other similar matters.
Causeway generally votes with management on social issues because it believes management is responsible for handling them. Causeway generally votes against anti-takeover mechanisms and generally opposes cumulative voting and attempts to classify boards of directors. Causeway votes other matters - including equity-based compensation plans - on a case-by-case basis.
Causeway's interests may conflict with clients on certain proxy votes where Causeway might have a significant business or personal relationship with the company or its officers. Causeway's chief operating officer in consultation with the general counsel decides if a vote involves a material conflict of interest. If so, Causeway may obtain instructions or consent from the client on voting or will vote in accordance with a "for" or "against" or "with management" guideline if one applies. If no such guideline applies, Causeway will follow the recommendation of an independent third party such as Institutional Shareholders Services (ISS).
Non-U.S. proxies may involve a number of problems that restrict or prevent Causeway's ability to vote. As a result, Causeway will only use its best efforts to vote clients' non-U.S. proxies. In addition, Causeway will not vote proxies (U.S. or non-U.S.) if it does not receive adequate information from the client's custodian in sufficient time to cast the vote. Causeway may not be able to vote proxies for securities that a client has loaned to a third party.
Proxy Voting - MFS.
Massachusetts Financial Services Company, MFS Institutional Advisors, Inc., MFS International (UK) Limited, MFS Heritage Trust Company, McLean Budden Limited and MFS' other subsidiaries that perform discretionary investment management activities (collectively, "MFS") have adopted proxy voting policies and procedures, as set forth below ("MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures"), with respect to securities owned by the clients for which MFS serves as investment adviser and has the power to vote proxies, including the pooled investment vehicles sponsored by MFS (the "MFS Funds"). References to "clients" in these policies and procedures include the MFS Funds and other clients of MFS, such as funds organized offshore, sub-advised funds and separate account clients, to the extent these clients have delegated to MFS the responsibility to vote proxies on their behalf under the MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures.
The MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures include:
A. Voting Guidelines;
B. Administrative Procedures;
C Records Retention; and
D. Reports.
A. VOTING GUIDELINES
1. General Policy; Potential Conflicts of Interest
MFS' policy is that proxy voting decisions are made in what MFS believes to be the best long-term economic interests of MFS' clients, and not in the interests of any other party or in MFS' corporate interests, including interests such as the distribution of MFS Fund shares and institutional client relationships.
<R> MFS reviews corporate governance issues and proxy voting matters that are presented for shareholder vote by either management or shareholders of public companies. Based on the overall principle that all votes cast by MFS on behalf of its clients must be in what MFS believes to be the best long-term economic interests of such clients, MFS has adopted proxy voting guidelines, set forth below, that govern how MFS generally will vote on specific matters presented for shareholder vote.</R>
As a general matter, MFS votes consistently on similar proxy proposals across all shareholder meetings. However, some proxy proposals, such as certain excessive executive compensation, environmental, social and governance matters, are analyzed on a case-by-case basis in light of all the relevant facts and circumstances of the proposal. Therefore, MFS may vote similar proposals differently at different shareholder meetings based on the specific facts and circumstances of the issuer or the terms of the proposal. In addition, MFS also reserves the right to override the guidelines with respect to a particular proxy proposal when such an override is, in MFS' best judgment, consistent with the overall principle of voting proxies in the best long-term economic interests of MFS' clients.
MFS also generally votes consistently on the same matter when securities of an issuer are held by multiple client accounts, unless MFS has received explicit voting instructions to vote differently from a client for its own account. From time to time, MFS may also receive comments on the MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures from its clients. These comments are carefully considered by MFS when it reviews these guidelines and revises them as appropriate.
These policies and procedures are intended to address any potential material conflicts of interest on the part of MFS or its subsidiaries that are likely to arise in connection with the voting of proxies on behalf of MFS' clients. If such potential material conflicts of interest do arise, MFS will analyze, document and report on such potential material conflicts of interest (see Sections B.2 and D below), and shall ultimately vote the relevant proxies in what MFS believes to be the best long-term economic interests of its clients. The MFS Proxy Voting Committee is responsible for monitoring and reporting with respect to such potential material conflicts of interest.
MFS is also a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. In developing these guidelines, MFS considered environmental, social and corporate governance issues in light of MFS' fiduciary obligation to vote proxies in the best long-term economic interest of its clients.
B. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
1. MFS Proxy Voting Committee
The administration of these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures is overseen by the MFS Proxy Voting Committee, which includes senior personnel from the MFS Legal and Global Investment Support Departments. The Proxy Voting Committee does not include individuals whose primary duties relate to client relationship management, marketing, or sales. The MFS Proxy Voting Committee:
a. Reviews these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures at least annually and recommends any amendments considered to be necessary or advisable;
b. Determines whether any potential material conflict of interest exists with respect to instances in which MFS (i) seeks to override these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures; (ii) votes on ballot items not governed by these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures; (iii) evaluates an excessive executive compensation issue in relation to the election of directors; or (iv) requests a vote recommendation from an MFS portfolio manager or investment analyst (e.g. mergers and acquisitions); and
c. Considers special proxy issues as they may arise from time to time.
2. Potential Conflicts of Interest
<R> The MFS Proxy Voting Committee is responsible for monitoring potential material conflicts of interest on the part of MFS or its subsidiaries that could arise in connection with the voting of proxies on behalf of MFS' clients. Due to the client focus of our investment management business, we believe that the potential for actual material conflict of interest issues is small. Nonetheless, we have developed precautions to assure that all proxy votes are cast in the best long-term economic interest of shareholders. 1 Other MFS internal policies require all MFS employees to avoid actual and potential conflicts of interests between personal activities and MFS' client activities. If an employee (including investment professionals) identifies an actual or potential conflict of interest with respect to any voting decision (including the ownership of securities in their individual portfolio), then that employee must recuse himself/herself from participating in the voting process. Any significant attempt by an employee of MFS or its subsidiaries to unduly influence MFS' voting on a particular proxy matter should also be reported to the MFS Proxy Voting Committee.</R>
<R> 1 For clarification purposes, note that MFS votes in what we believe to be the best, long-term economic interest of our clients entitled to vote at the shareholder meeting, regardless of whether other MFS clients hold "short" positions in the same issuer. </R>
<R>In cases where proxies are voted in accordance with these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures, no material conflict of interest will be deemed to exist. In cases where (i) MFS is considering overriding these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures, (ii) matters presented for vote are not governed by these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures, (iii) MFS evaluates a potentially excessive executive compensation issue in relation to the election of directors or advisory pay or severance package vote, (iv) a vote recommendation is requested from an MFS portfolio manager or investment analyst (e.g. mergers and acquisitions); or (v) MFS evaluates a director nominee who also serves as a director of the MFS Funds (collectively, "Non-Standard Votes"); the MFS Proxy Voting Committee will follow these procedures:</R>
a. Compare the name of the issuer of such proxy against a list of significant current (i) distributors of MFS Fund shares, and (ii) MFS institutional clients (the "MFS Significant Client List");
b. If the name of the issuer does not appear on the MFS Significant Client List, then no material conflict of interest will be deemed to exist, and the proxy will be voted as otherwise determined by the MFS Proxy Voting Committee;
c. If the name of the issuer appears on the MFS Significant Client List, then the MFS Proxy Voting Committee will be apprised of that fact and each member of the MFS Proxy Voting Committee will carefully evaluate the proposed vote in order to ensure that the proxy ultimately is voted in what MFS believes to be the best long-term economic interests of MFS' clients, and not in MFS' corporate interests; and
d. For all potential material conflicts of interest identified under clause (c) above, the MFS Proxy Voting Committee will document: the name of the issuer, the issuer's relationship to MFS, the analysis of the matters submitted for proxy vote, the votes as to be cast and the reasons why the MFS Proxy Voting Committee determined that the votes were cast in the best long-term economic interests of MFS' clients, and not in MFS' corporate interests. A copy of the foregoing documentation will be provided to MFS' Conflicts Officer.
The members of the MFS Proxy Voting Committee are responsible for creating and maintaining the MFS Significant Client List, in consultation with MFS' distribution and institutional business units. The MFS Significant Client List will be reviewed and updated periodically, as appropriate.
If an MFS client has the right to vote on a matter submitted to shareholders by Sun Life Financial, Inc. or any of its affiliates (collectively "Sun Life"), MFS will cast a vote on behalf of such MFS client pursuant to the recommendations of Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc.'s ("ISS") benchmark policy, or as required by law.
Except as described in the MFS Fund's prospectus, from time to time, certain MFS Funds (the "top tier fund") may own shares of other MFS Funds (the "underlying fund"). If an underlying fund submits a matter to a shareholder vote, the top tier fund will generally vote its shares in the same proportion as the other shareholders of the underlying fund. If there are no other shareholders in the underlying fund, the top tier fund will vote in what MFS believes to be in the top tier fund's best long-term economic interest. If an MFS client has the right to vote on a matter submitted to shareholders by a pooled investment vehicle advised by MFS, MFS will cast a vote on behalf of such MFS client in the same proportion as the other shareholders of the pooled investment vehicle.
<R></R>
3. Gathering Proxies
Most proxies received by MFS and its clients originate at Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. ("Broadridge"). Broadridge and other service providers, on behalf of custodians, send proxy related material to the record holders of the shares beneficially owned by MFS' clients, usually to the client's proxy voting administrator or, less commonly, to the client itself. This material will include proxy ballots reflecting the shareholdings of Funds and of clients on the record dates for such shareholder meetings, as well as proxy materials with the issuer's explanation of the items to be voted upon.
MFS, on behalf of itself and certain of its clients (including the MFS Funds) has entered into an agreement with an independent proxy administration firm pursuant to which the proxy administration firm performs various proxy vote related administrative services such as vote processing and recordkeeping functions. Except as noted below, the proxy administration firm for MFS and its clients, including the MFS Funds, is ISS. The proxy administration firm for MFS Development Funds, LLC is Glass, Lewis & Co., Inc. ("Glass Lewis"; Glass Lewis and ISS are each hereinafter referred to as the "Proxy Administrator").
The Proxy Administrator receives proxy statements and proxy ballots directly or indirectly from various custodians, logs these materials into its database and matches upcoming meetings with MFS Fund and client portfolio holdings, which are input into the Proxy Administrator's system by an MFS holdings data-feed. Through the use of the Proxy Administrator system, ballots and proxy material summaries for all upcoming shareholders' meetings are available on-line to certain MFS employees and members of the MFS Proxy Voting Committee.
It is the responsibility of the Proxy Administrator and MFS to monitor the receipt of ballots. When proxy ballots and materials for clients are received by the Proxy Administrator, they are input into the Proxy Administrator's on-line system. The Proxy Administrator then reconciles a list of all MFS accounts that hold shares of a company's stock and the number of shares held on the record date by these accounts with the Proxy Administrator's list of any upcoming shareholder's meeting of that company. If a proxy ballot has not been received, the Proxy Administrator contacts the custodian requesting the reason as to why a ballot has not been received.
4. Analyzing Proxies
Proxies are voted in accordance with these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures. The Proxy Administrator, at the prior direction of MFS, automatically votes all proxy matters that do not require the particular exercise of discretion or judgment with respect to these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures as determined by MFS. With respect to proxy matters that require the particular exercise of discretion or judgment, the MFS Proxy Voting Committee considers and votes on those proxy matters. MFS also receives research and recommendations from the Proxy Administrator which it may take into account in deciding how to vote. MFS uses the research of ISS to identify (i) circumstances in which a board may have approved excessive executive compensation, (ii) environmental and social proposals that warrant consideration or (iii) circumstances in which a non-U.S. company is not in compliance with local governance or compensation best practices. In those situations where the only MFS fund that is eligible to vote at a shareholder meeting has Glass Lewis as its Proxy Administrator, then we will rely on research from Glass Lewis to identify such issues. Representatives of the MFS Proxy Voting Committee review, as appropriate, votes cast to ensure conformity with these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures.
<R> As a general matter, portfolio managers and investment analysts have little involvement in most votes taken by MFS. This is designed to promote consistency in the application of MFS' voting guidelines, to promote consistency in voting on the same or similar issues (for the same or for multiple issuers) across all client accounts, and to minimize the potential that proxy solicitors, issuers, or third parties might attempt to exert inappropriate influence on the vote. In limited types of votes (e.g. mergers and acquisitions, capitalization matters, potentially excessive executive compensation issues, or shareholder proposals relating to environmental and social issues), a representative of MFS Proxy Voting Committee may consult with or seek recommendations from MFS portfolio managers or investment analysts. 2 However, the MFS Proxy Voting Committee would ultimately determine the manner in which all proxies are voted.</R>
<R> 2 From time to time, due to travel schedules and other commitments, an appropriate portfolio manager or research analyst may not be available to provide a vote recommendation. If such a recommendation cannot be obtained within a reasonable time prior to the cut-off date of the shareholder meeting, the MFS Proxy Voting Committee may determine to abstain from voting. </R>
As noted above, MFS reserves the right to override the guidelines when such an override is, in MFS' best judgment, consistent with the overall principle of voting proxies in the best long-term economic interests of MFS' clients. Any such override of the guidelines shall be analyzed, documented and reported in accordance with the procedures set forth in these policies.
5. Voting Proxies
<R> In accordance with its contract with MFS, the Proxy Administrator also generates a variety of reports for the MFS Proxy Voting Committee, and makes available on-line various other types of information so that the MFS Proxy Voting Committee or proxy team may review and monitor the votes cast by the Proxy Administrator on behalf of MFS' clients.</R>
<R></R>
6. Securities Lending
<R> From time to time, the MFS Funds or other pooled investment vehicles sponsored by MFS may participate in a securities lending program. In the event MFS or its agent receives timely notice of a shareholder meeting for a U.S. security, MFS and its agent will attempt to recall any securities on loan before the meeting's record date so that MFS will be entitled to vote these shares. However, there may be instances in which MFS is unable to timely recall securities on loan for a U.S. security, in which cases MFS will not be able to vote these shares. MFS will report to the appropriate board of the MFS Funds those instances in which MFS is not able to timely recall the loaned securities. MFS generally does not recall non-U.S. securities on loan because there may be insufficient advance notice of proxy materials, record dates, or vote cut-off dates to allow MFS to timely recall the shares in certain markets on an automated basis. As a result, non-U.S. securities that are on loan will not generally be voted. If MFS receives timely notice of what MFS determines to be an unusual, significant vote for a non-U.S. security whereas MFS shares are on loan, and determines that voting is in the best long-term economic interest of shareholders, then MFS will attempt to timely recall the loaned shares.</R>
7. Engagement
The MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures are available on www.mfs.com and may be accessed by both MFS' clients and the companies in which MFS' clients invest. From time to time, MFS may determine that it is appropriate and beneficial for representatives from the MFS Proxy Voting Committee to engage in a dialogue or written communication with a company or other shareholders regarding certain matters on the company's proxy statement that are of concern to shareholders, including environmental, social and governance matters. A company or shareholder may also seek to engage with representatives of the MFS Proxy Voting Committee in advance of the company's formal proxy solicitation to review issues more generally or gauge support for certain contemplated proposals.
C. RECORDS RETENTION
<R> MFS will retain copies of these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures in effect from time to time and will retain all proxy voting reports submitted to the Board of Trustees of the MFS Funds for the period required by applicable law. Proxy solicitation materials, including electronic versions of the proxy ballots completed by representatives of the MFS Proxy Voting Committee, together with their respective notes and comments, are maintained in an electronic format by the Proxy Administrator and are accessible on-line by the MFS Proxy Voting Committee. All proxy voting materials and supporting documentation, including records generated by the Proxy Administrator's system as to proxies processed, including the dates when proxy ballots were received and submitted, and the votes on each company's proxy issues, are retained as required by applicable law.</R>
D. REPORTS
All MFS Advisory Clients
MFS may publicly disclose the proxy voting records of certain clients or the votes it casts with respect to certain matters as required by law. At any time, a report can also be printed by MFS for each client who has requested that MFS furnish a record of votes cast. The report specifies the proxy issues which have been voted for the client during the year and the position taken with respect to each issue and, upon request, may identify situations where MFS did not vote in accordance with the MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures.
Except as described above, MFS generally will not divulge actual voting practices to any party other than the client or its representatives because we consider that information to be confidential and proprietary to the client. However, as noted above, MFS may determine that it is appropriate and beneficial to engage in a dialogue with a company regarding certain matters. During such dialogue with the company, MFS may disclose the vote it intends to cast in order to potentially effect positive change at a company in regards to environmental, social or governance issues.
<R> Proxy Voting - Pyramis. </R>
I. General Principles
A. Voting of shares will be conducted in a manner consistent with the best interests of clients as follows: (i) securities of a portfolio company will generally be voted in a manner consistent with the Guidelines; and (ii) voting will be done without regard to any other Pyramis or Fidelity companies' relationship, business or otherwise, with that portfolio company.
B. <R>FMR Investment Proxy Research votes proxies on behalf of Pyramis' clients. Like other Pyramis employees, FMR Investment Proxy Research employees have a fiduciary duty to never place their own personal interest ahead of the interests of Pyramis's clients and are instructed to avoid actual and apparent conflicts of interest. In the event of a conflict of interest, FMR Investment Proxy Research employees, like other Pyramis employees, will escalate to their managers or the Ethics Office, as appropriate, in accordance with Fidelity's corporate policy on conflicts of interest. A conflict of interest arises when there are factors that may prompt one to question whether a Fidelity and/or Pyramis employee is acting solely on the best interests of Pyramis, Fidelity and their customers. Employees are expected to avoid situations that could present even the appearance of a conflict between their interests and the interests of Pyramis and its customers.</R>
C. Except as set forth herein, Pyramis will generally vote in favor of routine management proposals.
D. Non-routine proposals will generally be voted in accordance with the Guidelines.
E. Non-routine proposals not covered by the Guidelines or involving other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review by an attorney within FMR's General Counsel's office and a member of senior management within FMR Investment Proxy Research. A significant pattern of such proposals or other special circumstances will be referred to Pyramis' Senior Compliance Officer or his designee.
F. Pyramis will vote on shareholder proposals not specifically addressed by the Guidelines based on an evaluation of a proposal's likelihood to enhance the economic returns or profitability of the portfolio company or to maximize shareholder value. Where information is not readily available to analyze the economic impact of the proposal, Pyramis will generally abstain.
G. Many Pyramis accounts invest in voting securities issued by companies that are domiciled outside the United States and are not listed on a U.S. securities exchange. Corporate governance standards, legal or regulatory requirements and disclosure practices in foreign countries can differ from those in the United States. When voting proxies relating to non-U.S. securities, Pyramis will generally evaluate proposals in the context of the Guidelines and where applicable and feasible, take into consideration differing laws, regulations and practices in the relevant foreign market in determining how to vote shares.
H. In certain non-U.S. jurisdictions, shareholders voting shares of a portfolio company may be restricted from trading the shares for a period of time around the shareholder meeting date. Because such trading restrictions can hinder portfolio management and could result in a loss of liquidity for a client, Pyramis will generally not vote proxies in circumstances where such restrictions apply. In addition, certain non-U.S. jurisdictions require voting shareholders to disclose current share ownership on a fund-by-fund basis. When such disclosure requirements apply, Pyramis will generally not vote proxies in order to safeguard fund holdings information.
I. Where a management-sponsored proposal is inconsistent with the Guidelines, Pyramis may receive a company's commitment to modify the proposal or its practice to conform to the Guidelines, and Pyramis will generally support management based on this commitment. If a company subsequently does not abide by its commitment, Pyramis will generally withhold authority for the election of directors at the next election.
II. Definitions (as used in this document)
A. <R>Anti-Takeover Provision - includes fair price amendments; classified boards; "blank check" preferred stock; Golden Parachutes; supermajority provisions; Poison Pills; restricting the right to call special meetings; provisions restricting the right of shareholders to set board size; and any other provision that eliminates or limits shareholder rights.</R>
B. Golden Parachute - Employment contracts, agreements, or policies that include an excise tax gross-up provision; single trigger for cash incentives; or may result in a lump sum payment of cash and acceleration of equity that may total more than three times annual compensation (salary and bonus) in the event of a termination following a change in control.
C. Greenmail - payment of a premium to repurchase shares from a shareholder seeking to take over a company through a proxy contest or other means.
D. Sunset Provision - a condition in a charter or plan that specifies an expiration date.
E. Permitted Bid Feature - a provision suspending the application of a Poison Pill, by shareholder referendum, in the event a potential acquirer announces a bona fide offer for all outstanding shares.
F. Poison Pill - a strategy employed by a potential take-over/target company to make its stock less attractive to an acquirer. Poison Pills are generally designed to dilute the acquirer's ownership and value in the event of a take-over.
G. <R>Large-Capitalization Company - a company included in the Russell 1000 ® Index or the Russell Global ex-U.S. Large Cap Index.</R>
<R>H. Small-Capitalization Company - a company not included in the Russell 1000 ® Index or the Russell Global ex-U.S. Large Cap Index that is not a Micro-Capitalization Company.</R>
I. Micro-Capitalization Company - a company with a market capitalization under US $300 million.
J. Evergreen Provision - a feature which provides for an automatic increase in the shares available for grant under an equity award plan on a regular basis.
III. Directors
A. Incumbent Directors
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of incumbent and nominee directors except where one or more such directors clearly appear to have failed to exercise reasonable judgment. Pyramis will also generally withhold authority for the election of all directors or directors on responsible committees if:
1. An Anti-Takeover Provision was introduced, an Anti-Takeover Provision was extended, or a new Anti-Takeover Provision was adopted upon the expiration of an existing Anti-Takeover Provision, without shareholder approval except as set forth below.
With respect to Poison Pills, however, Pyramis will consider not withholding authority on the election of directors if all of the following conditions are met when a Poison Pill is introduced, extended, or adopted:
a. The Poison Pill includes a Sunset Provision of less than five years;
b. The Poison Pill includes a Permitted Bid Feature;
c. The Poison Pill is linked to a business strategy that will result in greater value for the shareholders; and
d. Shareholder approval is required to reinstate the Poison Pill upon expiration.
Pyramis will also consider not withholding authority on the election of directors when one or more of the conditions above are not met if a board is willing to strongly consider seeking shareholder ratification of, or adding above conditions noted a. and b. to an existing Poison Pill. In such a case, if the company does not take appropriate action prior to the next annual shareholder meeting, Pyramis will withhold authority on the election of directors.
2. The company refuses, upon request by Pyramis, to amend the Poison Pill to allow Pyramis to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
3. Within the last year and without shareholder approval, a company's board of directors or compensation committee has repriced outstanding options, exchanged outstanding options for equity, or tendered cash for outstanding options.
4. <R>Executive compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as: (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether, in the case of stock awards, the restriction period was less than three years for non-performance based awards, and less than one year for performance-based awards; (iv) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restrictions; and (v) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.</R>
5. To gain Pyramis' support on a proposal, the company made a commitment to modify a proposal or practice to conform to the Guidelines and the company has failed to act on that commitment.
6. The director attended fewer than 75% of the aggregate number of meetings of the board or its committees on which the director served during the company's prior fiscal year, absent extenuating circumstances.
7. The board is not composed of a majority of independent directors.
B. Indemnification
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of charter and by-law amendments expanding the indemnification of directors and/or limiting their liability for breaches of care unless Pyramis is otherwise dissatisfied with the performance of management or the proposal is accompanied by Anti-Takeover Provisions.
C. Independent Chairperson
Pyramis will generally vote against shareholder proposals calling for or recommending the appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson. However, Pyramis will consider voting for such proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson appears likely to further the interests of shareholders and to promote effective oversight of management by the board of directors.
D. Majority Director Elections
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals calling for directors to be elected by an affirmative majority of votes cast in a board election, provided that the proposal allows for plurality voting standard in the case of contested elections (i.e., where there are more nominees than board seats). Pyramis may consider voting against such shareholder proposals where a company's board has adopted an alternative measure, such as a director resignation policy, that provides a meaningful alternative to the majority voting standard and appropriately addresses situations where an incumbent director fails to receive the support of a majority of the votes cast in an uncontested election.
IV. Compensation
A. Executive Compensation
1. Advisory votes on executive compensation
a. Pyramis will generally vote for proposals to ratify executive compensation unless such compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as, among other things, (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether, in the case of stock awards, the restriction period was less than three years for non-performance-based awards, and less than one year for performance-based awards; (iv) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restrictions; and (v) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.
b. Pyramis will generally vote against proposals to ratify Golden Parachutes.
2. Frequency of advisory vote on executive compensation
Pyramis will generally support annual advisory votes on executive compensation.
B. Equity Award Plans (including stock options, restricted stock awards, and other stock awards).
Pyramis will generally vote against equity award plans or amendments to authorize additional shares under such plans if:
1. (a) The company's average three year burn rate is greater than 1.5% for a Large-Capitalization Company, 2.5% for a Small-Capitalization Company or 3.5% for a Micro-Capitalization Company; and (b) there were no circumstances specific to the company or the plans that lead Pyramis to conclude that the burn rate is acceptable.
2. In the case of stock option plans, (a) the offering price of options is less than 100% of fair market value on the date of grant, except that the offering price may be as low as 85% of fair market value if the discount is expressly granted in lieu of salary or cash bonus; (b) the plan's terms allow repricing of underwater options; or (c) the board/committee has repriced options outstanding under the plan in the past two years without shareholder approval.
3. The plan includes an Evergreen Provision.
4. The plan provides for the acceleration of vesting of equity awards even though an actual change in control may not occur.
C. Equity Exchanges and Repricing
<R>Pyramis will generally vote in favor of a management proposal to exchange, reprice or tender for cash, outstanding options if the proposed exchange, repricing, or tender offer is consistent with the interests of shareholders, taking into account such factors as:</R>
1. Whether the proposal excludes senior management and directors;
2. Whether the exchange or repricing proposal is value neutral to shareholders based upon an acceptable pricing model;
3. The company's relative performance compared to other companies within the relevant industry or industries;
4. Economic and other conditions affecting the relevant industry or industries in which the company competes; and
5. Any other facts or circumstances relevant to determining whether an exchange or repricing proposal is consistent with the interests of shareholders.
D. Employee Stock Purchase Plans
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of employee stock purchase plans if the minimum stock purchase price is equal to or greater than 85% of the stock's fair market value and the plan constitutes a reasonable effort to encourage broad based participation in the company's equity. In the case of non-U.S. company stock purchase plans, Pyramis may permit a lower minimum stock purchase price equal to the prevailing "best practices" in the relevant non-U.S. market, provided that the minimum stock purchase price must be at least 75% of the stock's fair market value.
E. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of non-leveraged ESOPs. For leveraged ESOPs, Pyramis may examine the company's state of incorporation, existence of supermajority vote rules in the charter, number of shares authorized for the ESOP, and number of shares held by insiders. Pyramis may also examine where the ESOP shares are purchased and the dilution effect of the purchase. Pyramis will generally vote against leveraged ESOPs if all outstanding loans are due immediately upon change in control.
F. Bonus Plans and Tax Deductibility Proposals
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of cash and stock incentive plans that are submitted for shareholder approval in order to qualify for favorable tax treatment under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, provided that the plan includes well defined and appropriate performance criteria, and with respect to any cash component, that the maximum award per participant is clearly stated and is not unreasonable or excessive.
V. Anti-Takeover Provisions
Pyramis will generally vote against a proposal to adopt or approve the adoption of an Anti-Takeover Provision unless:
A. The Poison Pill includes the following features:
1. A Sunset Provision of no greater than five years;
2. Linked to a business strategy that is expected to result in greater value for the shareholders;
3. Requires shareholder approval to be reinstated upon expiration or if amended;
4. Contains a Permitted Bid Feature; and
5. Allows Pyramis accounts to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
B. An Anti-Greenmail proposal that does not include other Anti-Takeover Provisions; or
C. It is a fair price amendment that considers a two-year price history or less.
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of a proposal to eliminate an Anti-Takeover Provisions unless:
D. In the case of proposals to declassify a board of directors, Pyramis will generally vote against such a proposal if the issuer's Articles of Incorporation or applicable statutes include a provision whereby a majority of directors may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by written consent, or other reasonable procedures, by a majority of shareholders entitled to vote for the election of directors.
E. <R>In the case of shareholder proposals regarding shareholders' right to call special meetings, Pyramis generally will vote against each proposal if the threshold required to call a special meeting is less than 25% of the outstanding stock.</R>
F. In the case of proposals regarding shareholders' right to act by written consent, Pyramis will generally vote against each proposal if it does not include appropriate mechanisms for implementation including, among other things, that at least 25% of the outstanding stock request that the company establish a record date determining which shareholders are entitled to act and that consents be solicited from all shareholders.
VI. Capital Structure/Incorporation
A. Increases in Common Stock
Pyramis will generally vote against a provision to increase a company's common stock if such increase will result in a total number of authorized shares greater than three times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares, including stock options, except in the case of real estate investment trusts, where an increase that will result in a total number of authorized shares up to five times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares is generally acceptable.
B. New Classes of Shares
Pyramis will generally vote against the introduction of new classes of stock with differential voting rights.
C. Cumulative Voting Rights
Pyramis will generally vote against the introduction and in favor of the elimination of cumulative voting rights.
D. Acquisition or Business Combination Statutes
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposed amendments to a company's certificate of incorporation or by-laws that enable the company to opt out of the control shares acquisition or business combination statutes.
E. Incorporation or Reincorporation in Another State or Country
Pyramis will generally vote for management proposals calling for, or recommending that, a portfolio company reincorporate in another state or country if, on balance, the economic and corporate governance factors in the proposed jurisdiction appear reasonably likely to be better aligned with shareholder interests, taking into account the corporate laws of the current and proposed jurisdictions and any changes to the company's current and proposed governing documents. Pyramis will consider supporting such shareholder proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, remaining incorporated in the current jurisdiction appears misaligned with shareholder interests.
VII. Shares of Investment Companies
A. <R>If applicable, when a Pyramis account invests in an underlying Fidelity Fund with public shareholders, an exchange traded fund (ETF), or non-affiliated fund, Pyramis will vote in the same proportion as all other voting shareholders of such underlying fund or class ("echo voting"). Pyramis may choose not to vote if "echo voting" is not operationally feasible.</R>
B. Certain Pyramis accounts may invest in shares of underlying Fidelity Funds, which are held exclusively by Fidelity Funds or accounts managed by FMR or an affiliate. Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals recommended by the underlying funds' Board of Trustees.
VIII. Other
A. Voting Process
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals to adopt confidential voting and independent vote tabulation practices.
B. Regulated Industries
<R>Voting of shares in securities of any regulated industry (e.g. U.S. banking) organization shall be conducted in a manner consistent with conditions that may be specified by the industry's regulator (e.g. the Federal Reserve Board) for a determination under applicable law (e.g. federal banking law) that no client or group of clients has acquired control of such organization.</R>
Proxy Voting - William Blair.
William Blair's Proxy Voting Policy Statement and Procedures (the "Proxy Voting Policy") provide that William Blair will vote proxies solely in the best interest of its clients, including the fund, in their capacity as shareholders of a company. William Blair's Domestic Proxy Voting Guidelines and International Proxy Voting Guidelines (the "Guidelines") set forth William Blair's general position on frequent proxy proposals, such as routine matters, shareholder rights, anti-takeover matters, proxy contests, capital structure, executive and director compensation and social and environmental issues. To the extent a particular proposal is not covered by the Guidelines or the Guidelines provide for voting on a "case-by-case" basis, William Blair's proxy administrator will consult William Blair's Proxy Policy Committee, which will review the issues and vote proxies based on information from the company, William Blair's internal analysis and third party research services. Although the Guidelines set forth William Blair's general position on various proposals, William Blair may determine under some circumstances to vote contrary to those positions.
The Proxy Voting Policy describes the way in which William Blair will address potential conflicts of interest. If any of the potential conflicts that William Blair has identified in the Proxy Voting Policy arise with respect to a matter, the Proxy Policy Committee will vote all such proxies in accordance with the Guidelines, unless the Guidelines have no recommendation or provide for a vote on a "case-by-case" basis. In such case, the Proxy Policy Committee will vote consistent with the voting recommendation provided by Institutional Shareholder Services, an independent third party research provider.
In international markets where share blocking applies, William Blair typically will not vote proxies due to liquidity constraints. Share blocking is the "freezing" of shares for trading purposes in order to vote proxies. Share blocking typically takes place between one and twenty days before a shareholder meeting, depending on the market. While shares are frozen, they may not be traded. Therefore, there is the potential for a pending trade to fail if trade settlement falls on a date during the blocking period or the fund would not be able to sell a security if the portfolio manager believed it advisable if share blocking were in effect.
<R>To view a fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, visit www.fidelity.com/proxyvotingresults or visit the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.</R>
<R>For purposes of the following "Distribution Services" discussion, the term "shares" (as it relates to the fund) means the one class of shares of the fund offered through the prospectus to which this SAI relates.</R>
<R>The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. The principal business address of FDC is 100 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by Strategic Advisers.</R>
<R>The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan with respect to shares of the fund (the Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a mutual fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows shares of the fund and Strategic Advisers to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.</R>
Under the Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to Strategic Advisers is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Plan. The Plan specifically recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Plan provides that Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers or FDC), that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
<R>Prior to approving the Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Plan will benefit the fund or class, as applicable, and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Plan does not authorize payments by shares of the fund other than those made to Strategic Advisers under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Plan gives Strategic Advisers and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of shares of the fund, additional sales of shares of the fund or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.</R>
FDC or an affiliate may compensate, or upon direction make payments for certain retirement plan expenses to, intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (including affiliates of FDC). A number of factors are considered in determining whether to pay these additional amounts. Such factors may include, without limitation, the level or type of services provided by the intermediary, the level or expected level of assets or sales of shares, and other factors. In addition to such payments, FDC or an affiliate may offer other incentives such as sponsorship of educational or client seminars relating to current products and issues, payments or reimbursements for travel and related expenses associated with due diligence trips that an intermediary may undertake in order to explore possible business relationships with affiliates of FDC, and/or payments of costs and expenses associated with attendance at seminars, including travel, lodging, entertainment, and meals. Certain of the payments described above may be significant to an intermediary. As permitted by SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rules and other applicable laws and regulations, FDC or an affiliate may pay or allow other incentives or payments to intermediaries.
The fund's transfer agent or an affiliate may also make payments and reimbursements from its own resources to certain intermediaries (who may be affiliated with the transfer agent) for performing recordkeeping and other services. Please see "Transfer and Service Agent Agreements" in this SAI for more information.
Any of the payments described in this section may represent a premium over payments made by other fund families. Retirement plan sponsors may take these payments into account when deciding whether to include a fund as a plan investment option.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
<R>For purposes of the following "Transfer and Service Agent Agreements" discussion, the term "shares" (as it relates to the fund) means the one class of shares of the fund offered through the prospectus to which this SAI relates.</R>
<R>The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (FIIOC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers, which is located at 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services for shares of the fund.</R>
For providing transfer agency services, FIIOC receives an account fee and an asset-based fee with respect to assets managed by one or more sub-advisers and assets invested in non-affiliated ETFs. For retail accounts, these fees are based on fund type. For certain institutional accounts, these fees are based on size of position and fund type. For institutional retirement accounts, these fees are based on account type and fund type. The account fee is billed monthly on a pro rata basis at one-twelfth of the applicable annual rate as of the end of each calendar month. The asset-based fee is calculated and paid monthly on the basis of average daily net assets. For assets invested in underlying Fidelity funds, each underlying Fidelity fund pays its respective transfer agent (either FIIOC or an affiliate of FIIOC) fees based, in part, on the number of positions in and assets of the fund invested in such underlying Fidelity fund.
FIIOC also may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
<R></R>
<R>FIIOC or an affiliate may make payments out of its own resources to intermediaries (including affiliates of FIIOC) for recordkeeping services. Payments may also be made, upon direction, for other plan expenses. FIIOC may also pay an affiliate for providing services that otherwise would have been performed by FIIOC.</R>
<R>The fund has entered into a service agent agreement with Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers (or an agent, including an affiliate). Under the terms of the agreement, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for shares of the fund and maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records.</R>
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
The annual rates for pricing and bookkeeping services for the fund are 0.0518% of the first $500 million of average net assets, 0.0415% of average net assets between $500 million and $3.5 billion, 0.0041% of average net assets between $3.5 billion and $25 billion, and 0.0019% of average net assets in excess of $25 billion.
<R>Pricing and bookkeeping fees paid by the fund to FSC for the past fiscal period are shown in the following table.</R>
<R> Fund |
2013 </R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund |
$ 21,977*</R> |
<R>* From May 2, 2012.</R>
<R> Trust Organization. Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund is a fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, an open-end management investment company created under an initial trust instrument dated March 8, 2006. Currently, there are 20 funds offered in the trust: Strategic Advisers Core Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.</R>
<R>The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund, except that liabilities and expenses may be allocated to a particular class. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds or classes.</R>
Shareholder Liability. The trust is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that, except to the extent otherwise provided in the Trust Instrument, shareholders shall be entitled to the same limitations of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit organized under the general corporation law of Delaware. The courts of some states, however, may decline to apply Delaware law on this point. The Trust Instrument contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust. The Trust Instrument provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Trust Instrument further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
<R>The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of each fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Trust Instrument also provides that each fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which Delaware law does not apply, no contractual limitation of liability was in effect, and a fund is unable to meet its obligations. Strategic Advisers believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is extremely remote. Claims asserted against one class of shares may subject holders of another class of shares to certain liabilities.</R>
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. As a shareholder, you are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value you own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
<R></R>
The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodians. State Street Bank and Trust Company, 1776 Heritage Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as special purpose custodians of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions.
Strategic Advisers, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Member of the Advisory Board, and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by Strategic Advisers. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of Strategic Advisers, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 125 High Street, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit, tax, and related services.
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized Strategic Advisers, in consultation with FMR, to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
Other registered investment companies that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be subject to different portfolio holdings disclosure policies, and neither Strategic Advisers nor the Board exercises control over such policies or disclosure. In addition, separate account clients of Strategic Advisers and the sub-advisers have access to their portfolio holdings and are not subject to the fund's portfolio holdings disclosure policies. Some of the funds that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser and some of the separate accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser have investment objectives and strategies that are substantially similar or identical to the fund's and, therefore, potentially substantially similar, and in certain cases nearly identical, portfolio holdings as the fund.
The fund will provide a full list of holdings monthly on www.fidelity.com 30 days after the month-end (excluding high income security holdings, which generally will be presented collectively monthly and included in a list of full holdings 60 days after its fiscal quarter-end).
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations.
<R> The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the activities associated with managing Fidelity funds to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons Strategic Advisers believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include, but are not limited to: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics (including portfolio managers of affiliated funds of funds); contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.</R>
<R> Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, (ii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iii) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. Strategic Advisers relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.</R>
<R>At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day) and DocuLynx Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day).</R>
Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, Strategic Advisers desired to make such an arrangement, it would seek prior Board approval and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
<R>The fund's financial statements and financial highlights for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013, and report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the fund's annual report and are incorporated herein by reference. Total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table may differ from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the financial highlights because total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table include any acquired fund fees and expenses, whereas the ratios of expenses in the financial highlights do not, except to the extent any acquired fund fees and expenses relate to an entity, such as a wholly-owned subsidiary, with which a fund's financial statements are consolidated. Acquired funds include other investment companies in which the fund has invested, if and to the extent it is permitted to do so. Total annual operating expenses in the prospectus fee table and the financial highlights do not include any expenses associated with investments in certain structured or synthetic products that may rely on the exception from the definition of "investment company" provided by section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
Strategic Advisers ® International Multi-Manager Fund
Class /Ticker
F /FMBKX
Class F shares of the fund are available for purchase only by mutual funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager.
Prospectus
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R>
</R>
Fund Summary |
Strategic Advisers ® International Multi-Manager Fund |
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Fund Basics |
Investment Details |
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Valuing Shares |
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Shareholder Information |
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares |
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Account Policies |
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Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions |
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Tax Consequences |
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Fund Services |
Fund Management |
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Fund Distribution |
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<R> Appendix |
Financial Highlights </R> |
Prospectus
Fund
/Class:
Strategic Advisers
®
International Multi-Manager Fund
/F
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy, hold, or sell shares of the fund.
<R> |
</R> |
||||||
<R>
Shareholder fees
|
|||||||
Redemption fee on shares held less than 30 days (as a % of amount redeemed) |
1.00% |
Annual class operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
<R> Management fee (fluctuates based on the fund's allocation among underlying funds and sub-advisers) B |
0.70% </R> |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees |
None |
<R> Other expenses A |
0.49% </R> |
<R> Total annual operating expenses |
1.19% </R> |
<R> |
</R> |
<R> A Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. </R>
<R> B Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) has contractually agreed that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.05% of the fund's average daily net assets. </R>
<R></R>
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
<R> 1 year |
$ 121 </R> |
<R> 3 years |
$ 378 </R> |
<R> 5 years |
$ 654 </R> |
<R> 10 years |
$ 1,443 </R> |
<R>The fund will not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of affiliated funds but may incur transaction costs when buying or selling non-affiliated funds and other types of securities (including non-affiliated exchange traded funds) directly (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance. For the period from May 2, 2012 to February 28, 2013, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 42% (annualized) of the average value of its portfolio.</R>
Pursuant to an exemptive order granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) is permitted, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees, to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement.
Prospectus
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
Performance history will be available for the fund after the fund has been in operation for one calendar year.
Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. Causeway Capital Management LLC (Causeway), Massachusetts Financial Services Company (MFS), Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis), and William Blair & Company, LLC (William Blair) have been retained to serve as sub-advisers for the fund.
Wilfred Chilangwa (lead portfolio manager) has managed the fund since May 2012.
<R>Sarah H. Ketterer, Harry W. Hartford, James A. Doyle, Jonathan P. Eng, Kevin Durkin, and Conor Muldoon (portfolio managers) have co-managed Causeway's portion of the fund's assets since May 2012. Foster Corwith and Alessandro Valentini (portfolio managers) have co-managed Causeway's portion of the fund's assets since April 2013.</R>
Benjamin Stone, Barnaby Wiener, Jose Luis Garcia, and Thomas Melendez (portfolio managers) have co-managed MFS' portion of the fund's assets since May 2012.
Cesar Hernandez (portfolio manager) has managed Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets since May 2012.
W. George Greig (portfolio manager) has managed William Blair's portion of the fund's assets since May 2012.
Class F shares are not available for sale to the general public.
The fund offers Class F shares only to certain other mutual funds managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.
The price to buy one share of Class F is its net asset value per share (NAV). Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of Class F is its NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable. Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
There is no purchase minimum for Class F shares.
Prospectus
Distributions received from the fund are subject to federal income tax and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state or local taxes, unless invested through a tax-advantaged retirement account (in which case the distributions may be taxed later, upon withdrawal of the investment from such account).
The fund, Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Investment Objective
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
Principal Investment Strategies
The fund normally invests primarily in non-U.S. securities, including securities of issuers located in emerging markets. The fund normally invests primarily in common stocks.
The fund allocates investments across different countries and regions.
The fund implements its investment strategies by investing directly in securities through one or more sub-advisers or indirectly in securities through one or more underlying funds, which in turn invest directly in securities.
Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of underlying funds or sub-advisers at any time.
Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds and sub-advisers to attempt to diversify the fund's portfolio in terms of market capitalization, investment style, and geographic region.
Strategic Advisers pursues a disciplined, benchmark-driven approach to portfolio construction, and monitors and adjusts allocations to underlying funds and sub-advisers as necessary to favor those underlying funds and sub-advisers that Strategic Advisers believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the fund's investment objective.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among underlying funds, Strategic Advisers relies on proprietary fundamental and quantitative fund research in its fund selection process. Factors considered when investing in underlying funds include fund performance, a fund manager's experience and investment style, fund company infrastructure, and fund characteristics such as expense ratio, asset size, and portfolio turnover.
<R>The fund may invest in affiliated international funds ( i.e., Fidelity funds) and non-affiliated international funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork ® and in non-affiliated ETFs. Underlying funds include both funds managed by FMR (an affiliated company that, together with Strategic Advisers, is part of Fidelity Investments) or an affiliate and funds managed by investment advisers other than Fidelity. Fidelity may receive service fees that typically are at an annual rate of up to 0.40% of a non-affiliated underlying fund's average daily net assets attributable to purchases through Fidelity's FundsNetwork, though such fees may be higher or lower, or may be charged as transaction and/or account fees. In addition, the fund may invest in ETFs in transactions not occurring through Fidelity's FundsNetwork.</R>
Strategic Advisers generally identifies international funds by reference to a fund's name, policies, or classification by a third-party ranking or ratings organization.
Strategic Advisers may actively adjust the allocation of the fund's assets at any time. For current information on fund holdings, please call 1-800-835-5095 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.401k.com. For information on the underlying funds, see the underlying funds' prospectuses. A copy of any underlying Fidelity fund's prospectus is available at www.fidelity.com or www.advisor.fidelity.com. For a copy of any other underlying fund's prospectus, visit the web site of the company that manages or sponsors that underlying fund.
Prospectus
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers considers a variety of factors including, but not limited to, a sub-adviser's investment approach, the characteristics of a sub-adviser's typical investment portfolio, and a sub-adviser's performance patterns in different market environments.
Common types of investment approaches that a sub-adviser may use in selecting investments for a fund include, but are not limited to, quantitative analysis, fundamental analysis, or a combination of both approaches. Quantitative analysis refers to programmatic models that analyze such factors as growth potential, valuation, liquidity, and investment risk based on data inputs. Fundamental analysis involves a bottom-up assessment of a company's potential for success in light of factors including its financial condition, earnings outlook, strategy, management, industry position, and economic and market conditions.
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
The fund may also use various techniques, such as buying and selling futures contracts, to increase or decrease its exposure to changing security prices or other factors that affect security values. The fund may also enter into foreign currency forward and options contracts for hedging purposes. In addition, the fund may have indirect exposure to derivatives through its investments in underlying funds.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Description of Principal Security Types
In addition to investing in underlying funds, the fund may invest directly in the following principal security types:
Equity securities represent an ownership interest, or the right to acquire an ownership interest, in an issuer. Different types of equity securities provide different voting and dividend rights and priority in the event of the bankruptcy of the issuer. Equity securities include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, and warrants.
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on the performance of the underlying funds and securities in which it invests and on changes in market conditions and interest rates and in response to other economic, political, or financial developments. The fund's reaction to these developments will be affected by the types of underlying funds and securities in which the fund invests, the financial condition, industry and economic sector, and geographic location of an issuer, and the fund's level of investment in the securities of that underlying fund or issuer.
If Strategic Advisers' or a sub-adviser's allocation strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective. The portfolio managers' evaluations and assumptions in selecting underlying funds or individual securities may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.
When your shares are sold they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
Multiple Sub-Adviser Risk. Because each sub-adviser manages its allocated portion, if any, independently from another sub-adviser, it is possible that the sub-advisers' security selection processes may not complement one another. As a result, the fund's aggregate exposure to a particular industry or group of industries, or to a single issuer, could unintentionally be larger or smaller than intended. Because each sub-adviser directs the trading for its own portion, if any, of the fund, and does not aggregate its transactions with those of the other sub-advisers, the fund may incur higher brokerage costs than would be the case if a single sub-adviser were managing the entire fund.
Investing in Other Funds. Regulatory restrictions may limit the amount that one fund can invest in another, and in certain cases further limit investments to the extent a fund's shares are already held by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The fund bears all risks of investment strategies employed by the underlying funds. The fund does not control the investments of the underlying funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the fund would not engage in directly. Aggregation of underlying fund holdings may result in indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase volatility.
Prospectus
Stock Market Volatility. The value of equity securities fluctuates in response to issuer, political, market, and economic developments. Fluctuations can be dramatic over the short as well as long term, and different parts of the market and different types of equity securities can react differently to these developments. For example, large cap stocks can react differently from small cap stocks, "growth" stocks can react differently from "value" stocks, and stocks selected using quantitative or technical analysis can react differently than stocks selected using fundamental analysis. Issuer, political, or economic developments can affect a single issuer, issuers within an industry or economic sector or geographic region, or the market as a whole. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact the market as a whole. Terrorism and related geo-political risks have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
<R> Foreign Exposure. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; withholding or other taxes; trading, settlement, custodial, and other operational risks; and the less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets. All of these factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and potentially less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can perform differently from the U.S. market.</R>
Investing in emerging markets can involve risks in addition to and greater than those generally associated with investing in more developed foreign markets. The extent of economic development; political stability; market depth, infrastructure, and capitalization; and regulatory oversight can be less than in more developed markets. Emerging market economies can be subject to greater social, economic, regulatory, and political uncertainties. All of these factors can make emerging market securities more volatile and potentially less liquid than securities issued in more developed markets.
Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers or providers in, or foreign exchange rates with, a different country or region.
Geographic Exposure. Social, political, and economic conditions and changes in regulatory, tax, or economic policy in a country or region could significantly affect the market in that country or region. From time to time, a small number of companies and industries may represent a large portion of the market in a particular country or region, and these companies and industries can be sensitive to adverse social, political, economic, currency, or regulatory developments. Similarly, from time to time, an underlying fund may invest a large portion of its assets in the securities of issuers located in a single country or a limited number of countries. If an underlying fund invests in this manner, there is a higher risk that social, political, economic, tax (such as a tax on foreign investments or financial transactions), currency, or regulatory developments in those countries may have a significant impact on the underlying fund's investment performance.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Industry Exposure. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry or a group of related industries, and the securities of companies in that industry or group of industries could react similarly to these or other developments. In addition, from time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry or a group of related industries as a whole, and these companies can be sensitive to adverse economic, regulatory, or financial developments.
Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's value. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers. Smaller issuers can have more limited product lines, markets, or financial resources.
Investing in ETFs. ETFs may trade in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) at prices below the value of their underlying portfolios and may not be liquid. An ETF that is not actively managed cannot sell poorly performing stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in its index or other benchmark. ETFs that track an index are subject to tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to its index or other benchmark).
Quantitative Investing. The value of securities selected using quantitative analysis can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis. The factors used in quantitative analysis and the weight placed on those factors may not be predictive of a security's value. In addition, factors that affect a security's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model.
<R>In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser, if any, may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Prospectus
The following policy is fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
A class's NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates the class's NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing the class's NAV.
NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the SEC.
To the extent that the fund's assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some of the fund's assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) are valued at their respective NAVs. For an explanation of the circumstances under which the underlying funds will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the underlying funds' prospectuses and statements of additional information (SAIs). The fund's NAV is calculated using the values of the underlying funds in which it invests. Other assets (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations or official closing prices. Certain short-term securities are valued on the basis of amortized cost. If market quotations or official closing prices are not readily available or, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, are deemed unreliable for a security, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before the fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Arbitrage opportunities may exist when trading in a portfolio security or securities is halted and does not resume before a fund calculates its NAV. These arbitrage opportunities may enable short-term traders to dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Securities trading in overseas markets present time zone arbitrage opportunities when events affecting portfolio security values occur after the close of the overseas markets but prior to the close of the U.S. market. Fair valuation of a fund's portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that fair value pricing policies will prevent dilution of a fund's NAV by short-term traders.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Although the fund has policies regarding excessive trading, these too may not be effective to prevent short-term NAV arbitrage trading, particularly in regard to omnibus accounts.
Fair value pricing is based on subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value of a security may differ materially from the value that would be realized if the security were sold.
Prospectus
CLASS F SHARES ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase or exchange, including transactions deemed to represent excessive trading, at any time.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
The Board of Trustees has adopted policies designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares. Excessive trading activity in the fund is measured by the number of roundtrip transactions in a shareholder's account and each class of a multiple class fund is treated separately. A roundtrip transaction occurs when a shareholder sells fund shares (including exchanges) within 30 days of the purchase date.
Shareholders with two or more roundtrip transactions in a single fund within a rolling 90-day period will be blocked from making additional purchases or exchange purchases of the fund for 85 days. Shareholders with four or more roundtrip transactions across all Fidelity funds within any rolling 12-month period will be blocked for at least 85 days from additional purchases or exchange purchases across all Fidelity funds. Any roundtrip within 12 months of the expiration of a multi-fund block will initiate another multi-fund block. Repeat offenders may be subject to long-term or permanent blocks on purchase or exchange purchase transactions in any account under the shareholder's control at any time. In addition to enforcing these roundtrip limitations, the fund may in its discretion restrict, reject, or cancel any purchases or exchanges that, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, may be disruptive to the management of the fund or otherwise not be in the fund's interests.
The following transactions are exempt from the fund's excessive trading policy described above: (i) transactions of $1,000 or less, (ii) systematic withdrawal and/or contribution programs, (iii) mandatory retirement distributions, and (iv) transactions initiated by a plan sponsor or sponsors of certain employee benefit plans or other related accounts. In addition, the fund's excessive trading policy does not apply to transactions initiated by the trustee or adviser to a donor-advised charitable gift fund, qualified fund of fund(s), or other strategy funds. A qualified fund of fund(s) is a mutual fund, qualified tuition program, or other strategy fund consisting of qualified plan assets that either applies the fund's excessive trading policies to shareholders at the fund of fund(s) level, or demonstrates that the fund of fund(s) has an investment strategy coupled with policies designed to control frequent trading that are reasonably likely to be effective as determined by the fund's Treasurer.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Omnibus accounts, in which shares are held in the name of an intermediary on behalf of multiple investors, are a common form of holding shares among retirement plans and financial intermediaries such as brokers, advisers, and third-party administrators. Individual trades in omnibus accounts are often not disclosed to the fund, making it difficult to determine whether a particular shareholder is engaging in excessive trading. Excessive trading in omnibus accounts is likely to go undetected by the fund and may increase costs to the fund and disrupt its portfolio management.
Under policies adopted by the Board of Trustees, intermediaries will be permitted to apply the fund's excessive trading policy (described above), or their own excessive trading policy if approved by Strategic Advisers. In these cases, the fund will typically not request or receive individual account data but will rely on the intermediary to monitor trading activity in good faith in accordance with its or the fund's policies. Reliance on intermediaries increases the risk that excessive trading may go undetected. For other intermediaries, the fund will generally monitor trading activity at the omnibus account level to attempt to identify disruptive trades. The fund may request transaction information, as frequently as daily, from any intermediary at any time, and may apply the fund's policy to transactions that exceed thresholds established by the Board of Trustees. The fund may prohibit purchases of fund shares by an intermediary or by some or all of any intermediary's clients. There is no assurance that Strategic Advisers will request data with sufficient frequency to detect or deter excessive trading in omnibus accounts effectively.
If you purchase or sell fund shares through a financial intermediary, you may wish to contact the intermediary to determine the policies applicable to your account.
For employer-sponsored retirement plans, only participant directed exchanges count toward the roundtrip limits. Employer-sponsored retirement plan participants whose activity triggers a purchase or exchange block will be permitted one trade every calendar quarter. In the event of a block, employer and participant contributions and loan repayments by the participant may still be invested in the fund.
The fund will monitor aggregate trading activity of adviser transactions to attempt to identify excessive trading in qualified wrap programs, as defined below. Excessive trading by an adviser will lead to fund blocks and the wrap program will lose its qualified status. Adviser transactions will not be matched with client-directed transactions unless the wrap program ceases to be a qualified wrap program (but all client-directed transactions will be subject to the fund's excessive trading policy). A qualified wrap program is: (i) a program whose adviser certifies that it has investment discretion over $100 million or more in client assets invested in mutual funds at the time of the certification, (ii) a program in which the adviser directs transactions in the accounts participating in the program in concert with changes in a model portfolio, and (iii) managed by an adviser who agrees to give Strategic Advisers sufficient information to permit Strategic Advisers to identify the individual accounts in the wrap program.
Prospectus
The fund reserves the right at any time to restrict purchases or exchanges or impose conditions that are more restrictive on excessive or disruptive trading than those stated in this prospectus. The fund's Treasurer is authorized to suspend the fund's policies during periods of severe market turbulence or national emergency. The fund reserves the right to modify its policies at any time without prior notice.
The fund does not knowingly accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares by investors, except to the extent permitted by the policies described above.
In addition to these policies, the fund imposes a short-term redemption fee on redemptions from the fund, which is discussed in "Selling Shares." As described in "Valuing Shares," the fund also uses fair value pricing to help reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders. There is no assurance that the fund's excessive trading policy will be effective, or will successfully detect or deter excessive or disruptive trading.
Class F shares of the fund have no exchange privilege with any other fund.
Class F shares of the fund are available for purchase only by mutual funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager.
The price to buy one share of Class F is its NAV. Class F shares are sold without a sales charge.
Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
Orders by funds of funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.
<R>Provided the fund receives an order to buy shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to buy shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.</R>
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
The price to sell one share of Class F is its NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.
If you sell your shares after holding them less than 30 days, a 1.00% short-term redemption fee may be deducted from the redemption amount. For this purpose, shares held longest will be treated as being redeemed first and shares held shortest as being redeemed last. The fees are paid to the fund, not Strategic Advisers, and are designed to help offset the brokerage commissions, market impact, and other costs associated with short-term shareholder trading.
The short-term redemption fee does not apply to: (i) redemptions of shares acquired by reinvesting dividends and distributions; (ii) rollovers, transfers, and changes of account registration within the fund, or transfers between classes of a multiple class fund (if applicable) as long as the money never leaves the fund; and (iii) redemptions in kind.
The fund also permits waivers of the short-term redemption fee for the following transactions:
The application of short-term redemption fees and waivers may vary among intermediaries and certain intermediaries may not apply the waivers listed above. If you purchase or sell fund shares through an intermediary, you should contact your intermediary for more information on whether the short-term redemption fee will be applied to redemptions of your shares.
The fund reserves the right to modify or eliminate the short-term redemption fee or waivers at any time. Investment advisers or their affiliates may pay short-term redemption fees on behalf of investors in managed accounts. Unitized group accounts consisting of qualified plan assets may be treated as a single account for redemption fee purposes.
Fidelity seeks to identify intermediaries that hold fund shares in omnibus accounts and will refuse their purchase orders if they do not agree to track and remit short-term redemption fees based on the transactions of underlying investors. There are no assurances that Fidelity will successfully identify all intermediaries or that the intermediaries will properly assess short-term redemption fees.
Prospectus
Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
Orders by funds of funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.
<R>Provided the fund receives an order to sell shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to sell shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.</R>
Redemptions may be suspended or payment dates postponed when the NYSE is closed (other than weekends or holidays), when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as permitted by the SEC.
Redemption proceeds may be paid in securities or other property rather than in cash if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, redemption requests may be suspended, restricted, canceled, or processed and the proceeds may be withheld.
Fidelity will send monthly account statements detailing fund balances and all transactions completed during the prior month.
You may be asked to provide additional information in order for Fidelity to verify your identity in accordance with requirements under anti-money laundering regulations. Accounts may be restricted and/or closed, and the monies withheld, pending verification of this information or as otherwise required under these and other federal regulations.
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
The fund normally pays dividends and capital gain distributions in April and December.
Dividends and capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional Class F shares of the fund.
As with any investment, investing in the fund could have tax consequences. If not investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account, these tax consequences should be considered.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Taxes on distributions. Distributions received from the fund are subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes.
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including dividends and distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable as ordinary income, while certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of long-term capital gains, are taxable generally as capital gains. A percentage of certain distributions of dividends may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
If shares are purchased on your behalf when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.
Any taxable distributions received from the fund will normally be taxable when received.
Taxes on transactions. Redemptions may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on an investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of shares and the price received when sold.
Prospectus
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
The fund employs a multi-manager and a fund of funds investment structure. Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of sub-advisers or underlying funds.
<R> Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. The address of Strategic Advisers and its affiliates, unless otherwise indicated below, is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R>As of December 31, 2012, Strategic Advisers had approximately $320.7 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
As the manager, Strategic Advisers has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
<R> Causeway, at 11111 Santa Monica Boulevard, 15th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90025, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, Causeway had approximately $17.0 billion in assets under management. Causeway provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> MFS, at 111 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02199, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, MFS had approximately $339.0 billion in assets under management. MFS provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Pyramis, at 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. Pyramis is an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. As of December 31, 2012, Pyramis had approximately $31.7 billion in discretionary assets under management. Pyramis provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> William Blair, at 222 W. Adams St., Chicago, IL 60606, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, William Blair had approximately $52.1 billion in assets under management. William Blair provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
Strategic Advisers
Wilfred Chilangwa is lead portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since May 2012. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1997, Mr. Chilangwa has worked as a senior fund analyst, an international strategist, and a portfolio manager.
Causeway
<R>The portion of the fund managed by Causeway is managed by a team of portfolio managers comprised of Sarah H. Ketterer, Harry W. Hartford, James A. Doyle, Jonathan P. Eng, Kevin Durkin, Conor Muldoon, Foster Corwith, and Alessandro Valentini.</R>
Sarah H. Ketterer is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which she has managed since May 2012. Ms. Ketterer is the chief executive officer of Causeway. Ms. Ketterer co-founded Causeway in June 2001. Prior to that, she was with the Hotchkis and Wiley division of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, L.P. (HW-MLIM) since 1996, where she was a managing director and co-head of the International and Global Value Equity Team in Los Angeles.
Prospectus
Harry W. Hartford is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2012. Mr. Hartford is the president of Causeway. Mr. Hartford co-founded Causeway in June 2001. Prior to that, he was with HW-MLIM since 1996, where he was a managing director and co-head of the International and Global Value Equity Team in Los Angeles.
James A. Doyle is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2012. Mr. Doyle is a director of Causeway. Mr. Doyle joined the firm in June 2001. Previously, Mr. Doyle was with HW-MLIM since 1997, where he was a vice president and the head of investment research for the International and Global Value Equity Team in Los Angeles.
Jonathan P. Eng is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2012. Mr. Eng is a director of Causeway. Mr. Eng joined the firm in July 2001. From 1997 to July 2001, Mr. Eng was with HW-MLIM in Los Angeles and London, where he was an equity research associate for the International and Global Value Equity Team.
Kevin Durkin is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2012. Mr. Durkin is a director of Causeway. Mr. Durkin joined the firm in June 2001. From 1999 to June 2001, Mr. Durkin was with HW-MLIM in Los Angeles, where he was an equity research associate for the International and Global Value Equity Team.
Conor Muldoon is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2012. Mr. Muldoon is a director of Causeway. Mr. Muldoon joined the firm in June 2003. From 1995 to June 2003, Mr. Muldoon was an investment consultant for Fidelity Investments where he served as a liaison between institutional clients and investment managers within Fidelity.
<R>Foster Corwith is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since April 2013. Mr. Corwith is a director of Causeway. Mr. Corwith joined the firm in July 2006. During the summer of 2005, Mr. Corwith was a research associate at Deutsche Asset Management, where he was responsible for researching consumer staples companies. From 2003 to 2004, Mr. Corwith was a project manager in the Corporate Services group of The Bank of New York, where he oversaw the integration of trading platforms for 200 broker-dealer clients acquired during the firm's merger with Mellon Financial. From 2001-2003, Mr. Corwith was an analyst in Credit Suisse First Boston's prime brokerage unit, where he worked as a liaison between the group's security lending, technology, and account management groups. From 2000-2001, Mr. Corwith was a management trainee at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, working with the equity research team.</R>
<R>Alessandro Valentini is co-manager of Causeway's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since April 2013. Mr. Valentini is a director of Causeway. Mr. Valentini joined the firm in July 2006. During the summer of 2005, Mr. Valentini worked as a research analyst at Thornburg Investment Management, where he conducted fundamental research for the International Value Fund and the Value Fund, focusing on the European telecommunication and Canadian oil sectors. From 2000 to 2004, Mr. Valentini worked as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs in the European Equities Research-Sales division in New York.</R>
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
MFS
The portion of the fund managed by MFS in the International Value strategy is managed by portfolio managers Benjamin Stone and Barnaby Wiener. The portfolio managers of the portion of the fund managed by MFS in the Research International strategy are Jose Luis Garcia and Thomas Melendez, with Messrs. Garcia and Melendez providing general oversight of a team of investment professionals responsible for security selection.
Benjamin Stone is co-manager of MFS' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2012. Mr. Stone is an Investment Officer of MFS and has been employed in the investment area of MFS since 2005.
Barnaby Wiener is co-manager of MFS' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2012. Mr. Wiener is an Investment Officer of MFS and has been employed in the investment area of MFS since 1998.
Jose Luis Garcia and Thomas Melendez are each co-managers of MFS' portion of the fund's assets, which they have managed since May 2012. Messrs. Garcia and Melendez are each Investment Officers of MFS and have been employed in the investment area of MFS since 2002.
Pyramis
Cesar Hernandez, CFA, is portfolio manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2012. Mr. Hernandez developed the Select International discipline at Fidelity and is responsible for managing the Select International and the Select Global Strategies. Mr. Hernandez joined Fidelity Investments as a portfolio manager in 1989.
William Blair
<R>W. George Greig, a partner of William Blair, serves as a portfolio manager for William Blair's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since May 2012. He currently serves as the global strategist for William Blair's Investment Management Department and has headed William Blair's international investment management team since 1996. </R>
The SAI provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by the portfolio managers.
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.
Prospectus
The fund pays a management fee to Strategic Advisers. The management fee is calculated and paid to Strategic Advisers every month.
The fund's management fee is calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets. Because the fund's management fee rate may fluctuate, the fund's management fee may be higher or lower in the future. The fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.05% of the fund's average daily net assets.
In return for the services of the fund's sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers will pay each of the fund's sub-advisers the fee (as described above) payable to that sub-adviser.
<R>The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract and sub-advisory agreements for the fund is available in the fund's semi-annual report for the fiscal period ended August 31, 2012 and in the fund's annual report for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013.</R>
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, agree to reimburse a class for, or waive, management fees and other expenses above a specified limit. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid by a class if expenses fall below the specified limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Reimbursement or waiver arrangements can decrease expenses and boost performance.
Strategic Advisers has voluntarily agreed to reimburse Class F of the fund to the extent that total operating expenses of Class F (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, extraordinary expenses, and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) exceed 1.09% of its average net assets. This arrangement may be discontinued by Strategic Advisers at any time.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, approximately 99.14% of the fund's total outstanding shares were held by Strategic Advisers and/or another entity or entities of which FMR LLC is the ultimate parent.</R>
The fund is composed of multiple classes of shares. All classes of the fund have a common investment objective and investment portfolio.
Class F has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) that recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of Class F shares and/or shareholder support services. Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, service-providers, and administrators, that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for Class F shares.
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
Affiliates of Strategic Advisers may receive service fees or distribution fees or both with respect to underlying funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork.
If payments made by Strategic Advisers to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of Class F's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
Prospectus
<R>The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand Class F's financial history for the period of the class's operations. Certain information reflects financial results for a single class share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the class (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial highlights and financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report. A free copy of the annual report is available upon request.</R>
<R> Period ended February 28, |
2013 E </R> |
<R> Selected Per-Share Data |
</R> |
<R> Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 10.69 </R> |
<R> Income from Investment Operations |
</R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) D |
.01 </R> |
<R> Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
.35 </R> |
<R> Total from investment operations |
.36 </R> |
<R> Redemption fees added to paid in capital D |
- G </R> |
<R> Net asset value, end of period |
$ 11.05 </R> |
<R> Total Return B, C |
3.37% </R> |
<R> Ratios to Average Net Assets F |
</R> |
<R> Expenses before reductions |
1.25% A </R> |
<R> Expenses net of fee waivers, if any |
1.09% A </R> |
<R> Expenses net of all reductions |
1.07% A </R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) |
.44% A </R> |
<R> Supplemental Data |
</R> |
<R> Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$ 267 </R> |
<R> Portfolio turnover rate H |
42% A </R> |
<R> A Annualized </R>
<R> B Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized. </R>
<R> C Total returns would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reduced during the applicable periods shown. </R>
<R> D Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period. </R>
<R> E For the period December 18, 2012 (commencement of sale of shares) to February 28, 2013. </R>
<R> F Expense ratios reflect operating expenses of the class. Expenses before reductions do not reflect amounts reimbursed by the investment adviser or reductions from brokerage service arrangements or reductions from other expense offset arrangements and do not represent the amount paid by the class during periods when reimbursements or reductions occur. Expense ratios before reductions for start-up periods may not be representative of longer-term operating periods. Expenses net of fee waivers reflect expenses after reimbursement by the investment adviser but prior to reductions from brokerage service arrangements or other expense offset arrangements. Expenses net of all reductions represent the net expenses paid by the class. Fees and expenses of the Underlying Funds are not included in the class' annualized ratios. The class indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the Underlying Funds. </R>
<R> G Amount represents less than $.01 per share. </R>
<R> H Amounts do not include the portfolio turnover activity of any Underlying Funds. </R>
Notes
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account. For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account such as name, residential address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity. |
You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.
For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call Fidelity at 1-800-835-5095. In addition, existing investors may visit the web site at www.401k.com for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number, 811-21991 |
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design, and FundsNetwork are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R>1.951511.102 STG-F-PRO-0413</R>
Strategic Advisers ® International Multi-Manager Fund
Class F (FMBKX)
A Fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R>This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. Portions of the fund's annual report are incorporated herein. The annual report is supplied with this SAI.</R>
<R>To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated April 29, 2013, or an annual report, please call Fidelity at 1-800-835-5095 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.401k.com.</R>
<R>STG-F-PTB-0413
1.951512.102</R>
<R>
</R>
|
PAGE |
Investment Policies and Limitations |
|
Special Geographic Considerations |
|
Portfolio Transactions |
|
Valuation |
|
Buying and Selling Information |
|
Distributions and Taxes |
|
Trustees and Officers |
|
<R>Control of Investment Advisers |
|
Management Contract |
|
<R>Proxy Voting Guidelines |
|
<R>Distribution Services |
|
<R>Transfer and Service Agent Agreements |
|
<R>Description of the Trust |
|
<R>Fund Holdings Information |
|
<R>Financial Statements |
|
<R>Appendix |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not with respect to 75% of the fund's total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except in connection with the insurance program established by the fund pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission or as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry (provided that investments in other investment companies shall not be considered an investment in any particular industry for purposes of this investment limitation).
For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities, Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) looks through to the U.S. Government securities.
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The acquisitions of loans and loan participations excluded from the fund's lending limitation discussed above are only those loans and loan participations considered securities within the meaning of the 1940 Act.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, and provided that transactions in futures contracts and options are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 15% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
To the extent that the fund acquires the shares of an underlying fund in accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, the underlying fund is not obligated to redeem its shares in an amount exceeding 1% of its shares outstanding during any period of less than 30 days. Those underlying fund shares will not be treated as illiquid securities for purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation described above to the extent that the fund is able to dispose of such securities by distributing them in kind to redeeming shareholders. (See "Securities of Other Investment Companies" on page (Click Here).)
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to lend assets other than securities to other parties, except by (a) lending money (up to 15% of the fund's net assets) to a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) assuming any unfunded commitments in connection with the acquisition of loans, loan participations, or other forms of debt instruments. (This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities, to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.)
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
For the fund's limitations on futures and options transactions, see the section entitled "Futures, Options, and Swaps" on page (Click Here).
Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitations, the underlying funds in which the fund may invest have adopted certain investment limitations that may be more or less restrictive than those listed above, thereby permitting the fund to engage indirectly in investment strategies that are prohibited under the investment limitations listed above. The investment limitations of each underlying fund are set forth in its registration statement.
In accordance with its investment program as set forth in the prospectus, the fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in any one underlying Fidelity fund. Although the fund does not intend to concentrate its investments in a particular industry, the fund may indirectly concentrate in a particular industry or group of industries through its investments in one or more underlying funds.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
Strategic Advisers ® International Multi-Manager Fund may have exposure to instruments, techniques, and risks either directly or indirectly through an investment in an underlying fund. An underlying fund may invest in the same or other types of instruments and its adviser may employ the same or other types of techniques. Strategic Advisers ® International Multi-Manager Fund's performance will be affected by the instruments, techniques, and risks associated with an underlying fund, in proportion to the amount of assets that the fund allocates to that underlying fund.
<R>On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "a fund" or "the fund" may relate to Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund or an underlying fund, and references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to Strategic Advisers (or its affiliates) or a sub-adviser of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, or an adviser of an underlying fund.</R>
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of short-term bond or money market funds, including (for Fidelity funds and other advisory clients only) shares of Fidelity central funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.
<R> Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Notice of Exclusion. The trust, on behalf of the Fidelity fund to which this SAI relates, has filed with the National Futures Association a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the CFTC promulgated thereunder, with respect to the fund's operation. Accordingly, neither the fund nor its adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or a CPO. However, the CFTC has adopted certain rule amendments that significantly affect the continued availability of this exclusion, and may subject advisers to funds to regulation by the CFTC. As of the date of this SAI, the adviser does not expect to register as a CPO of the fund. However, there is no certainty that a fund or its adviser will be able to rely on an exclusion in the future as the fund's investments change over time. A fund may determine not to use investment strategies that trigger additional CFTC regulation or may determine to operate subject to CFTC regulation, if applicable. If a fund or its adviser operates subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.</R>
Common Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock, although related proceedings can take time to resolve and results can be unpredictable.
Convertible Securities are bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption or conversion, the fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
Country or Geographic Region. Various factors may be considered in determining whether an investment is tied economically to a particular country or region, including: whether the investment is issued or guaranteed by a particular government or any of its agencies, political subdivisions, or instrumentalities; whether the investment has its primary trading market in a particular country or region; whether the issuer is organized under the laws of, derives at least 50% of its revenues from, or has at least 50% of its assets in a particular country or region; whether the investment is included in an index representative of a particular country or region; and whether the investment is exposed to the economic fortunes and risks of a particular country or region.
Debt Securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay interest but are sold at a deep discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, and mortgage and other asset-backed securities.
<R> Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments. An ETF may seek to replicate the performance of a specified index or may be actively managed.</R>
Typically, ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks (typically, 50,000 shares) often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.
Some of the risks of investing in an ETF that tracks an index are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their intraday indicative value. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater.
Exposure to Foreign and Emerging Markets. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Foreign investments involve risks relating to local political, economic, regulatory, or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments, and may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Such actions may include expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. Additionally, governmental issuers of foreign debt securities may be unwilling to pay interest and repay principal when due and may require that the conditions for payment be renegotiated. There is no assurance that a fund's adviser will be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies and of dividends and interest paid with respect to such securities will fluctuate based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar. From time to time, a fund may invest a large portion of its assets in the securities of issuers located in a single country or a limited number of countries. If a fund invests in this manner, there is a higher risk that social, political, economic, tax (such as a tax on foreign investments), or regulatory developments in those countries may have a significant impact on the fund's investment performance.
It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for foreign securities will be on an exchange or in over-the-counter (OTC) markets located outside of the United States. Foreign stock markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign security trading, settlement and custodial practices (including those involving securities settlement where fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment) are often less developed than those in U.S. markets, and may result in increased investment or valuation risk or substantial delays in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of, or breach of duty by, a foreign broker-dealer, securities depository, or foreign subcustodian. In addition, the costs associated with foreign investments, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions, and custodial costs, are generally higher than with U.S. investments.
Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors than U.S. markets. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Adequate public information on foreign issuers may not be available, and it may be difficult to secure dividends and information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. OTC markets tend to be less regulated than stock exchange markets and, in certain countries, may be totally unregulated. Regulatory enforcement may be influenced by economic or political concerns, and investors may have difficulty enforcing their legal rights in foreign countries.
Some foreign securities impose restrictions on transfer within the United States or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than foreign securities of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks include foreign exchange risk as well as the political and economic risks of the underlying issuer's country.
The risks of foreign investing may be magnified for investments in emerging markets. Security prices in emerging markets can be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
Foreign Currency Transactions. A fund may conduct foreign currency transactions on a spot ( i.e., cash) or forward basis ( i.e., by entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies). Although foreign exchange dealers generally do not charge a fee for such conversions, they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the counterparty desire to resell that currency to the dealer. Forward contracts are customized transactions that require a specific amount of a currency to be delivered at a specific exchange rate on a specific date or range of dates in the future. Forward contracts are generally traded in an interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The parties to a forward contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated currency exchange.
The following discussion summarizes the principal currency management strategies involving forward contracts that could be used by a fund. A fund may also use swap agreements, indexed securities, and options and futures contracts relating to foreign currencies for the same purposes. Forward contracts not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying currency. All of these instruments and transactions are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default.
A "settlement hedge" or "transaction hedge" is designed to protect a fund against an adverse change in foreign currency values between the date a security denominated in a foreign currency is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in an underlying security transaction for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars "locks in" the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used to protect a fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected.
A fund may also use forward contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in a foreign currency. For example, if a fund owned securities denominated in pounds sterling, it could enter into a forward contract to sell pounds sterling in return for U.S. dollars to hedge against possible declines in the pound's value. Such a hedge, sometimes referred to as a "position hedge," would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. A fund could also attempt to hedge the position by selling another currency expected to perform similarly to the pound sterling. This type of hedge, sometimes referred to as a "proxy hedge," could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield, or efficiency, but generally would not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a direct hedge into U.S. dollars. Proxy hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated.
A fund may enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a "cross-hedge," will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if a fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. A fund may cross-hedge its U.S. dollar exposure in order to achieve a representative weighted mix of the major currencies in its benchmark index and/or to cover an underweight country or region exposure in its portfolio. Cross-hedges protect against losses resulting from a decline in the hedged currency, but will cause a fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases.
Successful use of currency management strategies will depend on an adviser's skill in analyzing currency values. Currency management strategies may substantially change a fund's investment exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and could result in losses to a fund if currencies do not perform as an adviser anticipates. For example, if a currency's value rose at a time when a fund had hedged its position by selling that currency in exchange for dollars, the fund would not participate in the currency's appreciation. If a fund hedges currency exposure through proxy hedges, the fund could realize currency losses from both the hedge and the security position if the two currencies do not move in tandem. Similarly, if a fund increases its exposure to a foreign currency and that currency's value declines, the fund will realize a loss. Foreign currency transactions involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that a fund's hedging strategies will be ineffective. Moreover, it is impossible to precisely forecast the market value of portfolio securities at the expiration of a foreign currency forward contract. Accordingly, a fund may be required to buy or sell additional currency on the spot market (and bear the expenses of such transaction), if an adviser's predictions regarding the movement of foreign currency or securities markets prove inaccurate.
A fund may be required to limit its hedging transactions in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options in order to maintain its classification as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Hedging transactions could result in the application of the mark-to-market provisions of the Code, which may cause an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a fund and could affect whether dividends paid by a fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. A fund will cover its exposure to foreign currency transactions with liquid assets in compliance with applicable requirements. There is no assurance that an adviser's use of currency management strategies will be advantageous to a fund or that it will employ currency management strategies at appropriate times.
Options and Futures Relating to Foreign Currencies. Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges (and have margin requirements) and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The underlying instrument of a currency option may be a foreign currency, which generally is purchased or delivered in exchange for U.S. dollars, or may be a futures contract. The purchaser of a currency call obtains the right to purchase the underlying currency, and the purchaser of a currency put obtains the right to sell the underlying currency.
The uses and risks of currency options and futures are similar to options and futures relating to securities or indexes, as discussed below. A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and may purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. Currency options may also be purchased or written in conjunction with each other or with currency futures or forward contracts. Currency futures and options values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates, but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated security from a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of a fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the fund's investments exactly over time.
Currency options traded on U.S. or other exchanges may be subject to position limits which may limit the ability of the fund to reduce foreign currency risk using such options.
Foreign Repurchase Agreements. Foreign repurchase agreements involve an agreement to purchase a foreign security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price in either U.S. dollars or foreign currency. Unlike typical U.S. repurchase agreements, foreign repurchase agreements may not be fully collateralized at all times. The value of a security purchased by a fund may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to repurchase the security. In the event of default by the counterparty, a fund may suffer a loss if the value of the security purchased is less than the agreed-upon repurchase price, or if the fund is unable to successfully assert a claim to the collateral under foreign laws. As a result, foreign repurchase agreements may involve higher credit risks than repurchase agreements in U.S. markets, as well as risks associated with currency fluctuations. In addition, as with other emerging market investments, repurchase agreements with counterparties located in emerging markets or relating to emerging markets may involve issuers or counterparties with lower credit ratings than typical U.S. repurchase agreements.
Fund's Rights as an Investor. Fidelity funds do not intend to direct or administer the day-to-day operations of any company. A fund may, however, exercise its rights as a shareholder or lender and may communicate its views on important matters of policy to a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders, and holders of a company's other securities when such matters could have a significant effect on the value of the fund's investment in the company. The activities in which a fund may engage, either individually or in conjunction with others, may include, among others, supporting or opposing proposed changes in a company's corporate structure or business activities; seeking changes in a company's directors or management; seeking changes in a company's direction or policies; seeking the sale or reorganization of the company or a portion of its assets; supporting or opposing third-party takeover efforts; supporting the filing of a bankruptcy petition; or foreclosing on collateral securing a security. This area of corporate activity is increasingly prone to litigation and it is possible that a fund could be involved in lawsuits related to such activities. Such activities will be monitored with a view to mitigating, to the extent possible, the risk of litigation against a fund and the risk of actual liability if a fund is involved in litigation. No guarantee can be made, however, that litigation against a fund will not be undertaken or liabilities incurred. The fund's proxy voting guidelines are included in this SAI.
Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. If a fund invests a significant portion of its assets in derivatives, its investment exposure could far exceed the value of its portfolio securities and its investment performance could be primarily dependent upon securities it does not own.
Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.
The limitations on the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps, and the fund's policies regarding futures contracts, options, and swaps may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts.
Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts and the price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities or baskets of securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indexes (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indexes of securities prices (including foreign indexes for funds that seek foreign exposure). Futures on indexes and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out by offsetting purchases or sales of futures contracts before then if a liquid market is available. A fund may realize a gain or loss by closing out its futures contracts.
The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the underlying instrument. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.
The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by a fund, but is instead a settlement between a fund and the FCM of the amount one would owe the other if the fund's contract expired. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is also required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.
Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement, and margin procedures that are different from those for U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may not involve a clearing mechanism or related guarantees and may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to a fund. Because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuation.
There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.
If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
Futures contracts on U.S. Government securities historically have reacted to an increase or decrease in interest rates in a manner similar to the manner in which the underlying U.S. Government securities reacted. To the extent, however, that a fund enters into such futures contracts, the value of these futures contracts will not vary in direct proportion to the value of the fund's holdings of U.S. Government securities. Thus, the anticipated spread between the price of the futures contract and the hedged security may be distorted due to differences in the nature of the markets. The spread also may be distorted by differences in initial and variation margin requirements, the liquidity of such markets and the participation of speculators in such markets.
Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, baskets of assets or securities, indexes of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). Options may be traded on an exchange or OTC. The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. Depending on the terms of the contract, upon exercise, an option may require physical delivery of the underlying instrument or may be settled through cash payments. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right (but not the obligation) to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer should mitigate the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.
Where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price to close out the put or call option on the secondary market may move more or less than the price of the related security.
There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for exchange-traded options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps (swaptions), which are generally options on interest rate swaps. An option on a swap gives a party the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, a fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes (sells) an option on a swap than it will incur when it purchases an option on a swap. When a fund purchases an option on a swap, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when a fund writes an option on a swap, upon exercise of the option the fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement. A fund that writes an option on a swap receives the premium and bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the preset rate on the underlying interest rate swap. Whether a fund's use of options on swaps will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend on the adviser's ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Options on swaps may involve risks similar to those discussed below in "Swap Agreements."
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
Swap Agreements. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term. Most swap agreements are currently traded over-the-counter. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange one or more payments based, for example, on the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, indexes, or other financial or economic interests). The gross payments to be exchanged between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness.
A fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. In order to cover its outstanding obligations to a swap counterparty, a fund would generally be required to provide margin or collateral for the benefit of that counterparty. If a counterparty to a swap transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited temporarily or permanently in exercising its right to the return of related fund assets designated as margin or collateral in an action against the counterparty.
Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that an adviser will not accurately forecast market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other economic factors in establishing swap positions for a fund. If an adviser attempts to use a swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, a fund may be exposed to the risk that the swap will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment, which could cause substantial losses for a fund. While hedging strategies involving swap instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Swaps are complex and often valued subjectively.
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Illiquid Securities cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity fund's adviser determines the liquidity of the fund's investments and, through reports from the fund's adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid securities.
Various factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments, including (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
Increasing Government Debt. The total public debt of the United States and other countries around the globe as a percent of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented.
A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt cost higher and cause a country to sell additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In the worst case, unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns.
On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States one level to "AA+" from "AAA." While Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the United States' short-term sovereign credit rating as "A-1+," there is no guarantee that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services will not decide to lower this rating in the future. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services stated that its decision was prompted by its view on the rising public debt burden and its perception of greater policymaking uncertainty. The market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government may be adversely affected by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services decisions to downgrade the long-term sovereign credit rating of the United States.
Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indexes, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.
Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indexes. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.
Indexed securities may have principal payments as well as coupon payments that depend on the performance of one or more interest rates. Their coupon rates or principal payments may change by several percentage points for every 1% interest rate change.
Mortgage-indexed securities, for example, could be structured to replicate the performance of mortgage securities and the characteristics of direct ownership.
Inflation-protected securities, for example, can be indexed to a measure of inflation, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Commodity-indexed securities, for example, can be indexed to a commodities index such as the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return SM .
Gold-indexed securities typically provide for a maturity value that depends on the price of gold, resulting in a security whose price tends to rise and fall together with gold prices.
Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Insolvency of Issuers, Counterparties, and Intermediaries. Issuers of fund portfolio securities or counterparties to fund transactions that become insolvent or declare bankruptcy can pose special investment risks. In each circumstance, risk of loss, valuation uncertainty, increased illiquidity, and other unpredictable occurrences may negatively impact an investment. Each of these risks may be amplified in foreign markets, where security trading, settlement, and custodial practices can be less developed than those in the U.S. markets, and bankruptcy laws differ from those of the U.S.
As a general matter, if the issuer of a fund portfolio security is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock have priority over the claims of common stock owners. These events can negatively impact the value of the issuer's securities and the results of related proceedings can be unpredictable.
If a counterparty to a fund transaction, such as a swap transaction, a short sale, a borrowing, or other complex transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise rights to obtain the return of related fund assets or in exercising other rights against the counterparty. In addition, insolvency and liquidation proceedings take time to resolve, which can limit or preclude a fund's ability to terminate a transaction or obtain related assets or collateral in a timely fashion. Uncertainty may also arise upon the insolvency of a securities or commodities intermediary such as a broker-dealer or futures commission merchant with which a fund has pending transactions. If an intermediary becomes insolvent, while securities positions and other holdings may be protected by U.S. or foreign laws, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these protections are available to specific trades based on the circumstances. Receiving the benefit of these protections can also take time to resolve, which may result in illiquid positions.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a Fidelity fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) or its affiliates. A Fidelity fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. A Fidelity fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
Investments by Funds of Funds or Other Large Shareholders. Certain funds and accounts that are managed by FMR or its affiliates (including funds of funds) invest in other funds and may at times have substantial investments in one or more other funds.
A fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by funds of funds, other large shareholders, or similarly managed accounts. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a fund's portfolio. In addition, when funds of funds or other investors own a substantial portion of a fund's shares, a large redemption by such an investor could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a fund of funds or other significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the fund's shares.
When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful. A high volume of redemption requests can impact a fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments.
Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. Direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve a risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a fund supply additional cash to a borrower on demand. A fund may acquire loans by buying an assignment of all or a portion of the loan from a lender or by purchasing a loan participation from a lender or other purchaser of a participation.
Lenders and purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of foreign countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.
Direct lending and investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the lender/purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary.
A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest.
Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate lenders/purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a lender/purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
For a Fidelity fund that limits the amount of total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry, the fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require a fund, in appropriate circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for these purposes. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
Because the risk of default is higher for lower-quality debt securities, research and credit analysis are an especially important part of managing securities of this type. Such analysis may focus on relative values based on factors such as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earnings prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer, in an attempt to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved, or is expected to improve in the future.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Precious Metals. Precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, at times have been subject to substantial price fluctuations over short periods of time and may be affected by unpredictable monetary and political policies such as currency devaluations or revaluations, economic and social conditions within a country, trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries. The prices of gold and other precious metals, however, are less subject to local and company-specific factors than securities of individual companies. As a result, precious metals may be more or less volatile in price than securities of companies engaged in precious metals-related businesses. Investments in precious metals can present concerns such as delivery, storage and maintenance, possible illiquidity, and the unavailability of accurate market valuations. Although precious metals can be purchased in any form, including bullion and coins, a Fidelity fund intends to purchase only those forms of precious metals that are readily marketable and that can be stored in accordance with custody regulations applicable to mutual funds. A fund may incur higher custody and transaction costs for precious metals than for securities. Also, precious metals investments do not pay income.
For a fund to qualify as a regulated investment company under current federal tax law, gains from selling precious metals may not exceed 10% of the fund's gross income for its taxable year. This tax requirement could cause a fund to hold or sell precious metals or securities when it would not otherwise do so.
Preferred Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Equity real estate investment trusts own real estate properties, while mortgage real estate investment trusts make construction, development, and long-term mortgage loans. Their value may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property of the trusts, the creditworthiness of the issuer, property taxes, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements, such as those relating to the environment. Both types of trusts are dependent upon management skill, are not diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers, self-liquidation, and the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
<R> Reforms and Government Intervention in the Financial Markets. Economic downturns can trigger various economic, legal, budgetary, tax, and regulatory reforms across the globe. Instability in the financial markets in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn led the U.S. Government and other governments to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility, and in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Reforms are ongoing and their effects are uncertain. Federal, state, local, foreign, and other governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which a fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Reforms may also change the way in which a fund is regulated and could limit or preclude a fund's ability to achieve its investment objective or engage in certain strategies. Also, while reforms generally are intended to strengthen markets, systems, and public finances, they could affect fund expenses and the value of fund investments.</R>
The value of a fund's holdings is also generally subject to the risk of future local, national, or global economic disturbances based on unknown weaknesses in the markets in which a fund invests. In the event of such a disturbance, the issuers of securities held by a fund may experience significant declines in the value of their assets and even cease operations, or may receive government assistance accompanied by increased restrictions on their business operations or other government intervention. In addition, it is not certain that the U.S. Government or foreign governments will intervene in response to a future market disturbance and the effect of any such future intervention cannot be predicted.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its right to liquidate assets related to a repurchase agreement with an insolvent counterparty. A Fidelity fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities Lending. Securities lending allows a fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The fund seeks to maintain the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased.
Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies (which include business development companies (BDCs)), unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. For certain investment companies, such as BDCs, these expenses may be significant. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.
The securities of closed-end funds may be leveraged. As a result, a fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. An investment in securities of closed-end funds that use leverage may expose a fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the fund's long-term returns on such securities will be diminished.
The extent to which a fund can invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws.
Short Sales. Short sales involve the market sale of a security a fund has borrowed from a prime broker with which it has a contractual relationship, with the expectation that the security will underperform either the market or the securities that the fund holds long. A fund closes a short sale by purchasing the same security at the current market price and delivering it to the prime broker.
Until a fund closes out a short position, the fund is obligated to pay the prime broker (from which it borrowed the security sold short) interest as well as any dividends that accrue during the period of the loan. While a short position is outstanding, a fund must also pledge a portion of its assets to the prime broker as collateral for the borrowed security. The collateral will be marked to market daily.
Short positions create a risk that a fund will be required to cover them by buying the security at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the fund. A short position in a security poses more risk than holding the same security long. Because a short position loses value as the security's price increases, the loss on a short sale is theoretically unlimited. The loss on a long position is limited to what a fund originally paid for the security together with any transaction costs. A fund may not always be able to borrow a security the fund seeks to sell short at a particular time or at an acceptable price. As a result, a fund may be unable to fully implement its investment strategy due to a lack of available stocks or for other reasons. It is possible that the market value of the securities a fund holds in long positions will decline at the same time that the market value of the securities the fund has sold short increases, thereby increasing the fund's potential volatility. Because a fund may be required to pay dividends, interest, premiums and other expenses in connection with a short sale, any benefit for the fund resulting from the short sale will be decreased, and the amount of any ultimate gain will be decreased or of any loss will be increased, by the amount of such expenses.
A fund may also enter into short sales against the box. Short sales "against the box" are short sales of securities that a fund owns or has the right to obtain (equivalent in kind or amount to the securities sold short). If a fund enters into a short sale against the box, it will be required to set aside securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short (or securities convertible or exchangeable into such securities) and will be required to hold such securities while the short sale is outstanding. A fund will incur transaction costs, including interest expenses, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales against the box.
Sources of Liquidity or Credit Support. Issuers may employ various forms of credit and liquidity enhancements, including letters of credit, guarantees, swaps, puts, and demand features, and insurance provided by domestic or foreign entities such as banks and other financial institutions. An adviser and its affiliates may rely on their evaluation of the credit of the issuer or the credit of the liquidity or credit enhancement provider in determining whether to purchase or hold a security supported by such enhancement. In evaluating the credit of a foreign bank or other foreign entities, factors considered may include whether adequate public information about the entity is available and whether the entity may be subject to unfavorable political or economic developments, currency controls, or other government restrictions that might affect its ability to honor its commitment. Changes in the credit quality of the issuer and/or entity providing the enhancement could affect the value of the security or a fund's share price.
Sovereign Debt Obligations are issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies, including debt of Latin American nations or other developing countries. Sovereign debt may be in the form of conventional securities or other types of debt instruments such as loans or loan participations. Sovereign debt of developing countries may involve a high degree of risk, and may be in default or present the risk of default. Governmental entities responsible for repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal and pay interest when due, and may require renegotiation or rescheduling of debt payments. In addition, prospects for repayment of principal and payment of interest may depend on political as well as economic factors. Although some sovereign debt, such as Brady Bonds, is collateralized by U.S. Government securities, repayment of principal and payment of interest is not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument ( e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
<R> Temporary Defensive Policies. </R>
<R> In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, a fund may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If a fund does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund reserves the right to invest without limitation in preferred stocks and investment-grade debt instruments for temporary, defensive purposes.
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments which entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss.
Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
SPECIAL GEOGRAPHIC CONSIDERATIONS
Emerging Markets. Investing in companies domiciled in emerging market countries may be subject to potentially higher risks than investments in developed countries. These risks include: (i) less social, political, and economic stability; (ii) greater illiquidity and price volatility due to smaller or limited local capital markets for such securities, or low or non-existent trading volumes; (iii) foreign exchanges and broker-dealers may be subject to less scrutiny and regulation by local authorities; (iv) local governments may decide to seize or confiscate securities held by foreign investors and/or local governments may decide to suspend or limit an issuer's ability to make dividend or interest payments; (v) local governments may limit or entirely restrict repatriation of invested capital, profits, and dividends; (vi) capital gains may be subject to local taxation, including on a retroactive basis; (vii) issuers facing restrictions on dollar or euro payments imposed by local governments may attempt to make dividend or interest payments to foreign investors in the local currency; (viii) investors may experience difficulty in enforcing legal claims related to the securities and/or local judges may favor the interests of the issuer over those of foreign investors; (ix) bankruptcy judgments may only be permitted to be paid in the local currency; (x) limited public information regarding the issuer may result in greater difficulty in determining market valuations of the securities, and (xi) infrequent financial reporting, substandard disclosure, and differences in accounting standards may make it difficult to ascertain the financial health of an issuer. In addition, unlike developed countries, many emerging countries' economic growth highly depends on exports and inflows of external capital, making them more vulnerable to the downturns of the world economy. The recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for their exports and tightened international credit supplies and, as a result, many emerging countries faced significant economic difficulties and some countries fell into recession.
Many emerging market countries suffer from uncertainty and corruption in their legal frameworks. Legislation may be difficult to interpret and laws may be too new to provide any precedential value. Laws regarding foreign investment and private property may be weak or non-existent. Sudden changes in governments may result in policies that are less favorable to investors such as policies designed to expropriate or nationalize "sovereign" assets. Certain emerging market countries in the past have expropriated large amounts of private property, in many cases with little or no compensation, and there can be no assurance that such expropriation will not occur in the future.
Many emerging market countries in which a fund may invest lack the social, political, and economic stability characteristic of the U.S. Political instability among emerging market countries can be common and may be caused by an uneven distribution of wealth, social unrest, labor strikes, civil wars, and religious oppression. Economic instability in emerging market countries may take the form of: (i) high interest rates; (ii) high levels of inflation, including hyperinflation; (iii) high levels of unemployment or underemployment; (iv) changes in government economic and tax policies, including confiscatory taxation (or taxes on foreign investments); and (v) imposition of trade barriers.
Currencies of emerging market countries are subject to significantly greater risks than currencies of developed countries. Some emerging market currencies may not be internationally traded or may be subject to strict controls by local governments, resulting in undervalued or overvalued currencies. Some emerging market countries have experienced balance of payment deficits and shortages in foreign exchange reserves. As a result, some governments have responded by restricting currency conversions. Future restrictive exchange controls could prevent or restrict a company's ability to make dividend or interest payments in the original currency of the obligation (usually U.S. dollars). In addition, even though the currencies of some emerging market countries may be convertible into U.S. dollars, the conversion rates may be artificial to their actual market values.
Governments of many emerging market countries have become overly reliant on the international capital markets and other forms of foreign credit to finance large public spending programs which cause huge budget deficits. Often, interest payments have become too overwhelming for these governments to meet, as these payments may represent a large percentage of a country's total GDP. Accordingly, these foreign obligations have become the subject of political debate and served as fuel for political parties of the opposition, which pressure governments not to make payments to foreign creditors, but instead to use these funds for social programs. Either due to an inability to pay or submission to political pressure, the governments have been forced to seek a restructuring of their loan and/or bond obligations, have declared a temporary suspension of interest payments, or have defaulted on their outstanding debt obligations. These events have adversely affected the values of securities issued by the governments and corporations domiciled in these emerging market countries and have negatively affected not only their cost of borrowing, but their ability to borrow in the future as well.
In addition to their over-reliance on international capital markets, many emerging economies are also highly dependent on international trade and exports, including exports of oil and other commodities. As a result, these economies are particularly vulnerable to downturns of the world economy. The recent global financial crisis tightened international credit supplies and weakened global demand for their exports and, as a result, certain of these economies faced significant difficulties and some economies fell into recession. Although certain economies in emerging market countries have recently shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. The reduced demand for exports and lack of available capital for investment resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy may limit recovery by emerging market countries.
Canada.
Political. Canada's parliamentary system of government is, in general, stable. Quebec does have a "separatist" opposition party whose objective is to achieve sovereignty and increased self-governing legal and financial powers for the province. To date, referendums on Quebec sovereignty have been defeated. If a referendum about the independence of Quebec were successful, the Canadian federal government may be obliged to negotiate with Quebec.
Economic. Canada is a major producer of commodities such as forest products, metals, agricultural products, and energy related products like oil, gas, and hydroelectricity. Accordingly, changes in the supply and demand of base commodity resources and industrial and precious metals and materials, both domestically and internationally, can have a significant effect on Canadian market performance.
The U.S. is Canada's largest trading partner and developments in economic policy and U.S. market conditions have a significant impact on the Canadian economy. The expanding economic and financial integration of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico through the North American Free Trade Agreement may make the Canadian economy and securities market more sensitive to North American trade patterns. However, growth in developing countries overseas, particularly China, may change the composition of Canada's trade and foreign investment composition in the near future.
In recent years, economic growth slowed down in certain sectors of the Canadian economy. The Canadian economy suffered from a recession due, in part, to the recent global financial crisis. The weaker economy resulted in lower tax collections and increased support being provided to Canadians through government programs, which increased the Canadian budget deficit. While the Canadian economy has shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. Growth forecasts remain modest due to ongoing fiscal consolidation, the effects of the economic slowdown in the U.S., and weakened demand for Canadian exports and investment as a result of the European crisis. Furthermore, the strength of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar may negatively affect Canada's ability to export, which could limit Canada's economic recovery.
Europe. The European Union (EU) is an intergovernmental and supranational union of most Western European countries and a growing number of Eastern European countries, each known as a member state. One of the key activities of the EU is the establishment and administration of a common single market, consisting of, among other things, a common trade policy. In order to pursue this goal, member states established, among other things, the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), which sets out different stages and commitments that member states need to follow to achieve greater economic policy coordination and monetary cooperation, including the adoption of a single currency, the euro. While all EU member states participate in the economic union, only certain EU member states have adopted the euro as their currency. When a member state adopts the euro as its currency, the member state no longer controls its own monetary policies. Instead, the authority to direct monetary policy is exercised by the European Central Bank.
While economic and monetary convergence in the EU may offer new opportunities for those investing in the region, investors should be aware that the success of the EU is not wholly assured. European countries can be significantly affected by the tight fiscal and monetary controls that the EMU imposes on its members or with which candidates for EMU membership are required to comply. Europe must grapple with a number of challenges, any one of which could threaten the survival of this monumental undertaking. The countries adopting the euro must adjust to a unified monetary system, the absence of exchange rate flexibility, and the loss of economic sovereignty. Europe's economies are diverse, its governments are decentralized, and its cultures differ widely. Unemployment in some European countries has historically been higher than in the U.S. and could pose political risk. Many EU nations are susceptible to high economic risks associated with high levels of debt, notably due to investments in sovereign debts of European countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the Republic of Ireland. One or more member states might exit the EU, placing its currency and banking system in jeopardy. The EU currently faces major issues involving its membership, structure, procedures and policies; including the adoption, abandonment or adjustment of the new constitutional treaty, the EU's enlargement to the south and east, and resolution of the EU's problematic fiscal and democratic accountability. Efforts of the member states to continue to unify their economic and monetary policies may increase the potential for similarities in the movements of European markets and reduce the benefit of diversification within the region.
Political. The EU has been extending its influence to the east. It has accepted several Eastern European countries as new members, and has plans to accept several more in the medium-term. It is hoped that membership for these states will help cement economic and political stability in the region. For these countries, membership serves as a strong political impetus to employ tight fiscal and monetary policies. Nevertheless, new member states that were former Soviet satellites remain burdened to various extents by the inherited inefficiencies of centrally planned economies similar to what existed under the former Soviet Union. Further expansion of the EU has long-term economic benefits, but certain European countries are not viewed as currently suitable for membership, especially the troubled economies of countries further east. Also, as the EU continues to enlarge, the candidate countries' accessions may grow more controversial. Some member states may repudiate certain candidate countries joining the EU upon concerns about the possible economic, immigration, and cultural implications that may result from such enlargement. The current and future status of the EU therefore continues to be the subject of political controversy, with widely differing views both within and between member states. Also, Russia may be opposed to the expansion of the EU to members of the former Soviet bloc and may, at times, take actions that could negatively impact EU economic activity.
It is possible that the gap between rich and poor within the EU's member countries, and particularly among new members that have not met the requirements for joining the EMU may increase, and that realigning traditional alliances could alter trading relationships and potentially provoke divisive socioeconomic splits.
In the transition to the single economic system, significant political decisions will be made that may affect the market regulation, subsidization, and privatization across all industries, from agricultural products to telecommunications.
Economic. As economic conditions across member states may vary widely, there is continued concern about national-level support for the euro and the accompanying coordination of fiscal and wage policy among EMU member countries. Member countries must maintain tight control over inflation, public debt, and budget deficits in order to qualify for participation in the euro. These requirements severely limit EMU member countries' ability to implement monetary policy to address regional economic conditions.
The recent global financial crisis brought several small economies in Europe to the brink of bankruptcy and many other economies into recession and weakened the banking and financial sectors of many European countries. As a result, the governments of many European countries are now facing a serious economic crisis as high levels of public debt and substantial budget deficits hinder economic growth in the region and threaten the continued viability of the EMU. Due to these large public deficits, some European issuers have had difficulty accessing capital and may be dependent on emergency assistance from European governments and institutions to avoid defaulting on their outstanding debt obligations. The availability of such assistance, however, may be contingent on an issuer's implementation of certain reforms or reaching a required level of performance, which may increase the possibility of default. Such prospects have injected significant volatility into European markets, which may reduce the liquidity or value of a fund's investments in the region. Likewise, the high levels of public debt raise the possibility that certain European issuers may be forced to restructure their debt obligations, which could cause a fund to lose the value of its investments in any such issuer.
As European policy makers take unprecedented steps to respond to the ongoing economic crisis in the region, there is an increased risk that regulatory uncertainty could have a negative effect on the value of a fund's investments in the region. For example, the French parliament recently adopted a financial transactions tax that imposes a tax on, among other transactions, acquisitions of equities in listed companies that have their registered offices in France and that exceed a specified market capitalization. The European Commission has proposed plans for an EU-wide financial transactions tax to take effect in 2014, although it remains unclear whether such a tax will be agreed upon by EU member countries. Moreover, governments across the EMU are facing increasing opposition to certain crisis response measures. For example, efforts to reduce public spending in certain countries have been countered by large-scale protests. As a result, many governments in the region have collapsed or been voted out of office. Leaders in some of these countries have openly questioned the sustainability of the EMU, which raises the risk that certain member states will abandon the euro or that the euro may cease to exist as a single currency in its current form. Any such occurrence would likely have wide-ranging effects on global markets that are difficult to predict. However, these effects would likely have a negative impact on a fund's investments in the region.
Furthermore, the ongoing economic crisis has limited the prospect of short-term growth and economic recovery in the region, which raises the risk that Europe will fall into another recession. Economic challenges facing the region include high levels of public debt, significant rates of unemployment, aging populations, over-regulation of non-financial businesses, persistent trade deficits, rigid labor markets, and inability to access credit. Although certain of these challenges may weigh more heavily on some European economies than others, the economic integration of the region increases the likelihood that recession in one country may spread to others. Should Europe fall into another recession, the value of a fund's investments in the region may be affected.
Currency. Investing in euro-denominated (or other European currencies-denominated) securities entails risk of being exposed to a currency that may not fully reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the disparate European economies. In addition, many European countries rely heavily upon export-dependent businesses and any strength in the exchange rate between the euro and the U.S. dollar can have either a positive or a negative effect upon corporate profits and the performance of EU investments. Currencies have become more volatile, subjecting a fund's foreign investments to additional risks.
Nordic Countries. The Nordic countries relate to European integration in different ways. Norway and Iceland are outside the EU, although they are members of the European Economic Area. Denmark, Finland, and Sweden are all EU members, but only Finland has adopted the euro as its currency. Faced with stronger global competition, the Nordic countries - Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden - have had to scale down their historically generous welfare programs, resulting in drops in domestic demand and increased unemployment. Major industries in the region, such as forestry, agriculture, and oil, are heavily resource-dependent and face pressure as a result of high labor costs. Economic growth in many Nordic countries continues to be constrained by tight labor markets and adverse European and global economic conditions. Although certain Nordic countries have recently exhibited signs of economic growth, any such growth may be limited by the European crisis and the weakened global economy.
Eastern Europe. Investing in the securities of Eastern European issuers is highly speculative and involves risks not usually associated with investing in the more developed markets of Western Europe. Political and economic reforms are too recent to establish a definite trend away from centrally planned economies and state-owned industries. Investments in Eastern European countries may involve risks of nationalization, expropriation, and confiscatory taxation.
Many Eastern European countries continue to move towards market economies at different paces with appropriately different characteristics. Most Eastern European markets suffer from thin trading activity, dubious investor protections, and often a dearth of reliable corporate information. Information and transaction costs, differential taxes, and sometimes political or transfer risk give a comparative advantage to the domestic investor rather than the foreign investor. In addition, these markets are particularly sensitive to social, political, economic, and currency events in Western Europe and Russia and may suffer heavy losses as a result of their trading and investment links to these economies and currencies. Additionally, Russia may attempt to assert its influence in the region through economic or even military measures, as it did with Georgia in the summer of 2008.
In some of the countries of Eastern Europe, there is no stock exchange or formal market for securities. Such countries may also have government exchange controls, currencies with no recognizable market value relative to the established currencies of Western market economies, little or no experience in trading in securities, no accounting or financial reporting standards, a lack of banking and securities infrastructure to handle such trading and a legal tradition that does not recognize rights in private property. Credit and debt issues and other economic difficulties affecting Western Europe and its financial institutions can negatively affect Eastern European countries.
Eastern European economies may also be particularly susceptible to the international credit market due to their reliance on bank related inflows of foreign capital. The recent global financial crisis restricted international credit supplies and several Eastern European economies faced significant credit and economic crises. Although some Eastern European economies are expanding again, major challenges are still present as a result of their continued dependence on the Western European zone for credit and trade. Accordingly, the European crisis may present serious risks for Eastern European economies, which may have a negative effect on a fund's investments in the region.
Japan. Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, emphasis on education, and a comparatively small defense allocation have helped Japan advance with extraordinary speed to become one of the largest economic powers along with the U.S. and the EU. Despite its impressive history, investors face special risks when investing in Japan.
Economic. For three decades from the 1960s through the 1980s, Japan's overall real economic growth had been spectacular. However, growth slowed markedly in the 1990s and Japan's economy fell into a long recession. After a few years of mild recovery in the mid-2000s, the Japanese economy fell into another recession as a result of the recent global financial crisis.
While Japan experienced an increase in exports relative to recent years, the rate of export growth has since slowed and the rapid appreciation in the value of the yen has negatively impacted Japan's exports. This economic recession was likely compounded by Japan's massive government debt, the aging and shrinking of the population, an unstable financial sector, low domestic consumption, and certain corporate structural weaknesses, which remain some of the major long-term problems of the Japanese economy.
Overseas trade is important to Japan's economy and Japan's economic growth is significantly driven by its exports. Japan has few natural resources and must export to pay for its imports of these basic requirements. Meanwhile, Japan's aging and shrinking population increases the cost of the country's pension and public welfare system and lowers domestic demand, making Japan more dependent on exports to sustain its economy. Therefore, any developments that negatively affect Japan's exports could present risks to a fund's investments in Japan. For example, domestic or foreign trade sanctions or other protectionist measures could harm Japan's economy. Likewise, any escalation of tensions with China or South Korea over disputed territorial claims may adversely impact Japan's trading relationship with two of its largest trading partners. Furthermore, reduced demand for Japan's exports resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy could present additional risks to a fund's investments in Japan.
Japan's recovery from the recession has been affected by economic distress resulting from the earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck northeastern Japan in March 2011 causing major damage along the coast, including damage to nuclear power plants in the region. Following the earthquake, Japan's financial markets fluctuated dramatically. The government injected capital into the economy and proposed plans for massive spending on reconstruction efforts in disaster-affected areas in order to stimulate economic growth. The full extent of the natural disaster's impact on Japan's economy and foreign investment in Japan is difficult to estimate. The risks of natural disasters of varying degrees, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, and the resulting damage, continue to exist.
A pressing need to sustain Japan's economic recovery and improve its economic growth is the task of overhauling the nation's financial institutions. Banks, in particular, may have to reform themselves to become more competitive. Successful financial sector reform would contribute to Japan's economic recovery at home and would benefit other economies in Asia. Internal conflict over the proper way to reform the banking system continues to exist. Currently, Japanese banks are facing difficulties generating profits. Currency fluctuations may also significantly affect Japan's economy.
Asia Pacific Region (ex Japan). Many countries in the region have historically faced political uncertainty, corruption, military intervention, and social unrest. Examples include military threats on the Korean peninsula and along the Taiwan Strait, the ethnic, sectarian, and separatist violence found in Indonesia, and the nuclear arms threats between India and Pakistan. To the extent that such events continue in the future, they can be expected to have a negative effect on economic and securities market conditions in the region. In addition, the Asia Pacific geographic region has historically been prone to natural disasters. The occurrence of a natural disaster in the region could negatively impact the economy of any country in the region.
Economic. The economies of many countries in the region are heavily dependent on international trade and are accordingly affected by protective trade barriers and the economic conditions of their trading partners, principally, the U.S., Japan, China, and the European Union. The countries in this region are also heavily dependent on exports and are thus particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. High food, fuel and other commodities' prices, as well as volatile capital inflows, may pose challenges to countries in this region in the near future. The recent global financial crisis spread to the region, significantly lowering its exports and foreign investments in the region, which are driving forces of its economic growth. In addition, the economic crisis also significantly affected consumer confidence and local stock markets. Although the economies of many countries in the region have recently shown signs of recovery from the crisis, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. Furthermore, any such recovery may be limited or hindered by the reduced demand for exports and lack of available capital for investment resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy.
The Republic of Korea (South Korea). Investors should be aware that investing in South Korea involves risks not typically associated with investing in the U.S. securities markets. Although relations between North Korea and South Korea had begun to improve in the past few years, recent developments are troubling. As a result, these relations still remain tense and the possibility of military action between the two countries still exists.
Corporate and financial sector restructuring initiated by the Korean government, in conjunction with the IMF, after the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis can be expected to continue, but its full impact cannot be predicted yet. The Korean economy's reliance on international trade makes it highly sensitive to fluctuations in international commodity prices, currency exchange rates and government regulation, and vulnerable to downturns of the world economy. For example, the recent global financial crisis led to large capital outflows from South Korea, which caused the deterioration of the country's currency, domestic asset markets, and credit conditions. The South Korean economy began showing signs of recovery from this downturn in 2009. Although South Korea's initial recovery was faster than many other developed nations, South Korea's growth has since slowed and any continued recovery may be gradual as the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for South Korean exports. The South Korean economy's long-term challenges include a rapidly aging population, inflexible labor market, and overdependence on exports to drive economic growth.
China Region. As with all transition economies, China's ability to develop and sustain a credible legal, regulatory, monetary, and socioeconomic system could influence the course of outside investment. Hong Kong is closely tied to China, economically and through China's 1997 acquisition of the country as a Special Autonomous Region (SAR).
Hong Kong's success depends, in large part, on its ability to retain the legal, financial, and monetary systems that it currently has in place, which allows economic freedom and market expansion. Although many Taiwanese companies heavily invest in China, a state of hostility continues to exist between China and Taiwan, which Beijing has long deemed a part of China and has made a nationalist cause of recovering it. Taiwan's political stability and ability to sustain its economic growth could be significantly affected by its political and economic relationship with China.
The recent global financial crisis caused a marked slowdown in economic growth in the region, leading local governments, especially the Chinese government, to take unprecedented steps to shore up economic growth and prevent widespread unemployment. Although China has experienced economic growth in recent years, recent economic data shows that growth is slowing. Demand for Chinese exports by Western countries, including the U.S. and Europe, may weaken due to the effects of relatively limited economic growth in those countries resulting from the financial crisis in the United States and the crisis in Europe. However, the Chinese government continues to maintain certain of these measures and may introduce more in the future, including measures intended to increase growth and to contain social unrest, which is an increasing risk.
In addition to the risks inherent in investing in the emerging markets, the risks of investing in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan merit special consideration.
People's Republic of China. The government of the People's Republic of China is dominated by the one-party rule of the Chinese Communist Party.
China's economy has transitioned from a rigidly central-planned state-run economy to one that has been only partially reformed by more market-oriented policies. Although the Chinese government has implemented economic reform measures, reduced state ownership of companies and established better corporate governance practices, a substantial portion of productive assets in China are still owned by the Chinese government. The government continues to exercise significant control over regulating industrial development and, ultimately, control over China's economic growth through the allocation of resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies.
At times, China's economy has been subject to the risks of overheating, which leads to the government's attempt to slow down the pace of growth through administrative measures. The recent global financial crisis, however, changed this course for some time, as China's economic growth slowed, due, in part, to weakened demand for its exports and reduced foreign investments in the country. The Chinese economy then showed strong signs of recovery from this slowed growth, but a recovery of China's trading partners may also be necessary to sustain China's continued growth and measures to control growth may be adopted again. In the short term, China's economy faces problems of inflation and local government debt, which swelled in recent years as a result of certain economic stimulus policies. Furthermore, the economy faces the prospect of prolonged weakness in demand for Chinese exports as its major trading partners, such as the United States, Japan, and Europe, continue to experience economic uncertainty stemming from the global financial crisis and European crisis, among other things. Over the long term, China's aging infrastructure, worsening environmental conditions and rapidly widening urban and rural income gap, which all carry political and economic implications, are among the country's major challenges. In addition, tensions resulting from China's territorial claims in the region may present risks to diplomatic and trade relations with certain of China's regional trade partners. Any escalation of these tensions could further reduce international demand for Chinese goods and services, which could have a negative effect on a fund's investments in the securities of Chinese issuers.
As with all transition economies, China's ability to develop and sustain a credible legal, regulatory, monetary, and socioeconomic system could influence the course of outside investment. The Chinese legal system, in particular, constitutes a significant risk factor for investors. The Chinese legal system is based on statutes. Since the late 1970s, Chinese legislative bodies have promulgated laws and regulations dealing with various economic matters such as foreign investment, corporate organization and governance, commerce, taxation, and trade. However, these laws are relatively new and published court decisions based on these laws are limited and non-binding. The interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations are uncertain.
China continues to limit direct foreign investments generally in industries deemed important to national interests. Foreign investment in domestic securities are also subject to substantial restrictions. Some believe that China's currency is undervalued. Currency fluctuations could significantly affect China and its trading partners. China continues to exercise control over the value of its currency, rather than allowing the value of the currency to be determined by market forces. This type of currency regime may experience sudden and significant currency adjustments, which may adversely impact investment returns.
Hong Kong. In 1997, Great Britain handed over control of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China. Since that time, Hong Kong has been governed by a semi-constitution known as the Basic Law, which guarantees a high degree of autonomy in certain matters until 2047, while defense and foreign affairs are the responsibility of the central government in Beijing. The chief executive of Hong Kong is appointed by the Chinese government. However, Hong Kong is able to participate in international organizations and agreements and it continues to function as an international financial center, with no exchange controls, free convertibility of the Hong Kong dollar and free inward and outward movement of capital. The Basic Law also guarantees existing freedoms, including the freedom of speech, assembly, press, and religion, as well as the right to strike and travel. Business ownership, private property, the right of inheritance and foreign investment are also protected by law. By treaty, China has committed to preserve Hong Kong's autonomy until 2047. Nevertheless, if China were to exert its authority so as to alter the economic, political, or legal structures or the existing social policy of Hong Kong, investor and business confidence in Hong Kong could be negatively affected, which in turn could negatively affect markets and business performance.
The global financial crisis forced Hong Kong's economy into a recession. Recently, however, Hong Kong's economy has shown signs of recovery from this recession. This recovery can be attributed, in large part, to the combined efforts of both China and Hong Kong to shore up domestic economic growth. As these measures continue to take effect, their long-term impact on the growth of Hong Kong's economy is unpredictable. However, Hong Kong's recovery has raised concerns about possible overheating in certain sectors of its economy, such as its real estate market, which could limit Hong Kong's future growth. In addition, because of Hong Kong's heavy reliance on international trade and global financial markets, Hong Kong remains exposed to significant risks as a result of the European crisis and weakened global economy. The negative effects of the European downturn on the global economy could push Hong Kong into another recession. Likewise, due to Hong Kong's close political and economic ties with China, any economic stagnation on the mainland could have a negative impact on Hong Kong's economy.
Taiwan. For decades, a state of hostility has existed between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China. Beijing has long deemed Taiwan a part of the "one China" and has made a nationalist cause of recovering it. In the past, China has staged frequent military provocations off the coast of Taiwan and made threats of full-scale military action. Foreign trade has been the engine of rapid growth in Taiwan and has transformed the island into one of Asia's great exporting nations. As an export-oriented economy, Taiwan depends on an open world trade regime and remains vulnerable to downturns in the world economy. Taiwanese companies continue to compete mostly on price, producing generic products or branded merchandise on behalf of multinational companies. Accordingly, these businesses can be particularly vulnerable to currency volatility and increasing competition from neighboring lower-cost countries. Moreover, many Taiwanese companies are heavily invested in mainland China and other countries throughout Southeast Asia, making them susceptible to political events and economic crises in these parts of the region. Significantly, Taiwan and China recently entered into agreements covering banking, securities, and insurance. Closer economic links with the mainland may bring greater opportunities for the Taiwanese economy, but also poses new challenges. For example, foreign direct investment in China has resulted in Chinese import substitution away from Taiwan's exports and a restriction of potential job creation in Taiwan. As a result of the recent global financial crisis, the demand for exports decreased and Taiwan entered into a recession. Although Taiwan's economy has recently shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. In addition, the effects of the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for Taiwan's exports, which could force its economy into another recession.
India. The value of a fund's investments in Indian securities may be affected by, among other things, political developments, rapid changes in government regulation, state intervention in private enterprise, nationalization or expropriation of foreign assets, legal uncertainty, high rates of inflation or interest rates, currency volatility, and civil unrest. In addition, any escalation of tensions with Pakistan may have a negative impact on a fund's investments in India. Likewise, political, social and economic disruptions caused by domestic sectarian violence or terrorist attacks may also present risks to a fund's investments in India.
The Indian economy is heavily dependent on exports and is vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. Recently, the Indian economy began showing signs of recovery from the effects of the global financial crisis. However, this recovery may be limited by the European crisis and weakened global economy. In the event that India's economic recovery slows, a fund's investments in Indian securities may be harmed.
Furthermore, restrictions or controls applicable to foreign investment in the securities of issuers in India may also adversely affect a fund's investments within the country. The availability of financial instruments with exposure to Indian financial markets may be substantially limited by restrictions on foreign investors. Foreign investors are required to observe certain investment restrictions, including limits on shareholdings, which may impede a fund's ability to invest in certain issuers or to fully pursue its investment objective. These restrictions may also have the effect of reducing demand for, or limiting the liquidity of, such investments. There can be no assurance that the Indian government will not impose restrictions on foreign capital remittances abroad or otherwise modify the exchange control regime applicable to foreign investors in such a way that may adversely affect the ability of a fund to repatriate their income and capital.
Shares of many Indian issuers are held by a limited number of persons and financial institutions, which may limit the number of shares available for investment. In addition, further issuances of securities by Indian issuers in which a fund has invested could dilute the investments of existing shareholders and could adversely affect the market price of such securities. Sales of securities by such issuer's major shareholders may also significantly and adversely affect other shareholders. Moreover, a limited number of issuers represent a disproportionately large percentage of market capitalization and trading value in India.
Indonesia. Indonesia has restored financial stability and pursued sober fiscal policies since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, but many economic development problems remain, including high unemployment, a fragile banking sector, endemic corruption, inadequate infrastructure, a poor investment climate, inflationary pressures and unequal resource distribution among regions. These problems may limit the country's ability to contain the severe and negative impact of the recent global financial crisis on its economy. In addition, Indonesia continues to be at risk of ethnic, sectarian, and separatist violence. Furthermore, slow budgetary disbursements have created challenges for government programs related to infrastructure, secondary education, and certain social policies. Rises in global commodity prices may also present risks to Indonesia's growth potential. Keys to future growth remain internal reform, peaceful resolution of internal conflicts, bolstering the confidence of international and domestic investors, and strong global economic growth.
Thailand. Thailand has a well-developed infrastructure and a free-enterprise economy, which is welcoming to certain foreign investment. Increased consumption and investment spending and strong export industries continue to sustain economic growth. Moreover, Bangkok has pursued preferential trade agreements with a variety of partners in an effort to boost exports and maintain high growth, and in 2004 began negotiations on a free trade agreement with the U.S. However, weakening fiscal discipline, separatist violence in the south, the intervention by the military in civilian spheres, and continued political instability may cause additional risks for investments in Thailand. In addition, natural disasters may affect economic growth in the country. For example, in late 2011, historic floods devastated industrial areas north of Bangkok, which severely harmed Thailand's manufacturing sector and reduced the country's economic growth. Although the Thai economy may already be showing signs of recovery from this disaster, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as demand for Thai goods and services could decline due to the effects of the European sovereign debt crisis and weakened global economy.
Philippines. Because of its relatively low dependence on exports and high domestic rates of consumption, as well as substantial remittances received from large overseas populations, the Philippines was one of the few countries in Asia to navigate the recent global financial crisis without falling into recession. Although the economy of the Philippines has shown signs of growth in recent years, there can be no assurances that such growth will continue. Reduced demand for exports from the Philippines as a result of the European crisis and weakened global economy, as well as lower remittances from Filipino immigrants abroad, may negatively impact economic growth in the Philippines. Furthermore, certain weaknesses in the economy, such as inadequate infrastructure, high poverty rates, uneven wealth distribution, low fiscal revenues, endemic corruption, inconsistent regulation, unpredictable taxation, unreliable judicial processes, and the appropriation of foreign assets may present risks to a fund's investments in the Philippines. In addition, investments in the Philippines are subject to risks arising from political or social unrest, including threats from military coups, terrorist groups and separatist movements. Likewise, the Philippines is prone to natural disasters such as typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes and flooding, which may also present risks to a fund's investments in the Philippines.
Latin America. As an emerging market, Latin America historically suffered from social, political, and economic instability. For investors, this has meant additional risk caused by periods of regional conflict, political corruption, totalitarianism, protectionist measures, nationalization, hyperinflation, debt crises, sudden and large currency devaluation, and intervention by the military in civilian and economic spheres. For example, at times the government of Brazil has imposed a tax on foreign investment in Brazilian stocks and bonds, which may affect the value of a fund's investments in the securities of Brazilian issuers. However, in some Latin American countries, a move to sustainable democracy and a more mature and accountable political environment is under way. Domestic economies have been deregulated, privatization of state-owned companies is almost completed and foreign trade restrictions have been relaxed.
Nonetheless, to the extent that events such as those listed above continue in the future, they could reverse favorable trends toward market and economic reform, privatization, and removal of trade barriers, and result in significant disruption in securities markets in the region. In addition, recent favorable economic performance in much of the region has led to a concern regarding government overspending in certain Latin American countries. Investors in the region continue to face a number of potential risks. Certain Latin American countries depend heavily on exports to the U.S. and investments from a small number of countries. Accordingly, these countries may be sensitive to fluctuations in demand, exchange rates and changes in market conditions associated with those countries. The economic growth of most Latin American countries is highly dependent on commodity exports and the economies of certain Latin American countries, particularly Mexico and Venezuela, are highly dependent on oil exports. As a result, these economies are particularly susceptible to fluctuations in the price of oil and other commodities and currency fluctuations. The recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for oil and other commodities and, as a result, Latin American countries faced significant economic difficulties that led certain countries into recession. If global economic conditions worsen, prices for Latin American commodities may experience increased volatility and demand may continue to decrease. Although certain of these countries have recently shown signs of recovery, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. In addition, prolonged economic difficulties may have negative effects on the transition to a more stable democracy in some Latin American countries. In certain countries, political risk, including nationalization risk, is high.
A number of Latin American countries are among the largest debtors of developing countries and have a long history of reliance on foreign debt and default. The majority of the region's economies have become highly dependent upon foreign credit and loans from external sources to fuel their state-sponsored economic plans. Historically, government profligacy and ill-conceived plans for modernization have exhausted these resources with little benefit accruing to the economy. Most countries have been forced to restructure their loans or risk default on their debt obligations. In addition, interest on the debt is subject to market conditions and may reach levels that would impair economic activity and create a difficult and costly environment for borrowers. Accordingly, these governments may be forced to reschedule or freeze their debt repayment, which could negatively affect local markets. Because of their dependence on foreign credit and loans, a number of Latin American economies faced significant economic difficulties and some economies fell into recession as the recent global financial crisis tightened international credit supplies. While the region has recently shown signs of economic improvement, recovery from past economic downturns in Latin America has historically been slow, and any such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. The European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for exports from Latin America and limit the availability of foreign credit for some countries in the region. As a result, a fund's investments in Latin American securities could be harmed if economic recovery in the region is limited.
Russia. Investing in Russian securities is highly speculative and involves significant risks and special considerations not typically associated with investing in the securities markets of the U.S. and most other developed countries.
Political. Over the past century, Russia has experienced political and economic turbulence and has endured decades of communist rule under which tens of millions of its citizens were collectivized into state agricultural and industrial enterprises. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's government has been faced with the daunting task of stabilizing its domestic economy, while transforming it into a modern and efficient structure able to compete in international markets and respond to the needs of its citizens. However, to date, many of the country's economic reform initiatives have floundered as the proceeds of IMF and other economic assistance have been squandered or stolen. In this environment, there is always the risk that the nation's government will abandon the current program of economic and political reform and replace it with radically different political and economic policies that would be detrimental to the interests of foreign and private investors.
In the last few years, as significant income from oil and commodity exports has boosted Russia's economy, Russia's government has begun to make bolder steps to re-assert its regional geopolitical influence (including military steps). Such steps may increase tensions between Russia and its neighbors and Western countries and may negatively affect economic growth.
Economic. Many of Russia's businesses have failed to mobilize the available factors of production because the country's privatization program virtually ensured the predominance of the old management teams that are largely non-market-oriented in their management approach. Poor accounting standards, inept management, pervasive corruption, insider trading and crime, and inadequate regulatory protection for the rights of investors all pose a significant risk, particularly to foreign investors. In addition, there is the risk that the Russian tax system will not be reformed to prevent inconsistent, retroactive, and/or exorbitant taxation, or, in the alternative, the risk that a reformed tax system may result in the inconsistent and unpredictable enforcement of the new tax laws.
Compared to most national stock markets, the Russian securities market suffers from a variety of problems not encountered in more developed markets. There is little long-term historical data on the Russian securities market because it is relatively new and a substantial proportion of securities transactions in Russia are privately negotiated outside of stock exchanges. The inexperience of the Russian securities market and the limited volume of trading in securities in the market may make obtaining accurate prices on portfolio securities from independent sources more difficult than in more developed markets. Additionally, there is little solid corporate information available to investors. As a result, it may be difficult to assess the value or prospects of an investment in Russian companies.
Because of the recent formation of the Russian securities market as well as the underdeveloped state of the banking and telecommunications systems, settlement, clearing and registration of securities transactions are subject to significant risks. Ownership of shares (except where shares are held through depositories that meet the requirements of the 1940 Act) is defined according to entries in the company's share register and normally evidenced by extracts from the register or by formal share certificates. However, these services are carried out by the companies themselves or by registrars located throughout Russia. These registrars are not necessarily subject to effective state supervision nor are they licensed with any governmental entity and it is possible for a fund to lose its registration through fraud, negligence, or even mere oversight. While a fund will endeavor to ensure that its interest continues to be appropriately recorded either itself or through a custodian or other agent inspecting the share register and by obtaining extracts of share registers through regular confirmations, these extracts have no legal enforceability and it is possible that subsequent illegal amendment or other fraudulent act may deprive a fund of its ownership rights or improperly dilute its interests. In addition, while applicable Russian regulations impose liability on registrars for losses resulting from their errors, it may be difficult for a fund to enforce any rights it may have against the registrar or issuer of the securities in the event of loss of share registration. Furthermore, significant delays or problems may occur in registering the transfer of securities, which could cause a fund to incur losses due to a counterparty's failure to pay for securities the fund has delivered or the fund's inability to complete its contractual obligations because of theft or other reasons. A recently enacted law authorizes the establishment of a centralized securities depository (CSD), which, in effect, will become the exclusive settlement organization for publicly traded Russian companies and investment funds in Russia. Once the CSD is fully functional, it should enhance the efficiency and transparency of the Russian securities market.
The Russian economy is heavily dependent upon the export of a range of commodities including most industrial metals, forestry products, oil, and gas. Accordingly, it is strongly affected by international commodity prices and is particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. As the recent global financial crisis caused price volatility in commodities, especially oil, many sectors in the Russian economy fell into turmoil, pushing the whole economy into recession. In addition, prior to the global financial crisis, Russia's economic policy encouraged excessive foreign currency borrowing as high oil prices increased investor appetite for Russian financial assets. As a result of this credit boom, Russia reached alarming debt levels and suffered from the effects of tight credit markets. Although the country is still plagued by high debt levels, the Russian economy has recently shown signs of recovery from the recession. However, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as Russia continues to face significant economic challenges. In the near term, the fallout from the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for Russian exports such as oil and gas, which could limit Russia's economic recovery. Over the long-term, Russia faces challenges including a shrinking workforce, a high level of corruption, and difficulty in accessing capital for smaller, non-energy companies and poor infrastructure in need of large investments.
Currency. Foreign investors also face a high degree of currency risk when investing in Russian securities and a lack of available currency hedging instruments. In a surprise move in August 1998, Russia devalued the ruble, defaulted on short-term domestic bonds, and imposed a moratorium on the repayment of its international debt and the restructuring of the repayment terms. These actions have negatively affected Russian borrowers' ability to access international capital markets and have had a damaging impact on the Russian economy. In light of these and other government actions, foreign investors could face the possibility of further devaluations. In addition, there is the risk that the government may impose capital controls on foreign portfolio investments in the event of extreme financial or political crisis. Such capital controls could prevent the sale of a portfolio of foreign assets and the repatriation of investment income and capital. Such risks have led to heightened scrutiny of Russian liquidity conditions, which in turn creates a heightened risk of the repatriation of ruble assets by nervous foreign investors. The recent economic turmoil in Russia caused the Russian ruble to depreciate as unemployment levels increased and global demand for oil exports decreased. As the global economy faces another economic crisis, the Russian central bank may need to manage bank liquidity carefully to avoid undue pressures on Russia's banks and other financial institutions and the ruble.
The Middle East and Africa. Investing in Middle Eastern and African securities is highly speculative and involves significant risks and special considerations not typically associated with investing in the securities markets of the U.S. and most other developed countries.
Political. Many Middle Eastern and African countries historically have suffered from political instability. Despite a growing trend towards democratization, especially in Africa, significant political risks continue to affect some Middle Eastern and African countries. These risks may include substantial government control over the private sector, corrupt leaders, civil unrest, suppression of opposition parties that can lead to further dissidence and militancy, fixed elections, terrorism, coups, and war. Recently, several countries in the Middle East and North Africa have experienced pro-democracy movements that resulted in swift regime changes. In some cases, these movements have led to armed conflict involving local factions, regional allies or international forces. These changes, in the short term, have affected the status and speed of economic reforms in the region. Because many Middle East and African nations have a history of dictatorship, military intervention, and corruption, there can be no guarantee that recent movements toward a more democratic process will continue. Therefore, the long-term effects of the ongoing regime changes are largely unpredictable. In addition, there is an increasing risk that historical animosities, border disputes, or defense concerns may lead to further armed conflict in the region. In all regions, if such developments were to occur, it could have a negative effect on economic growth and reverse favorable trends toward economic and market reform, privatization, and the removal of trade barriers. Such developments could also result in significant disruptions in securities markets, which may have wider consequences for the global economy.
Economic. Middle Eastern and African countries historically have suffered from economic instability. Underdeveloped infrastructure, high unemployment rates, a comparatively unskilled labor force, and inconsistent access to capital have contributed to economic instability in the region. Furthermore, certain Middle Eastern and African markets may face a higher concentration of market capitalization, greater illiquidity and greater price volatility than that found in more developed markets of Western Europe or the U.S. Additionally, certain countries in the region have a history of nationalizing or expropriating foreign assets, which could cause a fund to lose the value of its investments in those countries. Despite a growing trend towards economic diversification, many Middle Eastern and African economies remain heavily dependent upon a limited range of commodities. These include gold, silver, copper, cocoa, diamonds, natural gas and petroleum. These economies are greatly affected by international commodity prices and are particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. As the recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for oil, gas, and other commodities, some countries in the region faced significant economic difficulties and many countries have been forced to scale down their infrastructure development and the size of their public welfare systems, which could have long-term economic, social, and political implications. Although certain economies in Africa and the Middle East have recently shown signs of recovery from the recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for exports from the region.
The largest economy in Africa is South Africa. The country has a two-tiered, developing economy with one tier similar to that of a developed country and the second tier having only the most basic infrastructure. High interest rates, power shortages, and weakening commodities prices, along with the recent economic crisis, caused South Africa to enter a recession in 2009 for the first time in 18 years. The South African Government, both before and during the recession, implemented policies designed to reduce trade and investment restrictions and privatize certain industries. However, ethnic and civil conflicts, the HIV health crisis, uncertainty surrounding government policy, and political instability have led to uneven wealth distribution within the country and may cause additional risks for investments in South Africa. These problems likely compounded the economic difficulties that South Africa faced as the negative effects of the global financial crisis spread to the country. Although the South African economy has recently shown signs of recovery, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual as political, social, and labor unrest could affect the South African economy. In addition, reduced demand for South African exports due to the European crisis and weakened global economy may limit any such recovery.
Currency. Certain Middle Eastern and African countries have currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar or euro, rather than at levels determined by market forces. This type of currency regime may experience sudden and significant currency adjustments, which may adversely impact investment returns.
To the extent that Strategic Advisers grants investment management authority over an allocated portion of the fund's assets to a sub-adviser (see the section entitled "Management Contract"), that sub-adviser is authorized to provide the services described in the respective sub-advisory agreement, and in accordance with the policies described in this section.
Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities are placed on behalf of the fund by Strategic Advisers (either directly or through its affiliates) or a sub-adviser, pursuant to authority contained in the management contract and the respective sub-advisory agreement.
Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
<R>The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in affiliated funds, but it may incur such costs when it invests in non-affiliated funds and when it invests directly in other types of securities, including ETFs.</R>
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review Strategic Advisers' and its affiliates' and each sub-adviser's performance of their respective responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
Strategic Advisers.
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Strategic Advisers, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Strategic Advisers or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.
Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.
Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Strategic Advisers or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services Strategic Advisers or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Strategic Advisers' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Strategic Advisers or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.</R>
Research Contracts. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Strategic Advisers or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) who have entered into arrangements with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
<R>Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), with whom they are under common control, provided Strategic Advisers or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade-execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.</R>
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Strategic Advisers to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
<R> Causeway Capital Management LLC (Causeway). </R>
<R> In executing fund transactions with brokers and dealers, Causeway seeks to obtain the best available price in the best available market so that the fund's total cost is or proceeds are the most favorable under the circumstances, taking into account all relevant factors, including, the size and nature of an order, the difficulty of execution, and the full range and quality of a broker-dealer's services, including among other things:</R>
Causeway does not adhere to any rigid formulas in selecting broker-dealers, but will weigh a combination of some or all of the preceding criteria. The determinative factor is not the lowest possible commission cost, but whether the transaction represents the best qualitative execution for the fund and Causeway's other clients. Causeway's traders monitor prices by comparing fills to the stock's volume-weighted average price ("VWAP") for the trading day. Portfolio managers and research analysts assess brokers based on research services and communicate research rankings to the Trading Desk. Portfolio managers and traders receive monthly and annual reports listing brokers and commissions by country, monitor the amount of commissions allocated among broker-dealers and seek to allocate transactions to broker-dealers who provide superior execution and research services. Causeway also uses a third party service provider to assist the firm in assessing best execution.
Causeway may consider proprietary or third party brokerage and research services provided by broker-dealers as a factor in their selection. Causeway may effect securities transactions that cause the fund to pay an amount of commission in excess of the amount of commission another broker-dealer would have charged; provided, that Causeway determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of brokerage and research services provided by the broker-dealer used by Causeway, viewed in terms of either the specific transaction or Causeway's overall responsibilities to the fund and other accounts for which it exercises investment discretion.
To the extent research services may be a factor in selecting broker-dealers, such services may be in written form or through direct contact with individuals and may include information about securities, companies, industries, markets, economics, the valuation of investments and portfolio strategy. Research may be in the form of research reports, electronic market data, computer and technical market analyses, and access to research analysts, corporate management personnel, and industry experts. Brokerage and research services furnished by broker-dealers may be used in servicing all Causeway's accounts and not all such services may be used in connection with the fund or any other particular account of Causeway which paid commissions to the broker-dealer providing such services.
Pursuant to SEC interpretative guidance, Causeway uses commission sharing arrangements ("CSAs") with certain brokers. These CSA brokers execute trades and credit soft dollars to pools from which Causeway directs payments to the CSA brokers, third-party brokers, and independent research providers based on commission targets. The use of CSAs is intended to assist Causeway in providing credits to brokers who, in its judgment, provide the best access to analysts and management, and to independent research providers, while using reliable execution brokers which Causeway believes will benefit Causeway's accounts, including the fund.
Causeway may aggregate or "block" purchase and sale orders - including IPOs and new issues - to seek the efficiencies that may be available for larger transactions when it determines that investment decisions are appropriate for each participating account and it believes that aggregation is consistent with its duty to seek best execution for its clients. Prior to placing the order, Causeway computes the allocation it intends to make among participating client accounts. When aggregating orders, participating clients receive the average share price for all the transactions in that security for the aggregated order on a given business day, with transaction costs shared pro rata based on each client's participation.
If the aggregated order is entirely filled, Causeway will allocate the securities among clients in accordance with its previous allocation computation. Securities purchased or sold in an aggregated order that is not completely filled on a trading day are allocated pro rata, when possible, to the participating client accounts in proportion to the size of the order placed for each account. Causeway may, however, increase or decrease the amount of securities allocated to each account if necessary due to cash constraints or to avoid holding odd-lot or small numbers of shares for particular clients. Additionally, if Causeway is unable to fully execute an aggregated order and Causeway determines that it would be impractical to allocate a small number of securities among the accounts participating in the transaction on a pro rata basis, Causeway may allocate such securities in a manner determined in good faith to be a fair allocation.
<R> Massachusetts Financial Services Company (MFS). </R>
<R> Specific decisions to purchase or sell securities for the fund are made by persons affiliated with MFS. Any such person may serve other clients of MFS or any subsidiary of MFS in a similar capacity.</R>
MFS places all fund orders for the purchase or sale of securities with the primary objective of seeking to obtain the best price and execution from responsible broker/dealers at competitive rates. MFS seeks to deal with broker/dealers that can meet a high standard of quality regarding execution services. MFS may also place value on a broker/dealer's ability to provide useful research assistance. MFS takes into account all factors it deems relevant, including by way of illustration: price; the size of the transaction; the nature of the market of the security; the amount of the commission; the timing and impact of the transaction taking into account market prices and trends; the reputation, experience and financial stability of the broker/dealer involved; the willingness of the broker/dealer to commit capital; the need for anonymity in the market; and the quality of services rendered by the broker/dealer in other transactions, including the quality of the broker/dealer's research.
<R>In certain circumstances, such as a buy in for failure to deliver, MFS is not able to select the broker/dealer who will transact to cover the failure. For example, if the fund sells a security short and is unable to deliver the securities sold short the broker/dealer through whom the fund sold short must deliver securities purchased for cash, i.e., effect a buy-in, unless it knows that the fund either is in the process of forwarding the securities to the broker/dealer or will do so as soon as possible without undue inconvenience or expense. Similarly, there can also be a failure to deliver in a long transaction and a resulting buy-in by the broker/dealer through whom the securities were sold. If the broker/dealer effects a buy-in, MFS will be unable to control the trading techniques, methods, venues or any other aspect of the trade used by the broker/dealer.</R>
Commission rates vary depending upon trading techniques, methods, venues and broker/dealers selected as well as the market(s) in which the security is traded and its relative liquidity. As noted above, MFS may utilize numerous broker/dealers and trading venues and strategies in order to seek the best execution for client transactions. MFS periodically and systematically reviews the performance of the broker/dealers that execute fund transactions, including the commission rates paid to broker/dealers by considering the value and quality of brokerage and research services provided. The quality of a broker/dealer's services is measured by analyzing various factors that could affect the execution of trades. These factors include the ability to execute trades with a minimum of market impact, the speed and efficiency of executions, electronic trading capabilities, adequacy of capital, research provided to the adviser, and accommodation of the adviser's special needs. MFS may employ outside vendors to provide reports on the quality of broker/dealer executions.
In the case of securities traded in the over-the-counter market, portfolio transactions may be effected either on an agency basis, which involves the payment of negotiated brokerage commissions to the broker/dealer, including electronic communication networks, or on a principal basis at net prices without commissions, but which include compensation to the broker/dealer in the form of a mark-up or mark-down, depending on where MFS believes best execution is available. In the case of securities purchased from underwriters, the cost of such securities generally includes a fixed underwriting commission or concession. From time to time, soliciting dealer fees are available to MFS on tender or exchange offers. Such soliciting or dealer fees are, in effect, recaptured by the fund.
In allocating brokerage, MFS may take into consideration the receipt of research and brokerage services, consistent with its obligation to seek best price and execution for fund transactions. As permitted by Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended ("Section 28(e)"), MFS may cause the fund to pay a broker/dealer which provides "brokerage and research services" (as defined by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) to MFS an amount of commission for effecting a securities transaction for the fund in excess of the amount other broker/dealers would have charged for the transaction if MFS determines in good faith that the greater commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by the effecting broker/dealer viewed in terms of either a particular transaction or MFS' overall responsibilities to the fund and its other clients. "Commissions," as interpreted by the SEC, include fees paid to brokers for trades conducted on an agency basis, and certain mark-ups, markdowns, commission equivalents and other fees received by dealers in riskless principal transactions placed in the NASDAQ market.
The term "brokerage and research services" includes advice as to the value of securities, the advisability of investing in, purchasing or selling securities, and the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities; furnishing analyses and reports concerning issuers, industries, securities, economic factors and trends, portfolio strategy, and the performance of accounts; and effecting securities transactions and performing functions incidental thereto (such as clearance and settlement) or required in connection therewith by applicable rules. Such services ("Research") includes statistical, research, and other factual information or services such as: investment research reports; access to analysts; execution systems and trading analytics; reports or databases containing corporate, fundamental, and technical analyses; portfolio modeling strategies; and economic research services, such as publications, chart services, and advice from economists concerning macroeconomics information, and analytical investment information about particular corporations. Such brokerage and research services are provided to MFS for no consideration other than brokerage or underwriting commissions. In determining whether a service or product qualifies as "brokerage and research services," MFS evaluates whether the service or product provides lawful and appropriate assistance to MFS in carrying out its investment decision-making responsibilities. It is often not possible to place a dollar value on the brokerage and research services MFS receives from brokers. The determination and evaluation of the reasonableness of the brokerage commissions paid in connection with portfolio transactions is based primarily on the professional opinions of the persons responsible for the placement and review of such transactions.
MFS has entered into Client Commission Agreements with broker/dealers that are involved from time to time in executing, clearing or settling securities transactions on behalf of the fund ("Executing Brokers") which provide for the Executing Brokers to pay a portion of the Commissions paid by the fund for securities transactions ("Pooled Commissions") to providers of Research ("Research Providers"). Such Research Providers produce Research for the benefit of MFS.
Because a Research Provider may play no role in executing client securities transactions, any Research prepared by that Research Provider may constitute third party research. MFS may use brokerage commissions, including Pooled Commissions, from the fund's portfolio transactions to acquire Research, subject to the procedures and limitations described in this discussion.
<R>From time to time, MFS prepares a list of Research Providers that have been deemed by MFS to provide valuable Research ("Research Firms") as determined periodically by MFS' investment staff ("Research Votes"). Executing Brokers are eligible to be included in the list of Research Firms. All trades with Research Firms will be effected in accordance with MFS' obligation to seek best execution for its client accounts. MFS uses a Research Vote as a guide for allocating Pooled Commissions. Compensation for Research may also be made pursuant to commissions paid on trades ("Trade Commissions") executed by a Research Provider who is registered as a broker/dealer ("Broker Provider"). Under normal circumstances, Executing Brokers are compensated for Research solely through Trade Commissions. To the extent that payments for Research to a Broker Provider other than an Executing Broker are made pursuant to Trade Commissions, MFS will reduce the amount of Pooled Commissions to be paid to that Broker Provider for its Research. However, MFS will reduce the amount of Pooled Commissions to be paid to that Broker Provider by less than the full amount of Trade Commissions paid to that Broker Provider. Research Votes are also used as a guide for allocating cash payments, if any, made by MFS from its own resources and Pooled Commissions to Research Firms that are not Broker Providers. Neither MFS nor the fund have an obligation to any Research Firm if the amount of Trade Commissions and Pooled Commissions paid to the Research Firm is less than the applicable non-binding target. MFS reserves the right to pay cash to the Research Firm from its own resources in an amount MFS determines in its discretion.</R>
If MFS determines that any service or product has a mixed use (i.e., it also serves functions that do not assist the investment decision-making or trading process), MFS may allocate the costs of such service or product accordingly in its reasonable discretion. MFS will allocate Trade Commissions and Pooled Commissions to Research Firms only for the portion of the service or product that MFS determines assists it in the investment decision-making or trading process and will pay for the remaining value of the product or service in cash.
In effecting portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund and MFS' other clients, MFS from time to time may instruct the broker/dealer that executes a transaction to allocate, or "step out," a portion of such transaction to another broker/dealer. The broker/dealer to which MFS has "stepped out" would then settle and complete the designated portion of the transaction, and the executing broker/dealer would settle and complete the remaining portion of the transaction that has not been "stepped out." Each broker/dealer may receive a commission or brokerage fee with respect to that portion of the transaction that it settles and completes.
The advisory fee paid by the fund to MFS is not reduced as a consequence of MFS' receipt of Research. To the extent the fund's portfolio transactions are used to obtain Research, the brokerage commissions paid by the fund might exceed those that might otherwise be paid for execution only. The Research received may be useful and of value to MFS or its affiliates in serving both the fund and other clients of MFS or its affiliates; accordingly, not all of the Research provided by broker/dealers through which the fund effects securities transactions may be used by MFS in connection with the fund. MFS, through the use of the Research, avoids the additional expenses that it would incur if it attempted to develop comparable information through its own staff or if it purchased such Research with its own resources.
In certain instances there are securities that are suitable for the fund's portfolio as well as for one or more of the other clients of MFS or of any subsidiary of MFS (or that MFS believes should no longer be held by the fund's portfolio or by other clients of MFS or any subsidiary of MFS). It is possible that a particular security is bought or sold for only one client even though it might be held by, or bought or sold for, other clients. Likewise, a particular security may be bought for one or more clients when one or more other clients are selling that same security. Some simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several clients receive investment advice from the same investment adviser, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objectives of more than one client. Transactions for each client are generally effected independently unless MFS determines to purchase or sell the same securities for several clients at approximately the same time. MFS may, but is not required to, aggregate together purchases and sales for several clients and will allocate the trades in a fair and equitable manner, across participating clients. MFS has adopted policies that are reasonably designed to ensure that when two or more clients are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, the securities are allocated among clients in a manner believed by MFS to be fair and equitable to each. With respect to proprietary accounts of MFS or its subsidiaries, allocations otherwise than in the context of equity initial public offerings, equity limited offerings or fixed income new issues will be made only to accounts that have been established and seeded with not more than $25 million: (1) in a commingled vehicle advised by MFS or an affiliate that is available for purchase by unaffiliated third parties ("New MFS Fund"); or (2) for the purpose of establishing a performance record to enable MFS or the subsidiary to offer the account's investment style to unaffiliated third parties or if the account is being offered to the general public. Other proprietary accounts will not participate in the investment opportunity until after it has been allocated to other accounts. Proprietary accounts include other accounts (1) owned beneficially solely by MFS or its subsidiaries; (2) in which the officers and employees of MFS or trustees/managers of any registered investment companies for which MFS serves as the primary investment advisor are the principal owners; or (3) invested in an investment strategy that is 25% or more owned by MFS or any of its direct or indirect subsidiaries, its officers and employees and that MFS has determined in its discretion to be an alternative account. With respect to allocations of equity initial public offerings, equity limited offerings or fixed income new issues, these policies prohibit allocations to: (1) Private Portfolio Management accounts; (2) accounts principally owned by officers or employees of MFS or its subsidiaries or trustees/managers of any registered investment companies for which MFS serves as the primary investment advisor and which are not being offered to unaffiliated third parties; or (3) a proprietary account (other than a New MFS Fund). However, these policies do not prohibit allocations to funds or other accounts owned beneficially by Sun Life of Canada (U.S.) Financial Services Holdings, Inc., or Sun Life Financial Inc., or their affiliates other than MFS and its direct and indirect subsidiaries.
It is recognized that in some cases this system could have a detrimental effect on the price or availability of a security as far as the fund is concerned.
Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis).
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Pyramis or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Pyramis, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Pyramis or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Pyramis' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Pyramis or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and character of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Pyramis and/or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for lessening or avoiding market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Pyramis and/or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Pyramis and/or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Pyramis and/or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Pyramis or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker is generally the same as the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Pyramis and/or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Pyramis) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Pyramis or its affiliates.
Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. Pyramis or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Pyramis' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise.
Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Pyramis or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in their investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Pyramis or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefits to Pyramis. Pyramis' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these products or services with their own resources. However, the trading desks of Pyramis and its affiliates are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services that Pyramis or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Pyramis or its affiliates or might not have an explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Pyramis or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Pyramis' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Pyramis or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Pyramis or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Pyramis' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Pyramis or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Pyramis or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Pyramis, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Pyramis or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Pyramis or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Pyramis or its affiliates.</R>
<R> Research Contracts. Pyramis or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Pyramis or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Pyramis or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Pyramis or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Pyramis or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Pyramis' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately ( e.g., with hard dollars), rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Pyramis' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.</R>
Commission Recapture
Pyramis or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Pyramis) who have entered into arrangements with Pyramis or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
Pyramis or its affiliates may be authorized to place portfolio transactions with Fidelity Capital Markets (FCM), a division of NFS, an affiliated broker-dealer of Pyramis and its affiliates, or other broker-dealers with whom they are under common control, and use CrossStream, an alternative trading system operated by NFS, if they reasonably believe the quality of the transaction is comparable to what it would be with other qualified broker-dealers. With respect to trades that are executed by Pyramis' affiliates, Pyramis and such affiliate seek to ensure that the trade execution obtained is comparable to that of unaffiliated brokers and that the continued use of such affiliate is appropriate. In addition, Pyramis or its affiliates may place trades with broker-dealers that use NFS as a clearing agent.
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Securities Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Pyramis or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers or may engage a third party to do so.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Pyramis or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Pyramis or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Pyramis to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
<R> William Blair & Company, LLC (William Blair). </R>
<R> Decisions on portfolio transactions (including the decision to buy or sell, the appropriate price, allocation of brokerage, use of a broker as agent or dealer as principal and negotiation of commissions) normally are made by William Blair. In purchasing and selling portfolio securities, William Blair seeks to obtain the most favorable overall result, taking into account the net price, the method of execution and research services provided by the broker. Such research services include economic forecasts and analytical, narrative and statistical reports on industries and companies for consideration by William Blair's other clients. Portfolio transactions may increase or decrease the return of a fund depending upon William Blair's ability to correctly time and execute such transactions. </R>
Selection of a broker for a particular portfolio transaction depends on many factors, some of which are subjective and that include the net price, confidentiality, reliability, integrity, size and nature of the transaction and the market in which it is to occur and any research or other services that the broker has provided. William Blair does not consider the sale of fund shares in selecting brokers. Transactions in over-the-counter securities are generally executed as principal trades with primary market makers, except where it is believed that a better combination of price and execution could otherwise be obtained. William Blair determines the overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions and of premiums and discounts on principal transactions (which do not involve commissions) by review of comparable trades for William Blair's other clients and in the market generally. If more than one broker is believed to be equally qualified to effect a portfolio transaction, William Blair may assign the transaction to a broker that has furnished research services, but William Blair has no agreement, formula or policy as to allocation of brokerage.
The fund may pay to brokers that provide research services to William Blair a commission higher than another broker might have charged if it is determined that the commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services that are provided, viewed in terms of either the particular transaction or William Blair's overall responsibility to its advisory accounts. The extent to which such commissions exceed commissions solely for execution cannot be determined, but such research services, which are involved in portfolio transactions for the fund and for William Blair's other advisory accounts, can be of benefit to both the fund and such other accounts. The value of research services that are provided by brokers who handle portfolio transactions for the fund cannot be precisely determined and such services are supplemental to William Blair's own efforts, which are undiminished thereby. William Blair does not believe that its expenses are reduced by reason of such services, which benefit the fund and William Blair's other clients. William Blair receives research products and services from broker/dealers and third parties in the form of written reports on individual companies and industries of particular interest to William Blair, general economic conditions, pertinent federal and state legislative developments and changes in accounting practices; direct access by telephone or meetings with leading research analysts throughout the financial community, corporate management personnel and industry experts; comparative performance and evaluation and technical measurement services for issuers, industries and the market as a whole; access to and monitoring of equity valuation models; and services from recognized experts on investment matters of particular interest to William Blair.
Commissions Paid
A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
<R>For the fiscal period May 2, 2012 to February 28, 2013, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 42% (annualized). Variations in turnover rate may be due to a fluctuating volume of shareholder purchase and redemption orders, market conditions, and/or changes in Strategic Advisers' investment outlook.</R>
<R>During the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013, the fund held securities issued by one or more of its regular brokers or dealers or a parent company of its regular brokers or dealers. The following table shows the aggregate value of the securities of the regular broker or dealer or parent company held by the fund as of the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013.</R>
<R>The following table shows the total amount of brokerage commissions paid by the fund, comprising commissions paid on securities and/or futures transactions, as applicable, for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013. The total amount of brokerage commissions paid is stated as a dollar amount and a percentage of the fund's average net assets.</R>
<R>Fiscal Year
|
|
Dollar
|
Percentage of
|
<R>2013 A |
|
$ 68,491 |
0.16% B</R> |
<R> A From May 2, 2012.</R>
<R> B Annualized.</R>
<R>During the fiscal period May 2, 2012 to February 28, 2013, the fund paid $58,759 in brokerage commissions to firms that may have provided research or brokerage services involving approximately $61,027,871 of transactions.</R>
The class's NAV is the value of a single share. The NAV of the class is computed by adding the class's pro rata share of the value of the fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting the class's pro rata share of the fund's liabilities, subtracting the liabilities allocated to the class, and dividing the result by the number of shares of that class that are outstanding.
The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for pricing, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers has established the Strategic Advisers Fair Value Committee (Strategic Advisers Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities. The Strategic Advisers Committee may rely on information and recommendations provided by affiliates of Strategic Advisers in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, including the fair valuation of securities.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) held by the fund are valued at their respective NAVs. If an underlying fund's NAV is unavailable, shares of that underlying fund will be fair valued in good faith by the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by the fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity non-money market fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
<R>Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques.</R>
Short-term securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less for which market quotations and information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates current value.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
<R>Prices described above are obtained from pricing services that have been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available and the funds may use more than one of these services. The funds may also discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time. Strategic Advisers engages in oversight activities with respect to the fund's pricing services, which includes, among other things, testing the prices provided by pricing services prior to calculation of a fund's NAV, conducting periodic due diligence meetings, and periodically reviewing the methodologies and inputs used by these services.</R>
<R>Foreign securities and instruments are valued in their local currency following the methodologies described above. Foreign securities, instruments and currencies are translated to U.S. dollars, based on foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by a pricing service as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which uses a proprietary model to determine the exchange rate. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at an interpolated rate based on days to maturity between the closest preceding and subsequent settlement period reported by the third party pricing service.</R>
The Board of Trustees of the underlying Fidelity funds has ultimate responsibility for pricing portfolio securities and assets held by those funds, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee and the Strategic Advisers Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and ADRs, market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. This technique involves initially valuing an instrument at its cost as adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount rather than its current market value. The amortized cost value of an instrument may be higher or lower than the price a money market fund would receive if it sold the instrument.
At such intervals as they deem appropriate, the Trustees of an underlying Fidelity money market fund consider the extent to which NAV calculated using market valuations would deviate from the $1.00 per share calculated using amortized cost valuation. If the Trustees believe that a deviation from a money market fund's amortized cost per share may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Trustees have agreed to take such corrective action, if any, as they deem appropriate to eliminate or reduce, to the extent reasonably practicable, the dilution or unfair results. Such corrective action could include selling portfolio instruments prior to maturity to realize capital gains or losses or to shorten average portfolio maturity; withholding dividends; redeeming shares in kind; establishing NAV by using available market quotations; and such other measures as the Trustees may deem appropriate.
BUYING AND SELLING INFORMATION
Class F shares of the fund are available for purchase only by mutual funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager.
The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the class's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
Dividends. A portion of the fund's income may qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, but it is unlikely that all of the fund's income will qualify for the deduction. A portion of the fund's dividends, when distributed to individual shareholders, may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
Capital Gain Distributions. The fund's long-term capital gain distributions, including amounts attributable to an underlying fund's long-term capital gain distributions, are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.
Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. As a general matter, if, at the close of its fiscal year, more than 50% of the fund's total assets is invested in securities of foreign issuers, the fund may elect to pass through eligible foreign taxes paid and thereby allow shareholders to take a deduction or, if they meet certain holding period requirements with respect to fund shares, a credit on their individual tax returns. In addition, if at the close of each quarter of its fiscal year at least 50% of the fund's total assets is represented by interests in other regulated investment companies, the same rules will apply to any foreign tax credits that underlying funds pass through to the fund. The amount of foreign taxes paid by the fund will be reduced to the extent that the fund lends securities over the dividend record date. Special rules may apply to the credit for individuals who receive dividends qualifying for the long-term capital gains tax rate.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
<R>The Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and executive officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. If the interests of the fund and an underlying Fidelity fund were to diverge, a conflict of interest could arise and affect how the Trustees and Member of the Advisory Board fulfill their fiduciary duties to the affected funds. Strategic Advisers has structured the fund to avoid these potential conflicts, although there may be situations where a conflict of interest is unavoidable. In such instances, Strategic Advisers, the Trustees, and Member of the Advisory Board would take reasonable steps to minimize and, if possible, eliminate the conflict. Except for Mary C. Farrell, each of the Trustees oversees 26 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. Ms. Farrell oversees 20 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.</R>
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. The executive officers and Advisory Board Member hold office without limit in time, except that any officer and Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
<R>Each Trustee who is not an interested person of the trust and the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) is referred to herein as an Independent Trustee.</R>
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Fund's Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also engage professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates with experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. Additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, may be considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. Roger T. Servison is an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) and currently serves as Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Ralph F. Cox serves as the lead Independent Trustee and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
Fidelity funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees asset allocation funds as well as the Fidelity enhanced index funds. Other boards oversee Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds and Fidelity's equity and high income funds. The fund may invest in Fidelity funds overseen by such other Boards. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues.
The Trustees primarily operate as a full Board, but also operate in committees, to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board has charged Strategic Advisers and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through Strategic Advisers, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. Board oversight of different aspects of the fund's activities is exercised primarily through the full Board, but also through the Audit and Compliance Committee. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees."
Interested Trustees *:
<R>Correspondence intended for each Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
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<R>Roger T. Servison (1945)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Servison is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Servison serves as President of Strategic New Business Development for Fidelity Investments and serves as a Director of Strategic Advisers. Previously, Mr. Servison oversaw Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company (2005-2006) and Strategic Advisers (2005-2007). Mr. Servison also served as President and a Director of Fidelity Brokerage Services (Japan), LLC (1994-2004). |
<R>Derek L. Young (1964)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Mr. Young is Vice President of Fidelity's Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present), President and a Director of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2011-present), President of Fidelity Global Asset Allocation (GAA) (2011-present), and Vice Chairman of Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2011-present). Previously, Mr. Young served as Chief Investment Officer of GAA (2009-2011) and as a portfolio manager. |
* Trustees have been determined to be "Interested Trustees" by virtue of, among other things, their affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with Strategic Advisers.
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees :
Correspondence intended for each Independent Trustee (that is, the Trustees other than the Interested Trustees) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
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<R>Peter C. Aldrich (1944)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Aldrich is a Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Director of the funds of BlackRock Realty Group (2006-present). Previously, Mr. Aldrich served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010), a Managing Member of Poseidon, LLC (foreign private investment, 1998-2004), and Chairman and Managing Member of AEGIS, LLC (foreign private investment, 1997-2004). Mr. Aldrich also served as Faculty Chairman of The Research Council on Global Investment of The Conference Board (business and professional education non-profit, 1999-2004). Mr. Aldrich is a Member of the Boards of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and an Overseer of the Longy School of Music. |
<R>Amy Butte Liebowitz (1968)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011</R> Ms. Butte Liebowitz was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of TILE Financial (financial internet service, 2008-2012). Previously, Ms. Butte Liebowitz served as the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of MF Global (broker-dealer, 2006-2008), and Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange (2004-2006). Ms. Butte Liebowitz is a member of the Boards of Directors of Accion International and the New York Women's Forum, as well as an alumna of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader program. |
<R>Ralph F. Cox (1932)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Cox is President of RABAR Enterprises (management consulting for the petroleum industry). Mr. Cox is a Director of Abraxas Petroleum (exploration and production). Mr. Cox is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Business and Engineering Schools of Texas A&M University and the Engineering School of University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Mr. Cox served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010) and as an Advisory Director of CH2M Hill Companies (engineering, 1981-2011). Mr. Ralph F. Cox and Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. are not related. |
<R>Mary C. Farrell (1949)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2013</R> Ms. Farrell is a Director of the W.R. Berkley Corporation (insurance provider) and President (2009-present) and Director (2006-present) of the Howard Gilman Foundation (charitable organization). Previously, Ms. Farrell was Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at UBS Wealth Management USA and Co-Head of UBS Wealth Management Investment Strategy & Research Group (2003-2005). Ms. Farrell also served as Investment Strategist at PaineWebber (1982-2000) and UBS PaineWebber (2000-2002). Ms. Farrell also serves as Trustee on the Board of Overseers of the New York University Stern School of Business, the Board of Trustees of Yale-New Haven Hospital and is a member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II. |
<R>Karen Kaplan (1960)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Ms. Kaplan is President of Hill Holliday (advertising and specialized marketing, 2007-present). Ms. Kaplan is a Director of DSM (dba Delta Dental and DentaQuest) (2004-present), Director of Vera Bradley (2012-present), Member of the Board of Governors of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston (2010-present), Member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference for Women (2008-present), Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (2006-present), Board of Directors of Jobs for Massachusetts (2012-present), National Association of Corporate Directors Chapter (2012-present), and Board of Directors of the Post Office Square Trust (2012-present). She is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, an action oriented community of the most effective CEOs, heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, and non-governmental leaders in the world. Previously, Ms. Kaplan served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010), President of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2008-2010), Treasurer of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2002-2006), Vice Chair of the Board of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2003-2010), Director of United Way of Massachusetts Bay (2004-2006), Director of ADVO (direct mail marketing, 2003-2007), and Director of Tweeter Home Entertainment Group (2006-2007). |
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Member and Executive Officers :
<R>Correspondence intended for each executive officer and Howard E. Cox, Jr. may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupation</R> |
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<R>Howard E. Cox, Jr. (1944)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II. Mr. Cox is a Member of the Advisory Board of Devonshire Investors (2009-present). Mr. Cox serves as an Advisory Partner of Greylock (venture capital) and a Director of Stryker Corporation (medical products and services). Previously, Mr. Cox served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010) and a Member of the Secretary of Defense's Business Board of Directors (2008-2010). Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. and Mr. Ralph F. Cox are not related. |
<R>Kenneth B. Robins (1969)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 President and Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Robins also serves as President and Treasurer of other Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds (2008-present) and Assistant Treasurer of other Fidelity Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present). Mr. Robins is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Robins served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2005-2008) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2006-2008). |
<R>Marc Bryant (1966)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of the fund. Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Fidelity Investments. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Mr. Bryant served as a Senior Vice President and the Head of Global Retail Legal for AllianceBernstein L.P. (2006-2010), and as the General Counsel for ProFund Advisors LLC (2001-2006). |
<R>Elizabeth Paige Baumann (1968)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2012 Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer of the fund. Ms. Baumann also serves as AML Officer of the Fidelity funds (2012-present) and The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2012-present), Chief AML Officer of FMR LLC (2012-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Baumann served as Vice President and Deputy Anti-Money Laundering Officer (2007-2012). |
<R>Nicholas E. Steck (1964)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the fund. Mr. Steck serves as Senior Vice President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. During the period 2002 to 2009, Mr. Steck served as a Compliance Officer of FMR, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc., FMR LLC, Fidelity Research & Analysis (U.K.) Inc., Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. |
<R>Laura M. Doherty (1969)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Compliance Officer of the fund. Ms. Doherty also serves as Senior Vice President of the Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Doherty served as a Vice President in Fidelity's Corporate Audit department (1998-2008). |
<R>Adrien E. Deberghes (1967)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Deberghes also serves as Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) and Deputy Treasurer (2008-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Deberghes served as Senior Vice President of Mutual Fund Administration at State Street Corporation (2007-2008), Senior Director of Mutual Fund Administration at Investors Bank & Trust (2005-2007), and Director of Finance for Dunkin' Brands (2000-2005). |
<R>Stephanie J. Dorsey (1969)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Ms. Dorsey also serves as President and Treasurer (2013-present) and Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Dorsey served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2008-2013), Treasurer (2004-2008) of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds and Vice President (2004-2008) of JPMorgan Chase Bank. |
<R>Jonathan Davis (1968)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Davis is also Assistant Treasurer of certain Fidelity funds. Mr. Davis is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2003-2010). |
<R>Margaret A. Carey (1973)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 </R> Assistant Secretary of the fund. Ms. Carey also serves as Assistant Secretary of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present), Vice President, Associate General Counsel (2007-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). |
Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established two committees to supplement the work of the Board as a whole. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
<R>The Audit and Compliance Committee is composed of Ms. Butte Liebowitz (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, Mr. Ralph Cox, and Mses. Farrell and Kaplan. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The committee determines whether at least one member of the committee is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined in rules promulgated by the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The committee normally meets in conjunction with in person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee meets separately periodically with the fund's Treasurer, the fund's Chief Financial Officer, the fund's CCO, personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and the fund's outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the fund for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the fund and the fund's service providers, (ii) the financial reporting processes of the fund, (iii) the independence, objectivity and qualification of the auditors to the fund, (iv) the annual audits of the fund's financial statements, and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the fund. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations (Auditor Independence Regulations) of the SEC. In furtherance of the foregoing, the committee has adopted (and may from time to time amend or supplement) and provides oversight of policies and procedures for non-audit engagements by outside auditors of the fund. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the fund and for resolving disagreements between the fund and any outside auditor regarding the fund's financial reporting, and has sole authority to hire and fire any auditor. Auditors of the fund report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the fund and any service providers consistent with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Ethics and Independence Rule 3526, Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence. The committee will discuss with the outside auditors any such disclosed relationships and their impact on the auditor's independence and objectivity. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the Auditor Independence Regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the fund's service providers' internal controls and reviews with management, internal auditors, and outside auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of the fund's and service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the fund's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the fund's or service provider's internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will review with counsel any legal matters that may have a material impact on the fund's financial statements and any material reports or inquiries received from regulators or governmental agencies. The committee reviews at least annually a report from the outside auditor describing (i) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control review, peer review, or PCAOB examination of the auditing firm and (ii) any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm since the most recent report and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the fund's financial reporting process and will receive reports from an outside auditor relating to (i) critical accounting policies and practices used by the fund, (ii) alternative accounting treatments that the auditor has discussed with Strategic Advisers, and (iii) other material written communications between the auditor and Strategic Advisers (as determined by the auditor). The committee will discuss with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the fund. The committee will review with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC (to the extent relevant) the results of audits of the fund's financial statements. The committee will review periodically the fund's major internal controls exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. The committee also oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the fund and its service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee of the Board of Trustees or reserved to the Board itself. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the fund. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO and, if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports on significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the fund's compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1 and quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of Mr. Ralph Cox (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, and Mses. Butte Liebowitz, Farrell, and Kaplan. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the code of ethics and any supplemental policies regarding personal securities transactions applicable to the Independent Trustees. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the fund's or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the fund's expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the fund, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012 (or as of March 31, 2013 for Ms. Farrell, Trustee as of March 5, 2013).</R>
Interested Trustees |
||
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Roger T. Servison |
Derek L. Young |
Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
none |
none |
<R></R>
<R>Independent Trustees</R> |
|||||
<R>
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Peter C. Aldrich |
Mary C. Farrell |
Amy Butte Liebowitz |
Ralph F. Cox |
Karen Kaplan</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund |
none |
none |
none |
none |
none</R> |
<R>
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
over $100,000 |
none |
none |
over $100,000 |
none</R> |
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board for his or her services for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, or calendar year ended December 31, 2012, as applicable.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Compensation Table 1</R> |
||||||
<R>
AGGREGATE
|
Peter C.
|
Mary C.
|
Amy
|
Ralph F.
|
Karen
|
</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund+ |
$ 122 |
$ 0 |
$ 122 |
$ 122 |
$ 122 |
</R> |
<R>
TOTAL COMPENSATION
|
$ 137,500 |
$ 0 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
</R> |
1 Roger T. Servison, Howard E. Cox, Jr., and Derek L. Young are interested persons and are compensated by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate (including FMR).
<R> 2 Effective March 5, 2013, Ms. Farrell serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II.</R>
+ Estimated for the fund's first full year.
<R> A Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, for 26 funds of two trusts.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and officers of the fund owned, in the aggregate, less than 1% of the fund's total outstanding shares.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the following owned of record and/or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding shares of a class:</R>
<R>* The ownership information shown above is for a class of shares of the fund.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, approximately 99.14% of the fund's total outstanding shares was held of record and/or beneficially by FIMM LLC, Boston, MA.</R>
A shareholder owning of record or beneficially more than 25% of a fund's outstanding shares may be considered a controlling person. That shareholder's vote could have a more significant effect on matters presented at a shareholders' meeting than votes of other shareholders.
CONTROL OF INVESTMENT ADVISERS
<R>FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of Strategic Advisers and Pyramis Global Advisers, LLC (Pyramis). The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Abigail P. Johnson family, directly or through trusts, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.</R>
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
Causeway was founded in 2001 and is a Delaware limited liability company. Sarah H. Ketterer and Harry W. Hartford, chief executive officer and president of Causeway, respectively, control Causeway through their executive offices and their voting control of Causeway.
MFS and its predecessor organizations have a history of money management dating from 1924. MFS is a subsidiary of Sun Life of Canada (U.S.) Financial Services Holdings, Inc., which in turn is an indirect majority-owned subsidiary of Sun Life Financial Inc. (a diversified financial services company).
Pyramis is a registered investment adviser. FMR LLC is the ultimate parent company of Pyramis. Information regarding the ownership of FMR LLC is disclosed above.
William Blair is a limited liability company that is 100% owned by WBC Holdings, L.P., a limited partnership. The affairs of William Blair are controlled by the general partner of WBC Holdings, L.P., WBC GP, L.L.C., which in turn, is controlled by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is comprised of, John R. Ettelson, Brent W. Gledhill, Arthur J. Simon, W. George Greig, Richard P. Kiphart, John C. Moore, and Michelle R. Seitz.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Causeway, MFS, Pyramis, William Blair (the Investment Advisers), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and the fund have adopted codes of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that set forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establish procedures for personal investing, and restrict certain transactions. Employees subject to the codes of ethics, including the Investment Advisers' investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.</R>
The fund has entered into a management contract with Strategic Advisers, pursuant to which Strategic Advisers furnishes investment advisory and other services.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Strategic Advisers has retained Causeway, MFS, Pyramis, and William Blair to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. The sub-advisers do not sponsor the fund.
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
Management and Sub-Advisory Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, Strategic Advisers acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, directs the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. Strategic Advisers is authorized, in its discretion, to allocate the fund's assets pursuant to its investment strategy. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates provide the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensate all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of Strategic Advisers, and compensate all personnel of the fund or Strategic Advisers performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
Under its respective sub-advisory agreement, and subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, each sub-adviser directs the investment of its allocated portion of the fund's assets in accordance with the fund's investment objective, policies and limitations.
Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to Strategic Advisers and the fees payable to the transfer agent and pricing and bookkeeping agent, the fund or each class thereof, as applicable, pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by those parties. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders; however, under the terms of the fund's transfer agent agreement, the transfer agent bears these costs. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.
Management Fees. For the services of Strategic Advisers under the management contract, the fund pays Strategic Advisers a monthly management fee calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets; provided, however, that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.05% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>The following table shows the amount of management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers for the past fiscal year.</R>
<R> A Fund commenced operations on May 2, 2012.</R>
<R> B Annualized.</R>
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of a class's operating expenses. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
<R>Expense reimbursements by Strategic Advisers will increase the class's returns, and repayment of the reimbursement by the class will decrease its returns.</R>
Sub-Adviser - Causeway. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Causeway pursuant to which Causeway may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Causeway fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Causeway pursuant to a separately negotiated investment mandate (a "Strategy"). The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Causeway under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Causeway pursuant to that Strategy.
Sub-Adviser - MFS. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with MFS pursuant to which MFS may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays MFS fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by MFS pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by MFS under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by MFS pursuant to that Strategy.
Sub-Adviser - Pyramis. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Pyramis pursuant to which Pyramis may provide investment advisory services for the fund.
Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Pyramis fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Pyramis pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Pyramis under a particular Strategy based on the following rate schedule:
Select International: |
|||||
0.45% of the first $200 million in assets; |
|||||
0.40% of the next $450 million in assets; and |
|||||
0.35% on any amount in excess of $650 million in assets |
Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Pyramis pursuant to that Strategy.
Sub-Adviser - William Blair. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with William Blair pursuant to which William Blair may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays William Blair fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by William Blair pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by William Blair under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by William Blair pursuant to that Strategy.
<R>The following table shows the amount of sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to Pyramis for the past fiscal year.</R>
<R> A Fund commenced operations on May 2, 2012.</R>
<R> B Annualized.</R>
<R>The following table shows the aggregate amount of sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to unaffiliated sub-advisers for the past fiscal year.</R>
<R> A Fund commenced operations on May 2, 2012.</R>
<R> B Annualized.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Strategic Advisers. </R>
<R> Wilfred Chilangwa is an employee of Strategic Advisers, a subsidiary of FMR LLC and an affiliate of FMR. Strategic Advisers is the adviser to the fund. </R>
<R>Mr. Chilangwa is the lead portfolio manager of the fund and receives compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Strategic Advisers or at the election of the portfolio manager. </R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of a broad range of Strategic Advisers funds and accounts, including the fund. Accounts may include model portfolios designed for asset allocation, retirement planning, or tax-sensitive goals. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s), and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with the portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and peer group. A subjective component of the bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Strategic Advisers. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of his fund is based on the fund's pre-tax investment performance measured against the MSCI ® EAFE ® Index (net MA tax), and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund (based on the performance of the fund's retail class) within the Morningstar ® Foreign Large Blend Category. The portfolio manager may be compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Strategic Advisers' parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates. </R>
<R></R>
<R>The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics. </R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Chilangwa as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
5 |
184 |
none</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 16,438 |
$ 16,673 |
none</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($56 (in millions) assets managed). The amount of assets managed of the fund reflects trades and other assets as of the close of the business day prior to the fund's fiscal year-end.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Chilangwa was $10,001 - $50,000.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Causeway. The employees of Causeway who act as portfolio managers of the fund are Sarah H. Ketterer, Harry W. Hartford, James A. Doyle, Jonathan P. Eng, Kevin Durkin, Conor Muldoon, Foster Corwith, and Alessandro Valentini. Ms. Ketterer and Mr. Hartford, the chief executive officer and president of Causeway, respectively, receive annual salary and are entitled, as controlling owners of the firm, to distributions of the firm's profits based on their ownership interests. They do not receive incentive compensation. Messrs. Doyle, Eng, Durkin, Muldoon, Corwith, and Valentini receive salary, incentive compensation equity and/or synthetic equity awards, and distributions of firm profits based on their minority ownership interests. Salary and incentive compensation are determined by the firm's Operating Committee, led by Ms. Ketterer and Mr. Hartford, weighing a variety of objective and subjective factors. No specific formula is used and salary and incentive compensation are not based on the specific performance of the fund or any single client account managed by Causeway. The following factors are among those considered in determining incentive compensation: individual research contribution, portfolio management contribution, group research contribution and client service contribution.</R>
<R>Causeway's portfolio managers also manage their own personal accounts and other accounts, including corporations, pension plans, public retirement plans, Taft-Hartley pension plans, endowments and foundations, mutual funds, charities, private trusts, wrap fee programs, and other institutions (collectively, "Other Accounts"). In managing the Other Accounts, the portfolio managers employ investment strategies similar to that used in managing the fund, subject to certain variations in investment restrictions. The portfolio managers purchase and sell securities for the fund that they also recommend to Other Accounts. The portfolio managers at times give advice or take action with respect to certain accounts that differs from the advice given other accounts with similar investment strategies. Certain of the Other Accounts pay higher or lower management fee rates than the fund or pay performance-based fees to Causeway. Ms. Ketterer and Mr. Hartford hold a controlling interest in the Causeway's equity and Messrs. Doyle, Eng, Durkin, Muldoon, Corwith, and Valentini have minority interests in Causeway's equity.</R>
Actual or potential conflicts of interest arise from the fund's portfolio managers' management responsibilities with respect to the Other Accounts and their own personal accounts. These responsibilities may cause portfolio managers to devote unequal time and attention across client accounts and the differing fees, incentives and relationships with the various accounts provide incentives to favor certain accounts. Causeway has written compliance policies and procedures designed to mitigate or manage these conflicts of interest. These include policies and procedures to seek fair and equitable allocation of investment opportunities (including IPOs) and trade allocations among all client accounts and policies and procedures concerning the disclosure and use of portfolio transaction information. Causeway also has a Code of Ethics which, among other things, limits personal trading by portfolio managers and other employees of Causeway. There is no guarantee that any such policies or procedures will cover every situation in which a conflict of interest arises.
Causeway's portfolio managers to the fund have responsibility for the day-to-day management of accounts other than the fund. Information regarding these other accounts is set forth below.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Ms. Ketterer as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($10 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Ms. Ketterer was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Hartford as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($10 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Hartford was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Doyle as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($10 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Doyle was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Eng as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($10 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Eng was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Durkin as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($10 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Durkin was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Muldoon as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($10 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Muldoon was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Corwith as of April 1, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($10 (in millions) assets managed) as of February 28, 2013.</R>
<R>As of April 1, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Corwith was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Valentini as of April 1, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($10 (in millions) assets managed) as of February 28, 2013.</R>
<R>As of April 1, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Valentini was none.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - MFS. Portfolio manager compensation is reviewed annually. As of December 31, 2012, portfolio manager total cash compensation is a combination of base salary and performance bonus:</R>
Base Salary - Base salary represents a smaller percentage of portfolio manager total cash compensation than performance bonus.
Performance Bonus - Generally, the performance bonus represents more than a majority of portfolio manager total cash compensation.
<R>With respect to Thomas Melendez, portfolio manager of the fund, the performance bonus is based on the results of an annual internal peer review process (conducted by other portfolio managers, analysts, traders, and non-investment personnel) and management's assessment of overall portfolio manager contributions to investor relations, the investment process and overall performance (distinct from fund and other account performance). This performance bonus may be in the form of cash and/or a deferred cash award, at the discretion of management. A deferred cash award is issued for a cash value and becomes payable over a three-year vesting period if the portfolio manager remains in the continuous employ of MFS or its affiliates. During the vesting period, the value of the unfunded deferred cash award will fluctuate as though the portfolio manager had invested the cash value of the award in an MFS Fund(s) selected by the portfolio manager. A selected fund may be, but is not required to be, a fund that is managed by the portfolio manager. </R>
With respect to Jose Luis Garcia, Benjamin Stone, and Barnaby Wiener, portfolio managers of the fund, the performance bonus is based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative factors, generally with more weight given to the former and less weight given to the latter.
<R>The quantitative portion is based on the pre-tax performance of assets managed by the portfolio manager over one-, three-, and five-year periods relative to peer group universes and/or indices ("benchmarks"). As of December 31, 2012, the following benchmarks were used to measure the following portfolio managers' performance for the following Fund:</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund |
Jose Luis Garcia |
MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Index</R> |
<R> |
Benjamin Stone |
MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Value Index</R> MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Index |
<R> |
Barnaby Wiener |
MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Value Index</R> |
<R>Additional or different benchmarks, including versions of indices, custom indices, and linked indices that include performance of different indices for different portions of the time period, may also be used. Primary weight is given to portfolio performance over a three-year time period with lesser consideration given to portfolio performance over one and five-year periods (adjusted as appropriate if the portfolio manager has served for less than five years). </R>
<R>The qualitative portion is based on the results of an annual internal peer review process (conducted by other portfolio managers, analysts, and traders) and management's assessment of overall portfolio manager contributions to investor relations and the investment process (distinct from fund and other account performance). This performance bonus may be in the form of cash and/or a deferred cash award, at the discretion of management. A deferred cash award is issued for a cash value and becomes payable over a three-year vesting period if the portfolio manager remains in the continuous employ of MFS or its affiliates. During the vesting period, the value of the unfunded deferred cash award will fluctuate as though the portfolio manager had invested the cash value of the award in an MFS Fund(s) selected by the portfolio manager. A selected fund may be, but is not required to be, a fund that is managed by the portfolio manager. </R>
Portfolio managers also typically benefit from the opportunity to participate in the MFS Equity Plan. Equity interests and/or options to acquire equity interests in MFS or its parent company are awarded by management, on a discretionary basis, taking into account tenure at MFS, contribution to the investment process, and other factors.
Finally, portfolio managers also participate in benefit plans (including a defined contribution plan and health and other insurance plans) and programs available generally to other employees of MFS. The percentage such benefits represent of any portfolio manager's compensation depends upon the length of the individual's tenure at MFS and salary level, as well as other factors.
MFS seeks to identify potential conflicts of interest resulting from a portfolio manager's management of both the fund and other accounts, and has adopted policies and procedures designed to address such potential conflicts.
The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) gives rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives and strategies, benchmarks, time horizons and fees as a portfolio manager must allocate his or her time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In certain instances there are securities which are suitable for the fund's portfolio as well as for accounts of MFS or its subsidiaries with similar investment objectives. The fund's trade allocation policies may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed or are delayed in getting executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts of MFS or its subsidiaries. A portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely affect the value of the fund's investments. Investments selected for funds or accounts other than the fund may outperform investments selected for the fund.
When two or more clients are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, the securities are allocated among clients in a manner believed by MFS to be fair and equitable to each. It is recognized that in some cases this system could have a detrimental effect on the price or volume of the security as far as the fund is concerned. In most cases, however, MFS believes that the Fund's ability to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions for the fund.
MFS and/or a portfolio manager may have a financial incentive to allocate favorable or limited opportunity investments or structure the timing of investments to favor accounts other than the fund, for instance, those that pay a higher advisory fee and/or have a performance adjustment and/or include an investment by the portfolio manager.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Melendez as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($24 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Melendez was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Garcia as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($24 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Garcia was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Stone as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($24 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Stone was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Wiener as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($24 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Wiener was none.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Pyramis. Cesar Hernandez is the portfolio manager of Pyramis' allocated portion of the fund's assets and receive compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio managers compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of each portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Pyramis or at the election of the portfolio manager.</R>
Each portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and experience at FMR, Pyramis or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of each portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, if applicable, and (ii) the investment performance of other Pyramis equity funds and accounts. The pre-tax investment performance of each portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to the portfolio manager's tenure on those fund(s) and account(s) and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over the portfolio manager's tenure. Each component is calculated separately over each portfolio manager's tenure on those fund(s) and account(s) over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with each portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index, and peer group, if applicable. A smaller, subjective component of each portfolio manager's bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to and leadership within the Pyramis investment platform.
The portion of Mr. Hernandez's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of Pyramis' Select International strategy is based on the pre-tax investment performance of the strategy measured against the MSCI ® EAFE ® Index (Net). Each portfolio manager also is compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of Pyramis Global Advisors Holdings Corp, Pyramis' parent company. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of Pyramis and its affiliates.
A portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, a portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. A portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as a portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by FMR or an affiliate. A portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. For example, a portfolio manager may manage other funds or accounts that engage in short sales, and could sell short a security for such other fund or account that the fund also trades or holds. Although Pyramis monitors such transactions to attempt to ensure equitable treatment of both the fund and a fund or account that engages in short sales, there can be no assurance that the price of a security held by the fund would not be impacted as a result. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Hernandez as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($12 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Hernandez was none.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - William Blair. The compensation of William Blair's portfolio managers is based on the firm's mission: "to achieve success for its clients." W. George Greig is a portfolio manager of the fund and a partner of William Blair, and his compensation consists of a fixed base salary, a share of the firm's profits and, in some instances, a discretionary bonus. The discretionary bonus as well as any potential changes to a principal's ownership stakes is determined by the head of William Blair's Investment Management Department, subject to the approval of William Blair's Executive Committee, and is based entirely on a qualitative assessment rather than a formula. The discretionary bonus rewards specific accomplishments in the prior year, including short-term and long-term investment performance, quality of research ideas, and other contributions to William Blair and its clients. Changes in ownership stake are based on an individual's sustained, multi-year contribution to long-term investment performance, and to William Blair's revenue, profitability, intellectual capital and brand reputation. The compensation process is a subjective one that takes into account the factors described above. Portfolio managers do not receive any direct compensation based upon the performance of any individual client account and no indices are used to measure performance. In addition, there is no particular weighting or formula for evaluating the factors.</R>
The portfolio manager's compensation may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Potential conflicts of interest that may arise include, for example, conflicts among investment strategies, conflicts in the allocation of investment opportunities, or conflicts due to different fees. Some accounts have higher fees, including performance fees, than others. Fees charged to clients may differ depending upon a number of factors including, but not limited to, the particular strategy, the size of the portfolio being managed, the relationship with the client, the service requirements and the asset class involved. Fees may also differ based on the account type (e.g., separately managed accounts, mutual funds, and wrap accounts). Based on these factors, a client may pay higher fees than another client in the same strategy. In addition, clients with larger assets under management generate more revenue for William Blair than smaller accounts. These differences may give rise to a potential conflict that a portfolio manager would favor the higher fee-paying account over the other or allocate more time to the management of one account over another. Furthermore, if a greater proportion of a portfolio manager's compensation could be derived from an account or group of accounts than other accounts under the portfolio manager's management, there could be an incentive for the portfolio manager to favor the accounts that could have a greater impact on the portfolio manager's compensation. While William Blair does not monitor the specific amount of time that a portfolio manager spends on a single portfolio, senior William Blair personnel periodically review the performance of William Blair's portfolio managers as well as periodically assess whether the portfolio manager has adequate resources to effectively manage the accounts assigned to that portfolio manager. As part of its obligation to mitigate such conflicts, William Blair has adopted trade allocation policies and procedures that seek to manage, monitor and, to the extent possible, minimize the effects of these conflicts.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Greig as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
14 |
19 |
58</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 9,560 |
$ 3,028 |
$ 9,604</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund ($9 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Greig was none.</R>
Proxy Voting - Strategic Advisers.
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of the fund, after consultation with Strategic Advisers. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Strategic Advisers and its affiliates and by the Independent Trustees of the fund, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. The funds in the trust generally intend to vote shares of underlying funds using echo voting procedures (that is, in the same proportion as the holders of all other shares of the particular underlying fund).
B. Any proposals not covered by paragraph A above or other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate Strategic Advisers analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review and approval by the General Counsel or Compliance Officer of FMR or the General Counsel of FMR LLC.
Sub-Advisers:
Proxy voting policies and procedures are used by a sub-adviser to determine how to vote proxies relating to the securities held by its allocated portion of the fund's assets. The proxy voting policies and procedures used by the sub-advisers are described below.
Causeway votes the proxies of companies owned by clients who have granted Causeway voting authority. Causeway votes proxies solely in the best interests of clients in accordance with its Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures. Causeway's policies and procedures are designed to ensure, to the extent feasible, that votes cast are consistent with certain basic principles: (i) increasing shareholder value; (ii) maintaining or increasing shareholder influence over the board of directors and management; (iii) establishing and enhancing a strong and independent board of directors; (iv) maintaining or increasing the rights of shareholders; and (v) aligning the interests of management and employees with those of shareholders with a view toward the reasonableness of executive compensation and shareholder dilution.
Causeway's guidelines also recognize that a company's management is charged with day-to-day operations and, therefore, Causeway generally votes on routine business matters in favor of management's proposals or positions. Under its guidelines, Causeway generally votes for distributions of income, appointment of auditors, director compensation (unless deemed excessive), management's slate of director nominees (except nominees with poor attendance or who have not acted in the best interests of shareholders), financial results/director and auditor reports, share repurchase plans, and changing corporate names and other similar matters.
Causeway generally votes with management on social issues because it believes management is responsible for handling them. Causeway generally votes against anti-takeover mechanisms and generally opposes cumulative voting and attempts to classify boards of directors. Causeway votes other matters - including equity-based compensation plans - on a case-by-case basis.
Causeway's interests may conflict with clients on certain proxy votes where Causeway might have a significant business or personal relationship with the company or its officers. Causeway's chief operating officer in consultation with the general counsel decides if a vote involves a material conflict of interest. If so, Causeway may obtain instructions or consent from the client on voting or will vote in accordance with a "for" or "against" or "with management" guideline if one applies. If no such guideline applies, Causeway will follow the recommendation of an independent third party such as Institutional Shareholders Services (ISS).
Non-U.S. proxies may involve a number of problems that restrict or prevent Causeway's ability to vote. As a result, Causeway will only use its best efforts to vote clients' non-U.S. proxies. In addition, Causeway will not vote proxies (U.S. or non-U.S.) if it does not receive adequate information from the client's custodian in sufficient time to cast the vote. Causeway may not be able to vote proxies for securities that a client has loaned to a third party.
Proxy Voting - MFS.
Massachusetts Financial Services Company, MFS Institutional Advisors, Inc., MFS International (UK) Limited, MFS Heritage Trust Company, McLean Budden Limited and MFS' other subsidiaries that perform discretionary investment management activities (collectively, "MFS") have adopted proxy voting policies and procedures, as set forth below ("MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures"), with respect to securities owned by the clients for which MFS serves as investment adviser and has the power to vote proxies, including the pooled investment vehicles sponsored by MFS (the "MFS Funds"). References to "clients" in these policies and procedures include the MFS Funds and other clients of MFS, such as funds organized offshore, sub-advised funds and separate account clients, to the extent these clients have delegated to MFS the responsibility to vote proxies on their behalf under the MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures.
The MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures include:
A. Voting Guidelines;
B. Administrative Procedures;
C Records Retention; and
D. Reports.
A. VOTING GUIDELINES
1. General Policy; Potential Conflicts of Interest
MFS' policy is that proxy voting decisions are made in what MFS believes to be the best long-term economic interests of MFS' clients, and not in the interests of any other party or in MFS' corporate interests, including interests such as the distribution of MFS Fund shares and institutional client relationships.
<R> MFS reviews corporate governance issues and proxy voting matters that are presented for shareholder vote by either management or shareholders of public companies. Based on the overall principle that all votes cast by MFS on behalf of its clients must be in what MFS believes to be the best long-term economic interests of such clients, MFS has adopted proxy voting guidelines, set forth below, that govern how MFS generally will vote on specific matters presented for shareholder vote.</R>
As a general matter, MFS votes consistently on similar proxy proposals across all shareholder meetings. However, some proxy proposals, such as certain excessive executive compensation, environmental, social and governance matters, are analyzed on a case-by-case basis in light of all the relevant facts and circumstances of the proposal. Therefore, MFS may vote similar proposals differently at different shareholder meetings based on the specific facts and circumstances of the issuer or the terms of the proposal. In addition, MFS also reserves the right to override the guidelines with respect to a particular proxy proposal when such an override is, in MFS' best judgment, consistent with the overall principle of voting proxies in the best long-term economic interests of MFS' clients.
MFS also generally votes consistently on the same matter when securities of an issuer are held by multiple client accounts, unless MFS has received explicit voting instructions to vote differently from a client for its own account. From time to time, MFS may also receive comments on the MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures from its clients. These comments are carefully considered by MFS when it reviews these guidelines and revises them as appropriate.
These policies and procedures are intended to address any potential material conflicts of interest on the part of MFS or its subsidiaries that are likely to arise in connection with the voting of proxies on behalf of MFS' clients. If such potential material conflicts of interest do arise, MFS will analyze, document and report on such potential material conflicts of interest (see Sections B.2 and D below), and shall ultimately vote the relevant proxies in what MFS believes to be the best long-term economic interests of its clients. The MFS Proxy Voting Committee is responsible for monitoring and reporting with respect to such potential material conflicts of interest.
MFS is also a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. In developing these guidelines, MFS considered environmental, social and corporate governance issues in light of MFS' fiduciary obligation to vote proxies in the best long-term economic interest of its clients.
B. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
1. MFS Proxy Voting Committee
The administration of these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures is overseen by the MFS Proxy Voting Committee, which includes senior personnel from the MFS Legal and Global Investment Support Departments. The Proxy Voting Committee does not include individuals whose primary duties relate to client relationship management, marketing, or sales. The MFS Proxy Voting Committee:
a. Reviews these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures at least annually and recommends any amendments considered to be necessary or advisable;
b. Determines whether any potential material conflict of interest exists with respect to instances in which MFS (i) seeks to override these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures; (ii) votes on ballot items not governed by these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures; (iii) evaluates an excessive executive compensation issue in relation to the election of directors; or (iv) requests a vote recommendation from an MFS portfolio manager or investment analyst (e.g. mergers and acquisitions); and
c. Considers special proxy issues as they may arise from time to time.
2. Potential Conflicts of Interest
<R> The MFS Proxy Voting Committee is responsible for monitoring potential material conflicts of interest on the part of MFS or its subsidiaries that could arise in connection with the voting of proxies on behalf of MFS' clients. Due to the client focus of our investment management business, we believe that the potential for actual material conflict of interest issues is small. Nonetheless, we have developed precautions to assure that all proxy votes are cast in the best long-term economic interest of shareholders. 1 Other MFS internal policies require all MFS employees to avoid actual and potential conflicts of interests between personal activities and MFS' client activities. If an employee (including investment professionals) identifies an actual or potential conflict of interest with respect to any voting decision (including the ownership of securities in their individual portfolio), then that employee must recuse himself/herself from participating in the voting process. Any significant attempt by an employee of MFS or its subsidiaries to unduly influence MFS' voting on a particular proxy matter should also be reported to the MFS Proxy Voting Committee.</R>
<R> 1 For clarification purposes, note that MFS votes in what we believe to be the best, long-term economic interest of our clients entitled to vote at the shareholder meeting, regardless of whether other MFS clients hold "short" positions in the same issuer.</R>
<R>In cases where proxies are voted in accordance with these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures, no material conflict of interest will be deemed to exist. In cases where (i) MFS is considering overriding these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures, (ii) matters presented for vote are not governed by these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures, (iii) MFS evaluates a potentially excessive executive compensation issue in relation to the election of directors or advisory pay or severance package vote, (iv) a vote recommendation is requested from an MFS portfolio manager or investment analyst (e.g. mergers and acquisitions); or (v) MFS evaluates a director nominee who also serves as a director of the MFS Funds (collectively, "Non-Standard Votes"); the MFS Proxy Voting Committee will follow these procedures:</R>
a. Compare the name of the issuer of such proxy against a list of significant current (i) distributors of MFS Fund shares, and (ii) MFS institutional clients (the "MFS Significant Client List");
b. If the name of the issuer does not appear on the MFS Significant Client List, then no material conflict of interest will be deemed to exist, and the proxy will be voted as otherwise determined by the MFS Proxy Voting Committee;
c. If the name of the issuer appears on the MFS Significant Client List, then the MFS Proxy Voting Committee will be apprised of that fact and each member of the MFS Proxy Voting Committee will carefully evaluate the proposed vote in order to ensure that the proxy ultimately is voted in what MFS believes to be the best long-term economic interests of MFS' clients, and not in MFS' corporate interests; and
d. For all potential material conflicts of interest identified under clause (c) above, the MFS Proxy Voting Committee will document: the name of the issuer, the issuer's relationship to MFS, the analysis of the matters submitted for proxy vote, the votes as to be cast and the reasons why the MFS Proxy Voting Committee determined that the votes were cast in the best long-term economic interests of MFS' clients, and not in MFS' corporate interests. A copy of the foregoing documentation will be provided to MFS' Conflicts Officer.
The members of the MFS Proxy Voting Committee are responsible for creating and maintaining the MFS Significant Client List, in consultation with MFS' distribution and institutional business units. The MFS Significant Client List will be reviewed and updated periodically, as appropriate.
If an MFS client has the right to vote on a matter submitted to shareholders by Sun Life Financial, Inc. or any of its affiliates (collectively "Sun Life"), MFS will cast a vote on behalf of such MFS client pursuant to the recommendations of Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc.'s ("ISS") benchmark policy, or as required by law.
Except as described in the MFS Fund's prospectus, from time to time, certain MFS Funds (the "top tier fund") may own shares of other MFS Funds (the "underlying fund"). If an underlying fund submits a matter to a shareholder vote, the top tier fund will generally vote its shares in the same proportion as the other shareholders of the underlying fund. If there are no other shareholders in the underlying fund, the top tier fund will vote in what MFS believes to be in the top tier fund's best long-term economic interest. If an MFS client has the right to vote on a matter submitted to shareholders by a pooled investment vehicle advised by MFS, MFS will cast a vote on behalf of such MFS client in the same proportion as the other shareholders of the pooled investment vehicle.
<R> </R>
3. Gathering Proxies
Most proxies received by MFS and its clients originate at Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. ("Broadridge"). Broadridge and other service providers, on behalf of custodians, send proxy related material to the record holders of the shares beneficially owned by MFS' clients, usually to the client's proxy voting administrator or, less commonly, to the client itself. This material will include proxy ballots reflecting the shareholdings of Funds and of clients on the record dates for such shareholder meetings, as well as proxy materials with the issuer's explanation of the items to be voted upon.
MFS, on behalf of itself and certain of its clients (including the MFS Funds) has entered into an agreement with an independent proxy administration firm pursuant to which the proxy administration firm performs various proxy vote related administrative services such as vote processing and recordkeeping functions. Except as noted below, the proxy administration firm for MFS and its clients, including the MFS Funds, is ISS. The proxy administration firm for MFS Development Funds, LLC is Glass, Lewis & Co., Inc. ("Glass Lewis"; Glass Lewis and ISS are each hereinafter referred to as the "Proxy Administrator").
The Proxy Administrator receives proxy statements and proxy ballots directly or indirectly from various custodians, logs these materials into its database and matches upcoming meetings with MFS Fund and client portfolio holdings, which are input into the Proxy Administrator's system by an MFS holdings data-feed. Through the use of the Proxy Administrator system, ballots and proxy material summaries for all upcoming shareholders' meetings are available on-line to certain MFS employees and members of the MFS Proxy Voting Committee.
It is the responsibility of the Proxy Administrator and MFS to monitor the receipt of ballots. When proxy ballots and materials for clients are received by the Proxy Administrator, they are input into the Proxy Administrator's on-line system. The Proxy Administrator then reconciles a list of all MFS accounts that hold shares of a company's stock and the number of shares held on the record date by these accounts with the Proxy Administrator's list of any upcoming shareholder's meeting of that company. If a proxy ballot has not been received, the Proxy Administrator contacts the custodian requesting the reason as to why a ballot has not been received.
4. Analyzing Proxies
Proxies are voted in accordance with these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures. The Proxy Administrator, at the prior direction of MFS, automatically votes all proxy matters that do not require the particular exercise of discretion or judgment with respect to these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures as determined by MFS. With respect to proxy matters that require the particular exercise of discretion or judgment, the MFS Proxy Voting Committee considers and votes on those proxy matters. MFS also receives research and recommendations from the Proxy Administrator which it may take into account in deciding how to vote. MFS uses the research of ISS to identify (i) circumstances in which a board may have approved excessive executive compensation, (ii) environmental and social proposals that warrant consideration or (iii) circumstances in which a non-U.S. company is not in compliance with local governance or compensation best practices. In those situations where the only MFS fund that is eligible to vote at a shareholder meeting has Glass Lewis as its Proxy Administrator, then we will rely on research from Glass Lewis to identify such issues. Representatives of the MFS Proxy Voting Committee review, as appropriate, votes cast to ensure conformity with these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures.
<R> As a general matter, portfolio managers and investment analysts have little involvement in most votes taken by MFS. This is designed to promote consistency in the application of MFS' voting guidelines, to promote consistency in voting on the same or similar issues (for the same or for multiple issuers) across all client accounts, and to minimize the potential that proxy solicitors, issuers, or third parties might attempt to exert inappropriate influence on the vote. In limited types of votes (e.g. mergers and acquisitions, capitalization matters, potentially excessive executive compensation issues, or shareholder proposals relating to environmental and social issues), a representative of MFS Proxy Voting Committee may consult with or seek recommendations from MFS portfolio managers or investment analysts. 2 However, the MFS Proxy Voting Committee would ultimately determine the manner in which all proxies are voted.</R>
<R> 2 From time to time, due to travel schedules and other commitments, an appropriate portfolio manager or research analyst may not be available to provide a vote recommendation. If such a recommendation cannot be obtained within a reasonable time prior to the cut-off date of the shareholder meeting, the MFS Proxy Voting Committee may determine to abstain from voting.</R>
As noted above, MFS reserves the right to override the guidelines when such an override is, in MFS' best judgment, consistent with the overall principle of voting proxies in the best long-term economic interests of MFS' clients. Any such override of the guidelines shall be analyzed, documented and reported in accordance with the procedures set forth in these policies.
5. Voting Proxies
<R> In accordance with its contract with MFS, the Proxy Administrator also generates a variety of reports for the MFS Proxy Voting Committee, and makes available on-line various other types of information so that the MFS Proxy Voting Committee or proxy team may review and monitor the votes cast by the Proxy Administrator on behalf of MFS' clients.</R>
<R> </R>
6. Securities Lending
<R> From time to time, the MFS Funds or other pooled investment vehicles sponsored by MFS may participate in a securities lending program. In the event MFS or its agent receives timely notice of a shareholder meeting for a U.S. security, MFS and its agent will attempt to recall any securities on loan before the meeting's record date so that MFS will be entitled to vote these shares. However, there may be instances in which MFS is unable to timely recall securities on loan for a U.S. security, in which cases MFS will not be able to vote these shares. MFS will report to the appropriate board of the MFS Funds those instances in which MFS is not able to timely recall the loaned securities. MFS generally does not recall non-U.S. securities on loan because there may be insufficient advance notice of proxy materials, record dates, or vote cut-off dates to allow MFS to timely recall the shares in certain markets on an automated basis. As a result, non-U.S. securities that are on loan will not generally be voted. If MFS receives timely notice of what MFS determines to be an unusual, significant vote for a non-U.S. security whereas MFS shares are on loan, and determines that voting is in the best long-term economic interest of shareholders, then MFS will attempt to timely recall the loaned shares.</R>
7. Engagement
The MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures are available on www.mfs.com and may be accessed by both MFS' clients and the companies in which MFS' clients invest. From time to time, MFS may determine that it is appropriate and beneficial for representatives from the MFS Proxy Voting Committee to engage in a dialogue or written communication with a company or other shareholders regarding certain matters on the company's proxy statement that are of concern to shareholders, including environmental, social and governance matters. A company or shareholder may also seek to engage with representatives of the MFS Proxy Voting Committee in advance of the company's formal proxy solicitation to review issues more generally or gauge support for certain contemplated proposals.
C. RECORDS RETENTION
<R> MFS will retain copies of these MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures in effect from time to time and will retain all proxy voting reports submitted to the Board of Trustees of the MFS Funds for the period required by applicable law. Proxy solicitation materials, including electronic versions of the proxy ballots completed by representatives of the MFS Proxy Voting Committee, together with their respective notes and comments, are maintained in an electronic format by the Proxy Administrator and are accessible on-line by the MFS Proxy Voting Committee. All proxy voting materials and supporting documentation, including records generated by the Proxy Administrator's system as to proxies processed, including the dates when proxy ballots were received and submitted, and the votes on each company's proxy issues, are retained as required by applicable law.</R>
D. REPORTS
All MFS Advisory Clients
MFS may publicly disclose the proxy voting records of certain clients or the votes it casts with respect to certain matters as required by law. At any time, a report can also be printed by MFS for each client who has requested that MFS furnish a record of votes cast. The report specifies the proxy issues which have been voted for the client during the year and the position taken with respect to each issue and, upon request, may identify situations where MFS did not vote in accordance with the MFS Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures.
Except as described above, MFS generally will not divulge actual voting practices to any party other than the client or its representatives because we consider that information to be confidential and proprietary to the client. However, as noted above, MFS may determine that it is appropriate and beneficial to engage in a dialogue with a company regarding certain matters. During such dialogue with the company, MFS may disclose the vote it intends to cast in order to potentially effect positive change at a company in regards to environmental, social or governance issues.
<R> Proxy Voting - Pyramis. </R>
I. General Principles
A. Voting of shares will be conducted in a manner consistent with the best interests of clients as follows: (i) securities of a portfolio company will generally be voted in a manner consistent with the Guidelines; and (ii) voting will be done without regard to any other Pyramis or Fidelity companies' relationship, business or otherwise, with that portfolio company.
B. FMR Investment Proxy Research votes proxies on behalf of Pyramis' clients. Like other Pyramis employees, FMR Investment Proxy Research employees have a fiduciary duty to never place their own personal interest ahead of the interests of Pyramis's clients and are instructed to avoid actual and apparent conflicts of interest. In the event of a conflict of interest, FMR Investment Proxy Research employees, like other Pyramis employees, will escalate to their managers or the Ethics Office, as appropriate, in accordance with Fidelity's corporate policy on conflicts of interest. A conflict of interest arises when there are factors that may prompt one to question whether a Fidelity and/or Pyramis employee is acting solely on the best interests of Pyramis, Fidelity and their customers. Employees are expected to avoid situations that could present even the appearance of a conflict between their interests and the interests of Pyramis and its customers.
C. Except as set forth herein, Pyramis will generally vote in favor of routine management proposals.
D. Non-routine proposals will generally be voted in accordance with the Guidelines.
E. Non-routine proposals not covered by the Guidelines or involving other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review by an attorney within FMR's General Counsel's office and a member of senior management within FMR Investment Proxy Research. A significant pattern of such proposals or other special circumstances will be referred to Pyramis' Senior Compliance Officer or his designee.
F. Pyramis will vote on shareholder proposals not specifically addressed by the Guidelines based on an evaluation of a proposal's likelihood to enhance the economic returns or profitability of the portfolio company or to maximize shareholder value. Where information is not readily available to analyze the economic impact of the proposal, Pyramis will generally abstain.
G. Many Pyramis accounts invest in voting securities issued by companies that are domiciled outside the United States and are not listed on a U.S. securities exchange. Corporate governance standards, legal or regulatory requirements and disclosure practices in foreign countries can differ from those in the United States. When voting proxies relating to non-U.S. securities, Pyramis will generally evaluate proposals in the context of the Guidelines and where applicable and feasible, take into consideration differing laws, regulations and practices in the relevant foreign market in determining how to vote shares.
H. In certain non-U.S. jurisdictions, shareholders voting shares of a portfolio company may be restricted from trading the shares for a period of time around the shareholder meeting date. Because such trading restrictions can hinder portfolio management and could result in a loss of liquidity for a client, Pyramis will generally not vote proxies in circumstances where such restrictions apply. In addition, certain non-U.S. jurisdictions require voting shareholders to disclose current share ownership on a fund-by-fund basis. When such disclosure requirements apply, Pyramis will generally not vote proxies in order to safeguard fund holdings information.
I. Where a management-sponsored proposal is inconsistent with the Guidelines, Pyramis may receive a company's commitment to modify the proposal or its practice to conform to the Guidelines, and Pyramis will generally support management based on this commitment. If a company subsequently does not abide by its commitment, Pyramis will generally withhold authority for the election of directors at the next election.
II. Definitions (as used in this document)
A. <R>Anti-Takeover Provision - includes fair price amendments; classified boards; "blank check" preferred stock; Golden Parachutes; supermajority provisions; Poison Pills; restricting the right to call special meetings; provisions restricting the right of shareholders to set board size; and any other provision that eliminates or limits shareholder rights.</R>
B. Golden Parachute - Employment contracts, agreements, or policies that include an excise tax gross-up provision; single trigger for cash incentives; or may result in a lump sum payment of cash and acceleration of equity that may total more than three times annual compensation (salary and bonus) in the event of a termination following a change in control.
C. Greenmail - payment of a premium to repurchase shares from a shareholder seeking to take over a company through a proxy contest or other means.
D. Sunset Provision - a condition in a charter or plan that specifies an expiration date.
E. Permitted Bid Feature - a provision suspending the application of a Poison Pill, by shareholder referendum, in the event a potential acquirer announces a bona fide offer for all outstanding shares.
F. Poison Pill - a strategy employed by a potential take-over/target company to make its stock less attractive to an acquirer. Poison Pills are generally designed to dilute the acquirer's ownership and value in the event of a take-over.
G. <R>Large-Capitalization Company - a company included in the Russell 1000 ® Index or the Russell Global ex-U.S. Large Cap Index.</R>
H. <R>Small-Capitalization Company - a company not included in the Russell 1000 ® Index or the Russell Global ex-U.S. Large Cap Index that is not a Micro-Capitalization Company.</R>
I. Micro-Capitalization Company - a company with a market capitalization under US $300 million.
J. Evergreen Provision - a feature which provides for an automatic increase in the shares available for grant under an equity award plan on a regular basis.
III. Directors
A. Incumbent Directors
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of incumbent and nominee directors except where one or more such directors clearly appear to have failed to exercise reasonable judgment. Pyramis will also generally withhold authority for the election of all directors or directors on responsible committees if:
1. An Anti-Takeover Provision was introduced, an Anti-Takeover Provision was extended, or a new Anti-Takeover Provision was adopted upon the expiration of an existing Anti-Takeover Provision, without shareholder approval except as set forth below.
With respect to Poison Pills, however, Pyramis will consider not withholding authority on the election of directors if all of the following conditions are met when a Poison Pill is introduced, extended, or adopted:
a. The Poison Pill includes a Sunset Provision of less than five years;
b. The Poison Pill includes a Permitted Bid Feature;
c. The Poison Pill is linked to a business strategy that will result in greater value for the shareholders; and
d. Shareholder approval is required to reinstate the Poison Pill upon expiration.
Pyramis will also consider not withholding authority on the election of directors when one or more of the conditions above are not met if a board is willing to strongly consider seeking shareholder ratification of, or adding above conditions noted a. and b. to an existing Poison Pill. In such a case, if the company does not take appropriate action prior to the next annual shareholder meeting, Pyramis will withhold authority on the election of directors.
2. The company refuses, upon request by Pyramis, to amend the Poison Pill to allow Pyramis to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
3. Within the last year and without shareholder approval, a company's board of directors or compensation committee has repriced outstanding options, exchanged outstanding options for equity, or tendered cash for outstanding options.
4. <R>Executive compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as: (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether, in the case of stock awards, the restriction period was less than three years for non-performance based awards, and less than one year for performance-based awards; (iv) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restrictions; and (v) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.</R>
5. To gain Pyramis' support on a proposal, the company made a commitment to modify a proposal or practice to conform to the Guidelines and the company has failed to act on that commitment.
6. The director attended fewer than 75% of the aggregate number of meetings of the board or its committees on which the director served during the company's prior fiscal year, absent extenuating circumstances.
7. The board is not composed of a majority of independent directors.
B. Indemnification
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of charter and by-law amendments expanding the indemnification of directors and/or limiting their liability for breaches of care unless Pyramis is otherwise dissatisfied with the performance of management or the proposal is accompanied by Anti-Takeover Provisions.
C. Independent Chairperson
Pyramis will generally vote against shareholder proposals calling for or recommending the appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson. However, Pyramis will consider voting for such proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson appears likely to further the interests of shareholders and to promote effective oversight of management by the board of directors.
D. Majority Director Elections
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals calling for directors to be elected by an affirmative majority of votes cast in a board election, provided that the proposal allows for plurality voting standard in the case of contested elections (i.e., where there are more nominees than board seats). Pyramis may consider voting against such shareholder proposals where a company's board has adopted an alternative measure, such as a director resignation policy, that provides a meaningful alternative to the majority voting standard and appropriately addresses situations where an incumbent director fails to receive the support of a majority of the votes cast in an uncontested election.
IV. Compensation
A. Executive Compensation
1. Advisory votes on executive compensation
a. Pyramis will generally vote for proposals to ratify executive compensation unless such compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as, among other things, (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether, in the case of stock awards, the restriction period was less than three years for non-performance-based awards, and less than one year for performance-based awards; (iv) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restrictions; and (v) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.
b. Pyramis will generally vote against proposals to ratify Golden Parachutes.
2. Frequency of advisory vote on executive compensation
Pyramis will generally support annual advisory votes on executive compensation.
B. Equity Award Plans (including stock options, restricted stock awards, and other stock awards).
Pyramis will generally vote against equity award plans or amendments to authorize additional shares under such plans if:
1. (a) The company's average three year burn rate is greater than 1.5% for a Large-Capitalization Company, 2.5% for a Small-Capitalization Company or 3.5% for a Micro-Capitalization Company; and (b) there were no circumstances specific to the company or the plans that lead Pyramis to conclude that the burn rate is acceptable.
2. In the case of stock option plans, (a) the offering price of options is less than 100% of fair market value on the date of grant, except that the offering price may be as low as 85% of fair market value if the discount is expressly granted in lieu of salary or cash bonus; (b) the plan's terms allow repricing of underwater options; or (c) the board/committee has repriced options outstanding under the plan in the past two years without shareholder approval.
3. The plan includes an Evergreen Provision.
4. The plan provides for the acceleration of vesting of equity awards even though an actual change in control may not occur.
C. Equity Exchanges and Repricing
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of a management proposal to exchange, reprice or tender for cash, outstanding options if the proposed exchange, repricing, or tender offer is consistent with the interests of shareholders, taking into account such factors as:
1. Whether the proposal excludes senior management and directors;
2. Whether the exchange or repricing proposal is value neutral to shareholders based upon an acceptable pricing model;
3. The company's relative performance compared to other companies within the relevant industry or industries;
4. Economic and other conditions affecting the relevant industry or industries in which the company competes; and
5. Any other facts or circumstances relevant to determining whether an exchange or repricing proposal is consistent with the interests of shareholders.
D. Employee Stock Purchase Plans
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of employee stock purchase plans if the minimum stock purchase price is equal to or greater than 85% of the stock's fair market value and the plan constitutes a reasonable effort to encourage broad based participation in the company's equity. In the case of non-U.S. company stock purchase plans, Pyramis may permit a lower minimum stock purchase price equal to the prevailing "best practices" in the relevant non-U.S. market, provided that the minimum stock purchase price must be at least 75% of the stock's fair market value.
E. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of non-leveraged ESOPs. For leveraged ESOPs, Pyramis may examine the company's state of incorporation, existence of supermajority vote rules in the charter, number of shares authorized for the ESOP, and number of shares held by insiders. Pyramis may also examine where the ESOP shares are purchased and the dilution effect of the purchase. Pyramis will generally vote against leveraged ESOPs if all outstanding loans are due immediately upon change in control.
F. Bonus Plans and Tax Deductibility Proposals
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of cash and stock incentive plans that are submitted for shareholder approval in order to qualify for favorable tax treatment under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, provided that the plan includes well defined and appropriate performance criteria, and with respect to any cash component, that the maximum award per participant is clearly stated and is not unreasonable or excessive.
V. Anti-Takeover Provisions
Pyramis will generally vote against a proposal to adopt or approve the adoption of an Anti-Takeover Provision unless:
A. The Poison Pill includes the following features:
1. A Sunset Provision of no greater than five years;
2. Linked to a business strategy that is expected to result in greater value for the shareholders;
3. Requires shareholder approval to be reinstated upon expiration or if amended;
4. Contains a Permitted Bid Feature; and
5. Allows Pyramis accounts to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
B. An Anti-Greenmail proposal that does not include other Anti-Takeover Provisions; or
C. It is a fair price amendment that considers a two-year price history or less.
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of a proposal to eliminate an Anti-Takeover Provisions unless:
D. In the case of proposals to declassify a board of directors, Pyramis will generally vote against such a proposal if the issuer's Articles of Incorporation or applicable statutes include a provision whereby a majority of directors may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by written consent, or other reasonable procedures, by a majority of shareholders entitled to vote for the election of directors.
E. In the case of shareholder proposals regarding shareholders' right to call special meetings, Pyramis generally will vote against each proposal if the threshold required to call a special meeting is less than 25% of the outstanding stock.
F. In the case of proposals regarding shareholders' right to act by written consent, Pyramis will generally vote against each proposal if it does not include appropriate mechanisms for implementation including, among other things, that at least 25% of the outstanding stock request that the company establish a record date determining which shareholders are entitled to act and that consents be solicited from all shareholders.
VI. Capital Structure/Incorporation
A. Increases in Common Stock
Pyramis will generally vote against a provision to increase a company's common stock if such increase will result in a total number of authorized shares greater than three times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares, including stock options, except in the case of real estate investment trusts, where an increase that will result in a total number of authorized shares up to five times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares is generally acceptable.
B. New Classes of Shares
Pyramis will generally vote against the introduction of new classes of stock with differential voting rights.
C. Cumulative Voting Rights
Pyramis will generally vote against the introduction and in favor of the elimination of cumulative voting rights.
D. Acquisition or Business Combination Statutes
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposed amendments to a company's certificate of incorporation or by-laws that enable the company to opt out of the control shares acquisition or business combination statutes.
E. Incorporation or Reincorporation in Another State or Country
Pyramis will generally vote for management proposals calling for, or recommending that, a portfolio company reincorporate in another state or country if, on balance, the economic and corporate governance factors in the proposed jurisdiction appear reasonably likely to be better aligned with shareholder interests, taking into account the corporate laws of the current and proposed jurisdictions and any changes to the company's current and proposed governing documents. Pyramis will consider supporting such shareholder proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, remaining incorporated in the current jurisdiction appears misaligned with shareholder interests.
VII. Shares of Investment Companies
A. If applicable, when a Pyramis account invests in an underlying Fidelity Fund with public shareholders, an exchange traded fund (ETF), or non-affiliated fund, Pyramis will vote in the same proportion as all other voting shareholders of such underlying fund or class ("echo voting"). Pyramis may choose not to vote if "echo voting" is not operationally feasible.
B. Certain Pyramis accounts may invest in shares of underlying Fidelity Funds, which are held exclusively by Fidelity Funds or accounts managed by FMR or an affiliate. Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals recommended by the underlying funds' Board of Trustees.
VIII. Other
A. Voting Process
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals to adopt confidential voting and independent vote tabulation practices.
B. Regulated Industries
Voting of shares in securities of any regulated industry (e.g. U.S. banking) organization shall be conducted in a manner consistent with conditions that may be specified by the industry's regulator (e.g. the Federal Reserve Board) for a determination under applicable law (e.g. federal banking law) that no client or group of clients has acquired control of such organization.
Proxy Voting - William Blair.
William Blair's Proxy Voting Policy Statement and Procedures (the "Proxy Voting Policy") provide that William Blair will vote proxies solely in the best interest of its clients, including the fund, in their capacity as shareholders of a company. William Blair's Domestic Proxy Voting Guidelines and International Proxy Voting Guidelines (the "Guidelines") set forth William Blair's general position on frequent proxy proposals, such as routine matters, shareholder rights, anti-takeover matters, proxy contests, capital structure, executive and director compensation and social and environmental issues. To the extent a particular proposal is not covered by the Guidelines or the Guidelines provide for voting on a "case-by-case" basis, William Blair's proxy administrator will consult William Blair's Proxy Policy Committee, which will review the issues and vote proxies based on information from the company, William Blair's internal analysis and third party research services. Although the Guidelines set forth William Blair's general position on various proposals, William Blair may determine under some circumstances to vote contrary to those positions.
The Proxy Voting Policy describes the way in which William Blair will address potential conflicts of interest. If any of the potential conflicts that William Blair has identified in the Proxy Voting Policy arise with respect to a matter, the Proxy Policy Committee will vote all such proxies in accordance with the Guidelines, unless the Guidelines have no recommendation or provide for a vote on a "case-by-case" basis. In such case, the Proxy Policy Committee will vote consistent with the voting recommendation provided by Institutional Shareholder Services, an independent third party research provider.
In international markets where share blocking applies, William Blair typically will not vote proxies due to liquidity constraints. Share blocking is the "freezing" of shares for trading purposes in order to vote proxies. Share blocking typically takes place between one and twenty days before a shareholder meeting, depending on the market. While shares are frozen, they may not be traded. Therefore, there is the potential for a pending trade to fail if trade settlement falls on a date during the blocking period or the fund would not be able to sell a security if the portfolio manager believed it advisable if share blocking were in effect.
<R>To view a fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, visit www.fidelity.com/proxyvotingresults or visit the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.</R>
The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. The principal business address of FDC is 100 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by Strategic Advisers.
The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan on behalf of Class F of the fund (the Class F Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a mutual fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Class F Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows Class F and Strategic Advisers to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.
Under the Class F Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to Strategic Advisers is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Class F Plan. The Class F Plan specifically recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of Class F shares and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Class F Plan provides that Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers or FDC), that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for Class F shares.
Prior to approving the Class F Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Class F Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Class F Plan will benefit Class F of the fund and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Class F Plan does not authorize payments by Class F of the fund other than those made to Strategic Advisers under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Class F Plan gives Strategic Advisers and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of class shares, additional sales of class shares or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Class F Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.
FDC or an affiliate may compensate, or upon direction make payments for certain retirement plan expenses to, intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (including affiliates of FDC). A number of factors are considered in determining whether to pay these additional amounts. Such factors may include, without limitation, the level or type of services provided by the intermediary, the level or expected level of assets or sales of shares, and other factors. In addition to such payments, FDC or an affiliate may offer other incentives such as sponsorship of educational or client seminars relating to current products and issues, payments or reimbursements for travel and related expenses associated with due diligence trips that an intermediary may undertake in order to explore possible business relationships with affiliates of FDC, and/or payments of costs and expenses associated with attendance at seminars, including travel, lodging, entertainment, and meals. Certain of the payments described above may be significant to an intermediary. As permitted by SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rules and other applicable laws and regulations, FDC or an affiliate may pay or allow other incentives or payments to intermediaries.
The fund's transfer agent or an affiliate may also make payments and reimbursements from its own resources to certain intermediaries (who may be affiliated with the transfer agent) for performing recordkeeping and other services. Please see "Transfer and Service Agent Agreements" in this SAI for more information.
Any of the payments described in this section may represent a premium over payments made by other fund families. Retirement plan sponsors may take these payments into account when deciding whether to include a fund as a plan investment option.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
<R>The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (FIIOC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers, which is located at 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services for Class F of the fund.</R>
FIIOC receives no fees for providing transfer agency services to Class F.
FIIOC may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
<R>The fund has entered into a service agent agreement with Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers (or an agent, including an affiliate). Under the terms of the agreement, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for Class F of the fund and maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records.</R>
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
The annual rates for pricing and bookkeeping services for the fund are 0.0518% of the first $500 million of average net assets, 0.0415% of average net assets between $500 million and $3.5 billion, 0.0041% of average net assets between $3.5 billion and $25 billion, and 0.0019% of average net assets in excess of $25 billion.
<R>Pricing and bookkeeping fees paid by the fund to FSC for the past fiscal period are shown in the following table.</R>
<R> Fund |
2013</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund |
$ 21,977*</R> |
<R>* From May 2, 2012.</R>
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
<R> Trust Organization. Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund is a fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, an open-end management investment company created under an initial trust instrument dated March 8, 2006. Currently, there are 20 funds offered in the trust: Strategic Advisers Core Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.</R>
The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund, except that liabilities and expenses may be allocated to a particular class. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds or classes.
Shareholder Liability. The trust is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that, except to the extent otherwise provided in the Trust Instrument, shareholders shall be entitled to the same limitations of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit organized under the general corporation law of Delaware. The courts of some states, however, may decline to apply Delaware law on this point. The Trust Instrument contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust. The Trust Instrument provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Trust Instrument further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of each fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Trust Instrument also provides that each fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which Delaware law does not apply, no contractual limitation of liability was in effect, and a fund is unable to meet its obligations. Strategic Advisers believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is extremely remote. Claims asserted against one class of shares may subject holders of another class of shares to certain liabilities.
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. As a shareholder, you are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value you own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
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The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodians. State Street Bank and Trust Company, 1776 Heritage Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as special purpose custodians of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions.
Strategic Advisers, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Member of the Advisory Board, and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by Strategic Advisers. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of Strategic Advisers, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 125 High Street, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit, tax, and related services.
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized Strategic Advisers, in consultation with FMR, to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
Other registered investment companies that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be subject to different portfolio holdings disclosure policies, and neither Strategic Advisers nor the Board exercises control over such policies or disclosure. In addition, separate account clients of Strategic Advisers and the sub-advisers have access to their portfolio holdings and are not subject to the fund's portfolio holdings disclosure policies. Some of the funds that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser and some of the separate accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser have investment objectives and strategies that are substantially similar or identical to the fund's and, therefore, potentially substantially similar, and in certain cases nearly identical, portfolio holdings as the fund.
The fund will provide a full list of holdings monthly on www.fidelity.com 30 days after the month-end (excluding high income security holdings, which generally will be presented collectively monthly and included in a list of full holdings 60 days after its fiscal quarter-end).
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations.
The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the activities associated with managing Fidelity funds to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons Strategic Advisers believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include, but are not limited to: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics (including portfolio managers of affiliated funds of funds); contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.
Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, (ii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iii) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. Strategic Advisers relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.
<R>At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day) and DocuLynx Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day).</R>
Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, Strategic Advisers desired to make such an arrangement, it would seek prior Board approval and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
<R>The fund's financial statements and financial highlights for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013, and report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the fund's annual report and are incorporated herein by reference. Total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table may differ from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the financial highlights because total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table include any acquired fund fees and expenses, whereas the ratios of expenses in the financial highlights do not, except to the extent any acquired fund fees and expenses relate to an entity, such as a wholly-owned subsidiary, with which a fund's financial statements are consolidated. Acquired funds include other investment companies in which the fund has invested, if and to the extent it is permitted to do so. Total annual operating expenses in the prospectus fee table and the financial highlights do not include any expenses associated with investments in certain structured or synthetic products that may rely on the exception from the definition of "investment company" provided by section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
Fund /Ticker
Strategic Advisers ® Small-Mid Cap Fund /FSCFX
Offered exclusively to certain clients of Strategic Advisers, Inc. - not available for sale to the general public
Prospectus
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
Fund Summary |
Strategic Advisers ® Small-Mid Cap Fund |
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Fund Basics |
Investment Details |
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Valuing Shares |
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Shareholder Information |
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares |
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Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions |
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Tax Consequences |
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Fund Services |
Fund Management |
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Fund Distribution |
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Appendix |
Financial Highlights |
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Additional Information about the Indexes |
Prospectus
Fund:
Strategic Advisers
®
Small-Mid Cap Fund
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy and hold shares of the fund.
Shareholder fees
|
None |
Annual fund operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
<R> Management fee (fluctuates based on the fund's allocation among underlying funds and sub-advisers) A,C |
0.49% </R> |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees |
None |
<R> Other expenses |
0.20% </R> |
<R> Acquired fund fees and expenses (fees and expenses of underlying funds) |
0.64% </R> |
<R> Total annual fund operating expenses B |
1.33% </R> |
<R> Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement C |
0.25% </R> |
<R> Total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement B |
1.08% </R> |
<R> A Based on historical expenses, adjusted to reflect current fees. </R>
<R> B Differs from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the Financial Highlights section of the prospectus because of acquired fund fees and expenses. </R>
<R> C Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) has contractually agreed that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.10% of the fund's average daily net assets. In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets. This arrangement will remain in effect through September 30, 2015. Strategic Advisers may not terminate this arrangement without the approval of the Board of Trustees. </R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
<R> 1 year |
$ 110 </R> |
<R> 3 years |
$ 355 </R> |
<R> 5 years |
$ 664 </R> |
<R> 10 years |
$ 1,542 </R> |
<R>The fund will not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of affiliated funds but may incur transaction costs when buying or selling non-affiliated funds and other types of securities (including non-affiliated exchange traded funds) directly (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 53% of the average value of its portfolio.</R>
Prospectus
<R> Pursuant to an exemptive order granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) is permitted, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees, to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement. </R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following information is intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the fund. The information illustrates the changes in the performance of the fund's shares from year to year and compares the performance of the fund's shares to the performance of a securities market index and an additional index over various periods of time. The indexes have characteristics relevant to the fund's investment strategies. Index descriptions appear in the Additional Information about the Indexes section of the prospectus. Prior to May 1, 2010, the fund was named PAS Small Cap Fund of Funds, and the fund operated under certain different investment policies and compared its performance to a different index. The fund's historical performance may not represent its current investment policies. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future performance.
Visit www.fidelity.com for updated return information.
Prospectus
<R> Calendar Years |
|
|
|
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 </R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
11.48% |
2.20% |
-36.52% |
35.44% |
24.48% |
-4.31% |
15.32% </R> |
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
During the periods shown in the chart: |
Returns |
Quarter ended |
Highest Quarter Return |
22.94% |
June 30, 2009 |
Lowest Quarter Return |
-25.44% |
December 31, 2008 |
<R> Year-to-Date Return |
12.18% |
March 31, 2013 </R> |
<R>After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, but do not reflect the impact of state or local taxes. Actual after-tax returns may differ depending on your individual circumstances. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your shares in a retirement account or in another tax-deferred arrangement.</R>
<R>
For the periods ended
|
Past 1
|
Past 5
|
Life of
|
Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund |
|
|
|
<R> Return Before Taxes |
15.32% |
3.38% |
5.05% </R> |
<R> Return After Taxes on Distributions |
14.55% |
2.87% |
4.46% </R> |
<R> Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
10.93% |
2.78% |
4.23% </R> |
<R>
Russell 2500 Index
|
17.88% |
4.34% |
6.12% </R> |
<R>
Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Linked
Index
SM
|
17.88% |
4.27% |
5.86% </R> |
A From June 23, 2005.
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
<R>Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. Advisory Research, Inc. (ARI), Fred Alger Management, Inc. (Alger Management), Invesco Advisers, Inc. (Invesco), Kennedy Capital Management, Inc. (Kennedy Capital), Neuberger Berman Management LLC (Neuberger Berman), Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis), and Systematic Financial Management, L.P. (Systematic) have been retained to serve as sub-advisers for the fund.</R>
<R>Barry Golden (lead portfolio manager) has managed the fund since April 2013.</R>
<R> James M. Langer (portfolio manager) and Matthew K. Swaim (portfolio manager) have co-managed ARI's portion of the fund's assets since December 2010.</R>
Jill Greenwald (portfolio manager) has managed Alger Management's portion of the fund's assets since December 2010.
Juliet S. Ellis (lead portfolio manager), Juan Hartsfield (portfolio manager), and Clay Manley (portfolio manager) have co-managed Invesco's portion of the fund's assets since December 2010.
<R>Donald Cobin, CFA (portfolio manager) and Christian McDonald, CFA (assistant portfolio manager) have co-managed Kennedy Capital's portion of the fund's assets since December 2012.</R>
Benjamin H. Nahum (portfolio manager) has managed Neuberger Berman's portion of the fund's assets since October 2011.
Young Chin (lead portfolio manager) has co-managed Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets since March 2012.
Thorsten Becker (co-manager), Andrew Burzumato (co-manager), Arun Daniel (co-manager), Chandler Willett (co-manager), Jody Simes (co-manager), and Vincent Rivers (co-manager) have co-managed Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets since September 2010.
Chad Colman (co-manager) has co-managed Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets since October 2011.
Ronald Mushock (lead portfolio manager) and D. Kevin McCreesh (co-portfolio manager) have co-managed Systematic's portion of the fund's assets since December 2010.
The fund is not available for sale to the general public.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its net asset value per share (NAV). Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV. Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
The fund has no minimum investment requirement.
Prospectus
Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state or local taxes, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account (in which case you may be taxed later, upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).
The fund, Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Investment Objective
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
Principal Investment Strategies
The fund normally invests primarily in common stocks.
The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of small and mid cap companies and in shares of other small and mid cap funds. Although a universal definition of small to medium market capitalization companies does not exist, for purposes of this fund, small to medium market capitalization companies are generally defined as those companies with market capitalizations similar to those of companies included in the Russell 2500 Index. A company's market capitalization is based on its current market capitalization or its market capitalization at the time of the fund's investment. The size of the companies in the index changes with market conditions and the composition of the index.
The fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers in addition to securities of domestic issuers.
The fund is not constrained by any particular investment style. At any given time, the fund may tend to buy "growth" stocks or "value" stocks, or a combination of both types.
The fund implements its investment strategies by investing directly in securities through one or more sub-advisers or indirectly in securities through one or more underlying funds, which in turn invest directly in securities.
Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of underlying funds or sub-advisers at any time.
Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds and sub-advisers according to an allocation strategy designed to achieve portfolio characteristics similar to those of the Russell 2500 Index.
Strategic Advisers pursues a disciplined, benchmark-driven approach to portfolio construction, and monitors and adjusts allocations to underlying funds and sub-advisers as necessary to favor those underlying funds and sub-advisers that Strategic Advisers believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the fund's investment objective.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among underlying funds, Strategic Advisers relies on proprietary fundamental and quantitative fund research in its fund selection process. Factors considered when investing in underlying funds include fund performance, a fund manager's experience and investment style, fund company infrastructure, and fund characteristics such as expense ratio, asset size, and portfolio turnover.
<R>The fund may invest in affiliated small and mid cap funds ( i.e., Fidelity funds) and non-affiliated small and mid cap funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork ® and in non-affiliated ETFs. Underlying funds include both funds managed by FMR (an affiliated company that, together with Strategic Advisers, is part of Fidelity Investments) or an affiliate and funds managed by investment advisers other than Fidelity. Fidelity may receive service fees that typically are at an annual rate of up to 0.40% of a non-affiliated underlying fund's average daily net assets attributable to purchases through Fidelity's FundsNetwork, though such fees may be higher or lower, or may be charged as transaction and/or account fees. In addition, the fund may invest in ETFs in transactions not occurring through Fidelity's FundsNetwork.</R>
Prospectus
Strategic Advisers generally identifies small and mid cap funds by reference to a fund's name, policies, or classification by a third-party ranking or ratings organization. Whether an underlying fund is a small or mid cap fund is determined at the time of investment. Investments in funds whose names, policies or classifications change after purchase continue to be considered investments in small or mid cap funds for purposes of the 80% policy.
<R>Strategic Advisers may actively adjust the allocation of the fund's assets at any time. For current information on fund holdings, please call 1-800-544-3455 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com. For information on the underlying funds, see the underlying funds' prospectuses. A copy of any underlying Fidelity fund's prospectus is available at www.fidelity.com or www.advisor.fidelity.com. For a copy of any other underlying fund's prospectus, visit the web site of the company that manages or sponsors that underlying fund.</R>
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers considers a variety of factors including, but not limited to, a sub-adviser's investment approach, the characteristics of a sub-adviser's typical investment portfolio, and a sub-adviser's performance patterns in different market environments.
Common types of investment approaches that a sub-adviser may use in selecting investments for a fund include, but are not limited to, quantitative analysis, fundamental analysis, or a combination of both approaches. Quantitative analysis refers to programmatic models that analyze such factors as growth potential, valuation, liquidity, and investment risk based on data inputs. Fundamental analysis involves a bottom-up assessment of a company's potential for success in light of factors including its financial condition, earnings outlook, strategy, management, industry position, and economic and market conditions.
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
The fund may also use various techniques, such as buying and selling futures contracts, to increase or decrease its exposure to changing security prices or other factors that affect security values. In addition, the fund may have indirect exposure to derivatives through its investments in underlying funds.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Description of Principal Security Types
In addition to investing in underlying funds, the fund may invest directly in the following principal security types:
Equity securities represent an ownership interest, or the right to acquire an ownership interest, in an issuer. Different types of equity securities provide different voting and dividend rights and priority in the event of the bankruptcy of the issuer. Equity securities include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, and warrants.
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on the performance of the underlying funds and securities in which it invests and on changes in market conditions and interest rates and in response to other economic, political, or financial developments. The fund's reaction to these developments will be affected by the types of underlying funds and securities in which the fund invests, the financial condition, industry and economic sector, and geographic location of an issuer, and the fund's level of investment in the securities of that underlying fund or issuer.
If Strategic Advisers' or a sub-adviser's allocation strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective. The portfolio managers' evaluations and assumptions in selecting underlying funds or individual securities may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.
When your shares are sold they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
<R> Multiple Sub-Adviser Risk. Because each sub-adviser manages its allocated portion, if any, independently from another sub-adviser, it is possible that the sub-advisers' security selection processes may not complement one another. As a result, the fund's aggregate exposure to a particular industry or group of industries, or to a single issuer, could unintentionally be larger or smaller than intended. Because each sub-adviser directs the trading for its own portion, if any, of the fund, and does not aggregate its transactions with those of the other sub-advisers, the fund may incur higher brokerage costs than would be the case if a single sub-adviser were managing the entire fund.</R>
Prospectus
Investing in Other Funds. Regulatory restrictions may limit the amount that one fund can invest in another, and in certain cases further limit investments to the extent a fund's shares are already held by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The fund bears all risks of investment strategies employed by the underlying funds. The fund does not control the investments of the underlying funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the fund would not engage in directly. Aggregation of underlying fund holdings may result in indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase volatility.
Stock Market Volatility. The value of equity securities fluctuates in response to issuer, political, market, and economic developments. Fluctuations can be dramatic over the short as well as long term, and different parts of the market and different types of equity securities can react differently to these developments. For example, large cap stocks can react differently from small cap stocks, "growth" stocks can react differently from "value" stocks, and stocks selected using quantitative or technical analysis can react differently than stocks selected using fundamental analysis. Issuer, political, or economic developments can affect a single issuer, issuers within an industry or economic sector or geographic region, or the market as a whole. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact the market as a whole. Terrorism and related geo-political risks have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
<R> Foreign Exposure. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; withholding or other taxes; trading, settlement, custodial, and other operational risks; and the less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets. All of these factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and potentially less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can perform differently from the U.S. market.</R>
<R>Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers or providers in, or foreign exchange rates with, a different country or region.</R>
Industry Exposure. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry or a group of related industries, and the securities of companies in that industry or group of industries could react similarly to these or other developments. In addition, from time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry or a group of related industries as a whole, and these companies can be sensitive to adverse economic, regulatory, or financial developments.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's value.
Investing in ETFs. ETFs may trade in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) at prices below the value of their underlying portfolios and may not be liquid. An ETF that is not actively managed cannot sell poorly performing stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in its index or other benchmark. ETFs that track an index are subject to tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to its index or other benchmark).
Quantitative Investing. The value of securities selected using quantitative analysis can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis. The factors used in quantitative analysis and the weight placed on those factors may not be predictive of a security's value. In addition, factors that affect a security's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model.
Mid Cap Investing. The value of securities of medium size, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of relatively larger issuers and can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole and other types of stocks.
Small Cap Investing. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers and can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole and other types of stocks. Smaller issuers can have more limited product lines, markets, and financial resources.
<R>In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser, if any, may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
The following policy is fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The following policy is subject to change only upon 60 days' prior notice to shareholders:
The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of small and mid cap companies and in shares of other small and mid cap funds.
Prospectus
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates the fund's NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing the fund's NAV.
NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the SEC.
To the extent that the fund's assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some of the fund's assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) are valued at their respective NAVs. For an explanation of the circumstances under which the underlying funds will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the underlying funds' prospectuses and statements of additional information (SAIs). The fund's NAV is calculated using the values of the underlying funds in which it invests. Other assets (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations or official closing prices. Certain short-term securities are valued on the basis of amortized cost. If market quotations or official closing prices are not readily available or, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, are deemed unreliable for a security, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before the fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Arbitrage opportunities may exist when trading in a portfolio security or securities is halted and does not resume before a fund calculates its NAV. These arbitrage opportunities may enable short-term traders to dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Securities trading in overseas markets present time zone arbitrage opportunities when events affecting portfolio security values occur after the close of the overseas markets but prior to the close of the U.S. market. Fair valuation of a fund's portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that fair value pricing policies will prevent dilution of a fund's NAV by short-term traders.
Fair value pricing is based on subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value of a security may differ materially from the value that would be realized if the security were sold.
Prospectus
THE FUND IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
Shares of the fund can be purchased only through certain discretionary investment programs offered by Strategic Advisers. If you are not currently a Strategic Advisers client, please call 1-800-544-3455 (9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday) for more information. Strategic Advisers charges fees for its discretionary investment programs. For more information on these fees, please refer to the "Buying and Selling Information" section of the SAI.
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase orders.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
Because investments in the fund can be made only by Strategic Advisers on behalf of its clients, the potential for excessive or short-term disruptive purchases and sales is reduced. Accordingly, the Board of Trustees has not adopted policies and procedures designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares and the fund accommodates frequent trading.
The fund has no exchange privilege with any other fund. The fund does not place a limit on purchases or sales of fund shares by Strategic Advisers. The fund reserves the right, but does not have the obligation, to reject any purchase transaction at any time. In addition, the fund reserves the right to impose restrictions on disruptive, excessive, or short-term trading.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its NAV. The fund's shares are sold without a sales charge.
Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
Provided the fund receives an order to buy shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to buy shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV.
Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Provided the fund receives an order to sell shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to sell shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.
Redemptions may be suspended or payment dates postponed when the NYSE is closed (other than weekends or holidays), when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as permitted by the SEC.
Redemption proceeds may be paid in underlying fund shares, securities, or other property rather than in cash if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund.
When you terminate your relationship with Strategic Advisers, your shares may be sold at the NAV next calculated, in which case Strategic Advisers would send the redemption proceeds to you.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, redemption requests may be suspended, restricted, canceled, or processed and the proceeds may be withheld.
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
The fund normally pays dividends and capital gain distributions in April and December.
Dividends and capital gain distributions may be reinvested in additional shares of the fund or paid in cash.
As with any investment, your investment in the fund could have tax consequences for you. If you are not investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account, you should consider these tax consequences.
Taxes on distributions. Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes.
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including dividends and distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable to you as ordinary income, while certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of long-term capital gains, are taxable to you generally as capital gains. A percentage of certain distributions of dividends may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
If Strategic Advisers buys shares on your behalf when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.
Prospectus
Any taxable distributions you receive from the fund will normally be taxable to you when you receive them, regardless of your distribution option.
Taxes on transactions. Your redemptions may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on your investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of your shares and the price you receive when you sell them.
Prospectus
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
The fund employs a multi-manager and a fund of funds investment structure. Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of sub-advisers or underlying funds.
<R> Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. The address of Strategic Advisers and its affiliates, unless otherwise indicated below, is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R>As of December 31, 2012, Strategic Advisers had approximately $320.7 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
As the manager, Strategic Advisers has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
<R> ARI, at Two Prudential Plaza, 180 N. Stetson Avenue, Suite 5500, Chicago, IL 60601, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of March 31, 2013, ARI had approximately $10.2 billion in discretionary assets under management. ARI provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Alger Management, at 360 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10010, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of March 31, 2013, Alger Management had approximately $18 billion in discretionary assets under management. Alger Management provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Invesco, at 1555 Peachtree, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30309, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, Invesco had approximately $713.8 billion in discretionary assets under management. Invesco provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Kennedy Capital, at 10829 Olive Boulevard, Suite 100, St. Louis, MO 63141, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, Kennedy Capital had approximately $4.9 billion in discretionary assets under management. Kennedy Capital provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Neuberger Berman, at 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, Neuberger Berman had approximately $210 billion in discretionary assets under management. Neuberger Berman provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Pyramis, at 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. Pyramis is an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. As of December 31, 2012, Pyramis had approximately $31.7 billion in discretionary assets under management. Pyramis provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Systematic, at 300 Frank W. Burr Boulevard, 7th Floor, Teaneck, New Jersey 07666, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, Systematic had approximately $10.9 billion in discretionary assets under management. Systematic provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
Prospectus
<R> Strategic Advisers </R>
<R>Barry Golden, CFA, is lead portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since April 2013. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 2003, Mr. Golden has worked as a research analyst, associate director of investments for Strategic Advisers' Charitable Gift Fund, portfolio manager, and as a team leader for Strategic Advisers' alternatives research investment team.</R>
<R> ARI </R>
<R></R>
James Langer, CFA, ARI Managing Director and portfolio manager, has co-managed ARI's portion of the fund's assets since December 2010. Mr. Langer has served as a member of ARI's investment team and research analyst since joining ARI in 1996, and as a portfolio manager since 2007.
Matthew Swaim, CFA, CPA, ARI Managing Director and portfolio manager, has co-managed ARI's portion of the fund's assets since December 2010. Mr. Swaim has served as a member of ARI's investment team and research analyst since joining ARI in 2005, and as a portfolio manager since 2009.
<R> AIger Management </R>
Jill Greenwald serves as a portfolio manager for Alger Management's portion of the fund's assets, which she has managed since December 2010. Ms. Greenwald has been employed by Alger Management since 2001 and currently serves as Executive Vice President and portfolio manager.
<R> Invesco </R>
Juliet Ellis is the lead portfolio manager of Invesco's portion of the fund's assets, which she has managed since December 2010. She has been associated with Invesco and/or its affiliates since 2004.
Juan Hartsfield is portfolio manager of Invesco's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2010. He has been associated with Invesco and/or its affiliates since 2004.
Clay Manley is portfolio manager of Invesco's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2010. He has been associated with Invesco and/or its affiliates since 2001.
<R>Donald Cobin, CFA, a Vice President and Director, is the Portfolio Manager for Kennedy Capital's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2012. Mr. Cobin joined Kennedy Capital in February 2007 as an analyst and later became Portfolio Manager in November 2007.</R>
<R>Christian McDonald, CFA, is the Assistant Portfolio Manager for Kennedy Capital's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2012, and also serves as a Research Analyst at Kennedy Capital, primarily responsible for selecting and monitoring securities within the industrials (including aerospace, defense, and machinery) sector of Kennedy Capital's universe. Mr. McDonald joined Kennedy Capital in November 2005.</R>
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
Neuberger Berman
Benjamin H. Nahum is portfolio manager of Neuberger Berman's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since October 2011. Mr. Nahum, Managing Director, joined Neuberger Berman in 2008 when David J. Greene and Company was acquired by Neuberger Berman. Prior to the acquisition, he was an executive vice president and principal at David J. Greene and Company, LLC where he managed the Small/Mid Cap strategies since inception in 1997.
Pyramis
Young Chin is the lead portfolio manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since March 2012. He is Chief Investment Officer of Pyramis and team leader for the U.S. Large Cap Core, the U.S. Large Cap Core 130/30, and the U.S. Small/Mid Cap Core strategies. Mr. Chin joined Fidelity Investments in 2006 and oversees the portfolio management, research, and trading functions at Pyramis.
Thorsten Becker is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since September 2010. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1996, Mr. Becker has worked as a research analyst and portfolio manager.
Andrew Burzumato is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since September 2010. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 2002, Mr. Burzumato has worked as a research analyst and portfolio manager.
Chad Colman is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since October 2011. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments in 2009, Mr. Colman was a senior analyst at RiverSource Investments (formerly American Express Financial Advisors), and was responsible for research coverage of the industrials sector and portfolio management of various long-only and long-short sector focused products. Mr. Colman was also an engineer at Boeing Co. for more than three years.
Arun Daniel is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since September 2010. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments in 2007 as a portfolio manager, Mr. Daniel served as vice president and sector head for the consumer sector at ING Investment Management, North America from 2003 to 2007.
Chandler Willett is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since September 2010. Prior to joining Pyramis in 2006 as a research analyst, Mr. Willett served as a senior analyst at Highline Capital Management from 2004 to 2006.
Jody Simes, CFA, is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since September 2010. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1993, Mr. Simes has worked as a fixed income trader, technology sector specialist, equity research analyst, and portfolio manager.
Vincent Rivers is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since September 2010. Prior to joining Pyramis in 2006 as a research analyst, Mr. Rivers worked as a portfolio analyst at Wellington Management Company, LLP from 2004 to 2006.
Prospectus
Systematic
<R>Ronald Mushock serves as lead portfolio manager for Systematic's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2010. Mr. Mushock, CFA, has been the lead portfolio manager for all of Systematic's Small/Mid Cap Value Equity portfolios since their inception in 2002 and all of Systematic's Mid Cap Value portfolios since their inception in 2000. Mr. Mushock became a Managing Partner of Systematic in 2005.</R>
<R>D. Kevin McCreesh serves as co-portfolio manager for Systematic's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2010. Mr. McCreesh, CFA, co-portfolio manager for all of Systematic's Small/Mid Cap Value portfolios, has been the Chief Investment Officer for Systematic since 2004 and has oversight responsibilities for all client portfolios. In addition, Mr. McCreesh serves as the lead portfolio manager for Systematic's Large and Small Cap Value portfolios. Mr. McCreesh joined Systematic as a portfolio manager in 1996 and is a Managing Partner of the firm.</R>
The SAI provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by the portfolio managers.
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.
The fund pays a management fee to Strategic Advisers. The management fee is calculated and paid to Strategic Advisers every month.
The fund's management fee is calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets. Because the fund's management fee rate may fluctuate, the fund's management fee may be higher or lower in the future. The fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.10% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets through September 30, 2015.</R>
<R>For the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid a management fee of 0.20% of the fund's average net assets, after waiver and/or reimbursement.</R>
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
In return for the services of the fund's sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers will pay each of the fund's sub-advisers the fee (as described above) payable to that sub-adviser.
<R>The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract and sub-advisory agreements for the fund is available in the fund's annual report for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013.</R>
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, agree to reimburse the fund for, or waive, management fees and other expenses above a specified limit. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid by the fund if expenses fall below the specified limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Reimbursement or waiver arrangements can decrease expenses and boost performance.
FDC distributes the fund's shares.
The fund has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) with respect to its shares that recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, service-providers, and administrators, that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Affiliates of Strategic Advisers may receive service fees or distribution fees or both with respect to underlying funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork.
If payments made by Strategic Advisers to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of the fund's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
Prospectus
The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the financial history of the fund's shares for the past 5 years. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of the fund. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in shares of the fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial highlights and financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report. A free copy of the annual report is available upon request.
<R> Years ended February 28, |
2013 |
2012 E |
2011 |
2010 |
2009 </R> |
Selected Per-Share Data |
|
|
|
|
|
<R> Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 11.45 |
$ 12.00 |
$ 9.22 |
$ 5.57 |
$ 9.99 </R> |
Income from Investment Operations |
|
|
|
|
|
<R> Net investment income (loss) B |
.06 |
.02 |
.03 |
.03 |
.04 </R> |
<R> Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
1.30 |
(.06 ) |
2.81 |
3.65 |
(4.05 ) </R> |
<R> Total from investment operations |
1.36 |
(.04 ) |
2.84 |
3.68 |
(4.01 ) </R> |
<R> Distributions from net investment income |
(.06) |
(.02) |
(.03) |
(.03) |
(.04) </R> |
<R> Distributions from net realized gain |
(.44 ) |
(.50 ) |
(.03 ) |
- |
(.38 ) </R> |
<R> Total distributions |
(.51 ) H |
(.51 ) G |
(.06 ) |
(.03 ) |
(.41 ) F </R> |
<R> Net asset value, end of period |
$ 12.30 |
$ 11.45 |
$ 12.00 |
$ 9.22 |
$ 5.57 </R> |
<R> Total Return A |
12.37% |
(.05)% |
30.84% |
66.12% |
(41.74)% </R> |
|
|||||
<R> |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> Ratios to Average Net Assets C |
|
|
|
|
</R> |
<R> Expenses before reductions |
.65% |
.63% |
.40% |
.25% |
.25% </R> |
<R> Expenses net of fee waivers, if any |
.40% |
.38% |
.15% |
.00% |
.00% </R> |
<R> Expenses net of all reductions |
.40% |
.37% |
.15% |
.00% |
.00% </R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) |
.51% |
.18% |
.32% |
.42% |
.50% </R> |
Supplemental Data |
|
|
|
|
|
<R> Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$ 3,004,665 |
$ 2,676,692 |
$ 2,873,128 |
$ 1,318,241 |
$ 559,886 </R> |
<R> Portfolio turnover rate D |
53% |
63% |
69% |
39% |
55% </R> |
A Total returns would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reduced during the applicable periods shown.
B Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.
C Expense ratios reflect operating expenses of the Fund. Expenses before reductions do not reflect amounts reimbursed by the investment adviser or reductions from brokerage service arrangements or reductions from other expense offset arrangements and do not represent the amount paid by the Fund during periods when reimbursements or reductions occur. Expenses net of fee waivers reflect expenses after reimbursement by the investment adviser but prior to reductions from brokerage service arrangements or other expense offset arrangements. Expenses net of all reductions represent the net expenses paid by the Fund. Fees and expenses of the Underlying Funds are not included in the Fund's annualized ratios. The Fund indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the Underlying Funds.
Prospectus
D Amounts do not include the portfolio activity of any Underlying Funds.
E For the year ended February 29.
F Total distributions of $.41 per share is comprised of distributions from net investment income of $.035 and distributions from net realized gain of $.375 per share.
G Total distributions of $.51 per share is comprised of distributions from net investment income of $.018 and distributions from net realized gain of $.496 per share.
<R> H Total distributions of $.51 per share is comprised of distributions from net investment income of $.064 and distributions from net realized gain of $.443 per share. </R>
Prospectus
Appendix - continued
<R> Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Linked Index SM represents the performance of the Russell 2500 Index since May 1, 2010, and the Russell 2000 ® Index prior to that date.</R>
Russell 2500 Index is a market capitalization-weighted index designed to measure the performance of the small to mid-cap segment of the U.S. equity market. It includes approximately 2,500 of the smallest securities in the Russell 3000 ® Index.
Prospectus
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account. For individual investors opening an account: When you open an account, you will be asked for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow Fidelity to identify you. You may also be asked to provide documents that may help to establish your identity, such as your driver's license. For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account such as name, residential address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity. |
You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.
For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call 1-800-544-3455. In addition, you may visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number, 811-21991 |
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design, and FundsNetwork are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Linked Index is a service mark of FMR LLC.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R>1.912863.104 SMC-PRO-0413</R>
Strategic Advisers ® Small-Mid Cap Fund (FSCFX)
A Fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
Offered exclusively to certain clients of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) - not available for sale to the general public.
This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. Portions of the fund's annual report are incorporated herein. The annual report is supplied with this SAI.
<R>To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated April 29, 2013, or an annual report, please call Fidelity at 1-800-544-3455 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com.</R>
<R>SMC-PTB-0413
1.912864.108</R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
|
PAGE |
Investment Policies and Limitations |
|
<R>Portfolio Transactions |
|
<R>Valuation |
|
<R>Buying and Selling Information |
|
<R>Distributions and Taxes |
|
<R>Trustees and Officers |
|
<R>Control of Investment Advisers |
|
<R>Management Contract |
|
<R>Proxy Voting Guidelines |
|
<R>Distribution Services |
|
<R>Transfer and Service Agent Agreements |
|
<R>Description of the Trust |
|
<R>Fund Holdings Information |
|
<R>Financial Statements |
253 </R> |
<R>Appendix |
253 </R> |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not with respect to 75% of the fund's total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except in connection with the insurance program established by the fund pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission or as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry (provided that investments in other investment companies shall not be considered an investment in any particular industry for purposes of this investment limitation).
<R>For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities, Strategic Advisers looks through to the U.S. Government securities.</R>
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The acquisitions of loans and loan participations excluded from the fund's lending limitation discussed above are only those loans and loan participations considered securities within the meaning of the 1940 Act.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, and provided that transactions in futures contracts and options are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 10% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 10% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
To the extent that the fund acquires the shares of an underlying fund in accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, the underlying fund is not obligated to redeem its shares in an amount exceeding 1% of its shares outstanding during any period of less than 30 days. Those underlying fund shares will not be treated as illiquid securities for purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation described above to the extent that the fund is able to dispose of such securities by distributing them in kind to redeeming shareholders. (See "Securities of Other Investment Companies" on page 198 .)
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to lend assets other than securities to other parties, except by (a) lending money (up to 15% of the fund's net assets) to a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) assuming any unfunded commitments in connection with the acquisition of loans, loan participations, or other forms of debt instruments. (This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities, to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.)
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
<R>For the fund's limitations on futures and options transactions, see the section entitled "Futures, Options, and Swaps" on page 190 .</R>
For purposes of the fund's 80% investment policy that defines a particular market capitalization by reference to the capitalization range of one or more indexes (as described in the prospectus), the capitalization range of the index(es) generally will be measured no less frequently than once per month.
Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitations, the underlying funds in which the fund may invest have adopted certain investment limitations that may be more or less restrictive than those listed above, thereby permitting the fund to engage indirectly in investment strategies that are prohibited under the investment limitations listed above. The investment limitations of each underlying fund are set forth in its registration statement.
In accordance with its investment program as set forth in the prospectus, the fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in any one underlying Fidelity fund. Although the fund does not intend to concentrate its investments in a particular industry, the fund may indirectly concentrate in a particular industry or group of industries through its investments in one or more underlying funds.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
<R>Strategic Advisers ® Small-Mid Cap Fund may have exposure to instruments, techniques, and risks either directly or indirectly through an investment in an underlying fund. An underlying fund may invest in the same or other types of instruments and its adviser may employ the same or other types of techniques. Strategic Advisers ® Small-Mid Cap Fund's performance will be affected by the instruments, techniques, and risks associated with an underlying fund, in proportion to the amount of assets that the fund allocates to that underlying fund.</R>
On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "a fund" or "the fund" may relate to Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund or an underlying fund, and references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to Strategic Advisers (or its affiliates) or a sub-adviser of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, or an adviser of an underlying fund.
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of short-term bond or money market funds, including (for Fidelity funds and other advisory clients only) shares of Fidelity central funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.
<R> Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Notice of Exclusion. The trust, on behalf of the Fidelity fund to which this SAI relates, has filed with the National Futures Association a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the CFTC promulgated thereunder, with respect to the fund's operation. Accordingly, neither the fund nor its adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or a CPO. However, the CFTC has adopted certain rule amendments that significantly affect the continued availability of this exclusion, and may subject advisers to funds to regulation by the CFTC. As of the date of this SAI, the adviser does not expect to register as a CPO of the fund. However, there is no certainty that a fund or its adviser will be able to rely on an exclusion in the future as the fund's investments change over time. A fund may determine not to use investment strategies that trigger additional CFTC regulation or may determine to operate subject to CFTC regulation, if applicable. If a fund or its adviser operates subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.</R>
Common Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock, although related proceedings can take time to resolve and results can be unpredictable.
Convertible Securities are bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption or conversion, the fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
Debt Securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay interest but are sold at a deep discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, and mortgage and other asset-backed securities.
<R> Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments. An ETF may seek to replicate the performance of a specified index or may be actively managed.</R>
Typically, ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks (typically, 50,000 shares) often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.
Some of the risks of investing in an ETF that tracks an index are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
<R> ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their intraday indicative value. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater.</R>
Exposure to Foreign and Emerging Markets. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Foreign investments involve risks relating to local political, economic, regulatory, or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments, and may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Such actions may include expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. Additionally, governmental issuers of foreign debt securities may be unwilling to pay interest and repay principal when due and may require that the conditions for payment be renegotiated. There is no assurance that a fund's adviser will be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies and of dividends and interest paid with respect to such securities will fluctuate based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar.
It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for foreign securities will be on an exchange or in over-the-counter (OTC) markets located outside of the United States. Foreign stock markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign security trading, settlement and custodial practices (including those involving securities settlement where fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment) are often less developed than those in U.S. markets, and may result in increased investment or valuation risk or substantial delays in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of, or breach of duty by, a foreign broker-dealer, securities depository, or foreign subcustodian. In addition, the costs associated with foreign investments, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions, and custodial costs, are generally higher than with U.S. investments.
Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors than U.S. markets. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Adequate public information on foreign issuers may not be available, and it may be difficult to secure dividends and information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. OTC markets tend to be less regulated than stock exchange markets and, in certain countries, may be totally unregulated. Regulatory enforcement may be influenced by economic or political concerns, and investors may have difficulty enforcing their legal rights in foreign countries.
Some foreign securities impose restrictions on transfer within the United States or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than foreign securities of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks include foreign exchange risk as well as the political and economic risks of the underlying issuer's country.
The risks of foreign investing may be magnified for investments in emerging markets. Security prices in emerging markets can be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
Foreign Currency Transactions. A fund may conduct foreign currency transactions on a spot ( i.e., cash) or forward basis ( i.e., by entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies). Although foreign exchange dealers generally do not charge a fee for such conversions, they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the counterparty desire to resell that currency to the dealer. Forward contracts are customized transactions that require a specific amount of a currency to be delivered at a specific exchange rate on a specific date or range of dates in the future. Forward contracts are generally traded in an interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The parties to a forward contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated currency exchange.
The following discussion summarizes the principal currency management strategies involving forward contracts that could be used by a fund. A fund may also use swap agreements, indexed securities, and options and futures contracts relating to foreign currencies for the same purposes. Forward contracts not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying currency. All of these instruments and transactions are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default.
<R>A "settlement hedge" or "transaction hedge" is designed to protect a fund against an adverse change in foreign currency values between the date a security denominated in a foreign currency is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in an underlying security transaction for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars "locks in" the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used to protect a fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected.</R>
<R>A fund may also use forward contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in a foreign currency. For example, if a fund owned securities denominated in pounds sterling, it could enter into a forward contract to sell pounds sterling in return for U.S. dollars to hedge against possible declines in the pound's value. Such a hedge, sometimes referred to as a "position hedge," would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. A fund could also attempt to hedge the position by selling another currency expected to perform similarly to the pound sterling. This type of hedge, sometimes referred to as a "proxy hedge," could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield, or efficiency, but generally would not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a direct hedge into U.S. dollars. Proxy hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated.</R>
A fund may enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a "cross-hedge," will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if a fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. A fund may cross-hedge its U.S. dollar exposure in order to achieve a representative weighted mix of the major currencies in its benchmark index and/or to cover an underweight country or region exposure in its portfolio. Cross-hedges protect against losses resulting from a decline in the hedged currency, but will cause a fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases.
<R>Successful use of currency management strategies will depend on an adviser's skill in analyzing currency values. Currency management strategies may substantially change a fund's investment exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and could result in losses to a fund if currencies do not perform as an adviser anticipates. For example, if a currency's value rose at a time when a fund had hedged its position by selling that currency in exchange for dollars, the fund would not participate in the currency's appreciation. If a fund hedges currency exposure through proxy hedges, the fund could realize currency losses from both the hedge and the security position if the two currencies do not move in tandem. Similarly, if a fund increases its exposure to a foreign currency and that currency's value declines, the fund will realize a loss. Foreign currency transactions involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that a fund's hedging strategies will be ineffective. Moreover, it is impossible to precisely forecast the market value of portfolio securities at the expiration of a foreign currency forward contract. Accordingly, a fund may be required to buy or sell additional currency on the spot market (and bear the expenses of such transaction), if an adviser's predictions regarding the movement of foreign currency or securities markets prove inaccurate.</R>
<R>A fund may be required to limit its hedging transactions in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options in order to maintain its classification as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Hedging transactions could result in the application of the mark-to-market provisions of the Code, which may cause an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a fund and could affect whether dividends paid by a fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. A fund will cover its exposure to foreign currency transactions with liquid assets in compliance with applicable requirements. There is no assurance that an adviser's use of currency management strategies will be advantageous to a fund or that it will employ currency management strategies at appropriate times.</R>
Options and Futures Relating to Foreign Currencies. Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges (and have margin requirements) and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The underlying instrument of a currency option may be a foreign currency, which generally is purchased or delivered in exchange for U.S. dollars, or may be a futures contract. The purchaser of a currency call obtains the right to purchase the underlying currency, and the purchaser of a currency put obtains the right to sell the underlying currency.
<R>The uses and risks of currency options and futures are similar to options and futures relating to securities or indexes, as discussed below. A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and may purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. Currency options may also be purchased or written in conjunction with each other or with currency futures or forward contracts. Currency futures and options values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates, but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated security from a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of a fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the fund's investments exactly over time.</R>
<R>Currency options traded on U.S. or other exchanges may be subject to position limits which may limit the ability of the fund to reduce foreign currency risk using such options.</R>
Foreign Repurchase Agreements. Foreign repurchase agreements involve an agreement to purchase a foreign security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price in either U.S. dollars or foreign currency. Unlike typical U.S. repurchase agreements, foreign repurchase agreements may not be fully collateralized at all times. The value of a security purchased by a fund may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to repurchase the security. In the event of default by the counterparty, a fund may suffer a loss if the value of the security purchased is less than the agreed-upon repurchase price, or if the fund is unable to successfully assert a claim to the collateral under foreign laws. As a result, foreign repurchase agreements may involve higher credit risks than repurchase agreements in U.S. markets, as well as risks associated with currency fluctuations. In addition, as with other emerging market investments, repurchase agreements with counterparties located in emerging markets or relating to emerging markets may involve issuers or counterparties with lower credit ratings than typical U.S. repurchase agreements.
Fund's Rights as an Investor. Fidelity funds do not intend to direct or administer the day-to-day operations of any company. A fund may, however, exercise its rights as a shareholder or lender and may communicate its views on important matters of policy to a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders, and holders of a company's other securities when such matters could have a significant effect on the value of the fund's investment in the company. The activities in which a fund may engage, either individually or in conjunction with others, may include, among others, supporting or opposing proposed changes in a company's corporate structure or business activities; seeking changes in a company's directors or management; seeking changes in a company's direction or policies; seeking the sale or reorganization of the company or a portion of its assets; supporting or opposing third-party takeover efforts; supporting the filing of a bankruptcy petition; or foreclosing on collateral securing a security. This area of corporate activity is increasingly prone to litigation and it is possible that a fund could be involved in lawsuits related to such activities. Such activities will be monitored with a view to mitigating, to the extent possible, the risk of litigation against a fund and the risk of actual liability if a fund is involved in litigation. No guarantee can be made, however, that litigation against a fund will not be undertaken or liabilities incurred. The fund's proxy voting guidelines are included in this SAI.
<R> Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. If a fund invests a significant portion of its assets in derivatives, its investment exposure could far exceed the value of its portfolio securities and its investment performance could be primarily dependent upon securities it does not own.</R>
Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.
The limitations on the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps, and the fund's policies regarding futures contracts, options, and swaps may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts.
<R> Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts and the price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities or baskets of securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indexes (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indexes of securities prices (including foreign indexes for funds that seek foreign exposure). Futures on indexes and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out by offsetting purchases or sales of futures contracts before then if a liquid market is available. A fund may realize a gain or loss by closing out its futures contracts.</R>
<R>The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the underlying instrument. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.</R>
<R>The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by a fund, but is instead a settlement between a fund and the FCM of the amount one would owe the other if the fund's contract expired. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is also required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.</R>
<R>Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement, and margin procedures that are different from those for U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may not involve a clearing mechanism or related guarantees and may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to a fund. Because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuation.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.</R>
<R>If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
<R>Futures contracts on U.S. Government securities historically have reacted to an increase or decrease in interest rates in a manner similar to the manner in which the underlying U.S. Government securities reacted. To the extent, however, that a fund enters into such futures contracts, the value of these futures contracts will not vary in direct proportion to the value of the fund's holdings of U.S. Government securities. Thus, the anticipated spread between the price of the futures contract and the hedged security may be distorted due to differences in the nature of the markets. The spread also may be distorted by differences in initial and variation margin requirements, the liquidity of such markets and the participation of speculators in such markets.</R>
<R> Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, baskets of assets or securities, indexes of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). Options may be traded on an exchange or OTC. The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. Depending on the terms of the contract, upon exercise, an option may require physical delivery of the underlying instrument or may be settled through cash payments. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.</R>
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
<R>The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right (but not the obligation) to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.</R>
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
<R>Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer should mitigate the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.</R>
<R>Where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price to close out the put or call option on the secondary market may move more or less than the price of the related security.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for exchange-traded options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.</R>
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
<R>A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps (swaptions), which are generally options on interest rate swaps. An option on a swap gives a party the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, a fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes (sells) an option on a swap than it will incur when it purchases an option on a swap. When a fund purchases an option on a swap, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when a fund writes an option on a swap, upon exercise of the option the fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement. A fund that writes an option on a swap receives the premium and bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the preset rate on the underlying interest rate swap. Whether a fund's use of options on swaps will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend on the adviser's ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Options on swaps may involve risks similar to those discussed below in "Swap Agreements."</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
<R> Swap Agreements. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term. Most swap agreements are currently traded over-the-counter. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange one or more payments based, for example, on the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, indexes, or other financial or economic interests). The gross payments to be exchanged between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.</R>
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness.
<R>A fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. In order to cover its outstanding obligations to a swap counterparty, a fund would generally be required to provide margin or collateral for the benefit of that counterparty. If a counterparty to a swap transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited temporarily or permanently in exercising its right to the return of related fund assets designated as margin or collateral in an action against the counterparty.</R>
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<R>Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that an adviser will not accurately forecast market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other economic factors in establishing swap positions for a fund. If an adviser attempts to use a swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, a fund may be exposed to the risk that the swap will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment, which could cause substantial losses for a fund. While hedging strategies involving swap instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Swaps are complex and often valued subjectively.</R>
Illiquid Securities cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity fund's adviser determines the liquidity of the fund's investments and, through reports from the fund's adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid securities.
Various factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments, including (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
Increasing Government Debt. The total public debt of the United States and other countries around the globe as a percent of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented.
A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt cost higher and cause a country to sell additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In the worst case, unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns.
On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States one level to "AA+" from "AAA." While Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the United States' short-term sovereign credit rating as "A-1+," there is no guarantee that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services will not decide to lower this rating in the future. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services stated that its decision was prompted by its view on the rising public debt burden and its perception of greater policymaking uncertainty. The market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government may be adversely affected by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services decisions to downgrade the long-term sovereign credit rating of the United States.
<R> Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indexes, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.</R>
<R>Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indexes. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.</R>
Indexed securities may have principal payments as well as coupon payments that depend on the performance of one or more interest rates. Their coupon rates or principal payments may change by several percentage points for every 1% interest rate change.
Mortgage-indexed securities, for example, could be structured to replicate the performance of mortgage securities and the characteristics of direct ownership.
Inflation-protected securities, for example, can be indexed to a measure of inflation, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
<R>Commodity-indexed securities, for example, can be indexed to a commodities index such as the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return SM .</R>
Gold-indexed securities typically provide for a maturity value that depends on the price of gold, resulting in a security whose price tends to rise and fall together with gold prices.
Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Insolvency of Issuers, Counterparties, and Intermediaries. Issuers of fund portfolio securities or counterparties to fund transactions that become insolvent or declare bankruptcy can pose special investment risks. In each circumstance, risk of loss, valuation uncertainty, increased illiquidity, and other unpredictable occurrences may negatively impact an investment. Each of these risks may be amplified in foreign markets, where security trading, settlement, and custodial practices can be less developed than those in the U.S. markets, and bankruptcy laws differ from those of the U.S.
As a general matter, if the issuer of a fund portfolio security is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock have priority over the claims of common stock owners. These events can negatively impact the value of the issuer's securities and the results of related proceedings can be unpredictable.
If a counterparty to a fund transaction, such as a swap transaction, a short sale, a borrowing, or other complex transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise rights to obtain the return of related fund assets or in exercising other rights against the counterparty. In addition, insolvency and liquidation proceedings take time to resolve, which can limit or preclude a fund's ability to terminate a transaction or obtain related assets or collateral in a timely fashion. Uncertainty may also arise upon the insolvency of a securities or commodities intermediary such as a broker-dealer or futures commission merchant with which a fund has pending transactions. If an intermediary becomes insolvent, while securities positions and other holdings may be protected by U.S. or foreign laws, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these protections are available to specific trades based on the circumstances. Receiving the benefit of these protections can also take time to resolve, which may result in illiquid positions.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a Fidelity fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) or its affiliates. A Fidelity fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. A Fidelity fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
<R> Investments by Large Shareholders. A fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by large shareholders. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a fund's portfolio. In addition, when investors own a substantial portion of a fund's shares, a large redemption could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the fund's shares. When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful. A high volume of redemption requests can impact a fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments.</R>
Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. Direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve a risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a fund supply additional cash to a borrower on demand. A fund may acquire loans by buying an assignment of all or a portion of the loan from a lender or by purchasing a loan participation from a lender or other purchaser of a participation.
Lenders and purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of foreign countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.
Direct lending and investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the lender/purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary.
A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest.
Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate lenders/purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a lender/purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
For a Fidelity fund that limits the amount of total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry, the fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require a fund, in appropriate circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for these purposes. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
Because the risk of default is higher for lower-quality debt securities, research and credit analysis are an especially important part of managing securities of this type. Such analysis may focus on relative values based on factors such as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earnings prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer, in an attempt to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved, or is expected to improve in the future.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Precious Metals. Precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, at times have been subject to substantial price fluctuations over short periods of time and may be affected by unpredictable monetary and political policies such as currency devaluations or revaluations, economic and social conditions within a country, trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries. The prices of gold and other precious metals, however, are less subject to local and company-specific factors than securities of individual companies. As a result, precious metals may be more or less volatile in price than securities of companies engaged in precious metals-related businesses. Investments in precious metals can present concerns such as delivery, storage and maintenance, possible illiquidity, and the unavailability of accurate market valuations. Although precious metals can be purchased in any form, including bullion and coins, a Fidelity fund intends to purchase only those forms of precious metals that are readily marketable and that can be stored in accordance with custody regulations applicable to mutual funds. A fund may incur higher custody and transaction costs for precious metals than for securities. Also, precious metals investments do not pay income.
For a fund to qualify as a regulated investment company under current federal tax law, gains from selling precious metals may not exceed 10% of the fund's gross income for its taxable year. This tax requirement could cause a fund to hold or sell precious metals or securities when it would not otherwise do so.
Preferred Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Equity real estate investment trusts own real estate properties, while mortgage real estate investment trusts make construction, development, and long-term mortgage loans. Their value may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property of the trusts, the creditworthiness of the issuer, property taxes, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements, such as those relating to the environment. Both types of trusts are dependent upon management skill, are not diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers, self-liquidation, and the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
<R> Reforms and Government Intervention in the Financial Markets. Economic downturns can trigger various economic, legal, budgetary, tax, and regulatory reforms across the globe. Instability in the financial markets in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn led the U.S. Government and other governments to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility, and in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Reforms are ongoing and their effects are uncertain. Federal, state, local, foreign, and other governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which a fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Reforms may also change the way in which a fund is regulated and could limit or preclude a fund's ability to achieve its investment objective or engage in certain strategies. Also, while reforms generally are intended to strengthen markets, systems, and public finances, they could affect fund expenses and the value of fund investments.</R>
The value of a fund's holdings is also generally subject to the risk of future local, national, or global economic disturbances based on unknown weaknesses in the markets in which a fund invests. In the event of such a disturbance, the issuers of securities held by a fund may experience significant declines in the value of their assets and even cease operations, or may receive government assistance accompanied by increased restrictions on their business operations or other government intervention. In addition, it is not certain that the U.S. Government or foreign governments will intervene in response to a future market disturbance and the effect of any such future intervention cannot be predicted.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its right to liquidate assets related to a repurchase agreement with an insolvent counterparty. A Fidelity fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities Lending. Securities lending allows a fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The fund seeks to maintain the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased.
Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies (which include business development companies (BDCs)), unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. For certain investment companies, such as BDCs, these expenses may be significant. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.
<R>The securities of closed-end funds may be leveraged. As a result, a fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. An investment in securities of closed-end funds that use leverage may expose a fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the fund's long-term returns on such securities will be diminished.</R>
The extent to which a fund can invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws.
Short Sales. Short sales involve the market sale of a security a fund has borrowed from a prime broker with which it has a contractual relationship, with the expectation that the security will underperform either the market or the securities that the fund holds long. A fund closes a short sale by purchasing the same security at the current market price and delivering it to the prime broker.
Until a fund closes out a short position, the fund is obligated to pay the prime broker (from which it borrowed the security sold short) interest as well as any dividends that accrue during the period of the loan. While a short position is outstanding, a fund must also pledge a portion of its assets to the prime broker as collateral for the borrowed security. The collateral will be marked to market daily.
Short positions create a risk that a fund will be required to cover them by buying the security at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the fund. A short position in a security poses more risk than holding the same security long. Because a short position loses value as the security's price increases, the loss on a short sale is theoretically unlimited. The loss on a long position is limited to what a fund originally paid for the security together with any transaction costs. A fund may not always be able to borrow a security the fund seeks to sell short at a particular time or at an acceptable price. As a result, a fund may be unable to fully implement its investment strategy due to a lack of available stocks or for other reasons. It is possible that the market value of the securities a fund holds in long positions will decline at the same time that the market value of the securities the fund has sold short increases, thereby increasing the fund's potential volatility. Because a fund may be required to pay dividends, interest, premiums and other expenses in connection with a short sale, any benefit for the fund resulting from the short sale will be decreased, and the amount of any ultimate gain will be decreased or of any loss will be increased, by the amount of such expenses.
A fund may also enter into short sales against the box. Short sales "against the box" are short sales of securities that a fund owns or has the right to obtain (equivalent in kind or amount to the securities sold short). If a fund enters into a short sale against the box, it will be required to set aside securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short (or securities convertible or exchangeable into such securities) and will be required to hold such securities while the short sale is outstanding. A fund will incur transaction costs, including interest expenses, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales against the box.
Sources of Liquidity or Credit Support. Issuers may employ various forms of credit and liquidity enhancements, including letters of credit, guarantees, swaps, puts, and demand features, and insurance provided by domestic or foreign entities such as banks and other financial institutions. An adviser and its affiliates may rely on their evaluation of the credit of the issuer or the credit of the liquidity or credit enhancement provider in determining whether to purchase or hold a security supported by such enhancement. In evaluating the credit of a foreign bank or other foreign entities, factors considered may include whether adequate public information about the entity is available and whether the entity may be subject to unfavorable political or economic developments, currency controls, or other government restrictions that might affect its ability to honor its commitment. Changes in the credit quality of the issuer and/or entity providing the enhancement could affect the value of the security or a fund's share price.
Sovereign Debt Obligations are issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies, including debt of Latin American nations or other developing countries. Sovereign debt may be in the form of conventional securities or other types of debt instruments such as loans or loan participations. Sovereign debt of developing countries may involve a high degree of risk, and may be in default or present the risk of default. Governmental entities responsible for repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal and pay interest when due, and may require renegotiation or rescheduling of debt payments. In addition, prospects for repayment of principal and payment of interest may depend on political as well as economic factors. Although some sovereign debt, such as Brady Bonds, is collateralized by U.S. Government securities, repayment of principal and payment of interest is not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument ( e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
<R> Temporary Defensive Policies. </R>
<R> In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, a fund may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If a fund does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund reserves the right to invest without limitation in preferred stocks and investment-grade debt instruments for temporary, defensive purposes.
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments which entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss.
Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
To the extent that Strategic Advisers grants investment management authority over an allocated portion of the fund's assets to a sub-adviser (see the section entitled "Management Contract"), that sub-adviser is authorized to provide the services described in the respective sub-advisory agreement, and in accordance with the policies described in this section.
Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities are placed on behalf of the fund by Strategic Advisers (either directly or through its affiliates) or a sub-adviser, pursuant to authority contained in the management contract and the respective sub-advisory agreement.
Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
<R>The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in affiliated funds, but it may incur such costs when it invests in non-affiliated funds and when it invests directly in other types of securities, including ETFs.</R>
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review Strategic Advisers' and its affiliates' and each sub-adviser's performance of their respective responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
Strategic Advisers.
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Strategic Advisers, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Strategic Advisers or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.</R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Strategic Advisers or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services Strategic Advisers or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Strategic Advisers' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Strategic Advisers or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.</R>
Research Contracts. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Strategic Advisers or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) who have entered into arrangements with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
<R>Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), with whom they are under common control, provided Strategic Advisers or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade-execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.</R>
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Strategic Advisers to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
Advisory Research, Inc. (ARI).
Pursuant to the Sub-Advisory Agreement, ARI determines which securities are to be purchased and sold for a portion of the fund's assets and which broker-dealers are eligible to execute the fund's portfolio transactions. The purchases and sales of securities in the over-the-counter market will generally be executed by using a broker for the transaction. Purchases of portfolio securities for the fund also may be made directly from issuers or from underwriters. Where possible, purchase and sale transactions will be effected through dealers (including banks) that specialize in the types of securities which the fund will be holding unless better executions are available elsewhere. Dealers and underwriters usually act as principals for their own accounts. Purchases from underwriters will include a concession paid by the issuer to the underwriter and purchases from dealers will include the spread between the bid and the asked price. If the execution and price offered by more than one dealer or underwriter are comparable, the order may be allocated to a dealer or underwriter that has provided research or other services as discussed below.
In placing portfolio transactions, ARI will use its reasonable efforts to choose broker-dealers capable of providing the services necessary to obtain the most favorable price and execution available. The full range and quality of services available will be considered in making these determinations, such as the size of the order, the difficulty of execution, the operational facilities of the broker-dealer involved, the risk in positioning the block of securities, and other factors. In those instances where it is reasonably determined that more than one broker-dealer can offer the services needed to obtain the most favorable price and execution available, consideration may be given to those broker-dealers which furnish or supply research and statistical information to ARI that they may lawfully and appropriately use in their investment advisory capacities, as well as provide other services in addition to execution services. ARI considers such information, which is in addition to and not in lieu of the services required to be performed by it under its Sub-Advisory Agreement with the fund, to be useful in varying degrees, but of indeterminable value.
While it is ARI's general policy to seek to obtain the most favorable price and execution available in selecting a broker-dealer to execute portfolio transactions for the fund, weight is also given to the ability of a broker-dealer to furnish brokerage and research services as defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, to the fund or to ARI, even if the specific services are not directly useful to the fund and may be useful to ARI in advising other clients. In negotiating commissions with a broker or evaluating the spread to be paid to a dealer, the fund may therefore pay a higher commission or spread than would be the case if no weight were given to the furnishing of these supplemental services, provided that the amount of such commission or spread has been determined in good faith by ARI to be reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research services provided by such broker-dealer. The standard of reasonableness is to be measured in light of ARI's overall responsibilities to the fund.
Investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other client accounts that may be managed or advised by ARI. Nevertheless, it is possible that at times, identical securities will be acceptable for both the fund and one or more of such client accounts. In such event, the position of the fund and such client accounts in the same issuer may vary and the holding period may likewise vary. However, to the extent any of these client accounts seek to acquire the same security as the fund at the same time, the fund may not be able to acquire as large a position in such security as it desires, or it may have to pay a higher price or obtain a lower yield for such security. Similarly, the fund may not be able to obtain as high a price for, or as large an execution of, an order to sell any particular security at the same time as ARI's other client accounts.
The fund does not effect securities transactions through brokers in accordance with any formula, nor does it effect securities transactions through brokers for selling shares of the fund. However, broker-dealers who execute brokerage transactions may effect purchase of shares of the fund for their customers.
Fred Alger Management, Inc. (Alger Management).
Decisions to buy and sell securities and other financial instruments for the fund are made by Alger Management, which also is responsible for placing these transactions, subject to the overall review of the Trust's Board of Trustees. Although investment requirements for the fund are reviewed independently from those of the other accounts managed by Alger Management and those of the other funds, investments of the type the fund may make may also be made by these other accounts or funds. When the fund and one or more other funds or accounts managed by Alger Management are prepared to invest in, or desire to dispose of, the same security or other financial instrument, available investments or opportunities for sales will be allocated in a manner believed by Alger Management to be equitable to each. In some cases, this procedure may affect adversely the price paid or received by a fund or the size of the position obtained or disposed of by a fund.
<R>Transactions in equity securities are in most cases effected on U. S. stock exchanges or in over-the-counter markets and involve the payment of negotiated brokerage commissions.</R>
<R> The cost of securities purchased from underwriters includes an underwriting commission or concession.</R>
<R>To the extent consistent with applicable provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules and exemptions adopted by the SEC thereunder, as well as other regulatory requirements, Alger Management's portion of fund transactions may be executed through Fred Alger & Company, Incorporated ("Alger Inc."), a registered broker-dealer, if, in the judgment of Alger Management, the use of Alger Inc. is likely to result in price and execution at least as favorable as those of other qualified broker-dealers and if, in particular transactions, Alger Inc. charges the fund involved a rate consistent with that which other broker-dealers charge to comparable unaffiliated customers in similar transactions.</R>
In selecting brokers or dealers to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of a fund, Alger Management seeks the best overall terms available. In assessing the best overall terms available for any transaction, Alger Management will consider the factors it deems relevant, including the breadth of the market in the investment, the price of the investment, the financial condition and execution capability of the broker or dealer and the reasonableness of the commission, if any, for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. In addition, Alger Management is authorized, in selecting parties to execute a particular transaction and in evaluating the best overall terms available, to consider the brokerage and research services, as those terms are defined in section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, provided to the fund involved, the other funds and/or other accounts over which Alger Management or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. Alger Management's fees under its agreements with the funds are not reduced by reason of its receiving brokerage and research service. The Board of Trustees will periodically review the commissions paid by the funds to determine if the commissions paid over representative periods of time are reasonable in relation to the benefits inuring to the funds.
Invesco Advisers, Inc. (Invesco).
The Selection of Brokers
Invesco's primary consideration in selecting brokers or dealers to execute portfolio transactions for the fund is to obtain best execution. Invesco considers the full range and quality of a broker's services, including the value of research and/or brokerage services provided, execution capability, commission rate, and willingness to commit capital, anonymity and responsiveness. The determinative factor is not the lowest commission or spread available but whether the transaction represents the best qualitative execution for the fund. Invesco will not select brokers based upon their promotion or sale of fund shares.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Invesco) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of brokerage or other research products and services (Soft Dollar Products) they provide to Invesco or its affiliates.
Research Products and Services supplement Invesco's own research (and the research of certain of its affiliates), and may include the following types of products and services: database, analyses related to the investment process (such as forecasts and models used in the portfolio management process), quotation/trading/news systems, economic data/forecasting tools, quantitative/technical analysis, fundamental/industry analysis, and other specialized tools.
Execution Services. Invesco also uses soft dollars to acquire products from third parties that are supplied to Invesco through brokers executing the trades or other brokers who "step in" to a transaction and receive a portion of the brokerage commission for the trade. Invesco may from time to time instruct the executing broker to allocate or "step out" a portion of a transaction to another broker. The broker to which Invesco has "stepped out" would then settle and complete the designated portion of the transaction, and the executing broker would settle and complete the remaining portion of the transaction that has not been "stepped out." Each broker may receive a commission or brokerage fee with respect to that portion of the transaction that it settles and completes.
Mixed-Use Products and Services. If Invesco determines that any service or product has a mixed use (i.e., it also serves functions that do not assist the investment decision-making or trading process), Invesco will allocate the costs of such service or product accordingly in its reasonable discretion. Invesco will allocate brokerage commissions to brokers only for the portion of the service or product that Invesco determines assists it in the investment decision-making or trading process and will pay for the remaining value of the product or service in cash.
Benefit to Invesco. Outside research assistance is useful to Invesco because the brokers used by Invesco tend to provide more in-depth analysis of a broader universe of securities and other matters than Invesco's staff follows. In addition, such services provide Invesco with a diverse perspective on financial markets. Some brokers may indicate that the provision of research services is dependent upon the generation of certain specified levels of commissions and underwriting concessions by Invesco's clients. In some cases, Soft Dollar Products are available only from the broker providing them. In other cases, Soft Dollar Products may be obtainable from alternative sources in return for cash payments. Invesco believes that because broker research supplements rather than replaces Invesco's research, the receipt of such research tends to improve the quality of Invesco's investment advice.
Potential Conflicts. Invesco faces a potential conflict of interest when it uses client trades to obtain Soft Dollar Products. This conflict exists because Invesco is able to use the Soft Dollar Products to manage client accounts without paying cash for the Soft Dollar Products, which reduces Invesco's expenses to the extent that Invesco would have purchased such products had they not been provided by brokers. Section 28(e) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended permits Invesco to use Soft Dollar Products for the benefit of any account it manages. Certain Invesco-managed accounts may generate soft dollars used to purchase Soft Dollar Products that ultimately benefit other Invesco-managed accounts, effectively cross subsidizing the other Invesco-managed accounts that benefit directly from the product. Invesco may not use all of the Soft Dollar Products provided by brokers through which a fund effects securities transactions in connection with managing the fund whose trades generated the soft dollars used to purchase such products.
Invesco attempts to reduce or eliminate the potential conflicts of interest concerning the use of Soft Dollar Products by directing client trades for Soft Dollar Products only if Invesco concludes that the broker supplying the product is capable of providing best execution.
Invesco's Decision-Making Process. In choosing brokers to execute portfolio transactions for the fund, Invesco may select brokers that provide Soft Dollar Products to the funds and/or the other accounts over which Invesco and its affiliates have investment discretion. Section 28(e) provides that Invesco, under certain circumstances, lawfully may cause an account to pay a higher commission than the lowest available. Invesco must make a good faith determination that the commissions paid are "reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or Invesco's overall responsibilities with respect to the accounts as to which it exercises investment discretion." The services provided by the broker also must lawfully and appropriately assist Invesco in the performance of its investment decision-making responsibilities. Accordingly, the fund may pay a broker commissions higher than those available from another broker in recognition of the broker's provision of Soft Dollar Products to Invesco.
Allocation of Portfolio Transactions
Invesco manages numerous funds and other accounts. Some of these accounts may have investment objectives similar to the fund. Occasionally, identical securities will be appropriate for investment by one of the funds and by another fund or one or more other accounts. However, the position of each account in the same security and the length of time that each account may hold its investment in the same security may vary. Invesco will also determine the timing and amount of purchases for an account based on its cash position. If the purchase or sale of securities is consistent with the investment policies of the fund(s) and one or more other accounts, and is considered at or about the same time, Invesco will allocate transactions in such securities among the fund(s) and these accounts on a pro rata basis based on order size or in such other manner believed by Invesco to be fair and equitable. Invesco may combine transactions in accordance with applicable laws and regulations to obtain the most favorable execution. Simultaneous transactions could, however, adversely affect a fund's ability to obtain or dispose of the full amount of a security which it seeks to purchase or sell.
<R> Kennedy Capital Management, Inc. (Kennedy Capital). </R>
<R> The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers </R>
<R>In determining which broker-dealers to execute trades Kennedy Capital considers various factors which it believes are important, such as the quality of trade executions, costs of transactions, quality of client services, execution capability, commission rates and volume discounts, financial responsibility, reputation, ability to integrate with existing systems, effectiveness of systems for monitoring client investments and regulatory compliance, and responsiveness. While Kennedy Capital seeks competitive commission rates, it may not necessarily obtain the lowest possible commission rates for client transactions. Broker-dealers may offer investment research, which may be used to service other accounts managed by Kennedy Capital.</R>
<R> The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services </R>
<R>Brokers (who are not affiliates of Kennedy Capital) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Kennedy Capital.</R>
<R> Research Products and Services. Certain broker-dealers through whom Kennedy Capital executes trades may provide research, brokerage products or other services (collectively "Products and Services"). The Products and Services may be useful for all client accounts, and not all research may be useful for the account for which the particular transaction was effected. Kennedy Capital may select broker-dealers that may be paid commissions for effecting transactions for clients that exceed the amounts other broker-dealers would have charged for effecting these transactions if it determines in good faith that such amounts are reasonable in relation to the value of the Products and Services provided by those broker-dealers, viewed either in terms of a particular transaction or in the overall duty to clients.</R>
<R>Products and Services may be used by Kennedy Capital for itself and/or in servicing some or all of its clients. In addition, some Products and Services may not necessarily be used for an account even though the account's commission dollars (or other transaction charges) helped to provide for the Products and Services. A client, therefore, may not, in any particular instance, be the direct or indirect beneficiary of the Products and Services provided.</R>
<R>Products and Services may either be provided by a broker-dealer, or paid for by a broker-dealer (either by direct or reimbursement payments - in whatever form - or by commissions, mark-ups, mark-downs or credits or by any other means) to be provided by others. The availability of such Products and Services may create a conflict between the interests of the client in obtaining the lowest cost execution and the interest in obtaining such services. Products and Services may be in any form (e.g., written, oral or online) and may include (but are not limited to): research products or services; clearance; settlement; on-line pricing and financial information; access to computerized data regarding clients' accounts; performance measurement data and services; portfolio strategy advice; market, economic and financial information; statistical information; data on the pricing and availability of securities; publications; electronic market quotations; document retrieval services; analyses concerning specific securities, companies, governments or sectors; market, economic, political and financial studies and forecasts; industry and company comments; technical data, recommendations and general reports; quotation services; custody; brokerage; and computer databases.</R>
<R>In addition, several brokers through whom Kennedy Capital executes orders provide proprietary research on general economic trends or particular companies. Kennedy Capital also periodically obtains opinions from health care providers or other industry experts on industries in general as well as on specific companies or technologies, and these providers may be compensated by a broker-dealer on Kennedy Capital's behalf. In many cases, third-party research and other services are provided by means of orders executed through brokers unrelated to the provider of research or other services.</R>
<R> Execution Services. Kennedy Capital, in recommending broker-dealers to clients, need not solicit competitive bids and does not have an obligation to seek the lowest available transaction cost (e.g., commission cost). It is generally not Kennedy Capital's practice to negotiate "execution only" transaction costs (e.g., commission rates); thus, clients may be deemed to be paying for Products and Services provided by the broker-dealer which are included in the transaction charges. When Kennedy Capital determines that more than one broker-dealer can offer the brokerage and execution services needed to obtain the best available price and most favorable execution, consideration may be given to recommending those broker-dealers which also supply Products and Services that assist in fulfilling investment advisory responsibilities. Products and Services may be used by Kennedy Capital or affiliates and/or in servicing some or all of Kennedy Capital's clients.</R>
<R> Mixed-Use Products and Services. In some instances, Kennedy Capital may receive Products and Services that may be used for both research/brokerage and non-research/brokerage purposes. In such instances, Kennedy Capital will make a good faith effort to determine the relative proportion of the Products and Services used for research/brokerage purposes and the relative proportion used for non-research/brokerage purposes. The proportion of the Products and Services attributable to research/brokerage purposes will be paid through brokerage commissions generated by client transactions; the proportion attributable to non-research/brokerage purposes will be paid for or reimbursed from Kennedy Capital's own resources. The receipt of "mixed-use" Products and Services and the determination of an appropriate allocation between research/brokerage and non-research/brokerage purposes create a potential conflict of interest between Kennedy Capital and its clients.</R>
<R> Benefits to Kennedy Capital. An adviser that uses client brokerage commissions to obtain research (whether proprietary or third-party), products, or services receives a benefit because it does not have to produce or pay for the research, products, or services itself. Consequently, the adviser may have an incentive to select or recommend a broker based on its desire to receive research, products, or services rather than a desire to obtain the most favorable execution, which is in the clients' best interest. Kennedy Capital seeks to obtain overall best execution for client transactions and in the selection of broker-dealers taking into account the value of the Products and Services of the type contemplated under Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are provided by broker-dealers.</R>
<R>Kennedy Capital's expenses likely would be increased if it attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through its own efforts, or if it paid for these brokerage and research products or services with its own resources. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Kennedy Capital or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Kennedy Capital may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.</R>
<R> Kennedy Capital Decision-Making Process. In choosing brokers to execute portfolio transactions for the fund, Kennedy Capital may select brokers that provide soft dollar Products and Services to the funds and/or the other accounts over which Kennedy Capital has investment discretion. Section 28(e) provides that Kennedy Capital, under certain circumstances, lawfully may cause an account to pay a higher commission than the lowest available. Kennedy Capital must make a good faith determination that the commissions paid are reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or Kennedy Capital's overall responsibilities with respect to the accounts as to which it exercises investment discretion. The services provided by the broker also must lawfully and appropriately assist Kennedy Capital in the performance of its investment decision-making responsibilities. Accordingly, the fund may pay broker commissions higher than those available from another broker in recognition of the broker's provision of Soft Dollar Products to Kennedy Capital.</R>
<R> Research Contracts. Kennedy Capital has entered into an agreement for certain business consulting services with an independent contractor who is also a consultant for one of the broker-dealers Kennedy Capital uses for trade execution services. In addition, the same broker-dealer provides proprietary research services to Kennedy Capital and pays for the consulting fees charged by the consultant which are paid for by means of client commissions. This contractual arrangement has been made by and between the business consultant and Kennedy Capital Management, Inc., and the broker-dealer is not a party to it. This arrangement has not caused Kennedy Capital to alter its use of this broker-dealer nor has it caused Kennedy Capital to commit to or pay additional commissions for client transactions.</R>
<R> Non-U.S. Transactions </R>
<R>To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Kennedy Capital may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.</R>
<R> Trade Allocation </R>
<R>Kennedy Capital may be able to obtain better execution and negotiate more favorable brokerage commissions for its clients by "bunching" orders in the same security with the objective of purchasing a block of stock for various clients. Whenever Kennedy Capital determines that it is in the client's best interest to bunch client orders, it will attempt to execute the transactions in this manner.</R>
<R>Shares purchased in bunched transactions are generally allocated pro-rata relative to account assets among the clients for whom the stock is being purchased subject to adjustment for additional factors, including: 1) cash availability within specific accounts, 2) consideration of minimum distribution of shares bought for an account, 3) portfolio sector balancing, and 4) building the percentage of assets invested in the stock in selected accounts. Allocations may also reflect the judgment of the portfolio manager as to the specific needs of an account, such as the need for cash. Shares allocated in accordance with these procedures are priced based on the average price of the executions.</R>
<R>A portfolio manager may work a particular stock without competition from other internal orders until the stock reaches a full position for the accounts in the composite/group. If the stock is being purchased by more than one composite/group, the shares are allocated in accordance with procedures that Kennedy Capital believes to be appropriate and equitable to each account.</R>
Neuberger Berman Management LLC (Neuberger Berman).
In determining the broker through which, and the transaction cost at which securities transactions for clients are to be effected, Neuberger Berman seeks to obtain the best results for the client. Neuberger Berman takes into consideration such relevant factors as price, the broker's execution ability, reliability and financial responsibility and the ability to help effect the transaction by contributing to critical elements as timing and order size. Commission rates, being a component of purchase/sale price are also considered as a factor. Neuberger Berman does not obligate itself to seek the lowest commission cost except to the extent that it contributes to the overall goal of obtaining the best results for clients.
Transactions are reviewed on a daily basis at the trading and portfolio management level, and periodically by senior trading management. On a quarterly basis, the firm's transaction committee meets and reviews all of the firm's equity transaction using ITG's Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA) product. ITG is an independent firm whose TCA benchmarking product analyzes Neuberger's equity execution quality. The Portfolio Transactions Committee of the Neuberger Berman Mutual Funds also reviews the ITG analysis.
On an annual basis the Head Trader of Neuberger Berman's Equity Trading Desk and the CIO, Equities perform a comparative review of Neuberger Berman's commission rates against the Greenwich Associates peer review survey. Neuberger Berman utilizes this survey as a means to assess its average blended commission rate. Neuberger Berman's trading desk monitors its targeted blended rate through various internal commission reports.
Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis).
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Pyramis or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Pyramis, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Pyramis or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Pyramis' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Pyramis or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and character of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Pyramis and/or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for lessening or avoiding market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Pyramis and/or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Pyramis and/or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Pyramis and/or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Pyramis or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker is generally the same as the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Pyramis and/or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Pyramis) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Pyramis or its affiliates.
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. Pyramis or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Pyramis' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. </R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Pyramis or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in their investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Pyramis or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefits to Pyramis. Pyramis' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these products or services with their own resources. However, the trading desks of Pyramis and its affiliates are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services that Pyramis or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Pyramis or its affiliates or might not have an explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Pyramis or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Pyramis' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Pyramis or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Pyramis or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Pyramis' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Pyramis or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Pyramis or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Pyramis, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Pyramis or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Pyramis or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Pyramis or its affiliates.</R>
<R> Research Contracts. Pyramis or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Pyramis or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Pyramis or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Pyramis or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Pyramis or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Pyramis' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately ( e.g., with hard dollars), rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Pyramis' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.</R>
Commission Recapture
Pyramis or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Pyramis) who have entered into arrangements with Pyramis or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
Pyramis or its affiliates may be authorized to place portfolio transactions with Fidelity Capital Markets (FCM), a division of NFS, an affiliated broker-dealer of Pyramis and its affiliates, or other broker-dealers with whom they are under common control, and use CrossStream, an alternative trading system operated by NFS, if they reasonably believe the quality of the transaction is comparable to what it would be with other qualified broker-dealers. With respect to trades that are executed by Pyramis' affiliates, Pyramis and such affiliate seek to ensure that the trade execution obtained is comparable to that of unaffiliated brokers and that the continued use of such affiliate is appropriate. In addition, Pyramis or its affiliates may place trades with broker-dealers that use NFS as a clearing agent.
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Securities Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Pyramis or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers or may engage a third party to do so.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Pyramis or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Pyramis or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Pyramis to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
Systematic Financial Management, L.P. (Systematic).
Best Execution
It is Systematic's duty to seek the best overall execution of transactions for client accounts consistent with the Firm's judgment as to the business qualifications of the various broker-dealers with which Systematic may do business. In selecting broker-dealers to effect securities transactions for clients, Systematic will select broker-dealers based on its consideration of the broker's financial soundness, the broker's ability to effectively and efficiently execute, report, clear and settle the order, provide valuable research, commit capital, timely and accurately communicate with Systematic's trading desk and operations team and charge commission rates which, when combined with these services, will produce the most favorable total cost or proceeds for each transaction under the circumstances. "Best execution" is generally understood to mean the most favorable cost or net proceeds reasonably obtained under the circumstances.
Systematic's approach to seeking best execution focuses on consideration of explicit commission costs or spreads as well as on critically important factors such as minimizing market impact and price movements and achieving the Firm's overall investment goals. The Firm seeks to negotiate commission rates which, when combined with the factors used in the selection of brokers, will produce the most favorable total cost or proceeds for each transaction under the circumstances. Systematic is not obligated to choose the broker-dealer offering the lowest available commission rate if, in the Firm's reasonable judgment, there is a risk that the total cost or proceeds from the transaction may be less favorable than may be obtained elsewhere, or, if a higher commission is justified by trading provided by the broker-dealer, or if other considerations, such as those set forth above dictate utilizing a different broker-dealer. While Systematic's approach seeks to contain explicit trading costs, these considerations may not predominate in seeking to achieve the Firm's overall investment goals.
Selection Factors for Brokers
If the client engages Systematic on a fully discretionary basis, Systematic will select a broker based on a number of factors, which may include but are not limited to the following: the broker's financial soundness, the broker's ability to effectively and efficiently execute, report, clear and settle the order, provide valuable research, commit capital, timely and accurately communicate with Systematic's trading desk and operations team; research services provided in connection with soft dollar arrangements; and similar factors. Recognizing the value of these factors, Systematic may allow a brokerage commission in excess of that which another broker might have charged for effecting the same transaction.
When selecting trading venues on which to execute an order, Systematic generally considers whether it has viable options among trading venues such as different markets or trading systems. If options exist, Systematic may consider executing part or all of the trade order using an Alternative Trading System ("ATS"). These systems can, but not always, permit at least as favorable a quality of execution as may occur using conventional brokers on conventional exchanges. These systems may reduce the role of market makers and can assist buyers and sellers in dealing directly with each other, thereby increasing market anonymity. ATS's may also offer limited market impact, lower commissions, and protection of proprietary information with respect to relatively liquid securities. At times however, these systems may also present certain limitations. In certain trading circumstances, given time constraints, priority trading needs, lack of liquidity or other conditions use of such alternative trading systems may be impractical. Systematic is not required to use alternative trading systems in any particular circumstances.
Commission Rates
Systematic obtains information as to the general level of commission rates being charged by the brokerage community from time to time and periodically evaluates the overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions paid on client transactions by reference to such data.
Systematic periodically reviews the past performance of the exchange members, brokers, or dealers with whom it has been placing order to execute portfolio transactions in light of the factors discussed above. Systematic may cease to do business with certain exchange members, brokers or dealers whose performance may not have been competitive or may demand that such persons improve their performance before receiving any further orders.
Systematic monitors the commission rates paid by clients whose transactions are executed with or through brokers selected by the Firm. As appropriate and warranted, the Firm takes steps to renegotiate its commission rates where the Firm has discretion to choose the broker with which the transaction is to be executed. Systematic also uses soft dollars which may result in client's paying higher commission rates than what may be available for execution-only trades, as further described under the Soft Dollar disclosure below.
Systematic shall not be responsible for obtaining competitive bids on directed trades done on a net basis. Systematic may be unable to obtain a more favorable price based on transaction volume on transactions that cannot be aggregated with transactions of its other advisory clients. Systematic may enter certain orders after other clients' orders for the same security, with the result that market movements may work against the client.
Trade Allocation and Aggregation
Trade allocation decisions are made among client accounts to ensure fair and equitable treatment of client accounts over time. Investment decisions are generally applied to all accounts utilizing that particular strategy, taking into consideration client restrictions, instructions and individual needs. Systematic, when rebalancing individual accounts, may or may not have an opportunity to aggregate or "bunch" trades; thus there may be disparity in price or commissions among clients. When the brokerage firm has not been designated by the clients, Systematic may, but is not obligated to, aggregate or "bunch" trades of securities to be purchased or sold into block trades in order to seek the most favorable execution and lower brokerage commissions in such manner as Systematic deems equitable and fair to the clients. As a general rule, all accounts for which trades are aggregated will receive the same average execution price for that day. All allocations of block trades, including expenses incurred in the transaction, shall be made on a fair and equitable basis over time, to the extent practicable, without favoring any account or type of account or client over another over a period of time. In cases when a trade is not completed in a single "bunched" day, Systematic will allocate the traded shares on a pro-rata basis among all of the accounts in the trade block. Systematic is not obligated to aggregate trades in any circumstances.
The choice of the method of trade allocation will be based on various factors including how much of the total block was completed and the liquidity of the issue being traded.
Although Systematic generally seeks to allocate investment opportunities as fairly and equitably as possible over the long term, Systematic cannot assure the equal participation of every client in every investment opportunity or every transaction. Systematic may determine that a limited supply or demand for a particular opportunity or investment or other factors noted above may preclude the participation of some clients in a particular investment opportunity or trade.
Initial Public Offerings
Initial public offerings ("IPOs") and certain secondary offerings often present limited opportunities for client participation because not all clients are eligible to participate in every offering; the number of shares of each offering allotted to Systematic may be too small to permit meaningful participation by all clients that may be eligible to participate; and the number and nature of offerings generally may be dependent upon market or economic factors beyond the Firm's control.
IPOs typically do not qualify for the traditional value style portfolios managed by Systematic due to a lack of earnings and/or cash flows associated with a new issuance. In the event that Systematic participates in any initial public offerings and other securities with limited availability, Systematic allocates IPOs among client accounts in a fair and equitable manner over time, taking into consideration factors such as client account objectives and preference, investment restrictions, account sizes, cash availability, and current specific needs. Systematic generally seeks to ensure that over the long term, each eligible client with the same or similar investment objectives will receive an equitable opportunity to participate in such offerings, and that no eligible client will be unfairly disadvantaged, subject to limitations noted above. Secondary offerings are generally allocated to non-directed accounts based on product style and account size. Systematic's Wrap accounts and non-discretionary program (or directed accounts) are generally not eligible for IPOs.
Soft Dollars
<R>Consistent with Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended Systematic may direct certain transactions for execution to certain broker/dealers in recognition of brokerage and research services provided by those broker/dealers and/or other third-party providers. The practice of obtaining research in this manner is referred to as using "soft dollars." Systematic may facilitate its use of soft dollars through traditional soft dollar arrangements, commission sharing arrangements ("CSAs") and/or "full service" broker/dealers offering "bundled" services. The products and services provided are either proprietary (created and provided by the broker/dealer, including tangible research products, as well as, for example, access to company management or broker/dealer generated research reports) or third-party (created by the third-party, but provided by the broker/dealers), and, may include, investment research (either directly or through publications or reports) as to the value of securities, the advisability of investing in, purchasing, or selling securities, the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities, presentation of special situations and trading opportunities, advice concerning trading strategy, and analyses and reports concerning issues, industries, securities, economic factors and trends, portfolio strategy, and the performance of specific strategies. This practice of generating and using soft dollars generally causes clients to pay a broker/dealer a commission rate higher than a broker/dealer would charge for execution only services.</R>
<R>In the allocation of brokerage, Systematic may give preference to those broker/dealers that provide research products and services, either directly or indirectly, so long as Systematic believes that the selection of a particular broker/dealer is consistent with Systematic's duty to seek best execution. To the extent that Systematic is able to obtain such products and services through the use of clients' commission dollars, it reduces the need to produce the same research internally or through outside providers for hard dollars and thus provides an economic benefit to Systematic and its clients. As an example, Systematic has received research services relating to data used by the investment team for attribution analysis and risk control purposes; software that has substantial data, alpha and risk models and the ability to track news events on portfolios, and industry-specific information, which Systematic has found useful in its research process. Systematic may have an incentive to select a broker/dealer in order to receive such products and services whether or not the client receives best execution. On an ongoing basis, Systematic monitors the research and brokerage services received to ensure that the services received are reasonable in relation to the brokerage allocated.</R>
<R>Products and services which provide lawful and appropriate assistance to Systematic's investment decision-making process may be paid for with commissions generated by client accounts to the extent such products and services were used in that process. Systematic allocates the cost of such products on a basis that it deems reasonable over time according to the various uses of the product, and maintains records to document this allocation process. Systematic does not, as a matter of practice, employ step-out transactions for the purpose of securing such products and services.</R>
<R>In traditional soft dollar arrangements, trades placed by Systematic with certain broker-dealers generate soft dollars based upon the amount of commissions associated with Systematic's trades. An agreement between Systematic and the broker-dealer then obligates the broker-dealer to pay for a specific research or brokerage product or service received by Systematic.</R>
<R></R>
<R>In addition to traditional soft dollar arrangements, Systematic may use CSAs, under which certain broker-dealers allocate a percentage of commissions generated by Systematic's trades with the broker-dealer to a pool of soft dollars. Systematic may use these commissions to obtain products or services provided by the broker/dealers ("proprietary research") or direct compensation from the pool to third party service providers, which may or may not be broker-dealers, pursuant to an agreement between Systematic and the broker/dealer. Through these pooled CSA structures, Systematic could conclude that if a broker dealer does not meet its requirements in terms of execution capabilities, yet provides valuable research, it could terminate any execution relationship and pay for the research through another broker/dealer. The CSAs enable Systematic to work more closely with certain key broker/dealers, and limit the broker/dealers with whom it trades, while still maintaining research relationships with broker/dealers that provide Systematic with research and research services.</R>
<R>Systematic may also receive unsolicited proprietary research from broker/dealers through which it trades. Proprietary research of this nature is generally part of a "bundle" of brokerage and research and is not separately priced. Any research received is used to service all clients to which it is applicable. Systematic executes trade orders with broker/dealers on the basis of best execution, without consideration of any unsolicited research services that it may receive. Systematic makes no attempts to link the acquisition of unsolicited research with any particular client transactions.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Systematic may also receive services which, based on their use, are only partially paid for through soft dollars. Any such service is considered "mixed-use" because it is used by Systematic for both research or brokerage and non-research, non-brokerage purposes, such as for administration or marketing. In each such case, Systematic makes a good faith determination of which portion of the service should be paid for with soft dollars and which portion should be paid for with hard dollars. Systematic allocates the cost of the products on a basis which it deemed reasonable according to the various uses of the product. Only that portion of the cost of the product allocable to research services would be paid with the brokerage commissions generated by fiduciary accounts and the non-research portion will be paid in cash by Systematic. Systematic retains documentation of the soft to hard dollar allocation for mixed-use items and periodically reviews this allocation.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Systematic uses the research products/services provided by broker/dealers through its soft dollar arrangements in formulating investment advice for any and all clients' accounts, including accounts other than those that paid commissions to the broker/dealers on a particular transaction. As a result, not all research generated by a particular client's trade will benefit that particular client's account. In some instances, the other accounts benefited may include accounts for which the accounts' owners have directed their portion of brokerage commissions to go to particular broker/dealers other than those that provided the research products/services. However, research services obtained through soft dollar transactions may be used in advising all accounts, and not all such services would necessarily be used by Systematic in connection with the specific account that paid commissions to the broker/dealer providing such services. From time to time, certain clients may request that Systematic not generate soft dollar credits on trades executed for their accounts. While Systematic may accommodate such requests in its discretion, trades for these clients generally do not experience lower transaction costs. In addition, the trading process for these clients may be adversely affected in other ways, including that the client may not participate in aggregated orders with clients that have not made such a request, therefore preventing the client from receiving the price and execution benefits of the aggregated order. In addition, and as with other directed or customized brokerage arrangements, the positions of these accounts in trade ordering and trade rotation may be impacted. Systematic reserves the right to reject or limit client requests of this type, and clients may be charged a premium for such arrangements.</R>
<R></R>
<R>For additional information regarding Systematic's use of soft-dollars, as well as its brokerage practices generally, please refer to Item 12 of Systematic's Form ADV Part 2A.</R>
Commissions Paid
A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
<R>For the fiscal periods ended February 28, 2013 and February 29, 2012, the fund's portfolio turnover rates were 53% and 63%, respectively. Variations in turnover rate may be due to a fluctuating volume of shareholder purchase and redemption orders, market conditions, and/or changes in Strategic Advisers' investment outlook.</R>
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund held securities issued by one or more of its regular brokers or dealers or a parent company of its regular brokers or dealers. The following table shows the aggregate value of the securities of the regular broker or dealer or parent company held by the fund as of the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013.</R>
<R> Fund |
Regular Broker or Dealer |
Aggregate Value of
|
<R>Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund |
Stifel Financial Corp. |
$ 2,928,232</R> |
<R>The following table shows the total amount of brokerage commissions paid by the fund, comprising commissions paid on securities and/or futures transactions, as applicable, for the fiscal years ended February 28, 2013, February 29, 2012, and February 28, 2011. The total amount of brokerage commissions paid is stated as a dollar amount and a percentage of the fund's average net assets.</R>
Fiscal Year
|
|
Dollar
|
Percentage of
|
<R>2013 |
|
$ 1,741,813 |
0.07%</R> |
2012 + |
|
$ 2,528,608 |
0.10% |
2011 |
|
$ 1,795,382 |
0.10% |
<R> |
|
|
</R> |
+ Fiscal year ended February 29.
<R></R>
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the following brokerage commissions were paid to affiliated brokers:</R>
<R> Broker |
Affiliated With |
Commissions |
Percentage of
|
Percentage of
|
<R>Alger Inc. |
Alger Management |
$ 140,251 |
8.05% |
2.81%</R> |
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 29, 2012, the following brokerage commissions were paid to affiliated brokers:</R>
<R> Broker |
Affiliated With |
Commissions</R> |
<R>NFS |
Strategic Advisers |
$ 481</R> |
<R>Alger Inc. |
Alger Management |
$ 107,318</R> |
<R>Citigroup Global Markets |
Invesco |
$ 13</R> |
<R>Buckingham Research Group Inc. |
Systematic |
$ 303</R> |
<R>Suntrust Capital Markets Inc. |
Systematic |
$ 2,852</R> |
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2011, the following brokerage commissions were paid to affiliated brokers:</R>
<R> Broker |
Affiliated With |
Commissions</R> |
<R>NFS |
Strategic Advisers |
$ 69</R> |
<R>Alger Inc. |
Alger Management |
$ 60,434</R> |
<R>Piper Jaffrey & Co. |
Alger Management |
$ 10,003</R> |
<R>Citigroup Global Markets |
Invesco |
$ 885</R> |
<R>Brokerage commissions may vary significantly from year to year due to a variety of factors, including the types of investments selected by the sub-adviser(s), changes in transaction costs, and market conditions.</R>
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid $1,125,702 in brokerage commissions to firms that may have provided research or brokerage services involving approximately $1,177,404,648 of transactions.</R>
The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. The NAV of the fund is computed by adding the value of the fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting its liabilities, and dividing the result by the number of shares outstanding.
The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for pricing, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers has established the Strategic Advisers Fair Value Committee (Strategic Advisers Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities. The Strategic Advisers Committee may rely on information and recommendations provided by affiliates of Strategic Advisers in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, including the fair valuation of securities.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) held by the fund are valued at their respective NAVs. If an underlying fund's NAV is unavailable, shares of that underlying fund will be fair valued in good faith by the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by the fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity non-money market fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
<R>Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques.</R>
Short-term securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less for which market quotations and information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates current value.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
<R>Prices described above are obtained from pricing services that have been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available and the funds may use more than one of these services. The funds may also discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time. Strategic Advisers engages in oversight activities with respect to the fund's pricing services, which includes, among other things, testing the prices provided by pricing services prior to calculation of a fund's NAV, conducting periodic due diligence meetings, and periodically reviewing the methodologies and inputs used by these services.</R>
<R>Foreign securities and instruments are valued in their local currency following the methodologies described above. Foreign securities, instruments and currencies are translated to U.S. dollars, based on foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by a pricing service as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which uses a proprietary model to determine the exchange rate. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at an interpolated rate based on days to maturity between the closest preceding and subsequent settlement period reported by the third party pricing service.</R>
The Board of Trustees of the underlying Fidelity funds has ultimate responsibility for pricing portfolio securities and assets held by those funds, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee and the Strategic Advisers Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and ADRs, market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. This technique involves initially valuing an instrument at its cost as adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount rather than its current market value. The amortized cost value of an instrument may be higher or lower than the price a money market fund would receive if it sold the instrument.
At such intervals as they deem appropriate, the Trustees of an underlying Fidelity money market fund consider the extent to which NAV calculated using market valuations would deviate from the $1.00 per share calculated using amortized cost valuation. If the Trustees believe that a deviation from a money market fund's amortized cost per share may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Trustees have agreed to take such corrective action, if any, as they deem appropriate to eliminate or reduce, to the extent reasonably practicable, the dilution or unfair results. Such corrective action could include selling portfolio instruments prior to maturity to realize capital gains or losses or to shorten average portfolio maturity; withholding dividends; redeeming shares in kind; establishing NAV by using available market quotations; and such other measures as the Trustees may deem appropriate.
BUYING AND SELLING INFORMATION
Shares of the fund are offered only to certain clients of Strategic Advisers that have granted Strategic Advisers discretionary investment authority. If you are not currently a Strategic Advisers client, please call 1-800-544-3455 for more information.
Investors participating in a Strategic Advisers discretionary investment program are charged an annual advisory fee based on a percentage of the average market value of assets in their account. The stated fee is then reduced by a credit reflecting the amount of fees, if any, received by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates from mutual funds for investment management or certain other services.
The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the fund's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
Dividends. A portion of the fund's income may qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, but it is unlikely that all of the fund's income will qualify for the deduction. A portion of the fund's dividends, when distributed to individual shareholders, may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
Capital Gain Distributions. The fund's long-term capital gain distributions, including amounts attributable to an underlying fund's long-term capital gain distributions, are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.
Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. As a general matter, if, at the close of its fiscal year, more than 50% of the fund's total assets is invested in securities of foreign issuers, the fund may elect to pass through eligible foreign taxes paid and thereby allow shareholders to take a deduction or, if they meet certain holding period requirements with respect to fund shares, a credit on their individual tax returns. In addition, if at the close of each quarter of its fiscal year at least 50% of the fund's total assets is represented by interests in other regulated investment companies, the same rules will apply to any foreign tax credits that underlying funds pass through to the fund. The amount of foreign taxes paid by the fund will be reduced to the extent that the fund lends securities over the dividend record date. Special rules may apply to the credit for individuals who receive dividends qualifying for the long-term capital gains tax rate.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
<R>The Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and executive officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. If the interests of the fund and an underlying Fidelity fund were to diverge, a conflict of interest could arise and affect how the Trustees and Member of the Advisory Board fulfill their fiduciary duties to the affected funds. Strategic Advisers has structured the fund to avoid these potential conflicts, although there may be situations where a conflict of interest is unavoidable. In such instances, Strategic Advisers, the Trustees, and Member of the Advisory Board would take reasonable steps to minimize and, if possible, eliminate the conflict. Except for Mary C. Farrell, each of the Trustees oversees 26 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. Ms. Farrell oversees 20 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.</R>
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. The executive officers and Advisory Board Member hold office without limit in time, except that any officer and Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
<R>Each Trustee who is not an interested person of the trust and the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) is referred to herein as an Independent Trustee.</R>
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Fund's Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also engage professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates with experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. Additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, may be considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. Roger T. Servison is an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) and currently serves as Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Ralph F. Cox serves as the lead Independent Trustee and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
<R>Fidelity funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees asset allocation funds as well as the Fidelity enhanced index funds. Other boards oversee Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds and Fidelity's equity and high income funds. The fund may invest in Fidelity funds overseen by such other Boards. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues.</R>
The Trustees primarily operate as a full Board, but also operate in committees, to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board has charged Strategic Advisers and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through Strategic Advisers, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. Board oversight of different aspects of the fund's activities is exercised primarily through the full Board, but also through the Audit and Compliance Committee. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees."
Interested Trustees *:
<R>Correspondence intended for each Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
|
<R>Roger T. Servison (1945)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Servison is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Servison serves as President of Strategic New Business Development for Fidelity Investments and serves as a Director of Strategic Advisers. Previously, Mr. Servison oversaw Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company (2005-2006) and Strategic Advisers (2005-2007). Mr. Servison also served as President and a Director of Fidelity Brokerage Services (Japan), LLC (1994-2004). |
<R>Derek L. Young (1964)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Mr. Young is Vice President of Fidelity's Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present), President and a Director of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2011-present), President of Fidelity Global Asset Allocation (GAA) (2011-present), and Vice Chairman of Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2011-present). Previously, Mr. Young served as Chief Investment Officer of GAA (2009-2011) and as a portfolio manager. |
* Trustees have been determined to be "Interested Trustees" by virtue of, among other things, their affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with Strategic Advisers.
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees :
Correspondence intended for each Independent Trustee (that is, the Trustees other than the Interested Trustees) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
|
<R>Peter C. Aldrich (1944)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Aldrich is a Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Director of the funds of BlackRock Realty Group (2006-present). Previously, Mr. Aldrich served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010), a Managing Member of Poseidon, LLC (foreign private investment, 1998-2004), and Chairman and Managing Member of AEGIS, LLC (foreign private investment, 1997-2004). Mr. Aldrich also served as Faculty Chairman of The Research Council on Global Investment of The Conference Board (business and professional education non-profit, 1999-2004). Mr. Aldrich is a Member of the Boards of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and an Overseer of the Longy School of Music. |
<R>Amy Butte Liebowitz (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011</R> Ms. Butte Liebowitz was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of TILE Financial (financial internet service, 2008-2012). Previously, Ms. Butte Liebowitz served as the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of MF Global (broker-dealer, 2006-2008), and Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange (2004-2006). Ms. Butte Liebowitz is a member of the Boards of Directors of Accion International and the New York Women's Forum, as well as an alumna of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader program. |
<R>Ralph F. Cox (1932)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Cox is President of RABAR Enterprises (management consulting for the petroleum industry). Mr. Cox is a Director of Abraxas Petroleum (exploration and production). Mr. Cox is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Business and Engineering Schools of Texas A&M University and the Engineering School of University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Mr. Cox served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010) and as an Advisory Director of CH2M Hill Companies (engineering, 1981-2011). Mr. Ralph F. Cox and Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. are not related. |
<R>Mary C. Farrell (1949)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2013</R> Ms. Farrell is a Director of the W.R. Berkley Corporation (insurance provider) and President (2009-present) and Director (2006-present) of the Howard Gilman Foundation (charitable organization). Previously, Ms. Farrell was Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at UBS Wealth Management USA and Co-Head of UBS Wealth Management Investment Strategy & Research Group (2003-2005). Ms. Farrell also served as Investment Strategist at PaineWebber (1982-2000) and UBS PaineWebber (2000-2002). Ms. Farrell also serves as Trustee on the Board of Overseers of the New York University Stern School of Business, the Board of Trustees of Yale-New Haven Hospital and is a member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II. |
<R>Karen Kaplan (1960)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Ms. Kaplan is President of Hill Holliday (advertising and specialized marketing, 2007-present). Ms. Kaplan is a Director of DSM (dba Delta Dental and DentaQuest) (2004-present), Director of Vera Bradley (2012-present), Member of the Board of Governors of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston (2010-present), Member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference for Women (2008-present), Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (2006-present), Board of Directors of Jobs for Massachusetts (2012-present), National Association of Corporate Directors Chapter (2012-present), and Board of Directors of the Post Office Square Trust (2012-present). She is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, an action oriented community of the most effective CEOs, heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, and non-governmental leaders in the world. Previously, Ms. Kaplan served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010), President of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2008-2010), Treasurer of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2002-2006), Vice Chair of the Board of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2003-2010), Director of United Way of Massachusetts Bay (2004-2006), Director of ADVO (direct mail marketing, 2003-2007), and Director of Tweeter Home Entertainment Group (2006-2007). |
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Member and Executive Officers :
<R>Correspondence intended for each executive officer and Howard E. Cox, Jr. may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupation</R> |
|
<R>Howard E. Cox, Jr. (1944)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II. Mr. Cox is a Member of the Advisory Board of Devonshire Investors (2009-present). Mr. Cox serves as an Advisory Partner of Greylock (venture capital) and a Director of Stryker Corporation (medical products and services). Previously, Mr. Cox served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010) and a Member of the Secretary of Defense's Business Board of Directors (2008-2010). Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. and Mr. Ralph F. Cox are not related. |
<R>Kenneth B. Robins (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 President and Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Robins also serves as President and Treasurer of other Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds (2008-present) and Assistant Treasurer of other Fidelity Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present). Mr. Robins is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Robins served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2005-2008) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2006-2008). |
<R>Marc Bryant (1966)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of the fund. Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Fidelity Investments. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Mr. Bryant served as a Senior Vice President and the Head of Global Retail Legal for AllianceBernstein L.P. (2006-2010), and as the General Counsel for ProFund Advisors LLC (2001-2006). |
<R>Elizabeth Paige Baumann (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer of the fund. Ms. Baumann also serves as AML Officer of the Fidelity funds (2012-present) and The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2012-present), Chief AML Officer of FMR LLC (2012-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Baumann served as Vice President and Deputy Anti-Money Laundering Officer (2007-2012). |
<R>Nicholas E. Steck (1964)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the fund. Mr. Steck serves as Senior Vice President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. During the period 2002 to 2009, Mr. Steck served as a Compliance Officer of FMR, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc., FMR LLC, Fidelity Research & Analysis (U.K.) Inc., Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. |
<R>Laura M. Doherty (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Compliance Officer of the fund. Ms. Doherty also serves as Senior Vice President of the Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Doherty served as a Vice President in Fidelity's Corporate Audit department (1998-2008). |
<R>Adrien E. Deberghes (1967)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Deberghes also serves as Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) and Deputy Treasurer (2008-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Deberghes served as Senior Vice President of Mutual Fund Administration at State Street Corporation (2007-2008), Senior Director of Mutual Fund Administration at Investors Bank & Trust (2005-2007), and Director of Finance for Dunkin' Brands (2000-2005). |
<R>Stephanie J. Dorsey (1969)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Ms. Dorsey also serves as President and Treasurer (2013-present) and Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Dorsey served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2008-2013), Treasurer (2004-2008) of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds and Vice President (2004-2008) of JPMorgan Chase Bank. |
<R>Jonathan Davis (1968)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Davis is also Assistant Treasurer of certain Fidelity funds. Mr. Davis is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2003-2010). |
<R>Margaret A. Carey (1973)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 </R> Assistant Secretary of the fund. Ms. Carey also serves as Assistant Secretary of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present), Vice President, Associate General Counsel (2007-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). |
Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established two committees to supplement the work of the Board as a whole. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
<R>The Audit and Compliance Committee is composed of Ms. Butte Liebowitz (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, Mr. Ralph Cox, and Mses. Farrell and Kaplan. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The committee determines whether at least one member of the committee is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined in rules promulgated by the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The committee normally meets in conjunction with in person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee meets separately periodically with the fund's Treasurer, the fund's Chief Financial Officer, the fund's CCO, personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and the fund's outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the fund for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the fund and the fund's service providers, (ii) the financial reporting processes of the fund, (iii) the independence, objectivity and qualification of the auditors to the fund, (iv) the annual audits of the fund's financial statements, and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the fund. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations (Auditor Independence Regulations) of the SEC. In furtherance of the foregoing, the committee has adopted (and may from time to time amend or supplement) and provides oversight of policies and procedures for non-audit engagements by outside auditors of the fund. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the fund and for resolving disagreements between the fund and any outside auditor regarding the fund's financial reporting, and has sole authority to hire and fire any auditor. Auditors of the fund report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the fund and any service providers consistent with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Ethics and Independence Rule 3526, Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence. The committee will discuss with the outside auditors any such disclosed relationships and their impact on the auditor's independence and objectivity. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the Auditor Independence Regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the fund's service providers' internal controls and reviews with management, internal auditors, and outside auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of the fund's and service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the fund's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the fund's or service provider's internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will review with counsel any legal matters that may have a material impact on the fund's financial statements and any material reports or inquiries received from regulators or governmental agencies. The committee reviews at least annually a report from the outside auditor describing (i) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control review, peer review, or PCAOB examination of the auditing firm and (ii) any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm since the most recent report and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the fund's financial reporting process and will receive reports from an outside auditor relating to (i) critical accounting policies and practices used by the fund, (ii) alternative accounting treatments that the auditor has discussed with Strategic Advisers, and (iii) other material written communications between the auditor and Strategic Advisers (as determined by the auditor). The committee will discuss with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the fund. The committee will review with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC (to the extent relevant) the results of audits of the fund's financial statements. The committee will review periodically the fund's major internal controls exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. The committee also oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the fund and its service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee of the Board of Trustees or reserved to the Board itself. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the fund. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO and, if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports on significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the fund's compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1 and quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of Mr. Ralph Cox (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, and Mses. Butte Liebowitz, Farrell, and Kaplan. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the code of ethics and any supplemental policies regarding personal securities transactions applicable to the Independent Trustees. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the fund's or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the fund's expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the fund, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012 (or as of March 31, 2013 for Ms. Farrell, Trustee as of March 5, 2013).</R>
Interested Trustees |
||
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Roger T. Servison |
Derek L. Young |
Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
none |
none |
<R></R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board for his or her services for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, or calendar year ended December 31, 2012, as applicable.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Compensation Table 1</R> |
||||||
<R>
AGGREGATE
|
Peter C.
|
Mary C.
|
Amy Butte
|
Ralph F.
|
Karen
|
</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund |
$ 6,145 |
$ 0 |
$ 6,145 |
$ 6,145 |
$ 6,145 |
</R> |
<R>
TOTAL COMPENSATION
|
$ 137,500 |
$ 0 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
</R> |
1 Roger T. Servison, Howard E. Cox, Jr., and Derek L. Young are interested persons and are compensated by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate (including FMR).
<R> 2 Effective March 5, 2013, Ms. Farrell serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II.</R>
<R> A Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, for 26 funds of two trusts.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and officers of the fund owned, in the aggregate, less than 1% of the fund's total outstanding shares.</R>
CONTROL OF INVESTMENT ADVISERS
<R>FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of Strategic Advisers and Pyramis. The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Abigail P. Johnson family, directly or through trusts, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.</R>
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
ARI, a registered investment adviser, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Piper Jaffray Companies (PJC), which is an international investment firm.
Alger Management, a registered investment adviser, has been in the business of providing investment advisory services since 1964. Alger Management is owned by Alger Associates, a financial services holding company. Alger Associates and, indirectly, Alger Management, are controlled by Hilary M. Alger, Nicole D. Alger and Alexandra D. Alger, who own in the aggregate in excess of 99% of the voting rights of Alger Associates.
Invesco, as successor in interest to multiple investment advisers, has been a registered investment adviser since 1976 and is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Invesco Ltd., a publicly traded company that, through its subsidiaries, engages in the business of investment management on an international basis.
<R>Kennedy Capital is an independent, employee and director-owned advisory firm registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the Act) that provides investment management services on a discretionary basis for taxable and tax-exempt institutions, investment companies, and individual clients. The directors, officers and/or employees of Kennedy Capital, who are deemed "control persons," all of whom have offices at the same address as Kennedy Capital, are: Richard Henry Sinise, Executive Vice President and Chief Portfolio Manager; Richard Ernest Oliver, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Richard Lee Todaro, Vice President and Research Analyst; Timothy Paul Hasara, Vice President and Portfolio Manager; Francis Andrew Latuda, Jr., Director, Vice President, and Chief Investment Officer; Randall Lee Kirkland, President and Chairman of the Board; Stephen Alan Mace, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; Marilyn Kay Lammert, Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer; and Donald M. Cobin, Vice President, Director, and Portfolio Manager. Kennedy Capital also provides investment sub-advisory services to investment companies, a number of wrap fee programs, and to clients of consultants and other investment advisers.</R>
Neuberger Berman, a registered investment adviser, is an indirect subsidiary of Neuberger Berman Group LLC ("Neuberger Berman Group"). The directors, officers and/or employees of Neuberger Berman, who are deemed "control persons," all of whom have offices at the same address as Neuberger Berman, are: Joseph Amato and Robert Conti.
On May 4, 2009, NBSH Acquisition, LLC ("NBSH"), an entity organized by key members of Neuberger Berman Group's senior management, acquired a majority interest in the business conducted by Neuberger Berman Group, as well as the fixed income and certain alternative asset management businesses of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ("LBHI"), LBHI's Investment Management Division (together with Neuberger Berman and Neuberger Berman Group, the "Acquired Businesses") (the "Acquisition"). Prior to that date, the predecessor in interest of Neuberger Berman Group was an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of LBHI. On September 15, 2008, LBHI filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, and on December 22, 2008, the bankruptcy court having jurisdiction over the LBHI matter approved the sale of the Acquired Businesses to NBSH (or its successor or assign).
<R>Through NBSH, portfolio managers, Neuberger Berman Group's management team, and certain of its key employees and senior professionals now indirectly own 72% of the voting equity of Neuberger Berman Group. LBHI and certain affiliates of LBHI own the remaining 28% of Neuberger Berman Group's voting equity.</R>
Pyramis is a registered investment adviser. FMR LLC is the ultimate parent company of Pyramis. Information regarding the ownership of FMR LLC is disclosed above.
<R>Systematic was founded in 1982, as a registered investment adviser with the SEC pursuant to the Advisers Act, specializing in the management of value portfolios. In 1995, a majority stake in the firm was sold to Affiliated Managers Group (AMG), a holding company and publicly traded company that invests in mid-sized asset management firms. The firm was subsequently re-registered with the SEC as Systematic Financial Management, L.P. on April 10, 1995. In 1996, AMG brought in the current senior members of the investment management team. AMG currently holds a majority interest in Systematic through AMG's wholly owned subsidiary, Titan NJ LP Holdings LLC.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers, ARI, Alger Management, Invesco, Kennedy Capital, Neuberger Berman, Pyramis, Systematic (the Investment Advisers), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and the fund have adopted codes of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that set forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establish procedures for personal investing, and restrict certain transactions. Employees subject to the codes of ethics, including the Investment Advisers' investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.</R>
The fund has entered into a management contract with Strategic Advisers, pursuant to which Strategic Advisers furnishes investment advisory and other services.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
<R>Strategic Advisers has retained ARI, Alger Management, Invesco, Kennedy Capital, Neuberger Berman, Pyramis, and Systematic to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. The sub-advisers do not sponsor the fund.</R>
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
Management and Sub-Advisory Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, Strategic Advisers acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, directs the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. Strategic Advisers is authorized, in its discretion, to allocate the fund's assets pursuant to its investment strategy. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates provide the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensate all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of Strategic Advisers, and compensate all personnel of the fund or Strategic Advisers performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
Under its respective sub-advisory agreement, and subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, each sub-adviser directs the investment of its allocated portion of the fund's assets in accordance with the fund's investment objective, policies and limitations.
Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to Strategic Advisers and the fees payable to the transfer agent and pricing and bookkeeping agent, the fund pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by those parties. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders; however, under the terms of the fund's transfer agent agreement, the transfer agent bears these costs. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.
Management Fees. For the services of Strategic Advisers under the management contract, the fund pays Strategic Advisers a monthly management fee calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets; provided, however, that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.10% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the fund until September 30, 2015. The fee waiver by Strategic Advisers will increase the fund's returns.</R>
The following table shows the amount of management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers for the past three fiscal years and the amount of waivers reducing management fees for the fund.
Fund |
Fiscal Years
|
Amount of Waivers
|
Management Fees
|
Management Fees
|
<R>Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund |
2013 |
$ 6,504,009 |
$ 5,133,947 |
0.20%</R> |
<R> |
2012 + |
$ 6,593,761 |
$ 5,008,887 |
0.19%</R> |
|
2011 |
$ 4,608,663 |
$ 1,044,053 |
0.06% |
<R> |
|
|
|
</R> |
+ Fiscal year ended February 29.
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of the fund's operating expenses. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Expense reimbursements by Strategic Advisers will increase the fund's returns, and repayment of the reimbursement by the fund will decrease its returns.
Sub-Adviser - ARI. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with ARI pursuant to which ARI may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays ARI fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by ARI pursuant to a separately negotiated investment mandate (a "Strategy"). The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by ARI under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by ARI pursuant to that Strategy.
Sub-Adviser - Alger Management. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Alger Management pursuant to which Alger Management may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Alger Management fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Alger Management pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Alger Management under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Alger Management pursuant to that Strategy.
Sub-Adviser - Invesco. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Invesco pursuant to which Invesco may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Invesco fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Invesco pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Invesco under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Invesco pursuant to that Strategy.
<R> Sub-Adviser - Kennedy Capital. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Kennedy Capital pursuant to which Kennedy Capital may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Kennedy Capital fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Kennedy Capital pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Kennedy Capital under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Kennedy Capital pursuant to that Strategy.</R>
<R> Sub-Adviser - Neuberger Berman. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Neuberger Berman pursuant to which Neuberger Berman may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Neuberger Berman fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Neuberger Berman pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Neuberger Berman under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Neuberger Berman pursuant to that Strategy.</R>
<R> Sub-Adviser - Pyramis. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Pyramis pursuant to which Pyramis may provide investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Pyramis fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Pyramis pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Pyramis under a particular Strategy based on the following rate schedule:</R>
<R> Small-Mid Cap : </R> |
<R>0.50% of the first $200 million in assets;</R> |
<R>0.45% of the next $200 million in assets; and</R> |
0.40% on any amount in excess of $400 million in assets |
Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Pyramis pursuant to that Strategy.
Sub-Adviser - Systematic. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Systematic pursuant to which Systematic may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Systematic fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Systematic pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Systematic under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Systematic pursuant to that Strategy.
The following table shows the amount of sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to Pyramis for the past three fiscal years.
+ Fiscal year ended February 29.
The following table shows the aggregate amount of sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to unaffiliated sub-advisers for the past three fiscal years.
+ Fiscal year ended February 29.
<R>Differences between the amount of the management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers and the aggregate amount of sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to Pyramis and unaffiliated sub-advisers may be due to expense estimates, which are accrued in the period to which they relate and adjusted when actual amounts are known.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Strategic Advisers. Barry Golden is an employee of Strategic Advisers, a subsidiary of FMR LLC and an affiliate of FMR. Strategic Advisers is the adviser to the fund.</R>
<R>Mr. Golden is the lead portfolio manager of the fund effective April 30, 2013 and receives compensation for his services. As of April 30, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Strategic Advisers or at the election of the portfolio manager.</R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of a broad range of Strategic Advisers funds and accounts, including the fund. Accounts may include model portfolios designed for asset allocation, retirement planning, or tax-sensitive goals. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s), and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with the portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and peer group. A subjective component of the bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Strategic Advisers. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of his fund is based on the fund's pre-tax investment performance measured against the Russell 2500 ® Index, and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund within the Morningstar ® Small Blend Category. The portfolio manager may be compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Strategic Advisers' parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.</R>
<R></R>
<R>The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.</R>
<R>Information with respect to Mr. Golden's holdings and other accounts managed will be updated in a supplement to this SAI.</R>
<R></R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - ARI. ARI manages its allocated portion of the fund's portfolio on a team basis, with portfolio managers James M. Langer and Matthew K. Swaim.</R>
ARI's compensation structure/levels for staff and professionals are, by design, higher than industry levels. ARI believes that portfolio manager compensation should be driven primarily by the delivery of consistent and superior long-term performance for its clients. Portfolio managers are compensated with competitive salaries, annual bonuses that are based on overall job performance and retirement benefits. Bonuses are discretionary and determined by ARI's CEO. The success of ARI and the individual employees' contribution to that success is the primary determinant of incentive compensation. This compensation structure is designed to align the best interests of its clients with the management of the portfolio.
In addition, as part of ARI's merger with PJC in early 2010, PJC stock (with a vesting schedule over 5 years) was gifted to key employees as a retention bonus. Going forward, equity ownership is expected to be part of ARI's long term succession efforts to all employees.
Potential Conflicts of Interests
Actual or apparent conflicts of interest may arise when a portfolio manager has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to more than one fund or other account. More specifically, portfolio managers who manage multiple funds and/or other accounts may be presented with one or more of the following potential conflicts.
The management of multiple funds and/or other accounts may result in a portfolio manager devoting unequal time and attention to the management of the fund and/or other account. Most other accounts managed by a portfolio manager are managed using the same investment models that are used in connection with the management of the fund. ARI has adopted a policy to provide for fair and equitable treatment of all client accounts, and periodically reviews such policy.
If a portfolio manager identifies a limited investment opportunity which may be suitable for more than one fund or other account, the fund may not be able to take full advantage of that opportunity due to an allocation of filled purchase or sale orders across all eligible funds and other accounts. To deal with these situations, ARI has adopted procedures for allocating portfolio transactions across multiple accounts.
ARI determines which broker to use to execute each order, consistent with its duty to seek best execution of the transaction. However, with respect to certain other accounts (such as mutual funds for which ARI acts as advisor, other pooled investment vehicles that are not registered mutual funds, and other accounts managed for organizations and individuals), ARI may be limited by the client with respect to the selection of brokers or may be instructed to direct trades through a particular broker. In these cases, trades for the fund in a particular security may be placed separately from, rather than aggregated with, such other accounts. Having separate transactions with respect to a security may temporarily affect the market price of the security or the execution of the transaction, or both, to the possible detriment of the fund or other account(s) involved.
ARI has adopted certain compliance procedures which are designed to address these types of conflicts. However, there is no guarantee that such procedures will detect each and every situation in which a conflict arises.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Langer as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund ($167 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Langer was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Swaim as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund ($167 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R></R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Swaim was none.</R>
Portfolio Manager Compensation - Alger Management. An Alger portfolio manager's compensation generally consists of salary and an annual bonus. In addition, portfolio managers are eligible for health and retirement benefits available to all Alger employees, including a 401(k) plan sponsored by Alger. A portfolio manager's base salary is typically a function of the portfolio manager's experience (with consideration given to type, investment style and size of investment portfolios previously managed), performance of his or her job responsibilities, and financial services industry peer comparisons. Base salary is generally a fixed amount that is subject to an annual review. The annual bonus is variable from year to year, and considers various factors, including:
While the benchmarks and peer groups used in determining a portfolio manager's compensation may change from time to time, Alger Management may refer to benchmarks, such as those provided by Russell Investments and Standard & Poor's, and peer groups, such as those provided by Lipper Inc. and Morningstar Inc., that are widely-recognized by the investment industry.
Alger Management has implemented a long-term deferred compensation program ("LTDC") which gives key personnel the opportunity to have equity-like participation in the long-term growth and profitability of the firm. There is broad participation in the LTDC program amongst the investment professionals. The LTDC reinforces the portfolio managers' commitment to generating superior investment performance for the firm's clients. The awards are invested in Alger mutual funds and have a four year vesting schedule. The total award earned can increase or decrease with the firm's investment and earnings results over the four year period.
Additionally, the Alger Partner's Plan provides key investment executives with phantom equity that allows participants to pro-rata rights to growth in the firm's book value, dividend payments and participation in any significant corporate transactions (e.g. partial sale, initial public offering, merger, etc.). The firm does not have a limit on the overall percentage of the firm's value it will convey through this program. Further, participation in this program will be determined annually.
It is possible that conflicts of interest may arise in connection with the portfolio manager's management of the fund's investments on the one hand and the investments of other accounts or vehicles for which the portfolio manager is responsible on the other. For example, the portfolio manager may have conflicts of interest in allocating management time, resources and investment opportunities among the fund and the other accounts or vehicles she advises. In addition, due to differences in the investment strategies or restrictions between the fund and the other accounts or vehicles, a portfolio manager may take action with respect to another account or vehicle that differs from the action taken with respect to the fund. In some cases, another account managed by the portfolio manager may provide more revenue to the investment adviser. While these factors may create conflicts of interest for the portfolio manager in the allocation of management time, resources and investment opportunities, the portfolio manager will endeavor to exercise her discretion in a manner that she believes is equitable to all interested persons.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Ms. Greenwald as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
10 |
1 |
22</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 3,525 |
$ 16 |
$ 706</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund ($144 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund beneficially owned by Ms. Greenwald was none.</R>
Portfolio Manager Compensation - Invesco. Invesco portfolio managers receive a base salary, an incentive bonus opportunity and an equity compensation opportunity. Portfolio manager compensation is reviewed and may be modified each year as appropriate to reflect changes in the market, as well as to adjust the factors used to determine bonuses to promote competitive fund performance. Invesco evaluates competitive market compensation by reviewing compensation survey results conducted by an independent third party of investment industry compensation. Each portfolio manager's compensation consists of the following three elements:
Base Salary. Each portfolio manager is paid a base salary. In setting the base salary, Invesco's intention is to be competitive in light of the particular portfolio manager's experience and responsibilities.
Annual Bonus. The portfolio managers are eligible, along with other employees of Invesco, to participate in a discretionary year-end bonus pool. The Compensation Committee of Invesco Ltd. reviews and approves the amount of the bonus pool available for Invesco's investment centers. The Compensation Committee considers investment performance and financial results in its review. In addition, while having no direct impact on individual bonuses, assets under management are considered when determining the starting bonus funding levels. Each portfolio manager is eligible to receive an annual cash bonus which is based on quantitative (i.e. investment performance) and non-quantitative factors (which may include, but are not limited to, individual performance, risk management and teamwork).
Each portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax investment performance of the funds/accounts managed by the portfolio manager as described in the table below.
Sub-Adviser |
Performance time period 1 |
Invesco 2 |
One-, Three- and Five-year performance against Fund peer group |
1 Rolling time periods based on calendar year-end.
<R> 2 Portfolio Managers may be granted an annual deferral award that vests on a pro-rata basis over a four year period and final payments are based on the performance of eligible Funds selected by the portfolio manager at the time the award is granted.</R>
High investment performance (against applicable peer group and/or benchmarks) would deliver compensation generally associated with top pay in the industry (determined by reference to the third-party provided compensation survey information) and poor investment performance (versus applicable peer group) would result in low bonus compared to the applicable peer group or no bonus at all. These decisions are reviewed and approved collectively by senior leadership which has responsibility for executing the compensation approach across the organization.
<R> Deferred/Long Term Compensation. Portfolio managers may be granted an annual deferral award that allows them to select receipt of shares of certain Invesco Funds with a vesting period as well as common shares and/or restricted shares of Invesco Ltd. stock from pools determined from time to time by the Compensation Committee of Invesco Ltd.'s Board of Directors. Awards of deferred/long term compensation typically vest over time, so as to create incentives to retain key talent.</R>
Portfolio managers also participate in benefit plans and programs available generally to all employees.
Potential Conflicts of Interests
Actual or apparent conflicts of interest may arise when a portfolio manager has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to more than one fund or other account. More specifically, portfolio managers who manage multiple funds and/or other accounts may be presented with one or more of the following potential conflicts:
Invesco has adopted certain compliance procedures which are designed to address these types of conflicts. However, there is no guarantee that such procedures will detect each and every situation in which a conflict arises.
Juliet Ellis, managing director, is a portfolio manager and she is lead portfolio manager of Invesco Small Cap Equity Fund, Invesco Small Cap Growth Fund and Invesco V.I. Small Cap Equity Fund. Ms. Ellis is also chief investment officer (CIO) of Invesco's Domestic Growth Investment Management Unit. Ms. Ellis joined Invesco in 2004. Prior to joining Invesco, Ms. Ellis was Managing Director of JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management. She also served as senior portfolio manager for JPMorgan's Dynamic Small Cap Growth and Small Cap Core strategies and was responsible for the management of over $2 billion in assets. Ms. Ellis began her investment career in 1981 as a financial consultant with Merrill Lynch. She joined JPMorgan in 1987 as a senior equity analyst where she also served as an assistant portfolio manager and director of equity research before being promoted to senior portfolio manager in 1993 and managing director in 2000. Ms. Ellis is a Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Indiana University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and political science. She is a CFA charterholder.
Juan Hartsfield is a portfolio manager affiliated with the management of Invesco Small Cap Equity Fund, Invesco Small Cap Growth Fund and Invesco V.I. Small Cap Equity Fund. Prior to joining Invesco in 2004, Mr. Hartsfield was a portfolio manager with JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management, where he was involved with the management of over $2 billion in various small-cap portfolios. Prior to joining JPMorgan, Mr. Hartsfield served as an associate with Booz Allen & Hamilton. Mr. Hartsfield earned a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan. He is a CFA charterholder.
Clay Manley is a portfolio manager affiliated with the management of Invesco Small Cap Growth Fund. Mr. Manley joined Invesco Ltd. (formerly Invesco PLC) in 2001 in its Corporate Associate Program, working with fund managers throughout Invesco Ltd., before joining Invesco as an equity analyst in 2002. He was promoted to his current position in 2008. Prior to joining Invesco he was an analyst with Sterne, Agee and Leach, Inc., where he specialized in analysis of the telecommunications and information technology services industries. Mr. Manley earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with cum laude honors in history and geology at Vanderbilt University, and a Master of Business Administration degree with concentrations in finance and accounting from Goizueta Business School at Emory University. He is a CFA charterholder.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Ms. Ellis as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
16 |
1 |
2</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 7,006 |
$ 661 |
$ 148</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund ($309 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund beneficially owned by Ms. Ellis was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Hartsfield as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
17 |
2 |
2</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 7,407 |
$ 703 |
$ 148</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund ($309 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Hartsfield was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Manley as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
9 |
none |
2</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 4,763 |
none |
$ 148</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund ($309 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Manley was none.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Kennedy Capital. Kennedy Capital's compensation structure is designed to directly tie investment professionals to the performance of client portfolios and thus to align our employees' interests with those of our clients. We believe our measures to be highly objective and significantly driven by the performance contribution attributable to each investment professional. Portfolio manager (PM) compensation begins with base salary and is typically augmented by both quarterly and annual bonuses. Quarterly investment performance bonuses are generally based upon the returns generated for client accounts relative to the Russell 2500 ® Index on a trailing one-year basis, and also relative to industry peers on a rolling three-year basis. Other forms of variable compensation, including annual bonuses, are typically based on the achievement of certain goals (such as assets under management and investment performance) as well as subjective scoring.</R>
<R>In line with the way PMs are compensated, assistant portfolio managers (APMs) at Kennedy Capital receive a combination of fixed and variable pay. APMs may continue to perform research on stocks in one or more economic sectors, and may therefore be compensated in part by tracking a "shadow" portfolio designed to emulate the performance of clients' accounts.</R>
<R> Potential Conflicts of Interests </R>
<R>Donald Cobin and Christian McDonald manage Kennedy Capital's SMID Cap Core and Small Cap Core strategies. Within the Small Cap Core strategy, Mr. Cobin and Mr. McDonald manage a number of separately managed accounts and also manage a commingled vehicle. Certain conflicts may arise as the result of an account's size, client-imposed restrictions or fee schedule. Investment opportunities are allocated fairly among clients within each strategy managed by Mr. Cobin and Mr. McDonald pursuant to Kennedy Capital's internal policies and procedures, which also extends to its brokerage practices.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Cobin as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund ($193 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Cobin was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. McDonald as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund ($193 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund beneficially owned by Mr. McDonald was none.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Neuberger Berman. Our compensation philosophy is one that focuses on rewarding performance and incentivizing our employees. We consider a variety of factors in determining fixed and variable compensation for employees, including firm performance, individual performance, overall contribution to the team, collaboration with colleagues across the firm, effective partnering with clients to achieve goals, risk management and the overall investment performance. It is our foremost goal to create a compensation process that is fair, transparent, and competitive with the market.</R>
<R>Neuberger Berman investment professionals on portfolio management teams receive a fixed salary and are eligible for an annual bonus. The annual bonus for an individual investment professional is paid from a "bonus pool" made available to the portfolio management team with which the investment professional is associated. The amount available in the bonus pool is determined based on a number of factors including the revenue that is generated by that particular portfolio management team, less certain adjustments. Once the final size of the available bonus pool is determined, individual bonuses are determined based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the aggregate investment performance of all strategies managed by the individual, utilization of central resources, business building to further the longer term sustainable success of the investment team, effective team/people management, and overall contribution to the success of Neuberger Berman. In some cases, bonus pools may be subject to a hold-back applied to revenues. Research Analysts who are embedded within portfolio management teams participate in a similar compensation structure established for their respective teams, at the discretion of their group heads, thereby aligning them with the long-term performance of their respective teams.</R>
<R>Incentive Structure</R>
<R>As a firm, we believe that providing our employees with appropriate incentives, a positive work environment and an inclusive and collaborative culture is critical to our success in retaining employees.</R>
The terms of our long-term retention incentives are as follows:
<R>• Employee-Owned Equity. An integral part of our management buyout was the implementation of an equity ownership structure which embodies the importance of incentivizing and retaining key investment professionals. Investment professionals have received a majority of the common equity owned by all employees. Employee equity is generally subject to vesting (generally 25% vests each year at the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th anniversaries of the grant).</R>
<R></R>
<R></R>
<R>• Restrictive Covenants. Select senior professionals who have received equity grants have agreed to restrictive covenants which may include non-compete and non-solicit restrictions depending on participation.</R>
<R></R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to the other accounts managed by Mr. Nahum as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
4 |
1 |
140</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 339 |
$ 2 |
$ 835</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund ($93 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Nahum was none.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Pyramis. Young Chin is the Lead Portfolio Manager of the Pyramis Small/Mid Cap Core strategy to which a portion of the fund's assets are allocated and receives compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed-base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Pyramis or at the election of the portfolio manager.</R>
<R>The Lead Portfolio Manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Pyramis or its affiliates. The components of Mr. Chin's bonus are based on (i) the general management of Pyramis in his role as Chief Investment Officer, and (ii) the investment performance of Pyramis funds and accounts which eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index or peer group, if applicable. A subjective component of the Lead Portfolio Manager's bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Pyramis. The portion of the Lead Portfolio Manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of Pyramis Small/Mid Cap Core strategy is based on the pre-tax investment performance of the fund measured against the Russell 2500 Index. The Lead Portfolio Manager also is compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Pyramis's parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.</R>
<R>Chad Colman, Andrew Burzumato, Thorsten Becker, Jody Simes, Arun Daniel, Chandler Willett and Vince Rivers are Sector Portfolio Managers that assist the Lead Portfolio Manager in managing the strategy and receive compensation for their services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed-base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Pyramis or at the election of the portfolio manager.</R>
The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Pyramis or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group, if applicable, assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of other Pyramis funds and accounts. A smaller, subjective component of the Sector Portfolio Manager's bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Pyramis. The portion of each Sector Portfolio Manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of Pyramis Small/Mid Cap Core strategy is based on the pre-tax investment performance of the fund measured against the Russell 2500 Index. An additional portion of each Sector Portfolio Manager's bonus is based on the pre-tax investment performance of the portion of the fund's assets each Sector Portfolio Manager manages measured against a customized sector benchmark. Each Sector Portfolio Manager also is compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Pyramis's parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.
A portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, a portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. A portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as a portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Pyramis or an affiliate. A portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. For example, a portfolio manager may manage other funds or accounts that engage in short sales, and could sell short a security for such other fund or account that the fund also trades or holds. Although Pyramis monitors such transactions to attempt to ensure equitable treatment of both the fund and a fund or account that engages in short sales, there can be no assurance that the price of a security held by the fund would not be impacted as a result. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Chin as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund ($113 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Chin was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Colman as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Colman, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Colman was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Burzumato as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Burzumato, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Burzumato was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Becker as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Becker, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Becker was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Simes as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Simes, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Simes was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Daniel as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Daniel, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Daniel was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Willett as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Willett, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Willett was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Rivers as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Rivers, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Rivers was none.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Systematic. Certain Systematic employees share equity ownership with AMG as Partners, which may serve to incentivize Systematic's investment professionals to perform successfully. The compensation package for portfolio managers Ronald Mushock and D. Kevin McCreesh, both of whom are Managing Partners of Systematic, consists of a fixed base salary and a share of the Firm's profits based on each Partner's respective individual ownership position in Systematic. Total compensation is influenced by Systematic's overall profitability, and therefore is based in part on the aggregate performance of all of Systematic's portfolios. Portfolio managers are not compensated based solely on the performance of, or the value of assets held in, any product managed by Systematic. Moreover, the Portfolio Managers are provided with a benefits package, including health insurance, and participation in a company 401(K) plan, comparable to that received by other Systematic employees.</R>
Potential Conflicts of Interests
<R>Portfolio managers of Systematic Financial Management, LP ("Systematic") oversee the investment of various types of accounts in the same strategy, such as mutual funds, pooled investment vehicles and separate accounts for individuals and institutions. The simultaneous management of these diverse accounts and specific client circumstances may create perceived conflicts of interest related to differences in the investment management fees charged and unequal time and attention devoted to certain accounts. However, Systematic recognizes its affirmative duty to treat all accounts fairly and equitably over time and maintains a series of controls in furtherance of this goal.</R>
<R>Generally, portfolio managers apply investment decisions to all accounts utilizing a particular strategy on a pro rata basis, while also accounting for varying client circumstances, including client objectives and preferences, instructions, restrictions, account size, cash availability and current specific needs. Nevertheless, during the normal course of managing assets for multiple clients of different types and asset levels, portfolio managers may encounter conflicts of interest that could, if not properly addressed, be harmful to one or more of our clients. Those of a material nature that are encountered most frequently involve, without limitation, investment security selection, employee personal securities trading, proxy voting and the allocation of investment opportunities. To mitigate these potential conflicts and ensure its clients are not negatively impacted by the adverse actions of Systematic or its employees, Systematic has implemented a series of policies and procedures that are overseen by compliance professionals and, in Systematic's view, reasonably designed to prevent and detect conflicts.</R>
<R>For example, Systematic's Code of Ethics restricts employees' personal securities trading, forbids employees from giving, soliciting or accepting inappropriate gifts and entertainment and requires employees to receive explicit approval prior to serving as a board member or officer of a public company or rendering outside investment advice. Additionally, to effectively remove conflicts of interest related to voting proxies for accounts that have delegated such authority to Systematic, Systematic has a Proxy Voting Policy that provides for an independent third-party proxy voting agent, which agent's pre-determined voting policy guidelines Systematic has adopted. Systematic's Allocation and Aggregation and Trade Error Correction policies similarly seek to reduce potential conflicts of interest by promoting the fair and equitable allocation of investment opportunities among client accounts over time and the consistent resolution of trading errors.</R>
<R>Notably, Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (NYSE: AMG), a publicly traded asset management company, holds a majority interest in Systematic through AMG's wholly-owned subsidiary, Titan NJ LP Holdings LLC. Systematic operates independently as a separate, autonomous affiliate of AMG, which has equity investments in a group of investment management firms including Systematic. The AMG Affiliates do not formulate advice for Systematic's clients and do not, in Systematic's view, present any potential conflict of interest with Systematic's clients.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Mushock as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund ($307 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Mushock was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. McCreesh as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund ($307 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund beneficially owned by Mr. McCreesh was none.</R>
Proxy Voting - Strategic Advisers.
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of the fund, after consultation with Strategic Advisers. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Strategic Advisers and its affiliates and by the Independent Trustees of the fund, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. The funds in the trust generally intend to vote shares of underlying funds using echo voting procedures (that is, in the same proportion as the holders of all other shares of the particular underlying fund).
B. Any proposals not covered by paragraph A above or other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate Strategic Advisers analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review and approval by the General Counsel or Compliance Officer of FMR or the General Counsel of FMR LLC.
Sub-Advisers:
Proxy voting policies and procedures are used by a sub-adviser to determine how to vote proxies relating to the securities held by its allocated portion of the fund's assets. The proxy voting policies and procedures used by the sub-advisers are described below.
ARI is a fiduciary that owes each client a duty of care with regard to all services undertaken on the client's behalf. Proxy voting is one such service for the following clients: 1) those covered under the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act ("ERISA") and 2) those non-ERISA clients over which ARI exercises such voting authority. To fulfill these duties, ARI must cast votes in a manner consistent with the best interests of its clients. In accordance with Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, ARI has adopted policies and procedures to address its proxy voting responsibilities.
I. Summary of Proxy Voting Policies. ARI has engaged Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") to provide proxy voting services for clients over which ARI exercises proxy voting authority. ARI has adopted standard proxy voting guidelines, which are applied by ISS to all ARI proxy votes, absent instruction from ARI to the contrary. ARI generally votes in accordance with its proxy voting guidelines; however, in rare circumstances ARI may opt to override the guidelines if it is decided to be the best interest of its clients. It should be noted that the below Summary of Proxy Voting Guidelines is general in nature and provided for informational purposes. Complete proxy voting policies and procedures, including complete guidelines are available upon request.
II. Summary of Proxy Voting Guidelines.
<R></R>
<R> Routine Issues. Vote FOR proposals to ratify auditors, unless an auditor has a financial interest in or association with the company, there is reason to believe that the independent auditor has rendered an opinion that is neither accurate nor indicative of the company's financial position; Poor accounting practices are identified that rise to a serious level of concern; or Fees for non-audit services are excessive.</R>
<R> Board of Directors. Voting on Director Nominees in Uncontested Elections should be determined CASE-BY-CASE based on the following four fundamental principles: Board Accountability, Board Responsiveness, Director Independence and Director Competence.</R>
<R> Proxy Access. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on proposals to enact proxy access, taking into account, among other factors: Company-specific factors and Proposal-specific factors.</R>
<R> Proxy Contests-Voting for Director Nominees in Contested Elections. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on the election of directors in contested elections.</R>
<R>CAPITAL RESTRUCTURING</R>
<R> Common Stock Authorization. Vote FOR proposals to increase the number of authorized common shares where the primary purpose of the increase is to issue shares in connection with a transaction on the same ballot that warrants support. Vote AGAINST proposals at companies with more than one class of common stock to increase the number of authorized shares of the class of common stock that has superior voting rights. Vote AGAINST proposals to increase the number of authorized common shares if a vote for a reverse stock split on the same ballot is warranted despite the fact that the authorized shares would not be reduced proportionally. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on all other proposals to increase the number of shares of common stock authorized for issuance.</R>
<R></R>
<R> Preferred Stock Authorization. Vote FOR proposals to increase the number of authorized preferred shares where the primary purpose of the increase is to issue shares in connection with a transaction on the same ballot that warrants support. Vote AGAINST proposals at companies with more than one class or series of preferred stock to increase the number of authorized shares of the class or series of preferred stock that has superior voting rights. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on all other proposals to increase the number of shares of preferred stock authorized for issuance.</R>
<R> Mergers and Acquisitions. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on mergers and acquisitions. Review and evaluate the merits and drawbacks of the proposed transaction, balancing various and sometimes countervailing factors.</R>
<R>COMPENSATION</R>
<R> Voting on Golden Parachutes in an Acquisition, Merger, Consolidation, or Proposed Sale. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on say on Golden Parachute proposals, including consideration of existing change-in-control arrangements maintained with named executive officers rather than focusing primarily on new or extended arrangements.</R>
<R> Equity-Based and Other Incentive Plans. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on equity-based compensation plans.</R>
<R></R>
<R></R>
III. Conflicts of Interest. ARI believes that the use of standard proxy voting guidelines and the use of an independent third party, such as ISS, mitigate potential conflicts of interest between ARI and its clients. In addition, any recommendations by its employees to vote against the guidelines should be brought to the attention of ARI's Chief Compliance Officer. Any resulting override shall be documented and then submitted to ISS by compliance personnel. Finally, the Advisor has adopted a Code of Ethics, advocating strictly ethical behavior and mandating that all of its business activities be conducted in the best interest of its clients.
Proxy Voting - Alger Management.
Alger Management, an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, maintains discretionary authority over client accounts, including certain Funds, and is responsible for voting proxies of all foreign and domestic securities held in such Funds. Management views the responsibility its clients have entrusted to it seriously and has adopted and implemented written policies and procedures designed to ensure that proxies are voted in the best interests of its clients.
Alger Management delegates its proxy voting authority for all foreign and domestic securities held in the Funds to Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. ("ISS"), a leading proxy voting service provider and registered investment adviser. ISS votes proxies strictly in accordance with pre-determined proxy voting guidelines in order to minimize conflicts of interest. The predetermined proxy voting guidelines, which are summarized below, address matters such as operations, board of directors, proxy contests, anti-takeover defenses, mergers and corporate restructuring, state of incorporation, capital structure, executive and director compensation, social and environmental issues and mutual fund proxies. ISS will recuse itself from voting proxies should it have a material conflict of interest with the company whose proxies are at issue. Alger Management monitors ISS's proxy voting policies and procedures on a quarterly basis to ensure that the proxies are voted in the best interests of the applicable Fund.
Alger Management maintains records of its proxy voting policies and procedures. Alger Management or ISS, on Management's behalf, maintains proxy statements received regarding securities held by the Funds; records of votes cast on behalf of each Fund; records of requests for proxy voting information; and any documents prepared that were material to making a voting decision.
The following is a summary of the pre-determined voting guidelines used by Alger Management or ISS, on Alger Management's behalf, to vote proxies of securities held by the Funds.
Operational Issues
Vote FOR proposals to ratify auditors, unless an auditor has a financial interest in the company, fees for non-audit services are excessive or there is reason to believe that the auditor's opinion is inaccurate.
Board of Directors
Votes on director nominees in uncontested elections are made on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, examining such factors as the independence of the board and key board committees, attendance at board meetings, corporate governance provisions and takeover activity.
Proxy Contests
Votes in a contested election of directors are evaluated on a CASE-BY-CASE basis considering such factors as the management's track record, qualifications of director nominees and an evaluation of what each side is offering shareholders.
Anti-Takeover Defenses
Vote FOR shareholder proposals that ask a company to submit its poison pill for shareholder ratification.
Mergers and Corporate Restructurings
Vote on a CASE-BY-CASE basis on mergers and corporate restructurings based on factors such as financial issues and terms of the offer.
State of Incorporation
Proposals for changing a company's state of incorporation are evaluated on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, giving consideration to both financial and corporate governance concerns, including the reasons for reincorporating.
Capital Structure
Vote AGAINST proposals at companies with dual-class capital structures to increase the number of authorized shares of the class of stock that has superior voting rights; Vote FOR proposals to approve increases beyond the allowable increase when a company's shares are in danger of being de-listed.
Executive and Director Compensation
Votes are determined on a CASE-BY-CASE basis analyzing the estimated dollar cost for the proposed plan.
Social and Environmental Issues
Votes are determined on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, with a focus on how the proposal will enhance the economic value of the company.
Mutual Fund Proxies
Votes to elect directors are determined on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, considering factors such as board structure and director independence and qualifications.
Proxy Voting - Invesco.
A. Policy Statement
Introduction
Our Belief
Invesco's investment professionals expect a high standard of corporate governance from the companies in our portfolios so that Invesco may fulfill its fiduciary obligation to our fund shareholders and other account holders. Well governed companies are characterized by a primary focus on the interests of shareholders, accountable boards of directors, ample transparency in financial disclosure, performance-driven cultures and appropriate consideration of all stakeholders. Invesco believes well governed companies create greater shareholder wealth over the long term than poorly governed companies, so we endeavor to vote in a manner that increases the value of our investments and fosters good governance within our portfolio companies.
In determining how to vote proxy issues, Invesco considers the probable business consequences of each issue and votes in a manner designed to protect and enhance fund shareholders' and other account holders' interests. Our voting decisions are intended to enhance each company's total shareholder value over Invesco's typical investment horizon.
Proxy voting is an integral part of Invesco's investment process. We believe that the right to vote proxies should be managed with the same care as all other elements of the investment process. The objective of Invesco's proxy-voting activity is to promote good governance and advance the economic interests of our clients. At no time will Invesco exercise its voting power to advance its own commercial interests, to pursue a social or political cause that is unrelated to our clients' economic interests, or to favor a particular client or business relationship to the detriment of others.
B. Operating Procedures and Responsible Parties
Proxy administration
The Invesco Retail Proxy Committee (the "Proxy Committee") consists of members representing Invesco's Investments, Legal and Compliance departments. Invesco's Proxy Voting Guidelines (the "Guidelines") are revised annually by the Proxy Committee. The Proxy Committee implements the Guidelines and oversees proxy voting.
The Proxy Committee has retained outside experts to assist with the analysis and voting of proxy issues. In addition to the advice offered by these experts, Invesco uses information gathered from our own research, company managements, Invesco's portfolio managers and outside shareholder groups to reach our voting decisions.
Generally speaking, Invesco's investment-research process leads us to invest in companies led by management teams we believe have the ability to conceive and execute strategies to outperform their competitors. We select companies for investment based in large part on our assessment of their management teams' ability to create shareholder wealth. Therefore, in formulating our proxy-voting decisions, Invesco gives proper consideration to the recommendations of a company's Board of Directors.
Important principles underlying the Invesco Proxy Voting Guidelines
I. Accountability
Management teams of companies are accountable to their boards of directors, and directors of publicly held companies are accountable to their shareholders. Invesco endeavors to vote the proxies of its portfolio companies in a manner that will reinforce the notion of a board's accountability to its shareholders. Consequently, Invesco votes against any actions that would impair the rights of shareholders or would reduce shareholders' influence over the board or over management.
The following are specific voting issues that illustrate how Invesco applies this principle of accountability.
II. Incentives
Invesco believes properly constructed compensation plans that include equity ownership are effective in creating incentives that induce managements and employees of our portfolio companies to create greater shareholder wealth. Invesco supports equity compensation plans that promote the proper alignment of incentives, and votes against plans that are overly dilutive to existing shareholders, plans that contain objectionable structural features, and plans that appear likely to reduce the value of an account's investment.
Following are specific voting issues that illustrate how Invesco evaluates incentive plans.
III. Capitalization
Examples of management proposals related to a company's capital structure include authorizing or issuing additional equity capital, repurchasing outstanding stock, or enacting a stock split or reverse stock split. On requests for additional capital stock, Invesco analyzes the company's stated reasons for the request. Except where the request could adversely affect the fund's ownership stake or voting rights, Invesco generally supports a board's decisions on its needs for additional capital stock. Some capitalization proposals require a case-by-case analysis within the context of Invesco's investment thesis on a company. Examples of such proposals include authorizing common or preferred stock with special voting rights, or issuing additional stock in connection with an acquisition.
IV. Mergers, Acquisitions and Other Corporate Actions
Issuers occasionally require shareholder approval to engage in certain corporate actions such as mergers, acquisitions, name changes, dissolutions, reorganizations, divestitures and reincorporations. Invesco analyzes these proposals within the context of our investment thesis on the company, and determines its vote on a case-by-case basis.
V. Anti-Takeover Measures
Practices designed to protect a company from unsolicited bids can adversely affect shareholder value and voting rights, and they create conflicts of interests among directors, management and shareholders. Except under special issuer-specific circumstances, Invesco votes to reduce or eliminate such measures. These measures include adopting or renewing "poison pills", requiring supermajority voting on certain corporate actions, classifying the election of directors instead of electing each director to an annual term, or creating separate classes of common or preferred stock with special voting rights. Invesco generally votes against management proposals to impose these types of measures, and generally votes for shareholder proposals designed to reduce such measures. Invesco supports shareholder proposals directing companies to subject their anti-takeover provisions to a shareholder vote.
VI. Shareholder Proposals on Corporate Governance
Invesco generally votes for shareholder proposals that are designed to protect shareholder rights if a company's corporate-governance standards indicate that such additional protections are warranted.
VII. Shareholder Proposals on Social Responsibility
<R>The potential costs and economic benefits of shareholder proposals seeking to amend a company's practices for social reasons are often difficult to assess. Analyzing the costs and economic benefits of these proposals is generally highly subjective and does not fit readily within our framework of voting to create greater shareholder wealth over Invesco's typical investment horizon. Therefore, Invesco generally abstains from voting on shareholder proposals deemed to be of a purely social, political or moral nature. However, there are instances when the costs and economic benefits of these proposals can be more readily assessed, in which case, Invesco votes such proposals on a case-by-case basis.</R>
VIII. Routine Business Matters
Routine business matters rarely have a potentially material effect on the economic prospects of fund holdings, so we generally support the board's discretion on these items. However, Invesco votes against proposals where there is insufficient information to make a decision about the nature of the proposal. Similarly, Invesco votes against proposals to conduct other unidentified business at shareholder meetings.
Summary
These Guidelines provide an important framework for making proxy-voting decisions, and should give fund shareholders and other account holders insight into the factors driving Invesco's decisions. The Guidelines cannot address all potential proxy issues, however. Decisions on specific issues must be made within the context of these Guidelines and within the context of the investment thesis of the funds and other accounts that own the company's stock. Where a different investment thesis is held by portfolio managers who may hold stocks in common, Invesco may vote the shares held on a fund-by-fund or account-by-account basis.
Exceptions
In certain circumstances, Invesco may refrain from voting where the economic cost of voting a company's proxy exceeds any anticipated benefits of that proxy proposal.
Share-lending programs
One reason that some portion of Invesco's position in a particular security might not be voted is the securities lending program. When securities are out on loan and earning fees for the lending fund, they are transferred into the borrower's name. Any proxies during the period of the loan are voted by the borrower. The lending fund would have to terminate the loan to vote the company's proxy, an action that is not generally in the best economic interest of fund shareholders. However, whenever Invesco determines that the benefit to shareholders or other account holders of voting a particular proxy outweighs the revenue lost by terminating the loan, we recall the securities for the purpose of voting the fund's full position.
"Share-blocking"
Another example of a situation where Invesco may be unable to vote is in countries where the exercise of voting rights requires the fund to submit to short-term trading restrictions, a practice known as "share-blocking." Invesco generally refrains from voting proxies in share-blocking countries unless the portfolio manager determines that the benefit to fund shareholders and other account holders of voting a specific proxy outweighs the fund's or other account's temporary inability to sell the security.
International constraints
An additional concern that sometimes precludes our voting non-U.S. proxies is our inability to receive proxy materials with enough time and enough information to make a voting decision. In the great majority of instances, however, we are able to vote non-U.S. proxies successfully. It is important to note that Invesco makes voting decisions for non-U.S. issuers using these Guidelines as our framework, but also takes into account the corporate-governance standards, regulatory environment and generally accepted best practices of the local market.
Exceptions to these Guidelines
Invesco retains the flexibility to accommodate company-specific situations where strictly adhering to the Guidelines would lead to a vote that the Proxy Committee deems not to be in the best interest of the funds' shareholders and other account holders. In these situations, the Proxy Committee will vote the proxy in the manner deemed to be in the best interest of the funds' shareholders and other account holders.
Resolving potential conflicts of interest
A potential conflict of interest arises when Invesco votes a proxy for an issuer with which it also maintains a material business relationship. Examples could include issuers that are distributors of Invesco's products, or issuers that employ Invesco to manage portions of their retirement plans or treasury accounts. Invesco reviews each proxy proposal to assess the extent, if any, to which there may be a material conflict between the interests of the fund shareholders or other account holders and Invesco.
Invesco takes reasonable measures to determine whether a potential conflict may exist. A potential conflict is deemed to exist only if one or more of the Proxy Committee members actually knew or should have known of the potential conflict.
If a material potential conflict is deemed to exist, Invesco may resolve the potential conflict in one of the following ways: (1) if the proposal that gives rise to the potential conflict is specifically addressed by the Guidelines, Invesco may vote the proxy in accordance with the predetermined Guidelines; (2) Invesco may engage an independent third party to determine how the proxy should be voted; or (3) Invesco may establish an ethical wall or other informational barrier between the persons involved in the potential conflict and the persons making the proxy-voting decision in order to insulate the potential conflict from the decision makers.
Because the Guidelines are pre-determined and crafted to be in the best economic interest of shareholders and other account holders, applying the Guidelines to vote client proxies should, in most instances, adequately resolve any potential conflict of interest. As an additional safeguard against potential conflicts, persons from Invesco's marketing, distribution and other customer-facing functions are precluded from becoming members of the Proxy Committee.
Personal conflicts of interest. If any member of the Proxy Committee has a personal conflict of interest with respect to a company or an issue presented for voting, that Proxy Committee member will inform the Proxy Committee of such conflict and will abstain from voting on that company or issue.
C. Recordkeeping
Records are maintained in accordance with Invesco's Recordkeeping Policy.
<R> Proxy Voting - Kennedy Capital. </R>
<R> Introduction </R>
<R>Rule 206(4)-6 and rule amendments under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, which became effective August 6, 2003, are designed to ensure that investment advisers fulfill their fiduciary obligation when voting client proxies. Disclosure requirements include: </R>
<R> (i) investment advisers that exercise proxy voting authority for clients must describe the firm's proxy policies and procedures, and upon request, provide clients with a copy of those policies and procedures; and,</R>
<R> (ii) advisers must describe how clients may obtain information on how their securities were voted.</R>
<R>Kennedy Capital Management, Inc. ("Kennedy Capital") has adopted the following policies with respect to voting proxies on behalf of its clients:</R>
<R>1. Kennedy Capital's written proxy voting policy, which may be updated and supplemented from time-to-time, will be provided to each client for which Kennedy Capital has been delegated the authority or responsibility to vote proxies;</R>
<R>2. Clients will be advised about how to obtain a copy of the proxy voting policy and information about how their securities were voted;</R>
<R>3. The proxy voting policy is consistently applied and records of votes maintained for each client; </R>
<R>4. Kennedy Capital documents the reasons for voting, including exceptions;</R>
<R>5. Kennedy Capital maintains records of such votes cast and client requests for proxy voting information for inspection by the client or governmental agencies;</R>
<R>6. Kennedy Capital monitors such voting for any potential conflicts with the interests of its clients; and</R>
<R>7. Kennedy Capital maintains systems to ensure that material conflicts will be resolved prior to voting, documenting in each case that its good faith determination was based on the clients' best interests and did not result from the conflict.</R>
<R> Conflicts of Interest </R>
<R>Kennedy Capital is an investment adviser to pension plans, public and private companies, mutual funds and individual investors, and is a sub-adviser to wrap programs as described in Kennedy Capital's Form ADV. The management fees collected from such clients are Kennedy Capital's principal source of revenue. With respect to the fees received for advisory services rendered, conflicts of interest may occur when Kennedy Capital must vote on ballot items of the public companies for which it manages the pension plan assets and, in certain cases, Kennedy Capital may have a relationship with the proponents of proxy proposals or participants in proxy contests.</R>
<R>To mitigate potential conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts, Kennedy Capital does not allow employees to sit on the board of directors of any public company without Senior Management approval. To the extent that such conflicts occur, Kennedy Capital will generally follow the recommendation of the proxy voting service to ensure that the best interests of its clients are not subordinated to Kennedy Capital's interests. Kennedy Capital may, in selected matters, consult the Proxy Committee to obtain guidance to vote proxies. Routine matters shall not constitute a material conflict with respect to this procedure.</R>
<R>The Proxy Committee has a duty to make reasonable investigation of information relating to conflicts of interest. The Proxy Committee is chaired by the Chief Executive Officer and is comprised of the Chief Operating Officer, the Director of Research, the Chief Compliance Officer, the Senior Client Service Associate and such other members as may be amended from time-to-time as required by a majority vote of its current members, with three members serving as a quorum. The Proxy Committee will determine, prior to voting, whether any of the members of the Committee have a material personal or business conflict - in which case the committee member will abstain from voting.</R>
<R> Engagement of Service Provider </R>
<R>In order to facilitate the proxy voting process, Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions, Inc. ("Broadridge") has been retained to provide access to a selection of third-party providers that are available to provide proxy vote recommendations and research. Votes are cast through the Broadridge ProxyEdge ® platform ("ProxyEdge ® "). With the assistance of Broadridge, Egan-Jones Proxy Services ("Egan-Jones") has been selected to provide vote recommendations based on its own internal guidelines. The services provided to Kennedy Capital through ProxyEdge ® include receipt of proxy ballots, vote execution based upon the recommendations of Egan-Jones, access to in-depth proxy research provided by Egan-Jones, and access to the analysis and voting recommendations of Egan-Jones, as well as reporting, auditing, working with custodian banks, and consulting assistance for the handling of proxy voting responsibilities. ProxyEdge ® also maintains proxy voting records and provides Kennedy Capital with reports that reflect the proxy voting activities of client portfolios. Kennedy Capital uses this information for appropriate monitoring of such delegated responsibilities.</R>
<R>Kennedy Capital may, under soft dollar arrangements, pay for no more than the cost allocated to research services for such uses ("mixed-use" services). The cost of that portion of the services that does not constitute "research" for the purposes of Section 28(e) will be reimbursed to the broker-dealer provider. Presently, Broadridge's services are not provided to Kennedy Capital by a broker-dealer under a soft dollar arrangement.</R>
<R>Proxies are voted through the ProxyEdge ® application in accordance with one of two proxy voting platforms offered by Kennedy Capital. It is the client's decision as to which set of guidelines will be used to vote its proxies. Not all clients delegate proxy voting authority to Kennedy Capital; however, Kennedy Capital is deemed to have voting authority in the absence of a specific delegation of authority and will vote in accordance with the General Guidelines.</R>
<R> Platforms Available </R>
<R>• General Policy which is generally voted in conformity with the Egan-Jones Proxy Voting Principles and Guidelines.</R>
<R>• Socially Responsible Investment Policy which is generally voted in conformity with the Egan-Jones Socially Responsible Investing Proxy Voting Principles and Guidelines.</R>
<R>The General Policy is the standard policy to be used for voting proxies for all clients' accounts (both ERISA and non-ERISA related) unless the client specifically selects the SRI Policy. As of January 1, 2011, Kennedy Capital was unable to offer a Catholic Voting platform. Generally, Kennedy Capital declines clients' requests to implement customized proxy voting policies, as they tend to be expensive to implement and difficult to manage on an ongoing basis. Kennedy Capital generally votes proxy ballots for its clients using a proxy voting service to help fulfill voting obligations, although some clients may choose to retain voting responsibility. Unless otherwise instructed, Kennedy Capital will undertake to vote proxies. Kennedy Capital must make proxy voting decisions solely in the best interests of its clients and will place clients' interests above its own interests.</R>
<R>Generally, Kennedy Capital follows the recommendation of Egan-Jones, which then forwards the voting recommendation to Broadridge to process. For proxies relating to issues not addressed in the guidelines, the vote will be referred back to Kennedy Capital. A client is encouraged to vote its own proxies if the client seeks to impose client-specific voting guidelines that may be inconsistent with one of the two policies offered by Kennedy Capital. Kennedy Capital does not generally advise a client on proxy voting issues when the client retains authority to handle such matters itself. Kennedy Capital may direct that proxies be voted in a manner different from that recommended by Egan-Jones. However, when Kennedy Capital's interests conflict with the interests of its clients, the recommendation of the proxy voting service will be followed. Additionally, Kennedy Capital may seek guidance from our Proxy Voting Committee to resolve material conflicts of interest.</R>
<R> Securities Lending Arrangements </R>
<R>Kennedy Capital's clients may elect to participate in a securities lending program through the client's selected custodian. Under typical securities lending arrangements, securities on loan to a borrower on a proxy record date may not be voted by the lender. Therefore, Kennedy Capital will not vote securities that are on loan as the responsibility to vote proxies will typically reside with the borrower of the shares.</R>
<R> International Constraints </R>
<R>Although it is Kennedy Capital's policy to seek to vote all proxies for the securities held in a client's account(s) for which it has proxy voting authority, in the case of non-U.S. issuers proxies are voted on a best efforts basis. Generally, research coverage of non-U.S. issuers is issued through Egan-Jones. Voting recommendations are not always provided with research; therefore, ballots for non-U.S. issuers are generally voted according to the chosen policy.</R>
<R> Custodian Considerations </R>
<R>A custodian may, in its sole discretion, determine that it will provide proxies to Broadridge for U.S. domestic companies, but not for non-U.S. issuers. Or, custodians may determine to provide proxies for non-U.S. issuers only to its selected proxy voting provider. In these instances, Broadridge generally is not able to vote proxies for non-U.S. issuers held in a client's account.</R>
<R>It is important to understand that from time-to-time custodian issues may arise which are beyond Kennedy Capital's control. Upon account inception, it is Kennedy Capital's responsibility to notify the client's custodian so that the custodian may begin to forward proxy materials directly to Broadridge. In the event a client delegates proxy voting authority to Kennedy Capital, it remains the client's obligation to instruct their custodian to forward applicable proxy materials directly to Broadridge so that their shares can be voted. Although Kennedy Capital makes its best efforts to make sure that the client's custodian has received Kennedy Capital's instructions, it is the responsibility of the client's custodian to acknowledge receipt of the instructions and to establish the account correctly in order for proxy materials to be submitted to Broadridge in a timely manner. Kennedy Capital is not able to vote shares if Broadridge does not receive proxy materials on a timely basis from the custodian.</R>
<R>It is within each custodian's discretion as to whether it will provide ballots to Broadridge for issuers whose stocks are held in each client's account. Instead, a custodian may select its own proxy voting provider and choose not to provide proxy ballots to Broadridge. In these instances, Broadridge is generally not able to vote proxies for the client's account and Kennedy Capital generally will not be able to accept voting authority for the client's account.</R>
<R>When voting ballots, it is within each custodian's discretion as to whether it will aggregate shares, held on behalf of various clients, in an omnibus account instead of submitting individual ballots for segregated accounts. In these cases, custodians must rely on internal records to differentiate the various underlying holdings. In these instances, Broadridge will generally not be able to provide Kennedy Capital with a detailed history of voting records at the individual client account level.</R>
<R>Kennedy Capital maintains written proxy voting policies and procedures as required by Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act. A copy of Kennedy Capital's complete proxy voting policy and procedures may be obtained by writing Kennedy Capital Management, Inc., 10829 Olive Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63141.</R>
Proxy Voting - Neuberger Berman.
Neuberger Berman has implemented written Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures (Proxy Voting Policy) that are designed to reasonably ensure that Neuberger Berman votes proxies prudently and in the best interest of its advisory clients for whom Neuberger Berman has voting authority. The Proxy Voting Policy also describes how Neuberger Berman addresses any conflicts that may arise between its interests and those of its clients with respect to proxy voting.
Neuberger Berman's Proxy Committee is responsible for developing, authorizing, implementing and updating the Proxy Voting Policy, overseeing the proxy voting process, and engaging and overseeing any independent third-party vendors as voting delegate to review, monitor and/or vote proxies. In order to apply the Proxy Voting Policy noted above in a timely and consistent manner, Neuberger Berman utilizes Glass, Lewis & Co. LLC (Glass Lewis) to vote proxies in accordance with Neuberger Berman's voting guidelines.
For socially responsive clients, Neuberger Berman has adopted socially responsive voting guidelines. For non-socially responsive clients, Neuberger Berman's guidelines adopt the voting recommendations of Glass Lewis. Notwithstanding recommendations made by Glass Lewis with respect to cumulative voting, the Proxy Committee has determined that it will not vote proxies in favor of resolutions or proposals calling for the institution of cumulative voting for director nominees or for resolutions or proposals allowing shareholders to call a special meeting with less than 25% of the outstanding shares. Neuberger Berman retains final authority and fiduciary responsibility for proxy voting. Neuberger Berman believes that this process is reasonably designed to address material conflicts of interest that may arise between Neuberger Berman and a client as to how proxies are voted.
In the event that an investment professional at Neuberger Berman believes that it is in the best interest of a client or clients to vote proxies in a manner inconsistent with Neuberger Berman's proxy voting guidelines or in a manner inconsistent with Glass Lewis recommendations, the Proxy Committee will review information submitted by the investment professional to determine that there is no material conflict of interest between Neuberger Berman and the client with respect to the voting of the proxy in that manner.
If the Proxy Committee determines that the voting of a proxy as recommended by the investment professional presents a material conflict of interest between Neuberger Berman and the client or clients with respect to the voting of the proxy, the Proxy Committee shall: (i) take no further action, in which case Glass Lewis shall vote such proxy in accordance with the proxy voting guidelines or as Glass Lewis recommends; (ii) disclose such conflict to the client or clients and obtain written direction from the client as to how to vote the proxy; (iii) suggest that the client or clients engage another party to determine how to vote the proxy; or (iv) engage another independent third party to determine how to vote the proxy.
Proxy Voting - Pyramis.
I. General Principles
A. Voting of shares will be conducted in a manner consistent with the best interests of clients as follows: (i) securities of a portfolio company will generally be voted in a manner consistent with the Guidelines; and (ii) voting will be done without regard to any other Pyramis or Fidelity companies' relationship, business or otherwise, with that portfolio company.
B. FMR Investment Proxy Research votes proxies on behalf of Pyramis' clients. Like other Pyramis employees, FMR Investment Proxy Research employees have a fiduciary duty to never place their own personal interest ahead of the interests of Pyramis's clients and are instructed to avoid actual and apparent conflicts of interest. In the event of a conflict of interest, FMR Investment Proxy Research employees, like other Pyramis employees, will escalate to their managers or the Ethics Office, as appropriate, in accordance with Fidelity's corporate policy on conflicts of interest. A conflict of interest arises when there are factors that may prompt one to question whether a Fidelity and/or Pyramis employee is acting solely on the best interests of Pyramis, Fidelity and their customers. Employees are expected to avoid situations that could present even the appearance of a conflict between their interests and the interests of Pyramis and its customers.
C. Except as set forth herein, Pyramis will generally vote in favor of routine management proposals.
D. Non-routine proposals will generally be voted in accordance with the Guidelines.
E. Non-routine proposals not covered by the Guidelines or involving other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review by an attorney within FMR's General Counsel's office and a member of senior management within FMR Investment Proxy Research. A significant pattern of such proposals or other special circumstances will be referred to Pyramis' Senior Compliance Officer or his designee.
F. Pyramis will vote on shareholder proposals not specifically addressed by the Guidelines based on an evaluation of a proposal's likelihood to enhance the economic returns or profitability of the portfolio company or to maximize shareholder value. Where information is not readily available to analyze the economic impact of the proposal, Pyramis will generally abstain.
G. Many Pyramis accounts invest in voting securities issued by companies that are domiciled outside the United States and are not listed on a U.S. securities exchange. Corporate governance standards, legal or regulatory requirements and disclosure practices in foreign countries can differ from those in the United States. When voting proxies relating to non-U.S. securities, Pyramis will generally evaluate proposals in the context of the Guidelines and where applicable and feasible, take into consideration differing laws, regulations and practices in the relevant foreign market in determining how to vote shares.
H. In certain non-U.S. jurisdictions, shareholders voting shares of a portfolio company may be restricted from trading the shares for a period of time around the shareholder meeting date. Because such trading restrictions can hinder portfolio management and could result in a loss of liquidity for a client, Pyramis will generally not vote proxies in circumstances where such restrictions apply. In addition, certain non-U.S. jurisdictions require voting shareholders to disclose current share ownership on a fund-by-fund basis. When such disclosure requirements apply, Pyramis will generally not vote proxies in order to safeguard fund holdings information.
I. Where a management-sponsored proposal is inconsistent with the Guidelines, Pyramis may receive a company's commitment to modify the proposal or its practice to conform to the Guidelines, and Pyramis will generally support management based on this commitment. If a company subsequently does not abide by its commitment, Pyramis will generally withhold authority for the election of directors at the next election.
II. Definitions (as used in this document)
A. <R>Anti-Takeover Provision - includes fair price amendments; classified boards; "blank check" preferred stock; Golden Parachutes; supermajority provisions; Poison Pills; restricting the right to call special meetings; provisions restricting the right of shareholders to set board size; and any other provision that eliminates or limits shareholder rights.</R>
B. Golden Parachute - Employment contracts, agreements, or policies that include an excise tax gross-up provision; single trigger for cash incentives; or may result in a lump sum payment of cash and acceleration of equity that may total more than three times annual compensation (salary and bonus) in the event of a termination following a change in control.
C. Greenmail - payment of a premium to repurchase shares from a shareholder seeking to take over a company through a proxy contest or other means.
D. Sunset Provision - a condition in a charter or plan that specifies an expiration date.
E. Permitted Bid Feature - a provision suspending the application of a Poison Pill, by shareholder referendum, in the event a potential acquirer announces a bona fide offer for all outstanding shares.
F. Poison Pill - a strategy employed by a potential take-over/target company to make its stock less attractive to an acquirer. Poison Pills are generally designed to dilute the acquirer's ownership and value in the event of a take-over.
G. <R>Large-Capitalization Company - a company included in the Russell 1000 ® Index or the Russell Global ex-U.S. Large Cap Index.</R>
H. <R>Small-Capitalization Company - a company not included in the Russell 1000 ® Index or the Russell Global ex-U.S. Large Cap Index that is not a Micro-Capitalization Company.</R>
I. Micro-Capitalization Company - a company with a market capitalization under US $300 million.
J. Evergreen Provision - a feature which provides for an automatic increase in the shares available for grant under an equity award plan on a regular basis.
III. Directors
A. Incumbent Directors
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of incumbent and nominee directors except where one or more such directors clearly appear to have failed to exercise reasonable judgment. Pyramis will also generally withhold authority for the election of all directors or directors on responsible committees if:
8. An Anti-Takeover Provision was introduced, an Anti-Takeover Provision was extended, or a new Anti-Takeover Provision was adopted upon the expiration of an existing Anti-Takeover Provision, without shareholder approval except as set forth below.
With respect to Poison Pills, however, Pyramis will consider not withholding authority on the election of directors if all of the following conditions are met when a Poison Pill is introduced, extended, or adopted:
a. The Poison Pill includes a Sunset Provision of less than five years;
b. The Poison Pill includes a Permitted Bid Feature;
c. The Poison Pill is linked to a business strategy that will result in greater value for the shareholders; and
d. Shareholder approval is required to reinstate the Poison Pill upon expiration.
Pyramis will also consider not withholding authority on the election of directors when one or more of the conditions above are not met if a board is willing to strongly consider seeking shareholder ratification of, or adding above conditions noted a. and b. to an existing Poison Pill. In such a case, if the company does not take appropriate action prior to the next annual shareholder meeting, Pyramis will withhold authority on the election of directors.
9. The company refuses, upon request by Pyramis, to amend the Poison Pill to allow Pyramis to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
10. Within the last year and without shareholder approval, a company's board of directors or compensation committee has repriced outstanding options, exchanged outstanding options for equity, or tendered cash for outstanding options.
11. <R>Executive compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as: (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether, in the case of stock awards, the restriction period was less than three years for non-performance based awards, and less than one year for performance-based awards; (iv) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restrictions; and (v) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.</R>
12. To gain Pyramis' support on a proposal, the company made a commitment to modify a proposal or practice to conform to the Guidelines and the company has failed to act on that commitment.
13. The director attended fewer than 75% of the aggregate number of meetings of the board or its committees on which the director served during the company's prior fiscal year, absent extenuating circumstances.
14. The board is not composed of a majority of independent directors.
B. Indemnification
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of charter and by-law amendments expanding the indemnification of directors and/or limiting their liability for breaches of care unless Pyramis is otherwise dissatisfied with the performance of management or the proposal is accompanied by Anti-Takeover Provisions.
C. Independent Chairperson
Pyramis will generally vote against shareholder proposals calling for or recommending the appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson. However, Pyramis will consider voting for such proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson appears likely to further the interests of shareholders and to promote effective oversight of management by the board of directors.
D. Majority Director Elections
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals calling for directors to be elected by an affirmative majority of votes cast in a board election, provided that the proposal allows for plurality voting standard in the case of contested elections (i.e., where there are more nominees than board seats). Pyramis may consider voting against such shareholder proposals where a company's board has adopted an alternative measure, such as a director resignation policy, that provides a meaningful alternative to the majority voting standard and appropriately addresses situations where an incumbent director fails to receive the support of a majority of the votes cast in an uncontested election.
IV. Compensation
A. Executive Compensation
1. Advisory votes on executive compensation
a. Pyramis will generally vote for proposals to ratify executive compensation unless such compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as, among other things, (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether, in the case of stock awards, the restriction period was less than three years for non-performance-based awards, and less than one year for performance-based awards; (iv) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restrictions; and (v) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.
b. Pyramis will generally vote against proposals to ratify Golden Parachutes.
2. Frequency of advisory vote on executive compensation
Pyramis will generally support annual advisory votes on executive compensation.
B. Equity Award Plans (including stock options, restricted stock awards, and other stock awards).
Pyramis will generally vote against equity award plans or amendments to authorize additional shares under such plans if:
1. (a) The company's average three year burn rate is greater than 1.5% for a Large-Capitalization Company, 2.5% for a Small-Capitalization Company or 3.5% for a Micro-Capitalization Company; and (b) there were no circumstances specific to the company or the plans that lead Pyramis to conclude that the burn rate is acceptable.
2. In the case of stock option plans, (a) the offering price of options is less than 100% of fair market value on the date of grant, except that the offering price may be as low as 85% of fair market value if the discount is expressly granted in lieu of salary or cash bonus; (b) the plan's terms allow repricing of underwater options; or (c) the board/committee has repriced options outstanding under the plan in the past two years without shareholder approval.
3. The plan includes an Evergreen Provision.
4. The plan provides for the acceleration of vesting of equity awards even though an actual change in control may not occur.
C. Equity Exchanges and Repricing
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of a management proposal to exchange, reprice or tender for cash, outstanding options if the proposed exchange, repricing, or tender offer is consistent with the interests of shareholders, taking into account such factors as:
1. Whether the proposal excludes senior management and directors;
2. Whether the exchange or repricing proposal is value neutral to shareholders based upon an acceptable pricing model;
3. The company's relative performance compared to other companies within the relevant industry or industries;
4. Economic and other conditions affecting the relevant industry or industries in which the company competes; and
5. Any other facts or circumstances relevant to determining whether an exchange or repricing proposal is consistent with the interests of shareholders.
D. Employee Stock Purchase Plans
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of employee stock purchase plans if the minimum stock purchase price is equal to or greater than 85% of the stock's fair market value and the plan constitutes a reasonable effort to encourage broad based participation in the company's equity. In the case of non-U.S. company stock purchase plans, Pyramis may permit a lower minimum stock purchase price equal to the prevailing "best practices" in the relevant non-U.S. market, provided that the minimum stock purchase price must be at least 75% of the stock's fair market value.
E. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of non-leveraged ESOPs. For leveraged ESOPs, Pyramis may examine the company's state of incorporation, existence of supermajority vote rules in the charter, number of shares authorized for the ESOP, and number of shares held by insiders. Pyramis may also examine where the ESOP shares are purchased and the dilution effect of the purchase. Pyramis will generally vote against leveraged ESOPs if all outstanding loans are due immediately upon change in control.
F. Bonus Plans and Tax Deductibility Proposals
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of cash and stock incentive plans that are submitted for shareholder approval in order to qualify for favorable tax treatment under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, provided that the plan includes well defined and appropriate performance criteria, and with respect to any cash component, that the maximum award per participant is clearly stated and is not unreasonable or excessive.
V. Anti-Takeover Provisions
Pyramis will generally vote against a proposal to adopt or approve the adoption of an Anti-Takeover Provision unless:
A. The Poison Pill includes the following features:
1. A Sunset Provision of no greater than five years;
2. Linked to a business strategy that is expected to result in greater value for the shareholders;
3. Requires shareholder approval to be reinstated upon expiration or if amended;
4. Contains a Permitted Bid Feature; and
5. Allows Pyramis accounts to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
B. An Anti-Greenmail proposal that does not include other Anti-Takeover Provisions; or
C. It is a fair price amendment that considers a two-year price history or less.
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of a proposal to eliminate an Anti-Takeover Provisions unless:
D. In the case of proposals to declassify a board of directors, Pyramis will generally vote against such a proposal if the issuer's Articles of Incorporation or applicable statutes include a provision whereby a majority of directors may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by written consent, or other reasonable procedures, by a majority of shareholders entitled to vote for the election of directors.
E. In the case of shareholder proposals regarding shareholders' right to call special meetings, Pyramis generally will vote against each proposal if the threshold required to call a special meeting is less than 25% of the outstanding stock.
F. In the case of proposals regarding shareholders' right to act by written consent, Pyramis will generally vote against each proposal if it does not include appropriate mechanisms for implementation including, among other things, that at least 25% of the outstanding stock request that the company establish a record date determining which shareholders are entitled to act and that consents be solicited from all shareholders.
VI. Capital Structure/Incorporation
A. Increases in Common Stock
Pyramis will generally vote against a provision to increase a company's common stock if such increase will result in a total number of authorized shares greater than three times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares, including stock options, except in the case of real estate investment trusts, where an increase that will result in a total number of authorized shares up to five times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares is generally acceptable.
B. New Classes of Shares
Pyramis will generally vote against the introduction of new classes of stock with differential voting rights.
C. Cumulative Voting Rights
Pyramis will generally vote against the introduction and in favor of the elimination of cumulative voting rights.
D. Acquisition or Business Combination Statutes
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposed amendments to a company's certificate of incorporation or by-laws that enable the company to opt out of the control shares acquisition or business combination statutes.
E. Incorporation or Reincorporation in Another State or Country
Pyramis will generally vote for management proposals calling for, or recommending that, a portfolio company reincorporate in another state or country if, on balance, the economic and corporate governance factors in the proposed jurisdiction appear reasonably likely to be better aligned with shareholder interests, taking into account the corporate laws of the current and proposed jurisdictions and any changes to the company's current and proposed governing documents. Pyramis will consider supporting such shareholder proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, remaining incorporated in the current jurisdiction appears misaligned with shareholder interests.
VII. Shares of Investment Companies
A. If applicable, when a Pyramis account invests in an underlying Fidelity Fund with public shareholders, an exchange traded fund (ETF), or non-affiliated fund, Pyramis will vote in the same proportion as all other voting shareholders of such underlying fund or class ("echo voting"). Pyramis may choose not to vote if "echo voting" is not operationally feasible.
B. Certain Pyramis accounts may invest in shares of underlying Fidelity Funds, which are held exclusively by Fidelity Funds or accounts managed by FMR or an affiliate. Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals recommended by the underlying funds' Board of Trustees.
VIII. Other
A. Voting Process
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals to adopt confidential voting and independent vote tabulation practices.
B. Regulated Industries
Voting of shares in securities of any regulated industry (e.g. U.S. banking) organization shall be conducted in a manner consistent with conditions that may be specified by the industry's regulator (e.g. the Federal Reserve Board) for a determination under applicable law (e.g. federal banking law) that no client or group of clients has acquired control of such organization.
Proxy Voting - Systematic.
<R>Clients may delegate proxy voting authority over their account to Systematic in their investment management agreement or investment guidelines, or by other written direction to Systematic . Upon such delegation of proxy voting authority, Systematic will notify both its independent proxy-voting agent ("agent") and the client's custodian that Systematic's agent will vote on behalf of Systematic for that client's account. Systematic will also provide the client's custodian with the appropriate instructions for delivery of proxy ballots for the client's account. Systematic clients may revoke Systematic's voting authority by providing written notice to Systematic.</R>
<R>As stated above, Systematic has retained an independent proxy-voting agent ("agent"), and Systematic generally follows the agent's proxy voting guidelines when voting proxies. The adoption of the agent's proxy voting guidelines provides independent guidelines for voting proxies and is designed to remove conflicts of interest that could affect the outcome of a vote. The intent of this policy is to remove any discretion that Systematic may have to interpret how to vote proxies in cases where Systematic has a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest.</R>
<R>Although under normal circumstances Systematic is not expected to exercise its voting discretion or to override the agent's recommendation, Systematic's Proxy Voting Committee will monitor any situation where Systematic believes it has a material conflict of interest, or where Systematic wishes to exercise its discretion or more closely review a particular matter. In these situations, the Proxy Voting Committee will provide the actual voting recommendation after a review of the vote(s) involved with such determination being based in the Committee's determination of what is in the best interests of Systematic's clients. Systematic uses consensus decisions when voting an issue and does not allow Portfolio Managers to vote proxies independently. Systematic's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) must approve any decision made on such vote prior to the vote being cast. In approving any such decision, the CCO will use his or her best judgment to ensure that the spirit of Systematic's proxy voting guidelines is being followed. Systematic will maintain documentation of any such voting decision.</R>
<R>The agent has policies and procedures in place to mitigate potential conflicts of interest. The agent is obligated to notify Systematic, in advance of voting any proxies, in specific situations where it may have a material conflict of interest with a company whose proxy it is responsible for voting on behalf of a Systematic client. If this situation occurs, the agent will follow its procedures regarding conflicts of interest and Systematic will follow the same procedures it does for situations where it has a material conflict of interest, as described above.</R>
<R> Voting Guidelines </R>
<R>Systematic maintains five sets of proxy voting guidelines, one based on AFL-CIO polices for Taft-Hartley Plan Sponsors, another for clients with Socially Responsible Investing guidelines, another for Public Plans, another for Catholic or other faith-based entities and the fifth being a General Policy for all other clients, covering U.S. and global proxies. Institutional clients may select which set of proxy guidelines they wish to be used to vote their account's proxies. In instances where the client does not select a voting policy, Systematic would typically apply the General Policy when voting on behalf of the client. Systematic may process certain proxies, or certain proposals within such proxies, without voting, such as by making a decision to abstain from voting or take no action on such proxies (or on certain proposals within such proxies). Examples include, without limitation, proxies issued by companies that the Firm has decided to sell, proxies issued for securities that the Firm did not select for a client portfolio (such as securities selected by the client or a previous adviser, unsupervised securities held in a client's account, money market securities or other securities selected by clients or their representatives other than Systematic), or proxies issued by foreign companies that impose burdensome or unreasonable voting, power of attorney or holding requirements such as with share blocking as further noted below.</R>
<R>Systematic also seeks to ensure that, to the extent reasonably feasible, proxies for which it receives ballots in good order and receives timely notice will be voted or otherwise processed (such as through a decision to abstain or take no action). Systematic may be unable to vote or otherwise process proxy ballots that are not received in a timely manner due to limitations of the proxy voting system, custodial limitations or other factors beyond the firm's control. Such ballots may include, without limitation, ballots for securities out on loan under securities lending programs initiated by the client or its custodian, ballots not timely forwarded by a custodian, or ballots that were not received by the agent on a timely basis.</R>
<R> Share Blocking </R>
<R>In general, unless otherwise directed by the client, Systematic will make reasonable efforts to vote client proxies in accordance with the proxy voting recommendations of the Firm's proxy voting service provider. Systematic will generally decline to vote proxies if to do so would cause a restriction to be placed on Systematic's ability to trade securities held in client accounts in "share blocking" countries. Accordingly, Systematic may abstain from votes in a share blocking country in favor of preserving its ability to trade any particular security at any time. Systematic's maintains written Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures as required by Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act.</R>
<R></R>
To view a fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, visit www.fidelity.com/proxyvotingresults or visit the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.
<R>The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. The principal business address of FDC is 100 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by Strategic Advisers.</R>
The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan with respect to shares of the fund (the Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a mutual fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows the fund and Strategic Advisers to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.
Under the Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to Strategic Advisers is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Plan. The Plan specifically recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Plan provides that Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers or FDC), that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Prior to approving the Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Plan will benefit the fund and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Plan does not authorize payments by the fund other than those made to Strategic Advisers under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Plan gives Strategic Advisers and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of shares of the fund, additional sales of shares of the fund or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
<R>The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (FIIOC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers, which is located at 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services for the fund.</R>
For providing transfer agency services, FIIOC receives an account fee and an asset-based fee with respect to assets managed by one or more sub-advisers and assets invested in non-affiliated ETFs. For retail accounts, these fees are based on fund type. For certain institutional accounts, these fees are based on size of position and fund type. For institutional retirement accounts, these fees are based on account type and fund type. The account fee is billed monthly on a pro rata basis at one-twelfth of the applicable annual rate as of the end of each calendar month. The asset-based fee is calculated and paid monthly on the basis of average daily net assets. For assets invested in underlying Fidelity funds, each underlying Fidelity fund pays its respective transfer agent (either FIIOC or an affiliate of FIIOC) fees based, in part, on the number of positions in and assets of the fund invested in such underlying Fidelity fund.
FIIOC also may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
<R>The fund has entered into a service agent agreement with Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers (or an agent, including an affiliate). Under the terms of the agreement, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for the fund and maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records.</R>
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
The annual rates for pricing and bookkeeping services for the fund are 0.0389% of the first $500 million of average net assets, 0.0275% of average net assets between $500 million and $3.5 billion, 0.0041% of average net assets between $3.5 billion and $25 billion, and 0.0019% of average net assets in excess of $25 billion.
Pricing and bookkeeping fees paid by the fund to FSC for the past three fiscal years are shown in the following table.
<R> Fund |
2013 |
2012 |
2011</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund |
$ 772,478 |
$ 782,371 |
$ 308,362</R> |
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
<R> Trust Organization. Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund is a fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, an open-end management investment company created under an initial trust instrument dated March 8, 2006. Currently, there are 20 funds offered in the trust: Strategic Advisers Core Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.</R>
The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds.
Shareholder Liability. The trust is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that, except to the extent otherwise provided in the Trust Instrument, shareholders shall be entitled to the same limitations of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit organized under the general corporation law of Delaware. The courts of some states, however, may decline to apply Delaware law on this point. The Trust Instrument contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust. The Trust Instrument provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Trust Instrument further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of each fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Trust Instrument also provides that each fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which Delaware law does not apply, no contractual limitation of liability was in effect, and a fund is unable to meet its obligations. Strategic Advisers believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is extremely remote.
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. As a shareholder, you are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value you own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
<R></R>
The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodians. State Street Bank and Trust Company, 1776 Heritage Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as special purpose custodians of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions.
Strategic Advisers, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Member of the Advisory Board, and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by Strategic Advisers. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of Strategic Advisers, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 125 High Street, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit, tax, and related services.
<R> </R>
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized Strategic Advisers, in consultation with FMR, to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
Other registered investment companies that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be subject to different portfolio holdings disclosure policies, and neither Strategic Advisers nor the Board exercises control over such policies or disclosure. In addition, separate account clients of Strategic Advisers and the sub-advisers have access to their portfolio holdings and are not subject to the fund's portfolio holdings disclosure policies. Some of the funds that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser and some of the separate accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser have investment objectives and strategies that are substantially similar or identical to the fund's and, therefore, potentially substantially similar, and in certain cases nearly identical, portfolio holdings as the fund.
The fund will provide a full list of holdings as of the end of the fund's fiscal quarter on www.fidelity.com 60 days after its fiscal quarter-end.
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations.
<R> The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the activities associated with managing Fidelity funds to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons Strategic Advisers believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include, but are not limited to: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics (including portfolio managers of affiliated funds of funds); contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.</R>
<R> Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, (ii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iii) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. Strategic Advisers relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.</R>
<R>At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day) and DocuLynx Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day).</R>
Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, Strategic Advisers desired to make such an arrangement, it would seek prior Board approval and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
<R> FINANCIAL STATEMENTS</R>
<R>The fund's financial statements and financial highlights for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, and report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the fund's annual report and are incorporated herein by reference. Total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table may differ from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the financial highlights because total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table include any acquired fund fees and expenses, whereas the ratios of expenses in the financial highlights do not, except to the extent any acquired fund fees and expenses relate to an entity, such as a wholly-owned subsidiary, with which a fund's financial statements are consolidated. Acquired funds include other investment companies in which the fund has invested, if and to the extent it is permitted to do so. Total annual operating expenses in the prospectus fee table and the financial highlights do not include any expenses associated with investments in certain structured or synthetic products that may rely on the exception from the definition of "investment company" provided by section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
Fund /Ticker
Strategic Advisers ® Core Income Fund /FPCIX
Offered exclusively to certain clients of Strategic Advisers, Inc. - not available for sale to the general public
Prospectus
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
Fund Summary |
Strategic Advisers ® Core Income Fund |
|
Fund Basics |
Investment Details |
|
|
Valuing Shares |
|
Shareholder Information |
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares |
|
|
Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions |
|
|
Tax Consequences |
|
Fund Services |
Fund Management |
|
|
Fund Distribution |
|
<R> Appendix |
Financial Highlights </R> |
|
<R> |
Additional Information about the Index </R> |
Prospectus
Fund:
Strategic Advisers
®
Core Income Fund
The fund seeks a high level of current income.
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy and hold shares of the fund.
Shareholder fees
|
None |
Annual fund operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
<R> Management fee (fluctuates based on the fund's allocation among underlying funds and sub-advisers) B |
0.28% </R> |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees |
None |
<R> Other expenses |
0.05% </R> |
<R> Acquired fund fees and expenses (fees and expenses of underlying funds) |
0.52% </R> |
<R> Total annual fund operating expenses A |
0.85% </R> |
Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement B |
0.25% |
<R> Total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement A |
0.60% </R> |
A Differs from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the Financial Highlights section of the prospectus because of acquired fund fees and expenses.
<R> B Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) has contractually agreed that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.60% of the fund's average daily net assets. In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets. This arrangement will remain in effect through September 30, 2015 . Strategic Advisers may not terminate this arrangement without the approval of the Board of Trustees. </R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
<R> 1 year |
$ 61 </R> |
<R> 3 years |
$ 204 </R> |
<R> 5 years |
$ 405 </R> |
<R> 10 years |
$ 986 </R> |
<R>The fund will not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of affiliated funds but may incur transaction costs when buying or selling non-affiliated funds and other types of securities (including non-affiliated exchange traded funds) directly (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 81% of the average value of its portfolio.</R>
Prospectus
<R> Pursuant to an exemptive order granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) is permitted, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees, to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement. </R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following information is intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the fund. The information illustrates the changes in the performance of the fund's shares from year to year and compares the performance of the fund's shares to the performance of a securities market index over various periods of time. The index description appears in the Additional Information about the Index section of the prospectus. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future performance.
Visit www.fidelity.com for updated return information.
Prospectus
<R> Calendar Years |
|
|
|
|
|
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 </R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
|
-2.89% |
17.74% |
8.88% |
5.99% |
7.82% </R> |
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
During the periods shown in the chart: |
Returns |
Quarter ended |
Highest Quarter Return |
7.14% |
September 30, 2009 |
Lowest Quarter Return |
-2.56% |
September 30, 2008 |
<R> Year-to-Date Return |
0.31% |
March31, 2013 </R> |
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, but do not reflect the impact of state or local taxes. Actual after-tax returns may differ depending on your individual circumstances. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your shares in a retirement account or in another tax-deferred arrangement.
<R></R>
<R>
For the periods ended
|
Past 1
|
Past 5
|
Life of
|
<R> Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund |
|
|
</R> |
<R> Return Before Taxes |
7.82% |
7.30% |
7.29% </R> |
<R> Return After Taxes on Distributions |
6.21% |
5.38% |
5.35% </R> |
<R> Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
5.11% |
5.13% |
5.11% </R> |
<R>
Barclays
®
U.S. Aggregate Bond Index
|
4.21% |
5.95% |
6.22% </R> |
A From September 27, 2007.
<R>Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. (FIMM) and Prudential Investment Management, Inc. (PIM) have been retained to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. Other investment advisers have been retained to serve as sub-advisers for the fund.</R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
Gregory Pappas (lead portfolio manager) has managed the fund since September 2007.
Jeffrey Moore (portfolio manager) has managed FIMM's portion of the fund's assets since January 2011.
<R>James Herbst (portfolio manager) has managed PIM's portion of the fund's assets since March 2013.</R>
The fund is not available for sale to the general public.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its net asset value per share (NAV). Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV. Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
The fund has no minimum investment requirement.
Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state or local taxes, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account (in which case you may be taxed later, upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).
Prospectus
The fund, Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Investment Objective
The fund seeks a high level of current income.
Principal Investment Strategies
The fund normally invests primarily in investment-grade debt securities (those of medium and high quality) of all types and repurchase agreements for those securities. The fund may invest up to 30% of its assets in high yield and emerging market debt securities.
The fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers in addition to securities of domestic issuers.
<R>The fund may engage in transactions that have a leveraging effect, including investments in derivatives, regardless of whether it may own the asset, instrument, or components of the index underlying the derivative, and forward-settling securities. The fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in these types of investments. The fund's derivative investments may include interest rate swaps, total return swaps, credit default swaps, and futures contracts (both long and short positions) on securities and indexes. The fund may engage in these transactions to increase or decrease its exposure to changing security prices, interest rates, credit qualities, or other factors that affect security values, or to gain or reduce exposure to an asset, instrument, or index.</R>
The fund implements its investment strategies by investing directly in securities through one or more sub-advisers or indirectly in securities through one or more underlying funds, which in turn invest directly in securities.
Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of underlying funds or sub-advisers at any time.
<R>Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds and sub-advisers according to an allocation strategy designed to achieve portfolio characteristics similar to those of the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds and sub-advisers to achieve similar overall interest rate risk to the Index.</R>
Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds and sub-advisers to attempt to diversify the fund's portfolio among different market sectors (for example, corporate, asset-backed or government securities) and different maturities based on its view of the relative value of each sector or maturity.
Strategic Advisers pursues a disciplined, benchmark-driven approach to portfolio construction, and monitors and adjusts allocations to underlying funds and sub-advisers as necessary to favor those underlying funds and sub-advisers that Strategic Advisers believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the fund's investment objective.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among underlying funds, Strategic Advisers relies on proprietary fundamental and quantitative fund research in its fund selection process. Factors considered when investing in underlying funds include fund performance, a fund manager's experience and investment style, fund company infrastructure, and fund characteristics such as expense ratio, asset size, and portfolio turnover.
Prospectus
<R>The fund may invest in affiliated fixed-income funds ( i.e., Fidelity funds) and non-affiliated fixed-income funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork ® and in non-affiliated ETFs. Underlying funds include both funds managed by FMR (an affiliated company that, together with Strategic Advisers, is part of Fidelity Investments) or an affiliate and funds managed by investment advisers other than Fidelity. Fidelity may receive service fees that typically are at an annual rate of up to 0.40% of a non-affiliated underlying fund's average daily net assets attributable to purchases through Fidelity's FundsNetwork, though such fees may be higher or lower, or may be charged as transaction and/or account fees. In addition, the fund may invest in ETFs in transactions not occurring through Fidelity's FundsNetwork.</R>
Strategic Advisers generally identifies fixed-income funds by reference to a fund's name, policies, or classification by a third-party ranking or ratings organization.
<R>Strategic Advisers may actively adjust the allocation of the fund's assets at any time. For current information on fund holdings, please call 1-800-544-3455 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com. For information on the underlying funds, see the underlying funds' prospectuses. A copy of any underlying Fidelity fund's prospectus is available at www.fidelity.com or www.advisor.fidelity.com. For a copy of any other underlying fund's prospectus, visit the web site of the company that manages or sponsors that underlying fund.</R>
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers considers a variety of factors including, but not limited to, a sub-adviser's investment approach, the characteristics of a sub-adviser's typical investment portfolio, and a sub-adviser's performance patterns in different market environments.
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
To select investments, a sub-adviser may analyze the credit quality of the issuer, security-specific features, current valuation relative to alternatives in the market, short-term trading opportunities resulting from market inefficiencies, and potential future valuation. In managing the fund's exposure to various risks, including interest rate risk, a sub-adviser may consider, among other things, the market's overall risk characteristics, the market's current pricing of those risks, information on the fund's competitive universe and internal views of potential future market conditions.
In selecting foreign securities, a sub-adviser's analysis may also consider the credit, currency, and economic risks associated with the security and the country of its issuer. A sub-adviser may also consider an issuer's potential for success in light of its current financial condition, its industry position, and economic and market conditions.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
To earn additional income for the fund, a sub-adviser may use a trading strategy that involves selling (or buying) mortgage securities and simultaneously agreeing to buy (or sell) mortgage securities on a later date at a set price. This trading strategy may increase interest rate exposure and result in an increased portfolio turnover rate which increases transaction costs and may increase taxable gains.
In addition, the fund may have indirect exposure to derivatives through its investments in underlying funds.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Description of Principal Security Types
In addition to investing in underlying funds, the fund may invest directly in the following principal security types:
Debt securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay current interest but are sold at a discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, mortgage and other asset-backed securities, and other securities that Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser believes have debt-like characteristics, including hybrids and synthetic securities.
A repurchase agreement is an agreement to buy a security at one price and a simultaneous agreement to sell it back at an agreed-upon price.
<R> Derivatives are investments whose values are tied to an underlying asset, instrument, currency, or index. Derivatives include futures, options, forwards, and swaps, such as interest rate swaps (exchanging a floating rate for a fixed rate), total return swaps (exchanging a floating rate for the total return of a security or index) and credit default swaps (buying or selling credit default protection).</R>
Forward-settling securities involve a commitment to purchase or sell specific securities when issued, or at a predetermined price or yield. When a fund does not already own or have the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount, a commitment to sell securities is equivalent to a short sale. Payment and delivery take place after the customary settlement period.
Prospectus
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on the performance of the underlying funds and securities in which it invests and on changes in market conditions and interest rates and in response to other economic, political, or financial developments. The fund's reaction to these developments will be affected by the types of underlying funds and securities in which the fund invests, the financial condition, industry and economic sector, and geographic location of an issuer, and the fund's level of investment in the securities of that underlying fund or issuer.
If Strategic Advisers' or a sub-adviser's allocation strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective. The portfolio managers' evaluations and assumptions in selecting underlying funds or individual securities may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.
When your shares are sold they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
<R> Multiple Sub-Adviser Risk. Because each sub-adviser manages its allocated portion, if any, independently from another sub-adviser, it is possible that the sub-advisers' security selection processes may not complement one another. As a result, the fund's aggregate exposure to a particular industry or group of industries, or to a single issuer, could unintentionally be larger or smaller than intended. Because each sub-adviser directs the trading for its own portion, if any, of the fund, and does not aggregate its transactions with those of the other sub-advisers, the fund may incur higher brokerage costs than would be the case if a single sub-adviser were managing the entire fund.</R>
Investing in Other Funds. Regulatory restrictions may limit the amount that one fund can invest in another, and in certain cases further limit investments to the extent a fund's shares are already held by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The fund bears all risks of investment strategies employed by the underlying funds. The fund does not control the investments of the underlying funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the fund would not engage in directly. Aggregation of underlying fund holdings may result in indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase volatility.
<R> Interest Rate Changes. Debt securities have varying levels of sensitivity to changes in interest rates. In general, the price of a debt security can fall when interest rates rise and can rise when interest rates fall. Securities with longer maturities and mortgage securities can be more sensitive to interest rate changes. In other words, the longer the maturity of a security, the greater the impact a change in interest rates could have on the security's price. In addition, short-term and long-term interest rates do not necessarily move in the same amount or the same direction. Short-term securities tend to react to changes in short-term interest rates, and long-term securities tend to react to changes in long-term interest rates. Inflation-protected debt securities may react differently from other types of debt securities and tend to react to changes in "real" interest rates. Real interest rates represent nominal (stated) interest rates reduced by the expected impact of inflation. In general, the price of an inflation-protected debt security can fall when real interest rates rise, and can rise when real interest rates fall. Interest payments on inflation-protected debt securities can be unpredictable and will vary as the principal and/or interest is adjusted for inflation.</R>
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Fund Basics - continued
<R></R>
<R> Foreign Exposure. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; withholding or other taxes; trading, settlement, custodial, and other operational risks; and the less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets. All of these factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and potentially less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can perform differently from the U.S. market.</R>
Investing in emerging markets can involve risks in addition to and greater than those generally associated with investing in more developed foreign markets. The extent of economic development; political stability; market depth, infrastructure, and capitalization; and regulatory oversight can be less than in more developed markets. Emerging market economies can be subject to greater social, economic, regulatory, and political uncertainties. All of these factors can make emerging market securities more volatile and potentially less liquid than securities issued in more developed markets.
<R>Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers or providers in, or foreign exchange rates with, a different country or region.</R>
Industry Exposure. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry or a group of related industries, and the securities of companies in that industry or group of industries could react similarly to these or other developments. In addition, from time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry or a group of related industries as a whole, and these companies can be sensitive to adverse economic, regulatory, or financial developments.
Prospectus
Prepayment. Many types of debt securities, including mortgage securities and inflation-protected debt securities, are subject to prepayment risk. Prepayment risk occurs when the issuer of a security can repay principal prior to the security's maturity. Securities subject to prepayment can offer less potential for gains during a declining interest rate environment and similar or greater potential for loss in a rising interest rate environment. In addition, the potential impact of prepayment features on the price of a debt security can be difficult to predict and result in greater volatility.
Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's credit quality or value. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers. Entities providing credit support or a maturity-shortening structure also can be affected by these types of changes. If the structure of a security fails to function as intended, the security could decline in value. Lower-quality debt securities (those of less than investment-grade quality, also referred to as high yield debt securities), including floating rate loans, and certain types of other securities tend to be particularly sensitive to these changes.
<R>Lower-quality debt securities and certain types of other securities involve greater risk of default or price changes due to changes in the credit quality of the issuer. The value of lower-quality debt securities and certain types of other securities often fluctuates in response to company, political, or economic developments and can decline significantly over short as well as long periods of time or during periods of general or regional economic difficulty. Lower-quality debt securities can be thinly traded or have restrictions on resale, making them difficult to sell at an acceptable price, and often are considered to be speculative. The default rate for lower-quality debt securities is likely to be higher during economic recessions or periods of high interest rates.</R>
Leverage Risk. Derivatives, forward-settling securities, and short sale transactions involve leverage because they can provide investment exposure in an amount exceeding the initial investment. Leverage can magnify investment risks and cause losses to be realized more quickly. A small change in the underlying asset, instrument, or index can lead to a significant loss. Assets segregated to cover these transactions may decline in value and are not available to meet redemptions. Forward-settling securities and short sale transactions also involve the risk that a security will not be issued, delivered, available for purchase, or paid for when anticipated. An increase in the market price of securities sold short will result in a loss. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of these transactions and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Investing in ETFs. ETFs may trade in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) at prices below the value of their underlying portfolios and may not be liquid. An ETF that is not actively managed cannot sell poorly performing stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in its index or other benchmark. ETFs that track an index are subject to tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to its index or other benchmark).
Quantitative Investing. The value of securities selected using quantitative analysis can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis. The factors used in quantitative analysis and the weight placed on those factors may not be predictive of a security's value. In addition, factors that affect a security's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model.
<R>In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser, if any, may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
The following policy is fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:
The fund seeks a high level of current income.
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates the fund's NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing the fund's NAV.
NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the SEC.
To the extent that the fund's assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some of the fund's assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) are valued at their respective NAVs. For an explanation of the circumstances under which the underlying funds will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the underlying funds' prospectuses and statements of additional information (SAIs). The fund's NAV is calculated using the values of the underlying funds in which it invests. Other assets (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service. Certain short-term securities are valued on the basis of amortized cost. If market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, are deemed unreliable for a security, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before the fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. Fair value pricing will be used for high yield debt securities when available pricing information is determined to be stale or for other reasons not to accurately reflect fair value.
Prospectus
Arbitrage opportunities may exist when trading in a portfolio security or securities is halted and does not resume before a fund calculates its NAV. These arbitrage opportunities may enable short-term traders to dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Securities trading in overseas markets present time zone arbitrage opportunities when events affecting portfolio security values occur after the close of the overseas markets but prior to the close of the U.S. market. Fair valuation of a fund's portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that fair value pricing policies will prevent dilution of a fund's NAV by short-term traders.
Fair value pricing is based on subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value of a security may differ materially from the value that would be realized if the security were sold.
Prospectus
THE FUND IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
Shares of the fund can be purchased only through certain discretionary investment programs offered by Strategic Advisers. If you are not currently a Strategic Advisers client, please call 1-800-544-3455 (9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday) for more information. Strategic Advisers charges fees for its discretionary investment programs. For more information on these fees, please refer to the "Buying and Selling Information" section of the SAI.
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase orders.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
Because investments in the fund can be made only by Strategic Advisers on behalf of its clients, the potential for excessive or short-term disruptive purchases and sales is reduced. Accordingly, the Board of Trustees has not adopted policies and procedures designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares and the fund accommodates frequent trading.
The fund has no exchange privilege with any other fund. The fund does not place a limit on purchases or sales of fund shares by Strategic Advisers. The fund reserves the right, but does not have the obligation, to reject any purchase transaction at any time. In addition, the fund reserves the right to impose restrictions on disruptive, excessive, or short-term trading.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its NAV. The fund's shares are sold without a sales charge.
Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
Provided the fund receives an order to buy shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to buy shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV.
Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Provided the fund receives an order to sell shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to sell shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.
Redemptions may be suspended or payment dates postponed when the NYSE is closed (other than weekends or holidays), when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as permitted by the SEC.
Redemption proceeds may be paid in underlying fund shares, securities, or other property rather than in cash if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund.
When you terminate your relationship with Strategic Advisers, your shares may be sold at the NAV next calculated, in which case Strategic Advisers would send the redemption proceeds to you.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, redemption requests may be suspended, restricted, canceled, or processed and the proceeds may be withheld.
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
The fund normally declares dividends daily and pays them monthly. The fund normally pays capital gain distributions in April and December.
Dividends and capital gain distributions may be reinvested in additional shares of the fund or paid in cash.
As with any investment, your investment in the fund could have tax consequences for you. If you are not investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account, you should consider these tax consequences.
Taxes on distributions. Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes.
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including dividends and distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable to you as ordinary income, while certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of long-term capital gains, are taxable to you generally as capital gains. A percentage of certain distributions of dividends may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
If Strategic Advisers buys shares on your behalf when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.
Prospectus
Any taxable distributions you receive from the fund will normally be taxable to you when you receive them, regardless of your distribution option.
Taxes on transactions. Your redemptions may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on your investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of your shares and the price you receive when you sell them.
Prospectus
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
The fund employs a multi-manager and a fund of funds investment structure. Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of sub-advisers or underlying funds.
<R> Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. The address of Strategic Advisers and its affiliates, unless otherwise indicated below, is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R>As of December 31, 2012, Strategic Advisers had approximately $320.7 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
As the manager, Strategic Advisers has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
<R> FIMM has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. FIMM provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R>FIMM is an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. As of December 31, 2012, FIMM had approximately $630.1 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
<R> PIM, at 100 Mulberry Street, Gateway Center 2 - 3rd Floor, Newark, NJ 07102, has been retained to serve as sub-adviser for the fund. As of December 31, 2012, Prudential Fixed Income (PFI), the asset management unit of PIM that provides investment advisory services to the fund, had approximately $395 billion in assets under management. PIM provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
Other investment advisers have been retained to assist FIMM with domestic and foreign investments:
Prospectus
<R> StrategicAdvisers </R>
Gregory Pappas is lead portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since September 2007. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1990, Mr. Pappas has worked as a senior fund analyst, fixed income strategist, and portfolio manager.
<R></R>
<R> FIMM </R>
Jeffrey Moore is portfolio manager for FIMM's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since January 2011. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1995, Mr. Moore has worked as a research analyst and portfolio manager.
<R> PIM </R>
<R>James Herbst, Vice President, serves as portfolio manager for PIM's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since March 2013. Mr. Herbst has been with PIM since 1982 and is the Portfolio Manager of the Core Conservative strategy employed by PFI since 1989.</R>
The SAI provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by the portfolio managers.
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.
The fund pays a management fee to Strategic Advisers. The management fee is calculated and paid to Strategic Advisers every month.
The fund's management fee is calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets. Because the fund's management fee rate may fluctuate, the fund's management fee may be higher or lower in the future. The fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.60% of the fund's average daily net assets.
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
<R>Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets through September 30, 2015.</R>
<R>For the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid a management fee of 0.03% of the fund's average net assets, after waiver and/or reimbursement.</R>
In return for FIMM's services, Strategic Advisers will pay FIMM the fee (as described above) payable to FIMM. In the event Strategic Advisers retains one or more additional sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers will pay each of those sub-advisers the fee (as described above) payable to that sub-adviser. FIMM will pay FMRC, FMR U.K., FMR H.K., and FMR Japan for providing sub-advisory services. FMRC will pay FMR U.K., FMR H.K., and FMR Japan for providing sub-advisory services.
<R>The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract and sub-advisory agreements for the fund is available in the fund's annual report for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013.</R>
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, agree to reimburse the fund for, or waive, management fees and other expenses above a specified limit. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid by the fund if expenses fall below the specified limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Reimbursement or waiver arrangements can decrease expenses and boost performance.
FDC distributes the fund's shares.
The fund has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) with respect to its shares that recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, service-providers, and administrators, that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Affiliates of Strategic Advisers may receive service fees or distribution fees or both with respect to underlying funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork.
If payments made by Strategic Advisers to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of the fund's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
Prospectus
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
Prospectus
<R>The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the financial history of the fund's shares for the past 5 years. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of the fund. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in shares of the fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial highlights and financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report. A free copy of the annual report is available upon request.</R>
<R> Years ended February 28, |
2013 |
2012 G |
2011 |
2010 |
2009 </R> |
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</R> |
<R> Selected Per-Share Data |
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</R> |
|
<R> Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 10.74 |
$ 10.52 |
$ 10.30 |
$ 9.02 |
$ 10.09 </R> |
<R> Income from Investment Operations |
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|
|
</R> |
|
<R> Net investment income (loss) B |
.329 |
.372 |
.376 |
.488 |
.509 </R> |
<R> Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
.269 |
.371 |
.372 |
1.326 |
(.950 ) </R> |
<R> Total from investment operations |
.598 |
.743 |
.748 |
1.814 |
(.441 ) </R> |
<R> Distributions from net investment income |
(.327) |
(.373) |
(.373) |
(.504) |
(.499) </R> |
<R> Distributions from net realized gain |
(.141 ) |
(.150 ) |
(.155 ) |
(.030 ) |
(.130 ) </R> |
<R> Total distributions |
(.468 ) |
(.523 ) |
(.528 ) |
(.534 ) |
(.629 ) </R> |
<R> Net asset value, end of period |
$ 10.87 |
$ 10.74 |
$ 10.52 |
$ 10.30 |
$ 9.02 </R> |
<R> Total Return A |
5.65% |
7.26% |
7.36% |
20.54% |
(4.41)% </R> |
<R> Ratios to Average Net Assets C, E |
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</R> |
|
<R> Expenses before reductions |
.33% |
.35% |
.28% |
.25% |
.26% </R> |
<R> Expenses net of fee waivers, if any |
.08% |
.10% |
.03% |
.00% |
.00% </R> |
<R> Expenses net of all reductions |
.08% |
.10% |
.03% |
.00% |
.00% </R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) |
3.03% |
3.52% |
3.57% |
4.93% |
5.35% </R> |
Supplemental Data |
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<R> Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$ 12,929,366 |
$ 9,153,017 |
$ 4,791,587 |
$ 2,647,194 |
$ 728,293 </R> |
<R> Portfolio turnover rate D |
81% |
113% |
44% F |
10% |
38% </R> |
<R></R>
A Total returns would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reduced during the applicable periods shown.
B Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.
C Fees and expenses of any underlying Fidelity Central Funds are not included in the Fund's expense ratio. The Fund indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of any underlying Fidelity Central Funds.
<R> D Amount does not include the portfolio activity of any underlying Fidelity Central Funds. </R>
<R> E Expense ratios reflect operating expenses of the Fund. Expenses before reductions do not reflect amounts reimbursed by the investment adviser or reductions from expense offset arrangements and do not represent the amount paid by the Fund during periods when reimbursements or reductions occur. Expenses net of fee waivers reflect expenses after reimbursement by the investment adviser but prior to reductions from expense offset arrangements. Expenses net of all reductions represent the net expenses paid by the Fund. Fees and expenses of the Underlying Funds are not included in the Fund's annualized ratios. The Fund indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the Underlying Funds. </R>
<R></R>
F Portfolio turnover rate excludes securities received or delivered in-kind.
G For the year ended February 29.
<R></R>
Prospectus
Appendix - continued
<R> Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is a broad-based, market-value-weighted benchmark that measures the performance of the investment grade, U.S. dollar-denominated, fixed-rate taxable bond market. Sectors in the index include Treasuries, government-related and corporate securities, MBS (agency fixed-rate and hybrid ARM pass-throughs), ABS, and CMBS.</R>
Prospectus
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account. For individual investors opening an account: When you open an account, you will be asked for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow Fidelity to identify you. You may also be asked to provide documents that may help to establish your identity, such as your driver's license. For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account such as name, residential address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity. |
You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.
For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call 1-800-544-3455. In addition, you may visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number, 811-21991 |
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design, and FundsNetwork are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R>1.912895.103 SSC-PRO-0413</R>
Strategic Advisers ® Core Income Fund (FPCIX)
A Fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
Offered exclusively to certain clients of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) - not available for sale to the general public .
This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. Portions of the fund's annual report are incorporated herein. The annual report is supplied with this SAI.
<R>To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated April 29, 2013, or an annual report, please call Fidelity at 1-800-544-3455 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com.</R>
<R>SSC-PTB-0413
1.912896.105</R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
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PAGE |
Investment Policies and Limitations |
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<R>Special Geographic Considerations |
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<R>Portfolio Transactions |
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<R>Valuation |
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<R>Buying and Selling Information |
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<R>Distributions and Taxes |
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<R>Trustees and Officers |
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<R>Control of Investment Advisers |
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<R>Management Contract |
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<R>Proxy Voting Guidelines |
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<R>Distribution Services |
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<R>Transfer and Service Agent Agreements |
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<R>Description of the Trust |
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<R>Fund Holdings Information |
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<R>Financial Statements |
324 </R> |
<R>Appendix |
324 </R> |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not with respect to 75% of the fund's total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except in connection with the insurance program established by the fund pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission or as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry (provided that investments in other investment companies shall not be considered an investment in any particular industry for purposes of this investment limitation).
<R>For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities, Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) looks through to the U.S. Government securities.</R>
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The acquisitions of loans and loan participations excluded from the fund's lending limitation discussed above are only those loans and loan participations considered securities within the meaning of the 1940 Act.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, except for sales of to be announced (TBA) securities, and provided that transactions in futures contracts, options, and swaps are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 10% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 10% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
<R>To the extent that the fund acquires the shares of an underlying fund in accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, the underlying fund is not obligated to redeem its shares in an amount exceeding 1% of its shares outstanding during any period of less than 30 days. Those underlying fund shares will not be treated as illiquid securities for purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation described above to the extent that the fund is able to dispose of such securities by distributing them in kind to redeeming shareholders. (See "Securities of Other Investment Companies" on page # .)</R>
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to lend assets other than securities to other parties, except by (a) lending money (up to 15% of the fund's net assets) to a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) assuming any unfunded commitments in connection with the acquisition of loans, loan participations, or other forms of debt instruments. (This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities, to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.)
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
<R>For the fund's limitations on futures and options transactions, see the section entitled "Futures, Options, and Swaps" on page # .</R>
Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitations, the underlying funds in which the fund may invest have adopted certain investment limitations that may be more or less restrictive than those listed above, thereby permitting the fund to engage indirectly in investment strategies that are prohibited under the investment limitations listed above. The investment limitations of each underlying fund are set forth in its registration statement.
In accordance with its investment program as set forth in the prospectus, the fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in any one underlying Fidelity fund. Although the fund does not intend to concentrate its investments in a particular industry, the fund may indirectly concentrate in a particular industry or group of industries through its investments in one or more underlying funds.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
Strategic Advisers ® Core Income Fund may have exposure to instruments, techniques, and risks either directly or indirectly through an investment in an underlying fund. An underlying fund may invest in the same or other types of instruments and its adviser may employ the same or other types of techniques. Strategic Advisers ® Core Income Fund's performance will be affected by the instruments, techniques, and risks associated with an underlying fund, in proportion to the amount of assets that the fund allocates to that underlying fund.
On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "a fund" or "the fund" may relate to Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund or an underlying fund, and references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to Strategic Advisers (or its affiliates) or a sub-adviser of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, or an adviser of an underlying fund.
Asset-Backed Securities represent interests in pools of mortgages, loans, receivables, or other assets. Payment of interest and repayment of principal may be largely dependent upon the cash flows generated by the assets backing the securities and, in certain cases, supported by letters of credit, surety bonds, or other credit enhancements. Asset-backed security values may also be affected by other factors including changes in interest rates, the availability of information concerning the pool and its structure, the creditworthiness of the servicing agent for the pool, the originator of the loans or receivables, or the entities providing the credit enhancement. In addition, these securities may be subject to prepayment risk.
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of short-term bond or money market funds, including (for Fidelity funds and other advisory clients only) shares of Fidelity central funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.
<R> Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Notice of Exclusion. The trust, on behalf of the Fidelity fund to which this SAI relates, has filed with the National Futures Association a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the CFTC promulgated thereunder, with respect to the fund's operation. Accordingly, neither the fund nor its adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or a CPO. However, the CFTC has adopted certain rule amendments that significantly affect the continued availability of this exclusion, and may subject advisers to funds to regulation by the CFTC. As of the date of this SAI, the adviser does not expect to register as a CPO of the fund. However, there is no certainty that a fund or its adviser will be able to rely on an exclusion in the future as the fund's investments change over time. A fund may determine not to use investment strategies that trigger additional CFTC regulation or may determine to operate subject to CFTC regulation, if applicable. If a fund or its adviser operates subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.</R>
Common Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock, although related proceedings can take time to resolve and results can be unpredictable.
Convertible Securities are bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption or conversion, the fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
Debt Securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay interest but are sold at a deep discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, and mortgage and other asset-backed securities.
Dollar-Weighted Average Maturity is derived by multiplying the value of each investment by the time remaining to its maturity, adding these calculations, and then dividing the total by the value of a fund's portfolio. An obligation's maturity is typically determined on a stated final maturity basis, although there are some exceptions to this rule.
Under certain circumstances, a fund may invest in nominally long-term securities that have maturity shortening features of shorter-term securities, and the maturities of these securities may be deemed to be earlier than their ultimate maturity dates by virtue of an existing demand feature or an adjustable interest rate. Under other circumstances, if it is probable that the issuer of an instrument will take advantage of a maturity-shortening device, such as a call, refunding, or redemption provision, the date on which the instrument will probably be called, refunded, or redeemed may be considered to be its maturity date. The maturities of mortgage securities, including collateralized mortgage obligations, and some asset-backed securities are determined on a weighted average life basis, which is the average time for principal to be repaid. For a mortgage security, this average time is calculated by estimating the timing of principal payments, including unscheduled prepayments, during the life of the mortgage. The weighted average life of these securities is likely to be substantially shorter than their stated final maturity.
<R> Duration is a measure of a bond's price sensitivity to a change in its yield. For example, if a bond has a 5-year duration and its yield rises 1%, the bond's value is likely to fall about 5%. Similarly, if a bond fund has a 5-year average duration and the yield on each of the bonds held by the fund rises 1%, the fund's value is likely to fall about 5%. For funds with exposure to foreign markets, there are many reasons why all of the bond holdings do not experience the same yield changes. These reasons include: the bonds are spread off of different yield curves around the world and these yield curves do not move in tandem; the shapes of these yield curves change; and sector and issuer yield spreads change. Other factors can influence a bond fund's performance and share price. Accordingly, a bond fund's actual performance will likely differ from the example.</R>
<R> Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments. An ETF may seek to replicate the performance of a specified index or may be actively managed.</R>
Typically, ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks (typically, 50,000 shares) often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.
Some of the risks of investing in an ETF that tracks an index are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
<R> ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their intraday indicative value. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater.</R>
Exposure to Foreign and Emerging Markets. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Foreign investments involve risks relating to local political, economic, regulatory, or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments, and may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Such actions may include expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. Additionally, governmental issuers of foreign debt securities may be unwilling to pay interest and repay principal when due and may require that the conditions for payment be renegotiated. There is no assurance that a fund's adviser will be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies and of dividends and interest paid with respect to such securities will fluctuate based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar.
It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for foreign securities will be on an exchange or in over-the-counter (OTC) markets located outside of the United States. Foreign stock markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign security trading, settlement and custodial practices (including those involving securities settlement where fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment) are often less developed than those in U.S. markets, and may result in increased investment or valuation risk or substantial delays in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of, or breach of duty by, a foreign broker-dealer, securities depository, or foreign subcustodian. In addition, the costs associated with foreign investments, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions, and custodial costs, are generally higher than with U.S. investments.
Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors than U.S. markets. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Adequate public information on foreign issuers may not be available, and it may be difficult to secure dividends and information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. OTC markets tend to be less regulated than stock exchange markets and, in certain countries, may be totally unregulated. Regulatory enforcement may be influenced by economic or political concerns, and investors may have difficulty enforcing their legal rights in foreign countries.
Some foreign securities impose restrictions on transfer within the United States or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than foreign securities of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks include foreign exchange risk as well as the political and economic risks of the underlying issuer's country.
The risks of foreign investing may be magnified for investments in emerging markets. Security prices in emerging markets can be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
Floating Rate Loans and Other Debt Securities. Floating rate loans consist generally of obligations of companies or other entities (collectively, "borrowers") incurred for the purpose of reorganizing the assets and liabilities of a borrower (recapitalization); acquiring another company (acquisition); taking over control of a company (leveraged buyout); temporary financing (bridge loan); or refinancings, internal growth, or other general business purposes. Floating rate loans are often obligations of borrowers who are highly leveraged.
Floating rate loans may be structured to include both term loans, which are generally fully funded at the time of the making of the loan, and revolving credit facilities, which would require additional investments upon the borrower's demand. A revolving credit facility may require a purchaser to increase its investment in a floating rate loan at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
Floating rate loans may be acquired by direct investment as a lender, as a participation interest (which represents a fractional interest in a floating rate loan) issued by a lender or other financial institution, or as an assignment of the portion of a floating rate loan previously attributable to a different lender.
A floating rate loan offered as part of the original lending syndicate typically is purchased at par value. As part of the original lending syndicate, a purchaser generally earns a yield equal to the stated interest rate. In addition, members of the original syndicate typically are paid a commitment fee. In secondary market trading, floating rate loans may be purchased or sold above, at, or below par, which can result in a yield that is below, equal to, or above the stated interest rate, respectively. At certain times when reduced opportunities exist for investing in new syndicated floating rate loans, floating rate loans may be available only through the secondary market. There can be no assurance that an adequate supply of floating rate loans will be available for purchase.
Historically, floating rate loans have not been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or any state securities commission or listed on any securities exchange. As a result, the amount of public information available about a specific floating rate loan historically has been less extensive than if the floating rate loan were registered or exchange-traded.
Purchasers of floating rate loans and other forms of debt securities depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the security may be adversely affected. Floating rate loans and other debt securities that are fully secured provide more protections than unsecured securities in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Some floating rate loans and other debt securities are not rated by any nationally recognized statistical rating organization. In connection with the restructuring of a floating rate loan or other debt security outside of bankruptcy court in a negotiated work-out or in the context of bankruptcy proceedings, equity securities or junior debt securities may be received in exchange for all or a portion of an interest in the security.
Floating rate debt securities include other forms of indebtedness of borrowers such as notes and bonds, securities with fixed rate interest payments in conjunction with a right to receive floating rate interest payments, and shares of other investment companies. These instruments are generally subject to the same risks as floating rate loans but are often more widely issued and traded.
Foreign Currency Transactions. A fund may conduct foreign currency transactions on a spot ( i.e., cash) or forward basis ( i.e., by entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies). Although foreign exchange dealers generally do not charge a fee for such conversions, they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the counterparty desire to resell that currency to the dealer. Forward contracts are customized transactions that require a specific amount of a currency to be delivered at a specific exchange rate on a specific date or range of dates in the future. Forward contracts are generally traded in an interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The parties to a forward contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated currency exchange.
The following discussion summarizes the principal currency management strategies involving forward contracts that could be used by a fund. A fund may also use swap agreements, indexed securities, and options and futures contracts relating to foreign currencies for the same purposes. Forward contracts not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying currency. All of these instruments and transactions are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default.
<R>A "settlement hedge" or "transaction hedge" is designed to protect a fund against an adverse change in foreign currency values between the date a security denominated in a foreign currency is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in an underlying security transaction for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars "locks in" the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used to protect a fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected.</R>
<R>A fund may also use forward contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in a foreign currency. For example, if a fund owned securities denominated in pounds sterling, it could enter into a forward contract to sell pounds sterling in return for U.S. dollars to hedge against possible declines in the pound's value. Such a hedge, sometimes referred to as a "position hedge," would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. A fund could also attempt to hedge the position by selling another currency expected to perform similarly to the pound sterling. This type of hedge, sometimes referred to as a "proxy hedge," could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield, or efficiency, but generally would not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a direct hedge into U.S. dollars. Proxy hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated.</R>
A fund may enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a "cross-hedge," will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if a fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. A fund may cross-hedge its U.S. dollar exposure in order to achieve a representative weighted mix of the major currencies in its benchmark index and/or to cover an underweight country or region exposure in its portfolio. Cross-hedges protect against losses resulting from a decline in the hedged currency, but will cause a fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases.
<R>Successful use of currency management strategies will depend on an adviser's skill in analyzing currency values. Currency management strategies may substantially change a fund's investment exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and could result in losses to a fund if currencies do not perform as an adviser anticipates. For example, if a currency's value rose at a time when a fund had hedged its position by selling that currency in exchange for dollars, the fund would not participate in the currency's appreciation. If a fund hedges currency exposure through proxy hedges, the fund could realize currency losses from both the hedge and the security position if the two currencies do not move in tandem. Similarly, if a fund increases its exposure to a foreign currency and that currency's value declines, the fund will realize a loss. Foreign currency transactions involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that a fund's hedging strategies will be ineffective. Moreover, it is impossible to precisely forecast the market value of portfolio securities at the expiration of a foreign currency forward contract. Accordingly, a fund may be required to buy or sell additional currency on the spot market (and bear the expenses of such transaction), if an adviser's predictions regarding the movement of foreign currency or securities markets prove inaccurate.</R>
<R>A fund may be required to limit its hedging transactions in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options in order to maintain its classification as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Hedging transactions could result in the application of the mark-to-market provisions of the Code, which may cause an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a fund and could affect whether dividends paid by a fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. A fund will cover its exposure to foreign currency transactions with liquid assets in compliance with applicable requirements. There is no assurance that an adviser's use of currency management strategies will be advantageous to a fund or that it will employ currency management strategies at appropriate times.</R>
Options and Futures Relating to Foreign Currencies. Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges (and have margin requirements) and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The underlying instrument of a currency option may be a foreign currency, which generally is purchased or delivered in exchange for U.S. dollars, or may be a futures contract. The purchaser of a currency call obtains the right to purchase the underlying currency, and the purchaser of a currency put obtains the right to sell the underlying currency.
<R>The uses and risks of currency options and futures are similar to options and futures relating to securities or indexes, as discussed below. A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and may purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. Currency options may also be purchased or written in conjunction with each other or with currency futures or forward contracts. Currency futures and options values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates, but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated security from a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of a fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the fund's investments exactly over time.</R>
<R>Currency options traded on U.S. or other exchanges may be subject to position limits which may limit the ability of the fund to reduce foreign currency risk using such options.</R>
Foreign Repurchase Agreements. Foreign repurchase agreements involve an agreement to purchase a foreign security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price in either U.S. dollars or foreign currency. Unlike typical U.S. repurchase agreements, foreign repurchase agreements may not be fully collateralized at all times. The value of a security purchased by a fund may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to repurchase the security. In the event of default by the counterparty, a fund may suffer a loss if the value of the security purchased is less than the agreed-upon repurchase price, or if the fund is unable to successfully assert a claim to the collateral under foreign laws. As a result, foreign repurchase agreements may involve higher credit risks than repurchase agreements in U.S. markets, as well as risks associated with currency fluctuations. In addition, as with other emerging market investments, repurchase agreements with counterparties located in emerging markets or relating to emerging markets may involve issuers or counterparties with lower credit ratings than typical U.S. repurchase agreements.
Fund's Rights as an Investor. Fidelity funds do not intend to direct or administer the day-to-day operations of any company. A fund may, however, exercise its rights as a shareholder or lender and may communicate its views on important matters of policy to a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders, and holders of a company's other securities when such matters could have a significant effect on the value of the fund's investment in the company. The activities in which a fund may engage, either individually or in conjunction with others, may include, among others, supporting or opposing proposed changes in a company's corporate structure or business activities; seeking changes in a company's directors or management; seeking changes in a company's direction or policies; seeking the sale or reorganization of the company or a portion of its assets; supporting or opposing third-party takeover efforts; supporting the filing of a bankruptcy petition; or foreclosing on collateral securing a security. This area of corporate activity is increasingly prone to litigation and it is possible that a fund could be involved in lawsuits related to such activities. Such activities will be monitored with a view to mitigating, to the extent possible, the risk of litigation against a fund and the risk of actual liability if a fund is involved in litigation. No guarantee can be made, however, that litigation against a fund will not be undertaken or liabilities incurred. The fund's proxy voting guidelines are included in this SAI.
<R> Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. If a fund invests a significant portion of its assets in derivatives, its investment exposure could far exceed the value of its portfolio securities and its investment performance could be primarily dependent upon securities it does not own.</R>
Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.
The limitations on the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps, and the fund's policies regarding futures contracts, options, and swaps may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts.
<R> Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts and the price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities or baskets of securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indexes (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indexes of securities prices (including foreign indexes for funds that seek foreign exposure). In addition, some currently available futures contracts are based on Eurodollars. Positions in Eurodollar futures reflect market expectations of forward levels of three-month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) rates. Futures on indexes and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out by offsetting purchases or sales of futures contracts before then if a liquid market is available. A fund may realize a gain or loss by closing out its futures contracts.</R>
<R>The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the underlying instrument. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.</R>
<R>The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by a fund, but is instead a settlement between a fund and the FCM of the amount one would owe the other if the fund's contract expired. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is also required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.</R>
<R>Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement, and margin procedures that are different from those for U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may not involve a clearing mechanism or related guarantees and may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to a fund. Because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuation.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.</R>
<R>If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
<R>Futures contracts on U.S. Government securities historically have reacted to an increase or decrease in interest rates in a manner similar to the manner in which the underlying U.S. Government securities reacted. To the extent, however, that a fund enters into such futures contracts, the value of these futures contracts will not vary in direct proportion to the value of the fund's holdings of U.S. Government securities. Thus, the anticipated spread between the price of the futures contract and the hedged security may be distorted due to differences in the nature of the markets. The spread also may be distorted by differences in initial and variation margin requirements, the liquidity of such markets and the participation of speculators in such markets.</R>
<R> Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, baskets of assets or securities, indexes of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). Options may be traded on an exchange or OTC. The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. Depending on the terms of the contract, upon exercise, an option may require physical delivery of the underlying instrument or may be settled through cash payments. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.</R>
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
<R>The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right (but not the obligation) to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.</R>
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
<R>Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer should mitigate the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.</R>
<R>Where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price to close out the put or call option on the secondary market may move more or less than the price of the related security.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for exchange-traded options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.</R>
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
<R>A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps (swaptions), which are generally options on interest rate swaps. An option on a swap gives a party the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, a fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes (sells) an option on a swap than it will incur when it purchases an option on a swap. When a fund purchases an option on a swap, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when a fund writes an option on a swap, upon exercise of the option the fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement. A fund that writes an option on a swap receives the premium and bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the preset rate on the underlying interest rate swap. Whether a fund's use of options on swaps will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend on the adviser's ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Options on swaps may involve risks similar to those discussed below in "Swap Agreements."</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
<R> Swap Agreements. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term. Most swap agreements are currently traded over-the-counter. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange one or more payments based, for example, on the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, indexes, or other financial or economic interests). The gross payments to be exchanged between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.</R>
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness.
<R>A fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. In order to cover its outstanding obligations to a swap counterparty, a fund would generally be required to provide margin or collateral for the benefit of that counterparty. If a counterparty to a swap transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited temporarily or permanently in exercising its right to the return of related fund assets designated as margin or collateral in an action against the counterparty.</R>
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<R>Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that an adviser will not accurately forecast market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other economic factors in establishing swap positions for a fund. If an adviser attempts to use a swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, a fund may be exposed to the risk that the swap will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment, which could cause substantial losses for a fund. While hedging strategies involving swap instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Swaps are complex and often valued subjectively.</R>
Illiquid Securities cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity fund's adviser determines the liquidity of the fund's investments and, through reports from the fund's adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid securities.
Various factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments, including (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
Increasing Government Debt. The total public debt of the United States and other countries around the globe as a percent of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented.
A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt cost higher and cause a country to sell additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In the worst case, unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns.
On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States one level to "AA+" from "AAA." While Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the United States' short-term sovereign credit rating as "A-1+," there is no guarantee that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services will not decide to lower this rating in the future. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services stated that its decision was prompted by its view on the rising public debt burden and its perception of greater policymaking uncertainty. The market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government may be adversely affected by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services decisions to downgrade the long-term sovereign credit rating of the United States.
<R> Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indexes, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.</R>
<R>Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indexes. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.</R>
Indexed securities may have principal payments as well as coupon payments that depend on the performance of one or more interest rates. Their coupon rates or principal payments may change by several percentage points for every 1% interest rate change.
Mortgage-indexed securities, for example, could be structured to replicate the performance of mortgage securities and the characteristics of direct ownership.
Inflation-protected securities, for example, can be indexed to a measure of inflation, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
<R>Commodity-indexed securities, for example, can be indexed to a commodities index such as the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return SM .</R>
Gold-indexed securities typically provide for a maturity value that depends on the price of gold, resulting in a security whose price tends to rise and fall together with gold prices.
Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Insolvency of Issuers, Counterparties, and Intermediaries. Issuers of fund portfolio securities or counterparties to fund transactions that become insolvent or declare bankruptcy can pose special investment risks. In each circumstance, risk of loss, valuation uncertainty, increased illiquidity, and other unpredictable occurrences may negatively impact an investment. Each of these risks may be amplified in foreign markets, where security trading, settlement, and custodial practices can be less developed than those in the U.S. markets, and bankruptcy laws differ from those of the U.S.
As a general matter, if the issuer of a fund portfolio security is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock have priority over the claims of common stock owners. These events can negatively impact the value of the issuer's securities and the results of related proceedings can be unpredictable.
If a counterparty to a fund transaction, such as a swap transaction, a short sale, a borrowing, or other complex transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise rights to obtain the return of related fund assets or in exercising other rights against the counterparty. In addition, insolvency and liquidation proceedings take time to resolve, which can limit or preclude a fund's ability to terminate a transaction or obtain related assets or collateral in a timely fashion. Uncertainty may also arise upon the insolvency of a securities or commodities intermediary such as a broker-dealer or futures commission merchant with which a fund has pending transactions. If an intermediary becomes insolvent, while securities positions and other holdings may be protected by U.S. or foreign laws, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these protections are available to specific trades based on the circumstances. Receiving the benefit of these protections can also take time to resolve, which may result in illiquid positions.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the SEC, a Fidelity fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) or its affiliates. A Fidelity fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. A Fidelity fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
<R> Investments by Large Shareholders. A fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by large shareholders. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a fund's portfolio. In addition, when investors own a substantial portion of a fund's shares, a large redemption could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the fund's shares. When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful. A high volume of redemption requests can impact a fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments.</R>
Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. Direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve a risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a fund supply additional cash to a borrower on demand. A fund may acquire loans by buying an assignment of all or a portion of the loan from a lender or by purchasing a loan participation from a lender or other purchaser of a participation.
Lenders and purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of foreign countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.
Direct lending and investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the lender/purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary.
A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest.
Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate lenders/purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a lender/purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
For a Fidelity fund that limits the amount of total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry, the fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require a fund, in appropriate circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for these purposes. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
Because the risk of default is higher for lower-quality debt securities, research and credit analysis are an especially important part of managing securities of this type. Such analysis may focus on relative values based on factors such as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earnings prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer, in an attempt to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved, or is expected to improve in the future.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Mortgage Securities are issued by government and non-government entities such as banks, mortgage lenders, or other institutions. A mortgage security is an obligation of the issuer backed by a mortgage or pool of mortgages or a direct interest in an underlying pool of mortgages. Some mortgage securities, such as collateralized mortgage obligations (or "CMOs"), make payments of both principal and interest at a range of specified intervals; others make semiannual interest payments at a predetermined rate and repay principal at maturity (like a typical bond). Mortgage securities are based on different types of mortgages, including those on commercial real estate or residential properties. Stripped mortgage securities are created when the interest and principal components of a mortgage security are separated and sold as individual securities. In the case of a stripped mortgage security, the holder of the "principal-only" security (PO) receives the principal payments made by the underlying mortgage, while the holder of the "interest-only" security (IO) receives interest payments from the same underlying mortgage.
Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs are pass-through securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, respectively. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which guarantee payment of interest and repayment of principal on Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs, respectively, are federally chartered corporations supervised by the U.S. Government that act as governmental instrumentalities under authority granted by Congress. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are authorized to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to meet their obligations. Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.
The value of mortgage securities may change due to shifts in the market's perception of issuers and changes in interest rates. In addition, regulatory or tax changes may adversely affect the mortgage securities market as a whole. Non-government mortgage securities may offer higher yields than those issued by government entities, but also may be subject to greater price changes than government issues. Mortgage securities are subject to prepayment risk, which is the risk that early principal payments made on the underlying mortgages, usually in response to a reduction in interest rates, will result in the return of principal to the investor, causing it to be invested subsequently at a lower current interest rate. Alternatively, in a rising interest rate environment, mortgage security values may be adversely affected when prepayments on underlying mortgages do not occur as anticipated, resulting in the extension of the security's effective maturity and the related increase in interest rate sensitivity of a longer-term instrument. The prices of stripped mortgage securities tend to be more volatile in response to changes in interest rates than those of non-stripped mortgage securities.
A fund may seek to earn additional income by using a trading strategy (commonly known as "mortgage dollar rolls" or "reverse mortgage dollar rolls") that involves selling (or buying) mortgage securities, realizing a gain or loss, and simultaneously agreeing to purchase (or sell) mortgage securities on a later date at a set price. During the period between the sale and repurchase in a mortgage dollar roll transaction, a fund will not be entitled to receive interest and principal payments on the securities sold but will invest the proceeds of the sale in other securities that are permissible investments for the fund. During the period between the purchase and subsequent sale in a reverse mortgage dollar roll transaction, a fund is entitled to interest and principal payments on the securities purchased. Losses may arise due to changes in the value of the securities or if the counterparty does not perform under the terms of the agreement. If the counterparty files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, a fund's right to repurchase or sell securities may be limited. This trading strategy may increase interest rate exposure and result in an increased portfolio turnover rate which increases costs and may increase taxable gains.
Precious Metals. Precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, at times have been subject to substantial price fluctuations over short periods of time and may be affected by unpredictable monetary and political policies such as currency devaluations or revaluations, economic and social conditions within a country, trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries. The prices of gold and other precious metals, however, are less subject to local and company-specific factors than securities of individual companies. As a result, precious metals may be more or less volatile in price than securities of companies engaged in precious metals-related businesses. Investments in precious metals can present concerns such as delivery, storage and maintenance, possible illiquidity, and the unavailability of accurate market valuations. Although precious metals can be purchased in any form, including bullion and coins, a Fidelity fund intends to purchase only those forms of precious metals that are readily marketable and that can be stored in accordance with custody regulations applicable to mutual funds. A fund may incur higher custody and transaction costs for precious metals than for securities. Also, precious metals investments do not pay income.
For a fund to qualify as a regulated investment company under current federal tax law, gains from selling precious metals may not exceed 10% of the fund's gross income for its taxable year. This tax requirement could cause a fund to hold or sell precious metals or securities when it would not otherwise do so.
Preferred Securities represent an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Real estate investment trusts issue debt securities to fund the purchase and/or development of commercial properties. The value of these debt securities may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property owned by the trusts, the creditworthiness of the trusts, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements. Real estate investment trusts are dependent upon management skill and the cash flow generated by the properties owned by the trusts. Real estate investment trusts are at the risk of the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
Reforms and Government Intervention in the Financial Markets. Economic downturns can trigger various economic, legal, budgetary, tax, and regulatory reforms across the globe. Instability in the financial markets in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn led the U.S. Government and other governments to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility, and in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Reforms are ongoing and their effects are uncertain. Federal, state, local, foreign, and other governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which a fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Reforms may also change the way in which a fund is regulated and could limit or preclude a fund's ability to achieve its investment objective or engage in certain strategies. Also, while reforms generally are intended to strengthen markets, systems, and public finances, they could affect fund expenses and the value of fund investments.
The value of a fund's holdings is also generally subject to the risk of future local, national, or global economic disturbances based on unknown weaknesses in the markets in which a fund invests. In the event of such a disturbance, the issuers of securities held by a fund may experience significant declines in the value of their assets and even cease operations, or may receive government assistance accompanied by increased restrictions on their business operations or other government intervention. In addition, it is not certain that the U.S. Government or foreign governments will intervene in response to a future market disturbance and the effect of any such future intervention cannot be predicted.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its right to liquidate assets related to a repurchase agreement with an insolvent counterparty. A Fidelity fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities Lending. Securities lending allows a fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The fund seeks to maintain the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased.
Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies (which include business development companies (BDCs)), unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. For certain investment companies, such as BDCs, these expenses may be significant. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.
The securities of closed-end funds may be leveraged. As a result, a fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. An investment in securities of closed-end funds that use leverage may expose a fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the fund's long-term returns on such securities will be diminished.
The extent to which a fund can invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws.
Short Sales. Short sales involve the market sale of a security a fund has borrowed from a prime broker with which it has a contractual relationship, with the expectation that the security will underperform either the market or the securities that the fund holds long. A fund closes a short sale by purchasing the same security at the current market price and delivering it to the prime broker.
Until a fund closes out a short position, the fund is obligated to pay the prime broker (from which it borrowed the security sold short) interest as well as any dividends that accrue during the period of the loan. While a short position is outstanding, a fund must also pledge a portion of its assets to the prime broker as collateral for the borrowed security. The collateral will be marked to market daily.
Short positions create a risk that a fund will be required to cover them by buying the security at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the fund. A short position in a security poses more risk than holding the same security long. Because a short position loses value as the security's price increases, the loss on a short sale is theoretically unlimited. The loss on a long position is limited to what a fund originally paid for the security together with any transaction costs. A fund may not always be able to borrow a security the fund seeks to sell short at a particular time or at an acceptable price. As a result, a fund may be unable to fully implement its investment strategy due to a lack of available stocks or for other reasons. It is possible that the market value of the securities a fund holds in long positions will decline at the same time that the market value of the securities the fund has sold short increases, thereby increasing the fund's potential volatility. Because a fund may be required to pay dividends, interest, premiums and other expenses in connection with a short sale, any benefit for the fund resulting from the short sale will be decreased, and the amount of any ultimate gain will be decreased or of any loss will be increased, by the amount of such expenses.
A fund may also enter into short sales against the box. Short sales "against the box" are short sales of securities that a fund owns or has the right to obtain (equivalent in kind or amount to the securities sold short). If a fund enters into a short sale against the box, it will be required to set aside securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short (or securities convertible or exchangeable into such securities) and will be required to hold such securities while the short sale is outstanding. A fund will incur transaction costs, including interest expenses, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales against the box.
Sources of Liquidity or Credit Support. Issuers may employ various forms of credit and liquidity enhancements, including letters of credit, guarantees, swaps, puts, and demand features, and insurance provided by domestic or foreign entities such as banks and other financial institutions. An adviser and its affiliates may rely on their evaluation of the credit of the issuer or the credit of the liquidity or credit enhancement provider in determining whether to purchase or hold a security supported by such enhancement. In evaluating the credit of a foreign bank or other foreign entities, factors considered may include whether adequate public information about the entity is available and whether the entity may be subject to unfavorable political or economic developments, currency controls, or other government restrictions that might affect its ability to honor its commitment. Changes in the credit quality of the issuer and/or entity providing the enhancement could affect the value of the security or a fund's share price.
Sovereign Debt Obligations are issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies, including debt of Latin American nations or other developing countries. Sovereign debt may be in the form of conventional securities or other types of debt instruments such as loans or loan participations. Sovereign debt of developing countries may involve a high degree of risk, and may be in default or present the risk of default. Governmental entities responsible for repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal and pay interest when due, and may require renegotiation or rescheduling of debt payments. In addition, prospects for repayment of principal and payment of interest may depend on political as well as economic factors. Although some sovereign debt, such as Brady Bonds, is collateralized by U.S. Government securities, repayment of principal and payment of interest is not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
Stripped Securities are the separate income or principal components of a debt security. The risks associated with stripped securities are similar to those of other debt securities, although stripped securities may be more volatile, and the value of certain types of stripped securities may move in the same direction as interest rates. U.S. Treasury securities that have been stripped by a Federal Reserve Bank are obligations issued by the U.S. Treasury.
Privately stripped government securities are created when a dealer deposits a U.S. Treasury security or other U.S. Government security with a custodian for safekeeping. The custodian issues separate receipts for the coupon payments and the principal payment, which the dealer then sells.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument ( e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
<R> Temporary Defensive Policies. </R>
<R> In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, a fund may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If a fund does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund reserves the right to invest without limitation in investment-grade money market or short-term debt instruments for temporary, defensive purposes.
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Variable and Floating Rate Securities provide for periodic adjustments in the interest rate paid on the security. Variable rate securities provide for a specified periodic adjustment in the interest rate, while floating rate securities have interest rates that change whenever there is a change in a designated benchmark rate or the issuer's credit quality, sometimes subject to a cap or floor on such rate. Some variable or floating rate securities are structured with put features that permit holders to demand payment of the unpaid principal balance plus accrued interest from the issuers or certain financial intermediaries. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of a variable or floating rate security, a fund's adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments which entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss.
Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
When-Issued and Forward Purchase or Sale Transactions involve a commitment to purchase or sell specific securities at a predetermined price or yield in which payment and delivery take place after the customary settlement period for that type of security. Typically, no interest accrues to the purchaser until the security is delivered.
When purchasing securities pursuant to one of these transactions, the purchaser assumes the rights and risks of ownership, including the risks of price and yield fluctuations and the risk that the security will not be issued as anticipated. Because payment for the securities is not required until the delivery date, these risks are in addition to the risks associated with a fund's investments. If a fund remains substantially fully invested at a time when a purchase is outstanding, the purchases may result in a form of leverage. When a fund has sold a security pursuant to one of these transactions, the fund does not participate in further gains or losses with respect to the security. If the other party to a delayed-delivery transaction fails to deliver or pay for the securities, a fund could miss a favorable price or yield opportunity or suffer a loss.
A fund may renegotiate a when-issued or forward transaction and may sell the underlying securities before delivery, which may result in capital gains or losses for the fund.
A fund may also engage in purchases or sales of "to be announced" or "TBA" securities, which usually are transactions in which a fund buys or sells mortgage-backed securities on a forward commitment basis. A TBA transaction typically does not designate the actual security to be delivered and only includes an approximate principal amount. TBA trades can be used by a fund for investment purposes in order to gain exposure to certain securities, or for hedging purposes to adjust the risk exposure of a fund portfolio without having to restructure a portfolio. Purchases and sales of TBA securities involve risks similar to those discussed above for other when-issued and forward purchase and sale transactions. In addition, when a fund sells TBA securities, it incurs risks similar to those incurred in short sales. For example, when a fund sells TBA securities without owning or having the right to obtain the deliverable securities, it incurs a risk of loss because it could have to purchase the securities at a price that is higher than the price at which it sold them. Also, a fund may be unable to purchase the deliverable securities if the corresponding market is illiquid. In such transactions, the fund will set aside liquid assets in an amount sufficient to offset its exposure as long as the fund's obligations are outstanding.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
<R> SPECIAL GEOGRAPHIC CONSIDERATIONS</R>
<R> Emerging Markets. Investing in companies domiciled in emerging market countries may be subject to potentially higher risks than investments in developed countries. These risks include: (i) less social, political, and economic stability; (ii) greater illiquidity and price volatility due to smaller or limited local capital markets for such securities, or low or non-existent trading volumes; (iii) foreign exchanges and broker-dealers may be subject to less scrutiny and regulation by local authorities; (iv) local governments may decide to seize or confiscate securities held by foreign investors and/or local governments may decide to suspend or limit an issuer's ability to make dividend or interest payments; (v) local governments may limit or entirely restrict repatriation of invested capital, profits, and dividends; (vi) capital gains may be subject to local taxation, including on a retroactive basis; (vii) issuers facing restrictions on dollar or euro payments imposed by local governments may attempt to make dividend or interest payments to foreign investors in the local currency; (viii) investors may experience difficulty in enforcing legal claims related to the securities and/or local judges may favor the interests of the issuer over those of foreign investors; (ix) bankruptcy judgments may only be permitted to be paid in the local currency; (x) limited public information regarding the issuer may result in greater difficulty in determining market valuations of the securities, and (xi) infrequent financial reporting, substandard disclosure, and differences in accounting standards may make it difficult to ascertain the financial health of an issuer. In addition, unlike developed countries, many emerging countries' economic growth highly depends on exports and inflows of external capital, making them more vulnerable to the downturns of the world economy. The recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for their exports and tightened international credit supplies and, as a result, many emerging countries faced significant economic difficulties and some countries fell into recession.</R>
<R>Many emerging market countries suffer from uncertainty and corruption in their legal frameworks. Legislation may be difficult to interpret and laws may be too new to provide any precedential value. Laws regarding foreign investment and private property may be weak or non-existent. Sudden changes in governments may result in policies that are less favorable to investors such as policies designed to expropriate or nationalize "sovereign" assets. Certain emerging market countries in the past have expropriated large amounts of private property, in many cases with little or no compensation, and there can be no assurance that such expropriation will not occur in the future.</R>
<R>Many emerging market countries in which a fund may invest lack the social, political, and economic stability characteristic of the U.S. Political instability among emerging market countries can be common and may be caused by an uneven distribution of wealth, social unrest, labor strikes, civil wars, and religious oppression. Economic instability in emerging market countries may take the form of: (i) high interest rates; (ii) high levels of inflation, including hyperinflation; (iii) high levels of unemployment or underemployment; (iv) changes in government economic and tax policies, including confiscatory taxation (or taxes on foreign investments); and (v) imposition of trade barriers.</R>
<R>Currencies of emerging market countries are subject to significantly greater risks than currencies of developed countries. Some emerging market currencies may not be internationally traded or may be subject to strict controls by local governments, resulting in undervalued or overvalued currencies. Some emerging market countries have experienced balance of payment deficits and shortages in foreign exchange reserves. As a result, some governments have responded by restricting currency conversions. Future restrictive exchange controls could prevent or restrict a company's ability to make dividend or interest payments in the original currency of the obligation (usually U.S. dollars). In addition, even though the currencies of some emerging market countries may be convertible into U.S. dollars, the conversion rates may be artificial to their actual market values.</R>
<R>Governments of many emerging market countries have become overly reliant on the international capital markets and other forms of foreign credit to finance large public spending programs which cause huge budget deficits. Often, interest payments have become too overwhelming for these governments to meet, as these payments may represent a large percentage of a country's total GDP. Accordingly, these foreign obligations have become the subject of political debate and served as fuel for political parties of the opposition, which pressure governments not to make payments to foreign creditors, but instead to use these funds for social programs. Either due to an inability to pay or submission to political pressure, the governments have been forced to seek a restructuring of their loan and/or bond obligations, have declared a temporary suspension of interest payments, or have defaulted on their outstanding debt obligations. These events have adversely affected the values of securities issued by the governments and corporations domiciled in these emerging market countries and have negatively affected not only their cost of borrowing, but their ability to borrow in the future as well.</R>
<R>In addition to their over-reliance on international capital markets, many emerging economies are also highly dependent on international trade and exports, including exports of oil and other commodities. As a result, these economies are particularly vulnerable to downturns of the world economy. The recent global financial crisis tightened international credit supplies and weakened global demand for their exports and, as a result, certain of these economies faced significant difficulties and some economies fell into recession. Although certain economies in emerging market countries have recently shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. The reduced demand for exports and lack of available capital for investment resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy may limit recovery by emerging market countries.</R>
To the extent that Strategic Advisers grants investment management authority over an allocated portion of the fund's assets to a sub-adviser (see the section entitled "Management Contract"), that sub-adviser is authorized to provide the services described in the respective sub-advisory agreement, and in accordance with the policies described in this section.
Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities are placed on behalf of the fund by Strategic Advisers (either directly or through its affiliates) or a sub-adviser, pursuant to authority contained in the management contract and the respective sub-advisory agreement.
Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
<R>The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in affiliated funds, but it may incur such costs when it invests in non-affiliated funds and when it invests directly in other types of securities, including ETFs.</R>
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review Strategic Advisers' and its affiliates' and each sub-adviser's performance of their respective responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
Strategic Advisers.
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Strategic Advisers, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Strategic Advisers or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may enter into trading services agreements with FMR or its affiliates to facilitate transactions in non-United States markets.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.</R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Strategic Advisers or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services Strategic Advisers or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Strategic Advisers' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Strategic Advisers or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.</R>
Research Contracts. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Strategic Advisers or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) who have entered into arrangements with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
<R>Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), with whom they are under common control, provided Strategic Advisers or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade-execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.</R>
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Strategic Advisers to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. (FIMM).
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
FIMM or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of FIMM, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, FIMM or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to FIMM's or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager. Based on the factors considered, FIMM or its affiliates may choose to execute an order by using an electronic trading platform or by calling one or more dealers. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity provided by individual brokers; the reliability of a broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with FIMM or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which FIMM or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
<R>To facilitate the execution of securities transactions in non-United States markets, FIMM or its affiliates have entered into trading services and/or discretionary investment advisory agreements with FIL Limited (FIL) or its subsidiaries, which include investment advisers. FIMM may also enter into trading services agreements with FMR or its affiliates to facilitate transactions in non-United States markets.</R>
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of FIMM) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to FIMM or its affiliates.
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. FIMM or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement FIMM's or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.</R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although FIMM or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in FIMM's or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, FIMM or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to FIMM. FIMM's or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which FIMM or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services FIMM or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to FIMM or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, FIMM or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> FIMM's Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, FIMM or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to FIMM or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or FIMM's or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which FIMM or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While FIMM or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither FIMM, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist FIMM or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which FIMM or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by FIMM or its affiliates.</R>
Research Contracts. FIMM or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom FIMM or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby FIMM or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, FIMM or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to FIMM or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. FIMM or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs. FIMM's or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on FIMM's or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Affiliated Transactions
<R>FIMM or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including NFS, with whom they are under common control, provided FIMM or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade-execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, FIMM or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.</R>
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Securities Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, FMR or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by FIMM or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by FIMM or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by FIMM to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
<R> Prudential Investment Management, Inc. (PIM). </R>
<R> Factors Used in Selecting or Recommending Broker-Dealers </R>
<R>Broker-dealers or counterparties are approved by credit research group of Prudential Fixed Income (PFI), the unit of PIM responsible for sub-advising the fund, based on the same criteria used in its issuer credit analysis process. Criteria for approval include: profitability, liquidity, capital, financial metrics, economic factors, size, and market presence. The PFI approval process considers both transactional risk and counterparty creditworthiness and breaks each counterparty into four classes, based on risk. PFI sets maximum dollar exposure limits for the four different classes of counterparties approved for transactions. These dollar limits are determined based on the credit quality of the counterparty with consideration given to the counterparty's market presence. In addition, PFI risk management team monitors counterparty exposure in each client account. PFI has a counterparty committee, which generally meets quarterly, and is responsible for general oversight of the counterparty approval process. </R>
<R> Execution of Trades </R>
<R>PFI seeks to execute transactions in client accounts at the most favorable total price reasonably attainable in the circumstances. Factors PFI may consider in selecting an approved counterparty to execute a particular transaction include: the nature of the portfolio transaction; the size of the transaction; the desired timing of the trade; the activity existing and expected in the market for the particular transaction; broker confidentiality (the broker not revealing details about PFI trades or trading patterns to other brokers or market participants); the availability of research and research related services provided through such counterparty (as discussed below); and administrative cooperation. Given these factors, it is possible that clients may pay transaction costs in excess of that which another firm might have incurred for executing the same transaction. PFI manages foreign currency (FX) transactions through its approved counterparties or clients' custodians. PFI portfolio managers monitor all FX transactions to review for best price and execution while considering factors such as available market quotations, liquidity, capability of the counterparties or local rules and practices.</R>
<R> Soft Dollars and Research Services </R>
<R>Currently, PFI does not enter into any third party or proprietary soft dollar arrangements where a broker-dealer provides research services in exchange for an expectation of receiving a certain dollar amount of commissions. PFI receives a broad range of research from broker-dealers, including information on the economy, industries, groups of securities and individual companies, statistical information, market data, accounting and tax law interpretations, information regarding political developments, pricing and appraisal services, credit analysis, risk measurement analysis, performance analysis and other information regarding matters that may affect the economy and/or security prices. PFI may receive research services in the form of written reports, periodicals, investment seminars, access to databases, software, and telephone contacts and personal meetings with, security analysts, economists, government representatives, and corporate and industry spokespersons. These research services are used in connection with investment activities. Services obtained in connection with the execution of transactions for one client account may be used in managing other accounts, including accounts managed by PIM business units other than PFI and the accounts of affiliates. Certain broker-dealers may also provide computer software as well as dedicated phone lines to be used to communicate trades. PFI does not believe that the provision by broker-dealers of the research or other items and services described above results in higher transaction costs.</R>
<R> Trade Aggregation and Allocation </R>
<R>PFI's policy with respect to trade aggregation and allocation is to treat all client accounts fairly and equitably over time. Subject to the exception noted below, PFI aggregates and allocates all new issue orders among accounts with an appetite for the particular trade. While not required, PFI often aggregates secondary transactions. However, in many other cases, it may execute trades to meet the specific needs of a single account. A specific trade, when viewed in isolation, may have the effect of benefiting one account over another. In determining individual account appetite, PFI may be influenced by numerous factors including: an account's cash or liquid asset availability; the benchmark weight of the security; maturity, quality, duration, or risk contribution represented by the security; existing holdings of each account; specific account and mandate objectives, guidelines and constraints; liquidity requirements; de minimis allocation considerations based on criteria such as round lot provisions, minimum percentage of NAV or minimum transaction size; or any other portfolio construction considerations.</R>
<R>In addition, preference may be given to accounts whose investment guidelines limit their universe of available securities. This aggregation and allocation policy exempts transactions in securities that are deemed to be both liquid and fungible. Examples of such securities are: eligible securities as defined by Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940; U.S. government securities, including agencies and agency mortgage-backed securities; non-U.S. government securities issued in their native currency that we consider to be investment grade; exchange-traded futures and options; index credit default swaps; interest rate swaps; and foreign currency instruments.</R>
<R>Prudential Fixed Income's general policy is that all aggregated orders will be allocated at the time of the transaction, or as soon as possible thereafter, based on each account's appetite for the issue, including affiliated accounts. Order allocation is not based upon account performance, fee structure, or any proprietary interest that PFI or its affiliates may have in an account. If less than an entire aggregated order is executed, each account may be cut back based on one of a number of methodologies approved by PFI compliance group and senior management, such as pro rata based on original order or position or duration weight relative to benchmark. In determining final allocations, PFI may also consider the factors described above with respect to the determination of individual account appetite. Deviations from this aggregation and allocation policy must be approved in advance by a supervisor, and PFI's compliance unit or law department must subsequently approve. Supervisors or their delegates review allocations for compliance with the policy.</R>
Commissions Paid
A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
<R>For the fiscal periods ended February 28, 2013 and February 29, 2012, the fund's portfolio turnover rates were 81% and 113%, respectively. Variations in turnover rate may be due to a fluctuating volume of shareholder purchase and redemption orders, market conditions, and/or changes in Strategic Advisers' investment outlook.</R>
<R>For the fiscal years ended February 28, 2013, February 29, 2012, and February 28, 2011, the fund paid no brokerage commissions.</R>
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund held securities issued by one or more of its regular brokers or dealers or a parent company of its regular brokers or dealers. The following table shows the aggregate value of the securities of the regular broker or dealer or parent company held by the fund as of the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013.</R>
Fund |
Regular Broker or Dealer |
Aggregate Value of
|
<R>Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund |
Citigroup, Inc. |
$ 19,272,678</R> |
<R> |
Credit Suisse Group |
$ 2,705,710</R> |
<R> |
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. |
$ 13,688,144</R> |
<R> |
JPMorgan Chase & Co. |
$ 30,790,329</R> |
<R> |
Morgan Stanley |
$ 19,066,247</R> |
<R> |
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC |
$ 7,659,919</R> |
<R></R>
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid no brokerage commissions to firms for providing research or brokerage services.</R>
The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. The NAV of the fund is computed by adding the value of the fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting its liabilities, and dividing the result by the number of shares outstanding.
The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for pricing, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers has established the Strategic Advisers Fair Value Committee (Strategic Advisers Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities. The Strategic Advisers Committee may rely on information and recommendations provided by affiliates of Strategic Advisers in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, including the fair valuation of securities.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) held by the fund are valued at their respective NAVs. If an underlying fund's NAV is unavailable, shares of that underlying fund will be fair valued in good faith by the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by the fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity non-money market fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
<R>Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques.</R>
Short-term securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less for which market quotations and information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates current value.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
<R>Prices described above are obtained from pricing services that have been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available and the funds may use more than one of these services. The funds may also discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time. Strategic Advisers engages in oversight activities with respect to the fund's pricing services, which includes, among other things, testing the prices provided by pricing services prior to calculation of a fund's NAV, conducting periodic due diligence meetings, and periodically reviewing the methodologies and inputs used by these services.</R>
<R>Foreign securities and instruments are valued in their local currency following the methodologies described above. Foreign securities, instruments and currencies are translated to U.S. dollars, based on foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by a pricing service as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which uses a proprietary model to determine the exchange rate. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at an interpolated rate based on days to maturity between the closest preceding and subsequent settlement period reported by the third party pricing service.</R>
The Board of Trustees of the underlying Fidelity funds has ultimate responsibility for pricing portfolio securities and assets held by those funds, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee and the Strategic Advisers Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and ADRs, market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. This technique involves initially valuing an instrument at its cost as adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount rather than its current market value. The amortized cost value of an instrument may be higher or lower than the price a money market fund would receive if it sold the instrument.
At such intervals as they deem appropriate, the Trustees of an underlying Fidelity money market fund consider the extent to which NAV calculated using market valuations would deviate from the $1.00 per share calculated using amortized cost valuation. If the Trustees believe that a deviation from a money market fund's amortized cost per share may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Trustees have agreed to take such corrective action, if any, as they deem appropriate to eliminate or reduce, to the extent reasonably practicable, the dilution or unfair results. Such corrective action could include selling portfolio instruments prior to maturity to realize capital gains or losses or to shorten average portfolio maturity; withholding dividends; redeeming shares in kind; establishing NAV by using available market quotations; and such other measures as the Trustees may deem appropriate.
BUYING AND SELLING INFORMATION
Shares of the fund are offered only to certain clients of Strategic Advisers that have granted Strategic Advisers discretionary investment authority. If you are not currently a Strategic Advisers client, please call 1-800-544-3455 for more information.
Investors participating in a Strategic Advisers discretionary investment program are charged an annual advisory fee based on a percentage of the average market value of assets in their account. The stated fee is then reduced by a credit reflecting the amount of fees, if any, received by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates from mutual funds for investment management or certain other services.
The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the fund's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
Dividends. A portion of the fund's income may qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, but it is unlikely that all of the fund's income will qualify for the deduction. A portion of the fund's dividends, when distributed to individual shareholders, may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
Capital Gain Distributions. The fund's long-term capital gain distributions, including amounts attributable to an underlying fund's long-term capital gain distributions, are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.
Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. As a general matter, if, at the close of its fiscal year, more than 50% of the fund's total assets is invested in securities of foreign issuers, the fund may elect to pass through eligible foreign taxes paid and thereby allow shareholders to take a deduction or, if they meet certain holding period requirements with respect to fund shares, a credit on their individual tax returns. In addition, if at the close of each quarter of its fiscal year at least 50% of the fund's total assets is represented by interests in other regulated investment companies, the same rules will apply to any foreign tax credits that underlying funds pass through to the fund. The amount of foreign taxes paid by the fund will be reduced to the extent that the fund lends securities over the dividend record date. Special rules may apply to the credit for individuals who receive dividends qualifying for the long-term capital gains tax rate.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
<R>The Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and executive officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. If the interests of the fund and an underlying Fidelity fund were to diverge, a conflict of interest could arise and affect how the Trustees and Member of the Advisory Board fulfill their fiduciary duties to the affected funds. Strategic Advisers has structured the fund to avoid these potential conflicts, although there may be situations where a conflict of interest is unavoidable. In such instances, Strategic Advisers, the Trustees, and Member of the Advisory Board would take reasonable steps to minimize and, if possible, eliminate the conflict. Except for Mary C. Farrell, each of the Trustees oversees 26 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. Ms. Farrell oversees 20 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.</R>
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. The executive officers and Advisory Board Member hold office without limit in time, except that any officer and Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
<R>Each Trustee who is not an interested person of the trust and the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) is referred to herein as an Independent Trustee.</R>
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Fund's Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also engage professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates with experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. Additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, may be considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. Roger T. Servison is an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) and currently serves as Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Ralph F. Cox serves as the lead Independent Trustee and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
<R>Fidelity funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees asset allocation funds as well as the Fidelity enhanced index funds. Other boards oversee Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds and Fidelity's equity and high income funds. The fund may invest in Fidelity funds overseen by such other Boards. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues.</R>
The Trustees primarily operate as a full Board, but also operate in committees, to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board has charged Strategic Advisers and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through Strategic Advisers, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. Board oversight of different aspects of the fund's activities is exercised primarily through the full Board, but also through the Audit and Compliance Committee. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees."
Interested Trustees *:
<R>Correspondence intended for each Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
|
<R>Roger T. Servison (1945)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Servison is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Servison serves as President of Strategic New Business Development for Fidelity Investments and serves as a Director of Strategic Advisers. Previously, Mr. Servison oversaw Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company (2005-2006) and Strategic Advisers (2005-2007). Mr. Servison also served as President and a Director of Fidelity Brokerage Services (Japan), LLC (1994-2004). |
<R>Derek L. Young (1964)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Mr. Young is Vice President of Fidelity's Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present), President and a Director of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2011-present), President of Fidelity Global Asset Allocation (GAA) (2011-present), and Vice Chairman of Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2011-present). Previously, Mr. Young served as Chief Investment Officer of GAA (2009-2011) and as a portfolio manager. |
* Trustees have been determined to be "Interested Trustees" by virtue of, among other things, their affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with Strategic Advisers.
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees :
Correspondence intended for each Independent Trustee (that is, the Trustees other than the Interested Trustees) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
|
<R>Peter C. Aldrich (1944)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Aldrich is a Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Director of the funds of BlackRock Realty Group (2006-present). Previously, Mr. Aldrich served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010), a Managing Member of Poseidon, LLC (foreign private investment, 1998-2004), and Chairman and Managing Member of AEGIS, LLC (foreign private investment, 1997-2004). Mr. Aldrich also served as Faculty Chairman of The Research Council on Global Investment of The Conference Board (business and professional education non-profit, 1999-2004). Mr. Aldrich is a Member of the Boards of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and an Overseer of the Longy School of Music. |
<R>Amy Butte Liebowitz (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011</R> Ms. Butte Liebowitz was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of TILE Financial (financial internet service, 2008-2012). Previously, Ms. Butte Liebowitz served as the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of MF Global (broker-dealer, 2006-2008), and Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange (2004-2006). Ms. Butte Liebowitz is a member of the Boards of Directors of Accion International and the New York Women's Forum, as well as an alumna of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader program. |
<R>Ralph F. Cox (1932)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Cox is President of RABAR Enterprises (management consulting for the petroleum industry). Mr. Cox is a Director of Abraxas Petroleum (exploration and production). Mr. Cox is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Business and Engineering Schools of Texas A&M University and the Engineering School of University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Mr. Cox served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010) and as an Advisory Director of CH2M Hill Companies (engineering, 1981-2011). Mr. Ralph F. Cox and Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. are not related. |
<R>Mary C. Farrell (1949)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2013</R> Ms. Farrell is a Director of the W.R. Berkley Corporation (insurance provider) and President (2009-present) and Director (2006-present) of the Howard Gilman Foundation (charitable organization). Previously, Ms. Farrell was Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at UBS Wealth Management USA and Co-Head of UBS Wealth Management Investment Strategy & Research Group (2003-2005). Ms. Farrell also served as Investment Strategist at PaineWebber (1982-2000) and UBS PaineWebber (2000-2002). Ms. Farrell also serves as Trustee on the Board of Overseers of the New York University Stern School of Business, the Board of Trustees of Yale-New Haven Hospital and is a member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II. |
<R>Karen Kaplan (1960)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Ms. Kaplan is President of Hill Holliday (advertising and specialized marketing, 2007-present). Ms. Kaplan is a Director of DSM (dba Delta Dental and DentaQuest) (2004-present), Director of Vera Bradley (2012-present), Member of the Board of Governors of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston (2010-present), Member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference for Women (2008-present), Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (2006-present), Board of Directors of Jobs for Massachusetts (2012-present), National Association of Corporate Directors Chapter (2012-present), and Board of Directors of the Post Office Square Trust (2012-present). She is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, an action oriented community of the most effective CEOs, heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, and non-governmental leaders in the world. Previously, Ms. Kaplan served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010), President of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2008-2010), Treasurer of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2002-2006), Vice Chair of the Board of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2003-2010), Director of United Way of Massachusetts Bay (2004-2006), Director of ADVO (direct mail marketing, 2003-2007), and Director of Tweeter Home Entertainment Group (2006-2007). |
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Member and Executive Officers :
<R>Correspondence intended for each executive officer and Howard E. Cox, Jr. may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupation</R> |
|
<R>Howard E. Cox, Jr. (1944)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II. Mr. Cox is a Member of the Advisory Board of Devonshire Investors (2009-present). Mr. Cox serves as an Advisory Partner of Greylock (venture capital) and a Director of Stryker Corporation (medical products and services). Previously, Mr. Cox served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010) and a Member of the Secretary of Defense's Business Board of Directors (2008-2010). Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. and Mr. Ralph F. Cox are not related. |
<R>Kenneth B. Robins (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 President and Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Robins also serves as President and Treasurer of other Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds (2008-present) and Assistant Treasurer of other Fidelity Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present). Mr. Robins is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Robins served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2005-2008) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2006-2008). |
<R>Marc Bryant (1966)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of the fund. Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Fidelity Investments. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Mr. Bryant served as a Senior Vice President and the Head of Global Retail Legal for AllianceBernstein L.P. (2006-2010), and as the General Counsel for ProFund Advisors LLC (2001-2006). |
<R>Elizabeth Paige Baumann (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer of the fund. Ms. Baumann also serves as AML Officer of the Fidelity funds (2012-present) and The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2012-present), Chief AML Officer of FMR LLC (2012-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Baumann served as Vice President and Deputy Anti-Money Laundering Officer (2007-2012). |
<R>Nicholas E. Steck (1964)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the fund. Mr. Steck serves as Senior Vice President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. During the period 2002 to 2009, Mr. Steck served as a Compliance Officer of FMR, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc., FMR LLC, Fidelity Research & Analysis (U.K.) Inc., Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. |
<R>Laura M. Doherty (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Compliance Officer of the fund. Ms. Doherty also serves as Senior Vice President of the Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Doherty served as a Vice President in Fidelity's Corporate Audit department (1998-2008). |
<R>Adrien E. Deberghes (1967)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Deberghes also serves as Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) and Deputy Treasurer (2008-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Deberghes served as Senior Vice President of Mutual Fund Administration at State Street Corporation (2007-2008), Senior Director of Mutual Fund Administration at Investors Bank & Trust (2005-2007), and Director of Finance for Dunkin' Brands (2000-2005). |
<R>Stephanie J. Dorsey (1969)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Ms. Dorsey also serves as President and Treasurer (2013-present) and Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Dorsey served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2008-2013), Treasurer (2004-2008) of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds and Vice President (2004-2008) of JPMorgan Chase Bank. |
<R>Jonathan Davis (1968)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Davis is also Assistant Treasurer of certain Fidelity funds. Mr. Davis is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2003-2010). |
<R>Margaret A. Carey (1973)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 </R> Assistant Secretary of the fund. Ms. Carey also serves as Assistant Secretary of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present), Vice President, Associate General Counsel (2007-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). |
Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established two committees to supplement the work of the Board as a whole. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
<R>The Audit and Compliance Committee is composed of Ms. Butte Liebowitz (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, Mr. Ralph Cox, and Mses. Farrell and Kaplan. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The committee determines whether at least one member of the committee is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined in rules promulgated by the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The committee normally meets in conjunction with in person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee meets separately periodically with the fund's Treasurer, the fund's Chief Financial Officer, the fund's CCO, personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and the fund's outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the fund for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the fund and the fund's service providers, (ii) the financial reporting processes of the fund, (iii) the independence, objectivity and qualification of the auditors to the fund, (iv) the annual audits of the fund's financial statements, and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the fund. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations (Auditor Independence Regulations) of the SEC. In furtherance of the foregoing, the committee has adopted (and may from time to time amend or supplement) and provides oversight of policies and procedures for non-audit engagements by outside auditors of the fund. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the fund and for resolving disagreements between the fund and any outside auditor regarding the fund's financial reporting, and has sole authority to hire and fire any auditor. Auditors of the fund report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the fund and any service providers consistent with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Ethics and Independence Rule 3526, Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence. The committee will discuss with the outside auditors any such disclosed relationships and their impact on the auditor's independence and objectivity. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the Auditor Independence Regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the fund's service providers' internal controls and reviews with management, internal auditors, and outside auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of the fund's and service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the fund's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the fund's or service provider's internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will review with counsel any legal matters that may have a material impact on the fund's financial statements and any material reports or inquiries received from regulators or governmental agencies. The committee reviews at least annually a report from the outside auditor describing (i) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control review, peer review, or PCAOB examination of the auditing firm and (ii) any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm since the most recent report and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the fund's financial reporting process and will receive reports from an outside auditor relating to (i) critical accounting policies and practices used by the fund, (ii) alternative accounting treatments that the auditor has discussed with Strategic Advisers, and (iii) other material written communications between the auditor and Strategic Advisers (as determined by the auditor). The committee will discuss with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the fund. The committee will review with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC (to the extent relevant) the results of audits of the fund's financial statements. The committee will review periodically the fund's major internal controls exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. The committee also oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the fund and its service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee of the Board of Trustees or reserved to the Board itself. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the fund. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO and, if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports on significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the fund's compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1 and quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of Mr. Ralph Cox (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, and Mses. Butte Liebowitz, Farrell, and Kaplan. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the code of ethics and any supplemental policies regarding personal securities transactions applicable to the Independent Trustees. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the fund's or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the fund's expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the fund, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, (or as of March 31, 2013 for Ms. Farrell, Trustee as of March 5, 2013).</R>
Interested Trustees |
||
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Roger T. Servison |
Derek L. Young |
Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
none |
none |
<R></R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board for his or her services for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, or calendar year ended December 31, 2012, as applicable.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Compensation Table 1</R> |
||||||
<R>
AGGREGATE
|
Peter C.
|
Mary C.
|
Amy Butte
|
Ralph F.
|
Karen
|
</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund |
$ 25,520 |
$ 0 |
$ 25,520 |
$ 25,520 |
$ 25,520 |
</R> |
<R>
TOTAL COMPENSATION
|
$ 137,500 |
$ 0 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
</R> |
1 Roger T. Servison, Howard E. Cox, Jr., and Derek L. Young are interested persons and are compensated by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate (including FMR).
<R> 2 Effective March 5, 2013, Ms. Farrell serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II.</R>
<R> A Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, for 26 funds of two trusts.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and officers of the fund owned, in the aggregate, less than 1% of the fund's total outstanding shares.</R>
CONTROL OF INVESTMENT ADVISERS
<R>FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of Strategic Advisers, FIMM, Fidelity Management & Research (U.K.) Inc. (FMR U.K.), Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited (FMR H.K.), Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. (FMR Japan), and FMR Co., Inc. (FMRC). The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Abigail P. Johnson family, directly or through trusts, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.</R>
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
<R> PIM is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Prudential Financial, Inc. (Prudential Financial), a publicly held company and the ultimate parent of PIM. Prudential Financial, Inc. is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential plc, a company incorporated in the United Kingdom. PIM is an SEC-registered investment adviser organized as a New Jersey corporation. Prudential Fixed Income (PFI) is the public fixed income asset management unit within PIM. In addition to PFI, the other units within PIM are Prudential Real Estate Investors (a provider of real estate investment advisory services) and Prudential Capital Group (a private fixed income investment adviser). Each of these units of PIM has a separate brochure that has been filed with the SEC and provides information about its advisory business. PFI is organized into groups specializing in different sectors of the fixed income market: U.S. and non-U.S. government bonds, mortgages and asset-backed securities, U.S. and non-U.S. investment grade corporate bonds, high-yield bonds, emerging markets bonds, municipal bonds, and money market securities. PFI provides investment advisory services to the fund.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers, FIMM, FMRC, FMR U.K., FMR H.K., FMR Japan, PIM (the Investment Advisers), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and the fund have adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that sets forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establishes procedures for personal investing, and restricts certain transactions. Employees subject to the code of ethics, including Fidelity investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.</R>
The fund has entered into a management contract with Strategic Advisers, pursuant to which Strategic Advisers furnishes investment advisory and other services.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
<R>Strategic Advisers has retained FIMM and PIM to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. The sub-advisers do not sponsor the fund.</R>
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
Management and Sub-Advisory Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, Strategic Advisers acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, directs the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. Strategic Advisers is authorized, in its discretion, to allocate the fund's assets pursuant to its investment strategy. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates provide the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensate all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of Strategic Advisers, and compensate all personnel of the fund or Strategic Advisers performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
Under its respective sub-advisory agreement, and subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, each sub-adviser directs the investment of its allocated portion of the fund's assets in accordance with the fund's investment objective, policies and limitations.
Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to Strategic Advisers and the fees payable to the transfer agent and pricing and bookkeeping agent, the fund pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by those parties. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders; however, under the terms of the fund's transfer agent agreement, the transfer agent bears these costs. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.
Management Fees. For the services of Strategic Advisers under the management contract, the fund pays Strategic Advisers a monthly management fee calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets; provided, however, that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.60% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the fund until September 30, 2015. The fee waiver by Strategic Advisers will increase the fund's returns.</R>
<R>The following table shows the amount of management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers for the past three fiscal years, and the amount of waivers reducing management fees for the fund.</R>
+ Fiscal year ended February 29.
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of the fund's operating expenses. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Expense reimbursements by Strategic Advisers will increase the fund's returns, and repayment of the reimbursement by the fund will decrease its returns.
Sub-Adviser - FIMM. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with FIMM pursuant to which FIMM may provide investment advisory services for the fund.
<R>Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays FIMM fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by FIMM pursuant to a separately negotiated investment mandate (a "Strategy"). The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to the Aggregated Assets managed by FIMM under a particular Strategy based on the following rate schedule:</R>
Core Investment Grade : |
|||||
<R>0.275% of the first $100 million in assets;</R> |
|||||
<R>0.20% of the next $400 million in assets; and</R> |
|||||
<R>0.12% on any amount in excess of $500 million in assets</R> |
|||||
<R>Core Plus:</R> |
|||||
<R>0.32% on all assets</R> |
<R>Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by FIMM or another Fidelity affiliate pursuant to that Strategy.</R>
The following table shows the amount of sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to FIMM for the past three fiscal years.
+ Fiscal year ended February 29.
Differences between the amount of management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers and the amount of sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to FIMM may be due to expense estimates, which are accrued in the period to which they relate and adjusted when actual amounts are known.
Sub-Adviser - FMRC. On behalf of the fund, FIMM has entered into a sub-advisory agreement with FMRC pursuant to which FMRC may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement for the fund, FIMM, and not the fund, pays FMRC's fees.
Sub-Advisers - FMR U.K., FMR H.K., and FMR Japan. On behalf of the fund, FIMM has entered into sub-advisory agreements with FMR U.K., FMR H.K., and FMR Japan. Pursuant to the sub-advisory agreements, FIMM may receive from the sub-advisers investment research and advice on issuers based outside the United States (non-discretionary services) and FIMM may grant the sub-advisers investment management authority and the authority to buy and sell securities if FIMM believes it would be beneficial to the fund (discretionary services). FIMM, and not the fund, pays the sub-advisers.
On behalf of the fund, FMRC has entered into sub-advisory agreements with FMR U.K., FMR H.K., and FMR Japan. Pursuant to the sub-advisory agreements, FMRC may receive from the sub-advisers investment research and advice on issuers based outside the United States (non-discretionary services) and FMRC may grant the sub-advisers investment management authority and the authority to buy and sell securities if FMRC believes it would be beneficial to the fund (discretionary services). FMRC, and not the fund, pays the sub-advisers.
<R> Sub-Adviser - PIM. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with PIM pursuant to which PIM may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays PIM fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by PIM pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by PIM under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by PIM pursuant to that Strategy.</R>
<R>No management fees were paid to PIM as of the fiscal year ended 2013 because the sub-advisory agreement was not approved until March 5, 2013.</R>
Portfolio Manager Compensation - Strategic Advisers.
Gregory Pappas is an employee of Strategic Advisers, a subsidiary of FMR LLC and an affiliate of FMR. Strategic Advisers is the adviser to the fund.
<R>Mr. Pappas is the lead portfolio manager of the fund and receives compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Strategic Advisers or at the election of the portfolio manager. </R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of a broad range of Strategic Advisers funds and accounts, including the fund. Accounts may include model portfolios designed for asset allocation, retirement planning, or tax-sensitive goals. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s), and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with the portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and peer group. A subjective component of the bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Strategic Advisers. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of his fund is based on the fund's pre-tax investment performance measured against the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund within the Morningstar Intermediate - Term Bond Category. The portfolio manager may be compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Strategic Advisers' parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates. </R>
<R></R>
<R>The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics. </R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Pappas as of February 28, 2013: </R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
5 |
180 |
none</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 21,931 |
$ 42,166 |
none</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund ($12,893 (in millions) assets managed). The amount of assets managed of the fund reflects trades and other assets as of the close of the business day prior to the fund's fiscal year-end.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Pappas was $10,001 - $50,000. </R>
Portfolio Manager Compensation - FIMM.
<R>Jeffrey Moore is the portfolio manager of FIMM's allocated portion of the fund's assets and receives compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by FMR or at the election of the portfolio manager.</R>
<R></R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at FMR or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of other FMR taxable bond funds and accounts. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s) and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over the portfolio manager's tenure on those fund(s) and account(s) over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with his tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to three years for the comparison to a benchmark index. A smaller, subjective component of the portfolio manager's bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of FMR. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of FIMM's Core Investment Grade strategy is based on the pre-tax investment performance of the strategy measured against the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The portfolio manager also is compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, FMR's parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates. The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by FMR or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Moore as of February 28, 2013: </R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
2 |
10 |
10</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 493 |
$ 2,487 |
$ 2,779</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund ($2,750 (in millions) assets managed). The amount of assets managed of the fund reflects trades and other assets as of the close of the business day prior to the fund's fiscal year-end.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Moore was none.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - PIM. </R>
<R> Compensation. The base salary of an investment professional in the Prudential Fixed Income unit of PIM is based on market data relative to similar positions as well as the past performance, years of experience and scope of responsibility of the individual. Incentive compensation, including the annual cash bonus, the long-term equity grant and grants under Prudential Fixed Income's long-term incentive plan, is primarily based on such person's contribution to Prudential Fixed Income's goal of providing investment performance to clients consistent with portfolio objectives, guidelines and risk parameters and market-based data such as compensation trends and levels of overall compensation for similar positions in the asset management industry. In addition, an investment professional's qualitative contributions to the organization are considered in determining incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not solely based on the performance of, or value of assets in, any single account or group of client accounts.</R>
<R>An investment professional's annual cash bonus is paid from an annual incentive pool. The pool is developed as a percentage of Prudential Fixed Income's operating income and is refined by business metrics, such as:</R>
<R>Long-term compensation consists of Prudential Financial restricted stock and grants under the long-term incentive plan. Grants under the long-term incentive plan are participation interests in notional accounts with a beginning value of a specified dollar amount. The value attributed to these notional accounts increases or decreases over a defined period of time based, in part, on the performance of investment composites representing a number of Prudential Fixed Income's most frequently marketed investment strategies. An investment composite is an aggregation of accounts with similar investment strategies. The long-term incentive plan is designed to more closely align compensation with investment performance and the growth of Prudential Fixed Income's business. Both the restricted stock and participation interests are subject to vesting requirements.</R>
<R> Conflicts of Interest </R>
<R>Like other investment advisers, Prudential Fixed Income is subject to various conflicts of interest in the ordinary course of its business. Prudential Fixed Income strives to identify potential risks, including conflicts of interest, that are inherent in its business, and conducts annual conflict of interest reviews. When actual or potential conflicts of interest are identified, Prudential Fixed Income seeks to address such conflicts through one or more of the following methods: </R>
<R>Prudential Fixed Income follows the policies of Prudential Financial, Inc. (Prudential Financial) on business ethics, personal securities trading by investment personnel, and information barriers. Prudential Fixed Income has adopted a code of ethics, allocation policies and conflicts of interest policies, among others, and has adopted supervisory procedures to monitor compliance with its policies. Prudential Fixed Income cannot guarantee, however, that its policies and procedures will detect and prevent, or assure disclosure of, each and every situation in which a conflict may arise.</R>
<R> Side-by-Side Management of Accounts and Related Conflicts of Interest </R>
<R>Prudential Fixed Income's side-by-side management of multiple accounts can create conflicts of interest. Examples are detailed below, followed by a discussion of how Prudential Fixed Income addresses these conflicts.</R>
<R> How Prudential Fixed Income Addresses These Conflicts of Interest </R>
<R>Prudential Fixed Income has developed policies and procedures designed to address the conflicts of interest with respect to its different types of side-by-side management described above.</R>
<R> Conflicts Related to Prudential Fixed Income's Affiliations </R>
<R>As an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Prudential Financial, Prudential Fixed Income is part of a diversified, global financial services organization. Prudential Fixed Income is affiliated with many types of U.S. and non-U.S. financial service providers, including insurance companies, broker-dealers, commodity trading advisors, commodity pool operators and other investment advisers. Some of its employees are officers of some of these affiliates.</R>
<R> Conflicts Related to Securities Holdings and Other Financial Interests </R>
<R>Prudential Fixed Income may be unable to invest client assets in the securities of certain issuers as a result of the investments described above. </R>
<R>In general, conflicts related to the securities holdings and financial interests described above are addressed by the fact that Prudential Fixed Income makes investment decisions for each client independently considering the best economic interests of such client.</R>
<R> Conflicts Related to Valuation and Fees </R>
<R>When client accounts hold illiquid or difficult to value investments, Prudential Fixed Income faces a conflict of interest when making recommendations regarding the value of such investments since its management fees are generally based on the value of assets under management. Prudential Fixed Income believes that its valuation policies and procedures mitigate this conflict effectively and enable it to value client assets fairly and in a manner that is consistent with the client's best interests.</R>
<R> Conflicts Related to Securities Lending Fees </R>
<R>When Prudential Fixed Income manages a client account and also serves as securities lending agent for the account, it could be considered to have the incentive to invest in securities that would yield higher securities lending rates. This conflict is mitigated by the fact that Prudential Fixed Income's advisory fees are generally based on the value of assets in a client's account. In addition, Prudential Fixed Income's securities lending function has a separate reporting line to its chief operating officer (rather than its chief investment officer).</R>
<R> Conflicts of Interest in the Voting Process </R>
<R>Occasionally, a conflict of interest may arise in connection with proxy voting. For example, the issuer of the securities being voted may also be a client of Prudential Fixed Income. When Prudential Fixed Income identifies an actual or potential conflict of interest between the firm and its clients with respect to proxy voting, the matter is presented to senior management who will resolve such issue in consultation with the compliance and legal departments. </R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Herbst as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Does not include Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Herbst was none.</R>
Proxy Voting - Strategic Advisers.
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of the fund, after consultation with Strategic Advisers. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Strategic Advisers and its affiliates and by the Independent Trustees of the fund, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. The funds in the trust generally intend to vote shares of underlying funds using echo voting procedures (that is, in the same proportion as the holders of all other shares of the particular underlying fund).
B. Any proposals not covered by paragraph A above or other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate Strategic Advisers analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review and approval by the General Counsel or Compliance Officer of FMR or the General Counsel of FMR LLC.
<R> Sub-Advisers: </R>
<R>Proxy voting policies and procedures are used by a sub-adviser to determine how to vote proxies relating to the securities held by its allocated portion of the fund's assets. The proxy voting policies and procedures used by the sub-advisers are described below.</R>
Fidelity Fund Proxy Voting Guidelines.
Funds sub-advised by FIMM follow the Fidelity funds' proxy voting guidelines.
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of the Fidelity funds, after consultation with Fidelity. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Fidelity and by the Independent Trustees of the Fidelity funds, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. Voting of shares will be conducted in a manner consistent with the best interests of Fidelity Fund shareholders as follows: (i) securities of a portfolio company will generally be voted in a manner consistent with the Guidelines; and (ii) voting will be done without regard to any other Fidelity companies' relationship, business or otherwise, with that portfolio company.
B. FMR Investment Proxy Research votes proxies. Like other Fidelity employees, Investment Proxy Research employees have a fiduciary duty to never place their own personal interest ahead of the interests of Fidelity Fund shareholders, and are instructed to avoid actual and apparent conflicts of interest. In the event of a conflict of interest, Investment Proxy Research employees, like other Fidelity employees, will escalate to their managers or the Ethics Office, as appropriate, in accordance with Fidelity's corporate policy on conflicts of interest. A conflict of interest arises when there are factors that may prompt one to question whether a Fidelity employee is acting solely on the best interests of Fidelity and its customers. Employees are expected to avoid situations that could present even the appearance of a conflict between their interests and the interests of Fidelity and its customers.
C. Except as set forth herein, FMR will generally vote in favor of routine management proposals.
D. Non-routine proposals will generally be voted in accordance with the Guidelines.
E. Non-routine proposals not covered by the Guidelines or involving other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate FMR analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review by an attorney within FMR's General Counsel's office and a member of senior management within FMR Investment Proxy Research. A significant pattern of such proposals or other special circumstances will be referred to the appropriate Fidelity Fund Board Committee or its designee.
F. FMR will vote on shareholder proposals not specifically addressed by the Guidelines based on an evaluation of a proposal's likelihood to enhance the economic returns or profitability of the portfolio company or to maximize shareholder value. Where information is not readily available to analyze the economic impact of the proposal, FMR will generally abstain.
G. Many Fidelity Funds invest in voting securities issued by companies that are domiciled outside the United States and are not listed on a U.S. securities exchange. Corporate governance standards, legal or regulatory requirements and disclosure practices in foreign countries can differ from those in the United States. When voting proxies relating to non-U.S. securities, FMR will generally evaluate proposals in the context of the Guidelines and where applicable and feasible, take into consideration differing laws, regulations and practices in the relevant foreign market in determining how to vote shares.
H. In certain non-U.S. jurisdictions, shareholders voting shares of a portfolio company may be restricted from trading the shares for a period of time around the shareholder meeting date. Because such trading restrictions can hinder portfolio management and could result in a loss of liquidity for a fund, FMR will generally not vote proxies in circumstances where such restrictions apply. In addition, certain non-U.S. jurisdictions require voting shareholders to disclose current share ownership on a fund-by-fund basis. When such disclosure requirements apply, FMR will generally not vote proxies in order to safeguard fund holdings information.
I. Where a management-sponsored proposal is inconsistent with the Guidelines, FMR may receive a company's commitment to modify the proposal or its practice to conform to the Guidelines, and FMR will generally support management based on this commitment. If a company subsequently does not abide by its commitment, FMR will generally withhold authority for the election of directors at the next election.
II. Definitions (as used in this document)
A. <R>Anti-Takeover Provision - includes fair price amendments; classified boards; "blank check" preferred stock; Golden Parachutes; supermajority provisions; Poison Pills; restricting the right to call special meetings; provisions restricting the right of shareholders to set board size; and any other provision that eliminates or limits shareholder rights.</R>
B. Golden Parachute - Employment contracts, agreements, or policies that include an excise tax gross-up provision; single trigger for cash incentives; or may result in a lump sum payment of cash and acceleration of equity that may total more than three times annual compensation (salary and bonus) in the event of a termination following a change in control.
C. Greenmail - payment of a premium to repurchase shares from a shareholder seeking to take over a company through a proxy contest or other means.
D. Sunset Provision - a condition in a charter or plan that specifies an expiration date.
E. Permitted Bid Feature - a provision suspending the application of a Poison Pill, by shareholder referendum, in the event a potential acquirer announces a bona fide offer for all outstanding shares.
F. Poison Pill - a strategy employed by a potential take-over / target company to make its stock less attractive to an acquirer. Poison Pills are generally designed to dilute the acquirer's ownership and value in the event of a take-over.
G. <R>Large-Capitalization Company - a company included in the Russell 1000 ® Index or the Russell Global ex-U.S. Large Cap Index.</R>
H. <R>Small-Capitalization Company - a company not included in the Russell 1000 ® Index or the Russell Global ex-U.S. Large Cap Index that is not a Micro-Capitalization Company.</R>
I. Micro-Capitalization Company - a company with a market capitalization under US $300 million.
J. Evergreen Provision - a feature which provides for an automatic increase in the shares available for grant under an equity award plan on a regular basis.
III. Directors
A. Incumbent Directors
FMR will generally vote in favor of incumbent and nominee directors except where one or more such directors clearly appear to have failed to exercise reasonable judgment. FMR will also generally withhold authority for the election of all directors or directors on responsible committees if:
1. An Anti-Takeover Provision was introduced, an Anti-Takeover Provision was extended, or a new Anti-Takeover Provision was adopted upon the expiration of an existing Anti-Takeover Provision, without shareholder approval except as set forth below.
With respect to Poison Pills, however, FMR will consider not withholding authority on the election of directors if all of the following conditions are met when a Poison Pill is introduced, extended, or adopted:
a. The Poison Pill includes a Sunset Provision of less than five years;
b. The Poison Pill includes a Permitted Bid Feature;
c. The Poison Pill is linked to a business strategy that will result in greater value for the shareholders; and
d. Shareholder approval is required to reinstate the Poison Pill upon expiration.
FMR will also consider not withholding authority on the election of directors when one or more of the conditions above are not met if a board is willing to strongly consider seeking shareholder ratification of, or adding above conditions noted a. and b. to an existing Poison Pill. In such a case, if the company does not take appropriate action prior to the next annual shareholder meeting, FMR will withhold authority on the election of directors.
2. The company refuses, upon request by FMR, to amend the Poison Pill to allow Fidelity to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
3. Within the last year and without shareholder approval, a company's board of directors or compensation committee has repriced outstanding options, exchanged outstanding options for equity, or tendered cash for outstanding options.
4. <R>Executive compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as: (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether, in the case of stock awards, the restriction period was less than three years for non-performance-based awards, and less than one year for performance-based awards; (iv) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restrictions; and (v) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.</R>
5. To gain FMR's support on a proposal, the company made a commitment to modify a proposal or practice to conform to the Guidelines and the company has failed to act on that commitment.
6. The director attended fewer than 75% of the aggregate number of meetings of the board or its committees on which the director served during the company's prior fiscal year, absent extenuating circumstances.
7. The board is not composed of a majority of independent directors.
B. Indemnification
FMR will generally vote in favor of charter and by-law amendments expanding the indemnification of directors and/or limiting their liability for breaches of care unless FMR is otherwise dissatisfied with the performance of management or the proposal is accompanied by Anti-Takeover Provisions.
C. Independent Chairperson
FMR will generally vote against shareholder proposals calling for or recommending the appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson. However, FMR will consider voting for such proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson appears likely to further the interests of shareholders and to promote effective oversight of management by the board of directors.
D. Majority Director Elections
FMR will generally vote in favor of proposals calling for directors to be elected by an affirmative majority of votes cast in a board election, provided that the proposal allows for plurality voting standard in the case of contested elections (i.e., where there are more nominees than board seats). FMR may consider voting against such shareholder proposals where a company's board has adopted an alternative measure, such as a director resignation policy, that provides a meaningful alternative to the majority voting standard and appropriately addresses situations where an incumbent director fails to receive the support of a majority of the votes cast in an uncontested election.
IV. Compensation
A. Executive Compensation
1. Advisory votes on executive compensation
a. FMR will generally vote for proposals to ratify executive compensation unless such compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as, among other things, (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether, in the case of stock awards, the restriction period was less than three years for non-performance-based awards, and less than one year for performance-based awards; (iv) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restriction; and (v) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.
b. FMR will generally vote against proposals to ratify Golden Parachutes.
2. Frequency of advisory vote on executive compensation
FMR will generally support annual advisory votes on executive compensation.
B. Equity award plans (including stock options, restricted stock awards, and other stock awards).
FMR will generally vote against equity award plans or amendments to authorize additional shares under such plans if:
1. (a) The company's average three year burn rate is greater than 1.5% for a Large-Capitalization Company, 2.5% for a Small-Capitalization Company or 3.5% for a Micro-Capitalization Company; and (b) there were no circumstances specific to the company or the plans that lead FMR to conclude that the burn rate is acceptable.
2. In the case of stock option plans, (a) the offering price of options is less than 100% of fair market value on the date of grant, except that the offering price may be as low as 85% of fair market value if the discount is expressly granted in lieu of salary or cash bonus; (b) the plan's terms allow repricing of underwater options; or (c) the board/committee has repriced options outstanding under the plan in the past two years without shareholder approval.
3. The plan includes an Evergreen Provision.
4. The plan provides for the acceleration of vesting of equity awards even though an actual change in control may not occur.
C. Equity Exchanges and Repricing
FMR will generally vote in favor of a management proposal to exchange, reprice or tender for cash, outstanding options if the proposed exchange, repricing, or tender offer is consistent with the interests of shareholders, taking into account such factors as:
1. Whether the proposal excludes senior management and directors;
2. Whether the exchange or repricing proposal is value neutral to shareholders based upon an acceptable pricing model;
3. The company's relative performance compared to other companies within the relevant industry or industries;
4. Economic and other conditions affecting the relevant industry or industries in which the company competes; and
5. Any other facts or circumstances relevant to determining whether an exchange or repricing proposal is consistent with the interests of shareholders.
D. Employee Stock Purchase Plans
FMR will generally vote in favor of employee stock purchase plans if the minimum stock purchase price is equal to or greater than 85% of the stock's fair market value and the plan constitutes a reasonable effort to encourage broad based participation in the company's equity. In the case of non-U.S. company stock purchase plans, FMR may permit a lower minimum stock purchase price equal to the prevailing "best practices" in the relevant non-U.S. market, provided that the minimum stock purchase price must be at least 75% of the stock's fair market value.
E. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
FMR will generally vote in favor of non-leveraged ESOPs. For leveraged ESOPs, FMR may examine the company's state of incorporation, existence of supermajority vote rules in the charter, number of shares authorized for the ESOP, and number of shares held by insiders. FMR may also examine where the ESOP shares are purchased and the dilution effect of the purchase. FMR will generally vote against leveraged ESOPs if all outstanding loans are due immediately upon change in control.
F. Bonus Plans and Tax Deductibility Proposals
FMR will generally vote in favor of cash and stock incentive plans that are submitted for shareholder approval in order to qualify for favorable tax treatment under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, provided that the plan includes well defined and appropriate performance criteria, and with respect to any cash component, that the maximum award per participant is clearly stated and is not unreasonable or excessive.
V. Anti-Takeover Provisions
FMR will generally vote against a proposal to adopt or approve the adoption of an Anti-Takeover Provision unless:
A. The Poison Pill includes the following features:
1. A Sunset Provision of no greater than five years;
2. Linked to a business strategy that is expected to result in greater value for the shareholders;
3. Requires shareholder approval to be reinstated upon expiration or if amended;
4. Contains a Permitted Bid Feature; and
5. Allows the Fidelity Funds to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
B. An Anti-Greenmail proposal that does not include other Anti-Takeover Provisions; or
C. It is a fair price amendment that considers a two-year price history or less.
FMR will generally vote in favor of proposals to eliminate Anti-Takeover Provisions unless:
D. In the case of proposals to declassify a board of directors, FMR will generally vote against such a proposal if the issuer's Articles of Incorporation or applicable statutes include a provision whereby a majority of directors may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by written consent, or other reasonable procedures, by a majority of shareholders entitled to vote for the election of directors.
E. In the case of proposals regarding shareholders' rights to call special meetings, FMR generally will vote against each proposal if the threshold required to call a special meeting is less than 25% of the outstanding stock.
F. In the case of proposals regarding shareholders' right to act by written consent, FMR will generally vote against each proposal if it does not include appropriate mechanisms for implementation including, among other things, that at least 25% of the outstanding stock request that the company establish a record date determining which shareholders are entitled to act and that consents be solicited from all shareholders.
VI. Capital Structure/Incorporation
A. Increases in Common Stock
FMR will generally vote against a provision to increase a company's common stock if such increase will result in a total number of authorized shares greater than three times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares, including stock options, except in the case of real estate investment trusts, where an increase that will result in a total number of authorized shares up to five times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares is generally acceptable.
B. New Classes of Shares
FMR will generally vote against the introduction of new classes of stock with differential voting rights.
C. Cumulative Voting Rights
FMR will generally vote against the introduction and in favor of the elimination of cumulative voting rights.
D. Acquisition or Business Combination Statutes
FMR will generally vote in favor of proposed amendments to a company's certificate of incorporation or by-laws that enable the company to opt out of the control shares acquisition or business combination statutes.
E. Incorporation or Reincorporation in Another State or Country
FMR will generally vote for management proposals calling for, or recommending that, a portfolio company reincorporate in another state or country if, on balance, the economic and corporate governance factors in the proposed jurisdiction appear reasonably likely to be better aligned with shareholder interests, taking into account the corporate laws of the current and proposed jurisdictions and any changes to the company's current and proposed governing documents. FMR will consider supporting such shareholder proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, remaining incorporated in the current jurisdiction appears misaligned with shareholder interests.
VII. Shares of Investment Companies
A. When a Fidelity Fund invests in an underlying Fidelity Fund with public shareholders, an exchange traded fund (ETF), or non-affiliated fund, FMR will vote in the same proportion as all other voting shareholders of such underlying fund or class ("echo voting"). FMR may choose not to vote if "echo voting" is not operationally feasible.
B. Certain Fidelity Funds may invest in shares of underlying Fidelity Funds, which are held exclusively by Fidelity Funds or accounts managed by an FMR or an affiliate. FMR will generally vote in favor of proposals recommended by the underlying funds' Board of Trustees.
VIII. Other
A. Voting Process
FMR will generally vote in favor of proposals to adopt confidential voting and independent vote tabulation practices.
B. Regulated Industries
Voting of shares in securities of any regulated industry (e.g. U.S. banking) organization shall be conducted in a manner consistent with conditions that may be specified by the industry's regulator (e.g. the Federal Reserve Board) for a determination under applicable law (e.g. federal banking law) that no fund or group of funds has acquired control of such organization.
<R> Proxy Voting - PIM. </R>
<R> Introduction </R>
<R>This statement sets forth PIM Public Fixed Income's (PIM-PFI) policy for the voting of proxies on securities held in client portfolios for which PIM-PFI provides discretionary investment management services. This policy will be updated as needed to address changes in proxy voting issues.</R>
<R>PIM-PFI's principal concern in voting proxies is the economic effect of the proposal on the value of our clients' portfolio holdings, both in the short term and long term. In many cases, we believe that our clients' economic interests are consistent with management. In others, however, proposals set forth by management (such as anti-takeover provisions) may have a negative effect on the value of portfolio holdings.</R>
<R> Proxy Policy </R>
<R>For U.S. proxies, PIM-PFI generally will:</R>
<R> Examples:</R>
<R> Appointment of accountants</R>
<R> Election of directors</R>
<R> Examples:</R>
<R> Anti-takeover provisions </R>
<R> Establishment of stock option plans</R>
<R> Mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations</R>
<R> Indemnification of directors</R>
<R>For foreign securities, PIM-PFI generally will vote in accordance with our U.S. guidelines.</R>
<R>A more detailed discussion of PIM-PFI's proxy voting procedure is available in the Appendix hereto.</R>
<R> Proxy Voting Procedures </R>
<R> General </R>
<R>Proxy solicitations are initially sent by the issuer of the securities to the trustee or custodian bank, or to their designated proxy facilitator. Unless a client has instructed otherwise, the trustee or custodian or their agent then signs the proxy in blank and forwards it to PIM-PFI's operations unit. In certain cases pursuant to client instructions, the trustee or custodian bank or agent will forward the proxy and request voting instructions from PIM-PFI. In such cases, the trustee, custodian, or agent will send a copy of the proxy and their request for voting instructions to PIM-PFI's operations unit.</R>
<R>PIM-PFI retains records on all proxies received, votes entered, and voting instructions delivered. Clients may request to see the records for their portfolios at any time.</R>
<R>For U.S. securities, the proxy is reviewed and voted in accordance with the policy described in the Appendix. In the event that:</R>
<R>1. the proposal is a merger, acquisition or reorganization, </R>
<R>2. the proposal is not addressed in the policy statement, or </R>
<R>3. PIM-PFI is aware of circumstances that would suggest a vote not in accordance with the policy, </R>
<R>the proxy will be referred to the applicable portfolio manager(s) (PM) for all non-index portfolios. For index portfolios, the proxy will be voted the same as for the actively managed accounts where other managers hold the same security, or as otherwise noted within this policy. In cases where the PMs of the actively-managed accounts are voting against policy, or where two or more PMs are not in agreement on a particular vote, the Proxy Voting Committee (described below) will determine how the proxy should be voted.</R>
<R>The proposal will be discussed and in general the vote will follow the recommendation of the largest shareholding portfolio manager. This position will be shared with the other PMs and, if they agree, a unified PIM-PFI vote on the issue will be established, unless a particular client has withheld from PIM-PFI the right to decide how shares held in their advisory account should be voted, or has instructed PIM-PFI to vote on the issue in a specific manner. Depending on the nature and significance of the subject matter, the PM(s) may decide to sell the security. On occasion, PIM-PFI may be in contact with other major shareholders who have an interest in the outcome of a vote. On occasion, we may discuss our votes with company management.</R>
<R>Similarly, proxies for foreign securities are forwarded to PIM-PFI by custodians. Timeliness of receipt varies widely by market. In some countries, proxies are usually delivered promptly, enabling us to submit a vote prior to the shareholder meeting. In others, however, proxies are usually received after the deadline for submission for votes has passed. As a result, to effectively vote proxies in those markets, PIM-PFI would need to hire a local agent to attend a company's annual meeting. We would evaluate the cost versus the benefit and expect to hire an agent only if there is a critical issue which could significantly affect shareholder value.</R>
<R>In those countries that sequester (block) shares prior to a meeting, we will refrain from voting.</R>
<R>We generally vote non-U.S. securities on a best efforts basis if we determine that voting is in the best economic interest of our clients.</R>
<R> Proxy Voting Committee </R>
<R>A Proxy Voting Committee has been established to set broad policy in this area, to respond to changes in corporate governance, to review the overall exercise of PIM-PFI's proxy voting authority, and to assist in the determination of PIM-PFI's vote on specific issues. The committee will meet as needed and a quorum will consist of three members. Positions will be accepted by a majority vote of members or their designees.</R>
<R> Appendix </R>
<R> Proxy Voting Details </R>
<R>This specific document outlines PIM-PFI's general position on specific proxy proposals. We have separated proposals into three broad categories:</R>
<R> Routine Business</R>
<R> Other Proposals</R>
<R> Social, Political and Environmental Issues</R>
<R> Routine Business </R>
<R> Subject Matter Vote </R>
<R>1. Appointment of Auditors For</R>
<R>We will vote for management's selection of accountants to audit the corporation's books and records, unless we are aware of significant controversy in a particular case.</R>
<R>2. Election of Directors Case-by-case</R>
<R>In uncontested elections, we generally will vote for management's slate of directors.</R>
<R>Our vote in contested elections will be determined on a case by case basis. In general, though, we will vote for management's nominees unless we believe that a new board would significantly enhance investment value. [If quantitatively managed portfolios only hold, we will vote For]</R>
<R>3. Stock Splits For</R>
<R>We generally will vote for these proposals, which are normally made to facilitate market trading in the issuer's securities.</R>
<R>4. Increase in Authorized Shares and Rights Issues For*</R>
<R>These proposals are often necessary for the normal operation of an issuer's business. Consequently, a vote in favor is generally recommended. </R>
<R>In many foreign countries, companies prefer to finance capital projects through new equity issues rather than borrowing. Most often the equity is sold to existing shareholders through a proportional distribution of "rights" to purchase the new shares. Rights issues are many times preceded by a request for shareholder approval of an increase in the number of authorized shares, thus indirectly giving shareholders an opportunity to vote on the new project. PIM-PFI's policy will be to vote with management on such proposals unless we believe that the project will have a substantial and negative effect on the value of an investment.</R>
<R>* If an increase in authorized shares is part of a takeover defense or is considered "excessive", we normally will vote against an increase. (See "Anti-takeover Measures".)</R>
<R> Other Proposals </R>
<R> Subject Matter Vote </R>
<R>1. Anti-takeover Measures </R>
<R>PIM-PFI normally votes against anti-takeover measures. In addition, we generally support proposals to eliminate these provisions.</R>
<R>a. Adoption of Classification of Boards Against**</R>
<R>A classified board is one in which directors are divided into separate groups with overlapping multi-year terms, so that only a portion of the board can be re-elected or replaced each year (similar to the U.S. Senate). Classified boards make it more difficult for a bidder to replace management, even if the bidder controls a majority of the company's stock.</R>
<R>Arguments for classified boards include: (a) they allow stability and continuity in company policies; (b) they give management a means of maintaining experienced members on a board during a transition; and (c) they allow directors to have a longer-term perspective.</R>
<R>On the other hand, directors who are doing a good job are likely to continue to be re-elected. This provides stability while continuing to allow shareholders to evaluate directors annually. In addition, adoption of these provisions has had a substantial short-term negative effect on stock values, according to a 1985 SEC staff study.</R>
<R>** Where a classified board structure is already in place, we would vote for routine re-election of directors or for the election of noncontroversial new directors.</R>
<R> Shareholder proposals to eliminate a Classified Board For</R>
<R>b. Adoption of Fair Pricing Provisions For*</R>
<R>These provisions are designed to protect shareholders in the event the corporation is acquired under a plan not approved by the Board. Normally, they require that any tender offer made by a third party be made to all shareholders at the same price.</R>
<R>Fair pricing provisions attempt to limit "two-tiered takeovers", where a bidder initially offers a premium for enough shares to garner control and thereafter offers a much lower price to the remaining holders (usually smaller investors).</R>
<R>Most of these provisions do not apply if an offer is approved by a target's board or if the bidder obtains a specified level of approval from the target's shareholders.</R>
<R>* While we support fair pricing provisions, we will not vote for them if they are tied to other anti-takeover provisions (such as excessive supermajority rules) that we oppose.</R>
<R>c. Supermajority Rules Case-by-case</R>
<R>Supermajority provisions raise the percentage of shareholder votes needed to approve a proposal (particularly mergers) from 50% to 66% or higher. Some companies have adopted supermajority rules that takeovers be approved by 80% of shareholders. These requirements may exceed the level of participation at a shareholder meeting, effectively blocking all actions that would require supermajority approval.</R>
<R>Proponents argue that supermajority provisions make it easier to act in the interests of all shareholders and that significant proposals, such as mergers, require a higher degree of scrutiny than routine corporate matters.</R>
<R>We believe that supermajority provisions have merit, unless they impose an excessive threshold for approval. Therefore, we will consider on a case-by-case basis proposals for supermajority provisions if they require an approval percentage of 66% or less. We will oppose provisions with higher percentages.</R>
<R>d. Excessive Increase in Authorized Shares Against</R>
<R>As stated above, we will generally vote for an increase in authorized shares, common or preferred, unless we determine that the increased shares are likely to be used for anti-takeover purposes. We will always vote against an "excessive" increase of authorized shares, which we define as an increase greater than 200% of the current authorized common shares, unless we believe it is in the best interest of existing investors.</R>
<R>e . Separate Classes of Stock with Unequal Voting Rights Against</R>
<R>This type of anti-takeover plan divides the outstanding common stock into two or more classes of shares and grants different voting rights to each class. For example, Class A shares may receive one vote per share, while Class B shares may have ten votes per share. Shares with higher voting rights are normally held by management or by founding shareholders; these shares are generally not transferable.</R>
<R>Since these plans vest voting control in the hands of incumbent management and other insiders who own substantially less than a majority of the shares, we oppose them.</R>
<R>f. Golden Parachutes Against</R>
<R>Golden parachutes are severance agreements for senior executives that provide substantial cash and non-cash benefits if the company is acquired, particularly if these executives are terminated by the new owners.</R>
<R>These provisions can deter some takeover offers because of the expense of the plans. At the same time, executives may be more willing to accept an unreasonably low bid in the hope that their parachutes will open.</R>
<R>Proponents argue that these plans help attract and retain outstanding personnel. They may also relieve executive anxiety and help officers to objectively evaluate takeover bids.</R>
<R>We are concerned that golden parachutes shift focus away from shareholder interest to management interest, and we, therefore, oppose them.</R>
<R>g. Poison Pills Against</R>
<R>Poison pills permit the shareholders of a company subject to a hostile takeover bid to acquire shares of that company and/or the acquiring company at a substantial discount to the market price. Poison pills are generally "triggered" by a hostile tender offer or by the acquisition of a significant percentage of the company's stock by an outside party. The acquirer, who is not allowed to purchase stock at the discount price, would experience a substantial dilution of voting interest. Poison pills are often considered the most effective anti-takeover devices available to management.</R>
<R>There have been many studies evaluating the impact of poison pills. Overall, the adoption of a poison pill appears to have had a negative short-term effect on share price and to deter takeovers, leading to a long-term loss of shareholder wealth. On the positive side, there is evidence that poison pills lead to increased bid prices when takeovers do occur.</R>
<R>Overall, the evidence suggests that poison pills have had a negative effect on investment value, and we, therefore, oppose them.</R>
<R>h. Elimination of Existing Charter Provisions </R>
<R>PIM-PFI generally will oppose changes in charter provisions if the modifications would have an anti-takeover effect.</R>
<R> Elimination of Action by Written Consent Against</R>
<R>The ability to act through written consent enables shareholders to replace the board, to amend bylaws or to take actions to effect a change in control without having to call a special meeting or wait for the annual meeting. Elimination of this right would make it more difficult for shareholders to act without the board's consent.</R>
<R> Elimination of Pre-Emptive Rights Case-by-case</R>
<R>These rights allow shareholders to buy newly issued shares before they are offered to the public. This enables shareholders to maintain their percentage ownership of a company without being diluted by additional stock offerings. Eliminating these rights could make it easier for a target company to dilute the ownership interest of an acquiring company. However, in some markets, preemptive rights result in a loss of financing flexibility and are likely to deter companies from fulfilling one of their functions which is to raise capital advantageously.</R>
<R> Elimination of Cumulative Voting Against</R>
<R>Cumulative voting allows a shareholder to multiply the number of shares held by the number of directors being elected and to cast the total for a single director or a select group of director. Cumulative voting enables a minority shareholder (such as a potential acquirer) to obtain some representation on the board. Eliminating cumulative voting would tend to deter takeovers.</R>
<R>i. Greenmail Against</R>
<R>Greenmail is the practice of acquiring a sizable block of stock in a company and then selling it back to the company at a premium price. In exchange, the acquirer agrees not to seek control again for a specified period of time. Generally, the payment of greenmail does not require shareholder approval. The incidence of green mail has declined since Congress imposed a tax on greenmail profits in 1987.</R>
<R>j. Reincorporation Case-by-case</R>
<R>Generally these proposals allow the company to change the state of incorporation to one in which legislation makes takeovers more difficult (such as Delaware). There are, however, other legitimate reasons for making such a change. Delaware, for instance, has very favorable laws regarding director liability. PIM-PFI will review these on a case by case basis.</R>
<R>k. Opt out of Delaware Takeover Law For</R>
<R>Under the Delaware Takeover Law, if a shareholder acquires 15% of a company he may not enter into a business combination with the company for three years unless certain conditions are met. Since this law could deter a takeover bid, we will vote for "opting out".</R>
<R>l. Shareholder Vote on Large Stock Placements For</R>
<R>The proposal requires the company to seek shareholder approval before placing large blocks of stock. Because of the dilutive effect of large placements and the risk of "white knight" placements with investors friendly to management, PIM-PFI believes that shareholders should be permitted to vote on large stock placements.</R>
<R>2. Executive Compensation </R>
<R>a. Adoption of Stock Option, Stock Appreciation Right or Retirement Plans for Outside Directors Against</R>
<R>In light of the significant role of outside directors, PIM-PFI believes that outside directors deserve reasonable compensation for their services. PIM-PFI believes that outside director compensation should be in the form of cash or awards of stock, but should not include any other option, pension or benefit plans.</R>
<R>PIM-PFI believes that providing such option, pension or benefit plans to outside directors may create a conflict of interest and compromise such directors' ability to vote independently on executive management and employee option, pension and benefit plans.</R>
<R>b.
Adoption of Stock Option, Stock Appreciation Right and Restricted Stock Plans for Executives and
Directors
Case-by-case</R>
<R>Proposals on compensation for executives and directors are the issues submitted most frequently to shareholder vote (after the election of directors and appointment of accountants). </R>
<R>PIM-PFI generally supports compensation plans that link employee and director pay to shareholder returns. We also believe that actual participants in an industry have the best understanding of the compensation levels needed to attract and retain key personnel. We support cash-based compensation plans because they are generally tied to performance goals and because they do not create dilution.</R>
<R>On the other hand, stock-based compensation plans can be detrimental to shareholder interests if not carefully constructed. For example, stock option plans can lead to severe dilution of outside shareholders or can insulate executives from a falling share price and, as a result, from shareholder interests.</R>
<R>We will oppose compensation plans under the following circumstances:</R>
<R>3. Adoption of Employee Stock Purchase Plans Case-by-Case</R>
<R>Employee stock purchase plans allow the employees of a company to purchase the company's stock at market or below-market prices. In principle we encourage such plans as the employees become shareholders and their interests are aligned with ours. However, we do want to prevent excessive dilution stemming from plans which allow employees to purchase stock at significant market discounts. </R>
<R>We will support employee stock purchase plans if the cost basis to the employee is at least 85% of the fair market value (i.e. discount is less than 15%). If the cost basis is greater than 75% but less than 85% of fair market value (discount of 15% of 25%) we will support the plan only if it passes a dilution test which requires that the dilution from the plan does not exceed 10% of the company's outstanding stock and the total dilution from all employee stock option and stock purchase plans (old and new) does not exceed 20%. If the cost basis is below 75% of the fair market value (discount greater than 25%) we will oppose the plan.</R>
<R>4. Mergers, Acquisitions and Reorganizations Case-by-case</R>
<R>The economic impact of each proposal will be analyzed individually. </R>
<R>5. Board of Directors and Corporate Structure Related Issues </R>
<R>a. Indemnification of Directors and Limitation of Director Liability For</R>
<R>We generally support these proposals, since they help corporations attract and retain qualified individuals to serve as directors. However, PIM-PFI will oppose proposals to indemnify directors for liabilities arising from any of the following:</R>
<R>i. breach of the director's duty of loyalty</R>
<R>ii. intentional misconduct, acts not in good faith, or acts in knowing violation of the law</R>
<R>iii. acts involving unlawful purchase or redemption of stock</R>
<R>iv. payment of unlawful dividends</R>
<R>v. receipt of improper personal benefits</R>
<R>b. Independent Compensation Committee For</R>
<R>These proposals call for a bylaw amendment which establishes a board committee (composed solely of independent directors) charged with evaluating management performance and establishing executive compensation. These proposals are generally intended to strengthen the link between corporate performance and executive pay. We believe that these committees increase objectivity and decrease conflicts of interest in setting executive pay, and, therefore, we support them.</R>
<R>c. Independent Nominating Committee For</R>
<R>These proposals suggest that an independent nominating committee (without any management representatives) be established to choose new board candidates. Proponents of this amendment suggest that an independent nominating committee is essential to ensure an independent and accountable board. We agree. Management can be involved in the selection of outside directors by providing recommendations to the nominating committee.</R>
<R>d. Minimum Stock Ownership by Directors For</R>
<R>We encourage directors to own stock and thereby more closely align themselves with the stockholders. We recognize that management may choose to seek directors from a wide range of economic backgrounds. We believe, therefore, that minimum stock ownership requirement should be set at reasonable levels.</R>
<R>e. Term Limits for Independent Directors Against</R>
<R>We believe that experienced board members can bring continuity and insight into the management of a company. Term limits may result in the loss of good board members. Therefore, we will vote against term limit proposals.</R>
<R>f. Shareholder Advisory Committees For</R>
<R>A shareholder advisory committee counsels the board on certain issues. We support the formation of a separate shareholder advisory committee. We believe these committees will focus directors' attention on shareholders' views.</R>
<R>g. Separate Chairman and Chief Executive Positions For</R>
<R>Proponents of a separate Chairman and CEO argue that a different person in each position promises greater accountability for CEOs. The chairman's duty to oversee management may be compromised when he or she is also an executive officer, and for this reason PIM-PFI will generally support measures to have a separate CEO and Chairman. Different considerations may militate in favor of a combined chairman and CEO in smaller or startup companies.</R>
<R>h. Allowing the Board to Determine Board Size Against</R>
<R>We oppose proposals that would allow the Board of Directors to set the size of the Board without shareholder approval. In the event of a hostile takeover attempt, a Board could add Directors who are opposed to the takeover. This would permit the Board to use their authority to determine Board size as an anti-takeover device.</R>
<R>i. Majority of Independent Directors Case-by-case</R>
<R>For shareholder proposals requiring a majority of independent directors we will forward the proxy onto the portfolio managers for their vote. </R>
<R>6. Ballot Tabulation and Confidentiality </R>
<R>a. Ballot Secrecy For</R>
<R>We encourage corporations to discuss their positions with shareholders before a vote is taken, but we do not believe that management should be able to review votes after the fact.</R>
<R>b. Management and Shareholder Proposals Be Counted On An Equal Basis For</R>
<R>In tabulating ballots, some companies count abstentions and non-votes as votes against shareholder proposals but as abstentions on management proposals. We support proposals which require that management and shareholder proposals be counted on the same basis.</R>
<R>7. Social, Political and Environmental Policy Resolutions </R>
<R>As an investment advisory operating unit, PIM-PFI's responsibility is to make decisions which will increase the value of our clients' securities. PIM-PFI also embraces the concept that companies should be responsible stewards of the assets they employ and should act with appropriate regard to the impact of corporate decisions on their employees and the communities in which the companies operate. However, PIM-PFI will vote against proposals that will limit a company's operating flexibility and/or result in negative economic consequences for the company.</R>
<R>Unless we determine that a particular proposal will significantly restrict a company's operating flexibility or have other negative economic consequences, we will generally vote in favor of the following proposals:</R>
<R>We will generally vote against the following proposals:</R>
<R>We no longer have restrictions on investing in companies which do business in South Africa.</R>
<R>8. Omnibus Resolutions ("Bundling" of issues) Against</R>
<R>PIM-PFI will oppose proposals that involve a single vote on disparate issues. This practice may have the result of requiring shareholders to accept one undesirable portion of a proposal in order to achieve a desired result in another part of the proposal. PIM-PFI believes that each issue put to a shareholder vote should not be dependent upon or linked to any other issue.</R>
<R>The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. The principal business address of FDC is 100 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by Strategic Advisers.</R>
The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan with respect to shares of the fund (the Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a mutual fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows the fund and Strategic Advisers to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.
Under the Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to Strategic Advisers is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Plan. The Plan specifically recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Plan provides that Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers or FDC), that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Prior to approving the Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Plan will benefit the fund and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Plan does not authorize payments by the fund other than those made to Strategic Advisers under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Plan gives Strategic Advisers and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of shares of the fund, additional sales of shares of the fund or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
<R>The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (FIIOC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers, which is located at 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services for the fund.</R>
For providing transfer agency services, FIIOC receives an account fee and an asset-based fee with respect to assets managed by one or more sub-advisers and assets invested in non-affiliated ETFs. For retail accounts, these fees are based on fund type. For certain institutional accounts, these fees are based on size of position and fund type. For institutional retirement accounts, these fees are based on account type and fund type. The account fee is billed monthly on a pro rata basis at one-twelfth of the applicable annual rate as of the end of each calendar month. The asset-based fee is calculated and paid monthly on the basis of average daily net assets. For assets invested in underlying Fidelity funds, each underlying Fidelity fund pays its respective transfer agent (either FIIOC or an affiliate of FIIOC) fees based, in part, on the number of positions in and assets of the fund invested in such underlying Fidelity fund.
FIIOC also may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
<R>The fund has entered into a service agent agreement with Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers (or an agent, including an affiliate). Under the terms of the agreement, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for the fund and maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records.</R>
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
The annual rates for pricing and bookkeeping services for the fund are 0.0415% of the first $500 million of average net assets, 0.0301% of average net assets between $500 million and $3.5 billion, 0.0041% of average net assets between $3.5 billion and $25 billion, and 0.0019% of average net assets in excess of $25 billion.
Pricing and bookkeeping fees paid by the fund to FSC for the past three fiscal years are shown in the following table.
<R> Fund |
2013 |
2012 |
2011</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund |
$ 1,411,002 |
$ 1,264,069 |
$ 232,277</R> |
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
<R> Trust Organization. Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund is a fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, an open-end management investment company created under an initial trust instrument dated March 8, 2006. Currently, there are 20 funds offered in the trust: Strategic Advisers Core Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.</R>
The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds.
Shareholder Liability. The trust is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that, except to the extent otherwise provided in the Trust Instrument, shareholders shall be entitled to the same limitations of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit organized under the general corporation law of Delaware. The courts of some states, however, may decline to apply Delaware law on this point. The Trust Instrument contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust. The Trust Instrument provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Trust Instrument further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of each fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Trust Instrument also provides that each fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which Delaware law does not apply, no contractual limitation of liability was in effect, and a fund is unable to meet its obligations. Strategic Advisers believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is extremely remote.
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. As a shareholder, you are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value you own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
<R></R>
The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodians. State Street Bank and Trust Company, 1776 Heritage Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as special purpose custodians of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions.
Strategic Advisers, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Member of the Advisory Board, and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by Strategic Advisers. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of Strategic Advisers, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 125 High Street, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit, tax, and related services.
<R> </R>
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized Strategic Advisers, in consultation with FMR, to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
Other registered investment companies that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be subject to different portfolio holdings disclosure policies, and neither Strategic Advisers nor the Board exercises control over such policies or disclosure. In addition, separate account clients of Strategic Advisers and the sub-advisers have access to their portfolio holdings and are not subject to the fund's portfolio holdings disclosure policies. Some of the funds that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser and some of the separate accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser have investment objectives and strategies that are substantially similar or identical to the fund's and, therefore, potentially substantially similar, and in certain cases nearly identical, portfolio holdings as the fund.
The fund will provide a full list of holdings monthly on www.fidelity.com 30 days after the month-end (excluding high income security holdings, which generally will be presented collectively monthly and included in a list of full holdings 60 days after its fiscal quarter-end).
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations.
<R> The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the activities associated with managing Fidelity funds to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons Strategic Advisers believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include, but are not limited to: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics (including portfolio managers of affiliated funds of funds); contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.</R>
<R> Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, (ii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iii) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. Strategic Advisers relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.</R>
<R>At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day) and DocuLynx Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day).</R>
Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, Strategic Advisers desired to make such an arrangement, it would seek prior Board approval and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
<R> FINANCIAL STATEMENTS</R>
<R>The fund's financial statements and financial highlights for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, and report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the fund's annual report and are incorporated herein by reference. Total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table may differ from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the financial highlights because total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table include any acquired fund fees and expenses, whereas the ratios of expenses in the financial highlights do not, except to the extent any acquired fund fees and expenses relate to an entity, such as a wholly-owned subsidiary, with which a fund's financial statements are consolidated. Acquired funds include other investment companies in which the fund has invested, if and to the extent it is permitted to do so. Total annual operating expenses in the prospectus fee table and the financial highlights do not include any expenses associated with investments in certain structured or synthetic products that may rely on the exception from the definition of "investment company" provided by section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R></R>
<R> Strategic Advisers ® Core Income Multi-Manager Fund </R>
<R> Class /Ticker </R>
<R> Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund /FWHBX </R>
<R>In this prospectus, the term "shares" (as it relates to the fund) means the class of shares offered through this prospectus.</R>
Prospectus
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
Prospectus
<R>
Fund
/Class:
Strategic
Advisers
®
Core Income Multi-Manager Fund
/Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund</R>
The fund seeks a high level of current income.
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy and hold shares of the fund.
Shareholder fees
|
None |
<R>
Annual class operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
</R>
<R> Management fee (fluctuates based on the fund's allocation among underlying funds and sub-advisers) B |
0.33% </R> |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees |
None |
<R> Other expenses |
0.33% </R> |
<R> Acquired fund fees and expenses (fees and expenses of underlying funds) |
0.36% </R> |
<R> Total annual operating expenses A |
1.02% </R> |
<R> Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement B |
0.43% </R> |
<R> Total annual operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement A |
0.59% </R> |
<R></R>
<R> A Differs from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the Financial Highlights section of the prospectus because of acquired fund fees and expenses. As a result, the total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement in the fee table exceed the contractual expense limitations of the class. </R>
<R> B Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) has contractually agreed that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.65% of the fund's average daily net assets. Strategic Advisers has also contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets. In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to reimburse the fund to the extent that total operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, extraordinary expenses, sub-advisory fees, and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any), as a percentage of its average net assets, exceed 0.20%. These arrangements will remain in effect through April 30, 2014. Strategic Advisers may not terminate these arrangements without the approval of the Board of Trustees. </R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
<R> 1 year |
$ 60 </R> |
<R> 3 years |
$ 274 </R> |
<R> 5 years |
$ 514 </R> |
<R> 10 years |
$ 1,202 </R> |
<R>The fund will not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of affiliated funds but may incur transaction costs when buying or selling non-affiliated funds and other types of securities (including non-affiliated exchange traded funds) directly (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance. For the period from June 19, 2012 to February 28, 2013, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 190% (annualized) of the average value of its portfolio.</R>
Prospectus
<R> Pursuant to an exemptive order granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) is permitted, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees, to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement. </R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
Performance history will be available for the fund after the fund has been in operation for one calendar year.
<R>Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. Prudential Investment Management, Inc. (PIM) and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis) have been retained to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. PIM has not currently been allocated a portion of the fund's assets to manage.</R>
Prospectus
Gregory Pappas (lead portfolio manager) has managed the fund since June 2012.
Jeffrey Moore (portfolio manager) has managed Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets since June 2012.
Shares of the fund generally are available only to: (i) employer-sponsored retirement plans (including profit sharing, 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), and similar plans) for which an affiliate of Strategic Advisers provides recordkeeping services; and (ii) Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund accounts held by individuals who currently own shares of the fund originally held in an employer sponsored retirement plan. You may buy or sell shares in various ways:
The price to buy one share of the fund is its net asset value per share (NAV). Your shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after your investment is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV. Your shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form.
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
There is no purchase minimum for fund shares.
Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state or local taxes, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account (in which case you may be taxed later, upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).
The fund, Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Investment Objective
The fund seeks a high level of current income.
Principal Investment Strategies
The fund normally invests primarily in investment-grade debt securities (those of medium and high quality) of all types and repurchase agreements for those securities. The fund may invest up to 30% of its assets in high yield and emerging market debt securities.
The fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers in addition to securities of domestic issuers.
<R>The fund may engage in transactions that have a leveraging effect, including investments in derivatives, regardless of whether it may own the asset, instrument, or components of the index underlying the derivative, and forward-settling securities. The fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in these types of investments. The fund's derivative investments may include interest rate swaps, total return swaps, credit default swaps, and futures contracts (both long and short positions) on securities and indexes. The fund may engage in these transactions to increase or decrease its exposure to changing security prices, interest rates, credit qualities, or other factors that affect security values, or to gain or reduce exposure to an asset, instrument, or index.</R>
The fund implements its investment strategies by investing directly in securities through one or more sub-advisers or indirectly in securities through one or more underlying funds, which in turn invest directly in securities.
Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of underlying funds or sub-advisers at any time.
Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds and sub-advisers according to an allocation strategy designed to achieve portfolio characteristics similar to those of the Barclays ® U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds and sub-advisers to achieve similar overall interest rate risk to the Index.
Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds and sub-advisers to attempt to diversify the fund's portfolio among different market sectors (for example, corporate, asset-backed or government securities) and different maturities based on its view of the relative value of each sector or maturity.
Strategic Advisers pursues a disciplined, benchmark-driven approach to portfolio construction, and monitors and adjusts allocations to underlying funds and sub-advisers as necessary to favor those underlying funds and sub-advisers that Strategic Advisers believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the fund's investment objective.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among underlying funds, Strategic Advisers relies on proprietary fundamental and quantitative fund research in its fund selection process. Factors considered when investing in underlying funds include fund performance, a fund manager's experience and investment style, fund company infrastructure, and fund characteristics such as expense ratio, asset size, and portfolio turnover.
Prospectus
The fund may invest in affiliated fixed-income funds ( i.e., Fidelity funds) and non-affiliated fixed-income funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork ® and in non-affiliated ETFs. Underlying funds include both funds managed by FMR (an affiliated company that, together with Strategic Advisers, is part of Fidelity Investments) or an affiliate and funds managed by investment advisers other than Fidelity. Fidelity may receive service fees that typically are at an annual rate of up to 0.40% of a non-affiliated underlying fund's average daily net assets attributable to purchases through Fidelity's FundsNetwork, though such fees may be higher or lower, or may be charged as transaction and/or account fees. In addition, the fund may invest in ETFs in transactions not occurring through Fidelity's FundsNetwork.
Strategic Advisers generally identifies fixed-income funds by reference to a fund's name, policies, or classification by a third-party ranking or ratings organization.
Strategic Advisers may actively adjust the allocation of the fund's assets at any time. For current information on fund holdings, please call 1-800-835-5095 (plan accounts) or 1-800-544-3455 (all other accounts) or visit the web site at www.401k.com (plan accounts) or www.fidelity.com (all other accounts). For information on the underlying funds, see the underlying funds' prospectuses. A copy of any underlying Fidelity fund's prospectus is available at www.fidelity.com or www.advisor.fidelity.com. For a copy of any other underlying fund's prospectus, visit the web site of the company that manages or sponsors that underlying fund.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers considers a variety of factors including, but not limited to, a sub-adviser's investment approach, the characteristics of a sub-adviser's typical investment portfolio, and a sub-adviser's performance patterns in different market environments.
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
To select investments, a sub-adviser may analyze the credit quality of the issuer, security-specific features, current valuation relative to alternatives in the market, short-term trading opportunities resulting from market inefficiencies, and potential future valuation. In managing the fund's exposure to various risks, including interest rate risk, a sub-adviser may consider, among other things, the market's overall risk characteristics, the market's current pricing of those risks, information on the fund's competitive universe and internal views of potential future market conditions.
In selecting foreign securities, a sub-adviser's analysis may also consider the credit, currency, and economic risks associated with the security and the country of its issuer. A sub-adviser may also consider an issuer's potential for success in light of its current financial condition, its industry position, and economic and market conditions.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
To earn additional income for the fund, a sub-adviser may use a trading strategy that involves selling (or buying) mortgage securities and simultaneously agreeing to buy (or sell) mortgage securities on a later date at a set price. This trading strategy may increase interest rate exposure and result in an increased portfolio turnover rate which increases transaction costs and may increase taxable gains.
In addition, the fund may have indirect exposure to derivatives through its investments in underlying funds.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Description of Principal Security Types
In addition to investing in underlying funds, the fund may invest directly in the following principal security types:
Debt securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay current interest but are sold at a discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, mortgage and other asset-backed securities, and other securities that Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser believes have debt-like characteristics, including hybrids and synthetic securities.
A repurchase agreement is an agreement to buy a security at one price and a simultaneous agreement to sell it back at an agreed-upon price.
<R> Derivatives are investments whose values are tied to an underlying asset, instrument, currency, or index. Derivatives include futures, options, forwards, and swaps, such as interest rate swaps (exchanging a floating rate for a fixed rate), total return swaps (exchanging a floating rate for the total return of a security or index) and credit default swaps (buying or selling credit default protection).</R>
Prospectus
Forward-settling securities involve a commitment to purchase or sell specific securities when issued, or at a predetermined price or yield. When a fund does not already own or have the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount, a commitment to sell securities is equivalent to a short sale. Payment and delivery take place after the customary settlement period.
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on the performance of the underlying funds and securities in which it invests and on changes in market conditions and interest rates and in response to other economic, political, or financial developments. The fund's reaction to these developments will be affected by the types of underlying funds and securities in which the fund invests, the financial condition, industry and economic sector, and geographic location of an issuer, and the fund's level of investment in the securities of that underlying fund or issuer.
If Strategic Advisers' or a sub-adviser's allocation strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective. The portfolio managers' evaluations and assumptions in selecting underlying funds or individual securities may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.
When your shares are sold they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
Investing in Other Funds. Regulatory restrictions may limit the amount that one fund can invest in another, and in certain cases further limit investments to the extent a fund's shares are already held by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The fund bears all risks of investment strategies employed by the underlying funds. The fund does not control the investments of the underlying funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the fund would not engage in directly. Aggregation of underlying fund holdings may result in indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase volatility.
Interest Rate Changes. Debt securities have varying levels of sensitivity to changes in interest rates. In general, the price of a debt security can fall when interest rates rise and can rise when interest rates fall. Securities with longer maturities and mortgage securities can be more sensitive to interest rate changes. In other words, the longer the maturity of a security, the greater the impact a change in interest rates could have on the security's price. In addition, short-term and long-term interest rates do not necessarily move in the same amount or the same direction. Short-term securities tend to react to changes in short-term interest rates, and long-term securities tend to react to changes in long-term interest rates. Inflation-protected debt securities may react differently from other types of debt securities and tend to react to changes in "real" interest rates. Real interest rates represent nominal (stated) interest rates reduced by the expected impact of inflation. In general, the price of an inflation-protected debt security can fall when real interest rates rise, and can rise when real interest rates fall. Interest payments on inflation-protected debt securities can be unpredictable and will vary as the principal and/or interest is adjusted for inflation.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
<R> Foreign Exposure. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; withholding or other taxes; trading, settlement, custodial, and other operational risks; and the less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets. All of these factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and potentially less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can perform differently from the U.S. market.</R>
Investing in emerging markets can involve risks in addition to and greater than those generally associated with investing in more developed foreign markets. The extent of economic development; political stability; market depth, infrastructure, and capitalization; and regulatory oversight can be less than in more developed markets. Emerging market economies can be subject to greater social, economic, regulatory, and political uncertainties. All of these factors can make emerging market securities more volatile and potentially less liquid than securities issued in more developed markets.
<R>Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers or providers in, or foreign exchange rates with, a different country or region.</R>
Industry Exposure. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry or a group of related industries, and the securities of companies in that industry or group of industries could react similarly to these or other developments. In addition, from time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry or a group of related industries as a whole, and these companies can be sensitive to adverse economic, regulatory, or financial developments.
Prepayment. Many types of debt securities, including mortgage securities and inflation-protected debt securities, are subject to prepayment risk. Prepayment risk occurs when the issuer of a security can repay principal prior to the security's maturity. Securities subject to prepayment can offer less potential for gains during a declining interest rate environment and similar or greater potential for loss in a rising interest rate environment. In addition, the potential impact of prepayment features on the price of a debt security can be difficult to predict and result in greater volatility.
Prospectus
Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's credit quality or value. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers. Entities providing credit support or a maturity-shortening structure also can be affected by these types of changes. If the structure of a security fails to function as intended, the security could decline in value. Lower-quality debt securities (those of less than investment-grade quality, also referred to as high yield debt securities), including floating rate loans, and certain types of other securities tend to be particularly sensitive to these changes.
Lower-quality debt securities and certain types of other securities involve greater risk of default or price changes due to changes in the credit quality of the issuer. The value of lower-quality debt securities and certain types of other securities often fluctuates in response to company, political, or economic developments and can decline significantly over short as well as long periods of time or during periods of general or regional economic difficulty. Lower-quality debt securities can be thinly traded or have restrictions on resale, making them difficult to sell at an acceptable price, and often are considered to be speculative. The default rate for lower-quality debt securities is likely to be higher during economic recessions or periods of high interest rates.
Leverage Risk. Derivatives, forward-settling securities, and short sale transactions involve leverage because they can provide investment exposure in an amount exceeding the initial investment. Leverage can magnify investment risks and cause losses to be realized more quickly. A small change in the underlying asset, instrument, or index can lead to a significant loss. Assets segregated to cover these transactions may decline in value and are not available to meet redemptions. Forward-settling securities and short sale transactions also involve the risk that a security will not be issued, delivered, available for purchase, or paid for when anticipated. An increase in the market price of securities sold short will result in a loss. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of these transactions and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies.
Investing in ETFs. ETFs may trade in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) at prices below the value of their underlying portfolios and may not be liquid. An ETF that is not actively managed cannot sell poorly performing stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in its index or other benchmark. ETFs that track an index are subject to tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to its index or other benchmark).
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Quantitative Investing. The value of securities selected using quantitative analysis can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis. The factors used in quantitative analysis and the weight placed on those factors may not be predictive of a security's value. In addition, factors that affect a security's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model.
<R>In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser, if any, may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
The following policy is fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:
The fund seeks a high level of current income.
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
<R>The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates the fund's NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing the fund's NAV. Fidelity calculates net asset value separately for each class of shares of a multiple class fund.</R>
NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the SEC.
To the extent that the fund's assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some of the fund's assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) are valued at their respective NAVs. For an explanation of the circumstances under which the underlying funds will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the underlying funds' prospectuses and statements of additional information (SAIs). The fund's NAV is calculated using the values of the underlying funds in which it invests. Other assets (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service. Certain short-term securities are valued on the basis of amortized cost. If market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, are deemed unreliable for a security, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before the fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. Fair value pricing will be used for high yield debt securities when available pricing information is determined to be stale or for other reasons not to accurately reflect fair value.
Prospectus
Arbitrage opportunities may exist when trading in a portfolio security or securities is halted and does not resume before a fund calculates its NAV. These arbitrage opportunities may enable short-term traders to dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Securities trading in overseas markets present time zone arbitrage opportunities when events affecting portfolio security values occur after the close of the overseas markets but prior to the close of the U.S. market. Fair valuation of a fund's portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that fair value pricing policies will prevent dilution of a fund's NAV by short-term traders.
Although the fund has policies regarding excessive trading, these too may not be effective to prevent short-term NAV arbitrage trading, particularly in regard to omnibus accounts.
Fair value pricing is based on subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value of a security may differ materially from the value that would be realized if the security were sold.
Prospectus
THE FUND IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO CERTAIN EMPLOYER-SPONSORED RETIREMENT PLANS AND FIDELITY BROKERAGE OR MUTUAL FUND ACCOUNTS. PLEASE SEE "FUND SUMMARY - PURCHASE AND SALE OF SHARES" ABOVE FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS.
Fidelity Investments was established in 1946 to manage one of America's first mutual funds. Today, Fidelity is one of the world's largest providers of financial services.
In addition to its mutual fund business, the company operates one of America's leading brokerage firms, Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC. Fidelity is also a leader in providing tax-advantaged retirement plans for individuals investing on their own or through their employer.
Subject to the purchase and sale requirements stated in this prospectus, you may buy or sell shares of a fund through a Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity mutual fund account. If you buy or sell shares of a fund (other than by exchange) through a Fidelity brokerage account, your transactions generally involve your Fidelity brokerage core (a settlement vehicle included as part of your Fidelity brokerage account).
If you do not currently have a Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity mutual fund account and would like to invest in a fund, you may need to complete an application. For more information about a Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity mutual fund account, please visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com, call 1-800-FIDELITY, or visit a Fidelity Investor Center (call 1-800-544-9797 for the center nearest you).
<R>You may also buy or sell shares of the fund through a retirement account (such as an IRA or an account funded through salary deductions) or an investment professional. Retirement specialists are available at 1-800-544-4774 to answer your questions about Fidelity retirement products. If you buy or sell shares of a fund through a retirement account or an investment professional, the procedures for buying, selling, and exchanging shares of the fund and the account features and policies may differ from those discussed in this prospectus. Fees in addition to those discussed in this prospectus may also apply. For example, you may be charged a transaction fee if you buy or sell shares of the fund through a non-Fidelity broker or other investment professional.</R>
You should include the following information with any order to buy, sell, or exchange shares:
Certain methods of contacting Fidelity, such as by telephone or electronically, may be unavailable or delayed (for example, during periods of unusual market activity). In addition, the level and type of service available may be restricted based on criteria established by Fidelity.
Prospectus
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase or exchange, including transactions deemed to represent excessive trading, at any time.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
<R>The Board of Trustees has adopted policies designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares. Excessive trading activity in the fund is measured by the number of roundtrip transactions in a shareholder's account and each class of a multiple class fund is treated separately. A roundtrip transaction occurs when a shareholder sells fund shares (including exchanges) within 30 days of the purchase date.</R>
Shareholders with two or more roundtrip transactions in a single fund within a rolling 90-day period will be blocked from making additional purchases or exchange purchases of the fund for 85 days. Shareholders with four or more roundtrip transactions across all Fidelity funds within any rolling 12-month period will be blocked for at least 85 days from additional purchases or exchange purchases across all Fidelity funds. Any roundtrip within 12 months of the expiration of a multi-fund block will initiate another multi-fund block. Repeat offenders may be subject to long-term or permanent blocks on purchase or exchange purchase transactions in any account under the shareholder's control at any time. In addition to enforcing these roundtrip limitations, the fund may in its discretion restrict, reject, or cancel any purchases or exchanges that, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, may be disruptive to the management of the fund or otherwise not be in the fund's interests.
The following transactions are exempt from the fund's excessive trading policy described above: (i) transactions of $1,000 or less, (ii) systematic withdrawal and/or contribution programs, (iii) mandatory retirement distributions, and (iv) transactions initiated by a plan sponsor or sponsors of certain employee benefit plans or other related accounts. In addition, the fund's excessive trading policy does not apply to transactions initiated by the trustee or adviser to a donor-advised charitable gift fund, qualified fund of fund(s), or other strategy funds. A qualified fund of fund(s) is a mutual fund, qualified tuition program, or other strategy fund consisting of qualified plan assets that either applies the fund's excessive trading policies to shareholders at the fund of fund(s) level, or demonstrates that the fund of fund(s) has an investment strategy coupled with policies designed to control frequent trading that are reasonably likely to be effective as determined by the fund's Treasurer.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Omnibus accounts, in which shares are held in the name of an intermediary on behalf of multiple investors, are a common form of holding shares among retirement plans and financial intermediaries such as brokers, advisers, and third-party administrators. Individual trades in omnibus accounts are often not disclosed to the fund, making it difficult to determine whether a particular shareholder is engaging in excessive trading. Excessive trading in omnibus accounts is likely to go undetected by the fund and may increase costs to the fund and disrupt its portfolio management.
Under policies adopted by the Board of Trustees, intermediaries will be permitted to apply the fund's excessive trading policy (described above), or their own excessive trading policy if approved by Strategic Advisers. In these cases, the fund will typically not request or receive individual account data but will rely on the intermediary to monitor trading activity in good faith in accordance with its or the fund's policies. Reliance on intermediaries increases the risk that excessive trading may go undetected. For other intermediaries, the fund will generally monitor trading activity at the omnibus account level to attempt to identify disruptive trades. The fund may request transaction information, as frequently as daily, from any intermediary at any time, and may apply the fund's policy to transactions that exceed thresholds established by the Board of Trustees. The fund may prohibit purchases of fund shares by an intermediary or by some or all of any intermediary's clients. There is no assurance that Strategic Advisers will request data with sufficient frequency to detect or deter excessive trading in omnibus accounts effectively.
If you purchase or sell fund shares through a financial intermediary, you may wish to contact the intermediary to determine the policies applicable to your account.
For employer-sponsored retirement plans, only participant directed exchanges count toward the roundtrip limits. Employer-sponsored retirement plan participants whose activity triggers a purchase or exchange block will be permitted one trade every calendar quarter. In the event of a block, employer and participant contributions and loan repayments by the participant may still be invested in the fund.
The fund will monitor aggregate trading activity of adviser transactions to attempt to identify excessive trading in qualified wrap programs, as defined below. Excessive trading by an adviser will lead to fund blocks and the wrap program will lose its qualified status. Adviser transactions will not be matched with client-directed transactions unless the wrap program ceases to be a qualified wrap program (but all client-directed transactions will be subject to the fund's excessive trading policy). A qualified wrap program is: (i) a program whose adviser certifies that it has investment discretion over $100 million or more in client assets invested in mutual funds at the time of the certification, (ii) a program in which the adviser directs transactions in the accounts participating in the program in concert with changes in a model portfolio, and (iii) managed by an adviser who agrees to give Strategic Advisers sufficient information to permit Strategic Advisers to identify the individual accounts in the wrap program.
Prospectus
The fund reserves the right at any time to restrict purchases or exchanges or impose conditions that are more restrictive on excessive or disruptive trading than those stated in this prospectus. The fund's Treasurer is authorized to suspend the fund's policies during periods of severe market turbulence or national emergency. The fund reserves the right to modify its policies at any time without prior notice.
The fund does not knowingly accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares by investors, except to the extent permitted by the policies described above.
As described in "Valuing Shares," the fund also uses fair value pricing to help reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders. There is no assurance that the fund's excessive trading policy will be effective, or will successfully detect or deter excessive or disruptive trading.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its NAV. The fund's shares are sold without a sales charge.
Your shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after your investment is received in proper form.
The fund has authorized certain intermediaries to accept orders to buy shares on its behalf. When authorized intermediaries receive an order in proper form, the order is considered as being placed with the fund, and shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after the order is received by the authorized intermediary. Orders by funds of funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.
<R>Provided the fund receives an order to buy shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to buy shares of an underlying fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.</R>
There is no minimum balance or purchase minimum for investments through Portfolio Advisory Services, a mutual fund or a qualified tuition program for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager, certain Fidelity retirement accounts funded through salary deduction, or fund positions opened with the proceeds of distributions from such retirement accounts or from a Fidelity systematic withdrawal service. In addition, the fund may waive or lower purchase minimums in other circumstances.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
If your payment is not received and collected, your purchase may be canceled and you could be liable for any losses or fees the fund or Fidelity has incurred.
Certain financial institutions that have entered into sales agreements with FDC may enter confirmed purchase orders on behalf of customers by phone, with payment to follow no later than the time when fund shares are priced on the following business day. If payment is not received by that time, the order will be canceled and the financial institution could be held liable for resulting fees or losses.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV.
Your shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
The fund has authorized certain intermediaries to accept orders to sell shares on its behalf. When authorized intermediaries receive an order in proper form, the order is considered as being placed with the fund, and shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after the order is received by the authorized intermediary. Orders by funds of funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.
<R>Provided the fund receives an order to sell shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to sell shares of an underlying fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.</R>
Prospectus
A signature guarantee is designed to protect you and Fidelity from fraud. Fidelity may require that your request be made in writing and include a signature guarantee in certain circumstances, such as:
You should be able to obtain a signature guarantee from a bank, broker (including Fidelity Investor Centers), dealer, credit union (if authorized under state law), securities exchange or association, clearing agency, or savings association. A notary public cannot provide a signature guarantee.
When you place an order to sell shares, note the following:
An exchange involves the redemption of all or a portion of the shares of one fund and the purchase of shares of another fund.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
If you hold your shares of the fund through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, your shares of the fund may be exchanged into shares of any class of a Fidelity fund available through your plan. If you hold your shares of the fund through a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, your shares of the fund may be exchanged into shares of other Fidelity funds.
However, you should note the following policies and restrictions governing exchanges:
The fund may terminate or modify exchange privileges in the future.
Other funds may have different exchange restrictions and minimums, and may impose redemption fees of up to 2.00% of the amount exchanged. Check each fund's prospectus for details.
The following features may be available to buy and sell shares of the fund or to move money to and from your account, if you are investing through a Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity mutual fund account. Please visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com or call 1-800-544-6666 for more information.
Prospectus
<R> Electronic Funds Transfer: electronic money movement through the Automated Clearing House </R> • To transfer money between a bank account and a Fidelity brokerage account or Fidelity mutual fund account. • You can use electronic funds transfer to: - Make periodic (automatic) purchases of Fidelity fund shares or payments to your Fidelity brokerage account. - Make periodic (automatic) redemptions of Fidelity fund shares or withdrawals from your Fidelity brokerage account. |
||
Wire: electronic money movement through the Federal Reserve wire system • To transfer money between a bank account and a Fidelity brokerage account or Fidelity mutual fund account. |
||
|
||
<R> Automatic Transactions: periodic (automatic) transactions </R> • To directly deposit all or a portion of your compensation from your employer (or the U.S. Government, in the case of Social Security) into a Fidelity brokerage account or Fidelity mutual fund account. • To make contributions from a Fidelity mutual fund account to a Fidelity mutual fund IRA. • To sell shares of a Fidelity money market fund and simultaneously to buy shares of another Fidelity fund in a Fidelity mutual fund account. |
The following policies apply to you as a shareholder.
Statements that Fidelity sends to you include the following:
<R></R>
Electronic copies of most financial reports and prospectuses are available at Fidelity's web site. To participate in Fidelity's electronic delivery program, call Fidelity or visit Fidelity's web site for more information.
You may initiate many transactions by telephone or electronically. Fidelity will not be responsible for any loss, cost, expense, or other liability resulting from unauthorized transactions if it follows reasonable security procedures designed to verify the identity of the investor. Fidelity will request personalized security codes or other information, and may also record calls. For transactions conducted through the Internet, Fidelity recommends the use of an Internet browser with 128-bit encryption. You should verify the accuracy of your confirmation statements upon receipt and notify Fidelity immediately of any discrepancies in your account activity. If you do not want the ability to sell and exchange by telephone, call Fidelity for instructions. Additional documentation may be required from corporations, associations, and certain fiduciaries.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
You may also be asked to provide additional information in order for Fidelity to verify your identity in accordance with requirements under anti-money laundering regulations. Accounts may be restricted and/or closed, and the monies withheld, pending verification of this information or as otherwise required under these and other federal regulations.
If you hold your shares of the fund in a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, Fidelity may deduct a small balance maintenance fee of $12.00 from a fund balance with a value of less than $2,000 in shares. It is expected that fund balances will be valued after November 1 but prior to December 31 of each calendar year. Fund positions opened after September 30 will not be subject to the fee for that calendar year. The fee, which is payable to Fidelity, is designed to offset in part the relatively higher costs of servicing smaller fund positions. This fee will not be deducted from fund positions opened after January 1 of that calendar year if those positions use certain regular investment plans.
If your fund balance falls below $2,000 worth of shares ($500 for fund balances in Fidelity Simplified Employee Pension-IRA and Keogh accounts, and Non-Fidelity Prototype Retirement accounts) for any reason, including solely due to declines in NAV, and you do not increase your balance, Fidelity may sell all of your shares and send the proceeds to you after providing you with at least 30 days' notice to reestablish the minimum balance. Your shares will be sold at the NAV on the day Fidelity closes your fund position. Certain fund positions are not subject to these balance requirements and will not be closed for failure to maintain a minimum balance.
Fidelity may charge a fee for certain services, such as providing historical account documents.
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
The fund normally declares dividends daily and pays them monthly. The fund normally pays capital gain distributions in April and December.
Prospectus
If you hold your shares of the fund through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, all dividends and capital gains distributions paid will be automatically reinvested. If you hold your shares of the fund in a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, when you open an account, specify on your application how you want to receive your distributions. The following distribution options are available for shares of the fund:
1. Reinvestment Option. Your dividends and capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional shares of the fund. If you do not indicate a choice on your application, you will be assigned this option.
2. Income-Earned Option. Your capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional shares of the fund. Your dividends will be paid in cash.
3. Cash Option. Your dividends and capital gain distributions will be paid in cash.
4. Directed Dividends ® Option. Your dividends will be automatically invested in shares of another identically registered Fidelity fund. Your capital gain distributions will be automatically invested in shares of another identically registered Fidelity fund, automatically reinvested in additional shares of the fund, or paid in cash.
If the distribution option you prefer is not listed on your account application, or if you want to change your current distribution option, visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com or call 1-800-544-6666 for more information.
If you elect to receive distributions paid in cash by check and the U.S. Postal Service does not deliver your checks, your distribution option may be converted to the Reinvestment Option. You will not receive interest on amounts represented by uncashed distribution checks.
If your dividend check(s) remains uncashed for more than six months, your check(s) may be invested in additional shares of the fund at the NAV next calculated on the day of the investment.
As with any investment, your investment in the fund could have tax consequences for you. If you are not investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account, you should consider these tax consequences.
Taxes on distributions. If you hold your shares of the fund through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, distributions by the fund to tax-advantaged retirement plan accounts are not taxable currently. If you hold your shares of the fund in a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes.
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including dividends and distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable to you as ordinary income, while certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of long-term capital gains, are taxable to you generally as capital gains. A percentage of certain distributions of dividends may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
If you buy shares when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.
Any taxable distributions you receive from the fund will normally be taxable to you when you receive them, regardless of your distribution option. If you elect to receive distributions in cash or to invest distributions automatically in shares of another Fidelity fund, you will receive certain December distributions in January, but those distributions will be taxable as if you received them on December 31.
Taxes on transactions. If you hold your shares of the fund through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, exchanges within a tax-advantaged retirement plan account will not result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. Please consult your tax advisor regarding the tax treatment of distributions from a tax-advantaged retirement plan account. If you hold your shares of the fund in a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, your redemptions, including exchanges, may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on your investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of your shares and the price you receive when you sell them.
Prospectus
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
The fund employs a multi-manager and a fund of funds investment structure. Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of sub-advisers or underlying funds.
<R> Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. The address of Strategic Advisers and its affiliates, unless otherwise indicated below, is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R>As of December 31, 2012, Strategic Advisers had approximately $320.7 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
As the manager, Strategic Advisers has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
<R> PIM, at 100 Mulberry Street, Gateway Center 2 - 3rd Floor, Newark, NJ 07102, has been retained to serve as sub-adviser for the fund. As of December 31, 2012, Prudential Fixed Income (PFI), the asset management unit of PIM that may provide investment advisory services to the fund, had approximately $395 billion in assets under management. PIM has not currently been allocated a portion of the fund's assets to manage.</R>
<R> Pyramis, at 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. Pyramis is an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. As of December 31, 2012, Pyramis had approximately $31.7 billion in discretionary assets under management. Pyramis provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Strategic Advisers </R>
Gregory Pappas is lead portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since June 2012. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1990, Mr. Pappas has worked as a senior fund analyst, fixed income strategist, and portfolio manager.
<R> Pyramis </R>
Jeffrey Moore is portfolio manager for Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since June 2012. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1995, Mr. Moore has worked as a research analyst and portfolio manager.
The SAI provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by the portfolio managers.
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
The fund pays a management fee to Strategic Advisers. The management fee is calculated and paid to Strategic Advisers every month.
The fund's management fee is calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets. Because the fund's management fee rate may fluctuate, the fund's management fee may be higher or lower in the future. The fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.65% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets through April 30, 2014.</R>
In return for the services of the fund's sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers will pay each of the fund's sub-advisers the fee (as described above) payable to that sub-adviser.
<R>The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract and sub-advisory agreements for the fund is available in the fund's semi-annual report for the fiscal period ended August 31, 2012.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, agree to reimburse a class for, or waive, management fees and other expenses above a specified limit. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid by a class if expenses fall below the specified limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.</R>
Reimbursement or waiver arrangements can decrease expenses and boost performance.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, approximately 98.34% of the fund's total outstanding shares was held by Strategic Advisers and/or another entity or entities of which FMR LLC is the ultimate parent.</R>
<R>The fund is composed of multiple classes of shares. All classes of the fund have a common investment objective and investment portfolio.</R>
FDC distributes the fund's shares.
<R>Intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), may receive from Strategic Advisers, FMR, FDC, and/or their affiliates compensation for providing recordkeeping and administrative services, as well as other retirement plan expenses, and compensation for services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund. These payments are described in more detail in this section and in the SAI.</R>
The fund has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) with respect to its shares that recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, service-providers, and administrators, that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Prospectus
Affiliates of Strategic Advisers may receive service fees or distribution fees or both with respect to underlying funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork.
<R>If payments made by Strategic Advisers to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of a class's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.</R>
From time to time, FDC may offer special promotional programs to investors who purchase shares of Fidelity funds. For example, FDC may offer merchandise, discounts, vouchers, or similar items to investors who purchase shares of certain Fidelity funds during certain periods. To determine if you qualify for any such programs, contact Fidelity or visit our web site at www.fidelity.com.
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
Prospectus
The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the financial history of the fund's shares for the period of operations. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of the fund. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in shares of the fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial highlights and financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report. A free copy of the annual report is available upon request.
Period ended February 28, |
2013 E |
Selected Per-Share Data |
|
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 10.00 |
Income from Investment Operations |
|
Net investment income (loss) D |
.201 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
.151 |
Total from investment operations |
.352 |
Distributions from net investment income |
(.197) |
Distributions from net realized gain |
(.065 ) |
Total distributions |
(.262 ) |
Net asset value, end of period |
$ 10.09 |
Total Return B, C |
3.54% |
Ratios to Average Net Assets F |
|
Expenses before reductions |
.66% A |
Expenses net of fee waivers, if any |
.23% A |
Expenses net of all reductions |
.23% A |
Net investment income (loss) |
2.84% A |
Supplemental Data |
|
Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$ 41,975 |
Portfolio turnover rate G |
190% A |
A Annualized
B Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.
C Total returns would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reduced during the applicable periods shown.
D Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.
E For the period June 19, 2012 (commencement of operations) to February 28, 2013.
F Expense ratios reflect operating expenses of the class. Expenses before reductions do not reflect amounts reimbursed by the investment adviser or reductions from expense offset arrangements and do not represent the amount paid by the class during periods when reimbursements or reductions occur. Expense ratios before reductions for start-up periods may not be representative of longer-term operating periods. Expenses net of fee waivers reflect expenses after reimbursement by the investment adviser but prior to reductions from expense offset arrangements. Expenses net of all reductions represent the net expenses paid by the class. Fees and expenses of the Underlying Funds are not included in the class' annualized ratios. The class indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the Underlying Funds.
G Amount does not include the portfolio activity of any Underlying Funds.
Prospectus
Appendix - continued
Barclays ® U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is a broad-based, market-value-weighted benchmark that measures the performance of the investment grade, U.S. dollar-denominated, fixed-rate taxable bond market. Sectors in the index include Treasuries, government-related and corporate securities, MBS (agency fixed-rate and hybrid ARM pass-throughs), ABS, and CMBS.
Prospectus
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account. For individual investors opening an account: When you open an account, you will be asked for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow Fidelity to identify you. You may also be asked to provide documents that may help to establish your identity, such as your driver's license. For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account such as name, residential address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity. |
<R>You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.</R>
For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call 1-800-835-5095 (plan accounts) or 1-800-544-3455 (all other accounts). In addition, you may visit the web site at www.401k.com (plan accounts) or www.fidelity.com (all other accounts) for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number, 811-21991 |
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design, FundsNetwork, FAST, and Directed Dividends are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R>1.941266.102 ACF-PRO-0413</R>
Strategic Advisers ® Core Income Multi-Manager Fund (FWHBX)
<R> A Class of shares of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II </R>
A Fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R>This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. Portions of the fund's annual report are incorporated herein. The annual report is supplied with this SAI.</R>
<R>To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated April 29, 2013, or an annual report, please call Fidelity at 1-800-835-5095 (plan accounts) or 1-800-544-3455 (all other accounts) or visit the web site at www.401k.com (plan accounts) or www.fidelity.com (all other accounts).</R>
<R>ACF-PTB-0413
1.941267.103</R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
|
PAGE |
Investment Policies and Limitations |
|
<R>Special Geographic Considerations |
|
<R>Portfolio Transactions |
|
<R>Valuation |
|
<R>Buying, Selling, and Exchanging Information |
21</R> |
<R>Distributions and Taxes |
46 </R> |
<R>Trustees and Officers |
46 </R> |
<R>Control of Investment Advisers |
54 </R> |
<R>Management Contract |
58 </R> |
<R>Proxy Voting Guidelines |
58 </R> |
<R>Distribution Services |
63 </R> |
<R>Transfer and Service Agent Agreements |
64 </R> |
<R>Description of the Trust |
65 </R> |
<R>Fund Holdings Information |
66 </R> |
<R>Financial Statements |
67 </R> |
<R>Appendix |
67 </R> |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not with respect to 75% of the fund's total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except in connection with the insurance program established by the fund pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission or as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry (provided that investments in other investment companies shall not be considered an investment in any particular industry for purposes of this investment limitation).
<R>For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities, Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) looks through to the U.S. Government securities.</R>
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The acquisitions of loans and loan participations excluded from the fund's lending limitation discussed above are only those loans and loan participations considered securities within the meaning of the 1940 Act.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, except for sales of to be announced (TBA) securities, and provided that transactions in futures contracts, options, and swaps are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 10% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 10% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
<R>To the extent that the fund acquires the shares of an underlying fund in accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, the underlying fund is not obligated to redeem its shares in an amount exceeding 1% of its shares outstanding during any period of less than 30 days. Those underlying fund shares will not be treated as illiquid securities for purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation described above to the extent that the fund is able to dispose of such securities by distributing them in kind to redeeming shareholders. (See "Securities of Other Investment Companies" on page 36 .)</R>
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to lend assets other than securities to other parties, except by (a) lending money (up to 15% of the fund's net assets) to a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) assuming any unfunded commitments in connection with the acquisition of loans, loan participations, or other forms of debt instruments. (This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities, to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.)
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
<R>For the fund's limitations on futures and options transactions, see the section entitled "Futures, Options, and Swaps" on page 28 .</R>
Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitations, the underlying funds in which the fund may invest have adopted certain investment limitations that may be more or less restrictive than those listed above, thereby permitting the fund to engage indirectly in investment strategies that are prohibited under the investment limitations listed above. The investment limitations of each underlying fund are set forth in its registration statement.
In accordance with its investment program as set forth in the prospectus, the fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in any one underlying Fidelity fund. Although the fund does not intend to concentrate its investments in a particular industry, the fund may indirectly concentrate in a particular industry or group of industries through its investments in one or more underlying funds.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
Strategic Advisers ® Core Income Multi-Manager Fund may have exposure to instruments, techniques, and risks either directly or indirectly through an investment in an underlying fund. An underlying fund may invest in the same or other types of instruments and its adviser may employ the same or other types of techniques. Strategic Advisers ® Core Income Multi-Manager Fund's performance will be affected by the instruments, techniques, and risks associated with an underlying fund, in proportion to the amount of assets that the fund allocates to that underlying fund.
<R>On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "a fund" or "the fund" may relate to Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund or an underlying fund, and references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to Strategic Advisers (or its affiliates) or a sub-adviser of Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, or an adviser of an underlying fund.</R>
Asset-Backed Securities represent interests in pools of mortgages, loans, receivables, or other assets. Payment of interest and repayment of principal may be largely dependent upon the cash flows generated by the assets backing the securities and, in certain cases, supported by letters of credit, surety bonds, or other credit enhancements. Asset-backed security values may also be affected by other factors including changes in interest rates, the availability of information concerning the pool and its structure, the creditworthiness of the servicing agent for the pool, the originator of the loans or receivables, or the entities providing the credit enhancement. In addition, these securities may be subject to prepayment risk.
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of short-term bond or money market funds, including (for Fidelity funds and other advisory clients only) shares of Fidelity central funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.
<R> Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Notice of Exclusion. The trust, on behalf of the Fidelity fund to which this SAI relates, has filed with the National Futures Association a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the CFTC promulgated thereunder, with respect to the fund's operation. Accordingly, neither the fund nor its adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or a CPO. However, the CFTC has adopted certain rule amendments that significantly affect the continued availability of this exclusion, and may subject advisers to funds to regulation by the CFTC. As of the date of this SAI, the adviser does not expect to register as a CPO of the fund. However, there is no certainty that a fund or its adviser will be able to rely on an exclusion in the future as the fund's investments change over time. A fund may determine not to use investment strategies that trigger additional CFTC regulation or may determine to operate subject to CFTC regulation, if applicable. If a fund or its adviser operates subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.</R>
Common Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock, although related proceedings can take time to resolve and results can be unpredictable.
Convertible Securities are bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption or conversion, the fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
Debt Securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay interest but are sold at a deep discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, and mortgage and other asset-backed securities.
Dollar-Weighted Average Maturity is derived by multiplying the value of each investment by the time remaining to its maturity, adding these calculations, and then dividing the total by the value of a fund's portfolio. An obligation's maturity is typically determined on a stated final maturity basis, although there are some exceptions to this rule.
Under certain circumstances, a fund may invest in nominally long-term securities that have maturity shortening features of shorter-term securities, and the maturities of these securities may be deemed to be earlier than their ultimate maturity dates by virtue of an existing demand feature or an adjustable interest rate. Under other circumstances, if it is probable that the issuer of an instrument will take advantage of a maturity-shortening device, such as a call, refunding, or redemption provision, the date on which the instrument will probably be called, refunded, or redeemed may be considered to be its maturity date. The maturities of mortgage securities, including collateralized mortgage obligations, and some asset-backed securities are determined on a weighted average life basis, which is the average time for principal to be repaid. For a mortgage security, this average time is calculated by estimating the timing of principal payments, including unscheduled prepayments, during the life of the mortgage. The weighted average life of these securities is likely to be substantially shorter than their stated final maturity.
<R> Duration is a measure of a bond's price sensitivity to a change in its yield. For example, if a bond has a 5-year duration and its yield rises 1%, the bond's value is likely to fall about 5%. Similarly, if a bond fund has a 5-year average duration and the yield on each of the bonds held by the fund rises 1%, the fund's value is likely to fall about 5%. For funds with exposure to foreign markets, there are many reasons why all of the bond holdings do not experience the same yield changes. These reasons include: the bonds are spread off of different yield curves around the world and these yield curves do not move in tandem; the shapes of these yield curves change; and sector and issuer yield spreads change. Other factors can influence a bond fund's performance and share price. Accordingly, a bond fund's actual performance will likely differ from the example.</R>
<R> Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments. An ETF may seek to replicate the performance of a specified index or may be actively managed.</R>
Typically, ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks (typically, 50,000 shares) often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.
Some of the risks of investing in an ETF that tracks an index are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
<R> ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their intraday indicative value. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater.</R>
Exposure to Foreign and Emerging Markets. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Foreign investments involve risks relating to local political, economic, regulatory, or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments, and may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Such actions may include expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. Additionally, governmental issuers of foreign debt securities may be unwilling to pay interest and repay principal when due and may require that the conditions for payment be renegotiated. There is no assurance that a fund's adviser will be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies and of dividends and interest paid with respect to such securities will fluctuate based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar.
It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for foreign securities will be on an exchange or in over-the-counter (OTC) markets located outside of the United States. Foreign stock markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign security trading, settlement and custodial practices (including those involving securities settlement where fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment) are often less developed than those in U.S. markets, and may result in increased investment or valuation risk or substantial delays in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of, or breach of duty by, a foreign broker-dealer, securities depository, or foreign subcustodian. In addition, the costs associated with foreign investments, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions, and custodial costs, are generally higher than with U.S. investments.
Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors than U.S. markets. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Adequate public information on foreign issuers may not be available, and it may be difficult to secure dividends and information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. OTC markets tend to be less regulated than stock exchange markets and, in certain countries, may be totally unregulated. Regulatory enforcement may be influenced by economic or political concerns, and investors may have difficulty enforcing their legal rights in foreign countries.
Some foreign securities impose restrictions on transfer within the United States or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than foreign securities of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks include foreign exchange risk as well as the political and economic risks of the underlying issuer's country.
The risks of foreign investing may be magnified for investments in emerging markets. Security prices in emerging markets can be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
Floating Rate Loans and Other Debt Securities. Floating rate loans consist generally of obligations of companies or other entities (collectively, "borrowers") incurred for the purpose of reorganizing the assets and liabilities of a borrower (recapitalization); acquiring another company (acquisition); taking over control of a company (leveraged buyout); temporary financing (bridge loan); or refinancings, internal growth, or other general business purposes. Floating rate loans are often obligations of borrowers who are highly leveraged.
Floating rate loans may be structured to include both term loans, which are generally fully funded at the time of the making of the loan, and revolving credit facilities, which would require additional investments upon the borrower's demand. A revolving credit facility may require a purchaser to increase its investment in a floating rate loan at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
Floating rate loans may be acquired by direct investment as a lender, as a participation interest (which represents a fractional interest in a floating rate loan) issued by a lender or other financial institution, or as an assignment of the portion of a floating rate loan previously attributable to a different lender.
A floating rate loan offered as part of the original lending syndicate typically is purchased at par value. As part of the original lending syndicate, a purchaser generally earns a yield equal to the stated interest rate. In addition, members of the original syndicate typically are paid a commitment fee. In secondary market trading, floating rate loans may be purchased or sold above, at, or below par, which can result in a yield that is below, equal to, or above the stated interest rate, respectively. At certain times when reduced opportunities exist for investing in new syndicated floating rate loans, floating rate loans may be available only through the secondary market. There can be no assurance that an adequate supply of floating rate loans will be available for purchase.
Historically, floating rate loans have not been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or any state securities commission or listed on any securities exchange. As a result, the amount of public information available about a specific floating rate loan historically has been less extensive than if the floating rate loan were registered or exchange-traded.
Purchasers of floating rate loans and other forms of debt securities depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the security may be adversely affected. Floating rate loans and other debt securities that are fully secured provide more protections than unsecured securities in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Some floating rate loans and other debt securities are not rated by any nationally recognized statistical rating organization. In connection with the restructuring of a floating rate loan or other debt security outside of bankruptcy court in a negotiated work-out or in the context of bankruptcy proceedings, equity securities or junior debt securities may be received in exchange for all or a portion of an interest in the security.
Floating rate debt securities include other forms of indebtedness of borrowers such as notes and bonds, securities with fixed rate interest payments in conjunction with a right to receive floating rate interest payments, and shares of other investment companies. These instruments are generally subject to the same risks as floating rate loans but are often more widely issued and traded.
Foreign Currency Transactions. A fund may conduct foreign currency transactions on a spot ( i.e., cash) or forward basis ( i.e., by entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies). Although foreign exchange dealers generally do not charge a fee for such conversions, they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the counterparty desire to resell that currency to the dealer. Forward contracts are customized transactions that require a specific amount of a currency to be delivered at a specific exchange rate on a specific date or range of dates in the future. Forward contracts are generally traded in an interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The parties to a forward contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated currency exchange.
The following discussion summarizes the principal currency management strategies involving forward contracts that could be used by a fund. A fund may also use swap agreements, indexed securities, and options and futures contracts relating to foreign currencies for the same purposes. Forward contracts not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying currency. All of these instruments and transactions are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default.
<R>A "settlement hedge" or "transaction hedge" is designed to protect a fund against an adverse change in foreign currency values between the date a security denominated in a foreign currency is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in an underlying security transaction for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars "locks in" the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used to protect a fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected.</R>
<R>A fund may also use forward contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in a foreign currency. For example, if a fund owned securities denominated in pounds sterling, it could enter into a forward contract to sell pounds sterling in return for U.S. dollars to hedge against possible declines in the pound's value. Such a hedge, sometimes referred to as a "position hedge," would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. A fund could also attempt to hedge the position by selling another currency expected to perform similarly to the pound sterling. This type of hedge, sometimes referred to as a "proxy hedge," could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield, or efficiency, but generally would not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a direct hedge into U.S. dollars. Proxy hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated.</R>
A fund may enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a "cross-hedge," will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if a fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. A fund may cross-hedge its U.S. dollar exposure in order to achieve a representative weighted mix of the major currencies in its benchmark index and/or to cover an underweight country or region exposure in its portfolio. Cross-hedges protect against losses resulting from a decline in the hedged currency, but will cause a fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases.
<R>Successful use of currency management strategies will depend on an adviser's skill in analyzing currency values. Currency management strategies may substantially change a fund's investment exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and could result in losses to a fund if currencies do not perform as an adviser anticipates. For example, if a currency's value rose at a time when a fund had hedged its position by selling that currency in exchange for dollars, the fund would not participate in the currency's appreciation. If a fund hedges currency exposure through proxy hedges, the fund could realize currency losses from both the hedge and the security position if the two currencies do not move in tandem. Similarly, if a fund increases its exposure to a foreign currency and that currency's value declines, the fund will realize a loss. Foreign currency transactions involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that a fund's hedging strategies will be ineffective. Moreover, it is impossible to precisely forecast the market value of portfolio securities at the expiration of a foreign currency forward contract. Accordingly, a fund may be required to buy or sell additional currency on the spot market (and bear the expenses of such transaction), if an adviser's predictions regarding the movement of foreign currency or securities markets prove inaccurate.</R>
<R>A fund may be required to limit its hedging transactions in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options in order to maintain its classification as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Hedging transactions could result in the application of the mark-to-market provisions of the Code, which may cause an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a fund and could affect whether dividends paid by a fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. A fund will cover its exposure to foreign currency transactions with liquid assets in compliance with applicable requirements. There is no assurance that an adviser's use of currency management strategies will be advantageous to a fund or that it will employ currency management strategies at appropriate times.</R>
Options and Futures Relating to Foreign Currencies. Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges (and have margin requirements) and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The underlying instrument of a currency option may be a foreign currency, which generally is purchased or delivered in exchange for U.S. dollars, or may be a futures contract. The purchaser of a currency call obtains the right to purchase the underlying currency, and the purchaser of a currency put obtains the right to sell the underlying currency.
<R>The uses and risks of currency options and futures are similar to options and futures relating to securities or indexes, as discussed below. A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and may purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. Currency options may also be purchased or written in conjunction with each other or with currency futures or forward contracts. Currency futures and options values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates, but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated security from a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of a fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the fund's investments exactly over time.</R>
<R>Currency options traded on U.S. or other exchanges may be subject to position limits which may limit the ability of the fund to reduce foreign currency risk using such options.</R>
Foreign Repurchase Agreements. Foreign repurchase agreements involve an agreement to purchase a foreign security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price in either U.S. dollars or foreign currency. Unlike typical U.S. repurchase agreements, foreign repurchase agreements may not be fully collateralized at all times. The value of a security purchased by a fund may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to repurchase the security. In the event of default by the counterparty, a fund may suffer a loss if the value of the security purchased is less than the agreed-upon repurchase price, or if the fund is unable to successfully assert a claim to the collateral under foreign laws. As a result, foreign repurchase agreements may involve higher credit risks than repurchase agreements in U.S. markets, as well as risks associated with currency fluctuations. In addition, as with other emerging market investments, repurchase agreements with counterparties located in emerging markets or relating to emerging markets may involve issuers or counterparties with lower credit ratings than typical U.S. repurchase agreements.
Fund's Rights as an Investor. Fidelity funds do not intend to direct or administer the day-to-day operations of any company. A fund may, however, exercise its rights as a shareholder or lender and may communicate its views on important matters of policy to a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders, and holders of a company's other securities when such matters could have a significant effect on the value of the fund's investment in the company. The activities in which a fund may engage, either individually or in conjunction with others, may include, among others, supporting or opposing proposed changes in a company's corporate structure or business activities; seeking changes in a company's directors or management; seeking changes in a company's direction or policies; seeking the sale or reorganization of the company or a portion of its assets; supporting or opposing third-party takeover efforts; supporting the filing of a bankruptcy petition; or foreclosing on collateral securing a security. This area of corporate activity is increasingly prone to litigation and it is possible that a fund could be involved in lawsuits related to such activities. Such activities will be monitored with a view to mitigating, to the extent possible, the risk of litigation against a fund and the risk of actual liability if a fund is involved in litigation. No guarantee can be made, however, that litigation against a fund will not be undertaken or liabilities incurred. The fund's proxy voting guidelines are included in this SAI.
<R> Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. If a fund invests a significant portion of its assets in derivatives, its investment exposure could far exceed the value of its portfolio securities and its investment performance could be primarily dependent upon securities it does not own.</R>
Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.
The limitations on the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps, and the fund's policies regarding futures contracts, options, and swaps may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts.
<R> Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts and the price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities or baskets of securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indexes (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indexes of securities prices (including foreign indexes for funds that seek foreign exposure). In addition, some currently available futures contracts are based on Eurodollars. Positions in Eurodollar futures reflect market expectations of forward levels of three-month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) rates. Futures on indexes and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out by offsetting purchases or sales of futures contracts before then if a liquid market is available. A fund may realize a gain or loss by closing out its futures contracts.</R>
<R>The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the underlying instrument. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.</R>
<R>The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by a fund, but is instead a settlement between a fund and the FCM of the amount one would owe the other if the fund's contract expired. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is also required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.</R>
<R>Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement, and margin procedures that are different from those for U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may not involve a clearing mechanism or related guarantees and may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to a fund. Because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuation.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.</R>
<R>If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
<R>Futures contracts on U.S. Government securities historically have reacted to an increase or decrease in interest rates in a manner similar to the manner in which the underlying U.S. Government securities reacted. To the extent, however, that a fund enters into such futures contracts, the value of these futures contracts will not vary in direct proportion to the value of the fund's holdings of U.S. Government securities. Thus, the anticipated spread between the price of the futures contract and the hedged security may be distorted due to differences in the nature of the markets. The spread also may be distorted by differences in initial and variation margin requirements, the liquidity of such markets and the participation of speculators in such markets.</R>
<R> Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, baskets of assets or securities, indexes of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). Options may be traded on an exchange or OTC. The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. Depending on the terms of the contract, upon exercise, an option may require physical delivery of the underlying instrument or may be settled through cash payments. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.</R>
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
<R>The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right (but not the obligation) to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.</R>
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
<R>Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer should mitigate the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.</R>
<R>Where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price to close out the put or call option on the secondary market may move more or less than the price of the related security.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for exchange-traded options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.</R>
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
<R>A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps (swaptions), which are generally options on interest rate swaps. An option on a swap gives a party the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, a fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes (sells) an option on a swap than it will incur when it purchases an option on a swap. When a fund purchases an option on a swap, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when a fund writes an option on a swap, upon exercise of the option the fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement. A fund that writes an option on a swap receives the premium and bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the preset rate on the underlying interest rate swap. Whether a fund's use of options on swaps will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend on the adviser's ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Options on swaps may involve risks similar to those discussed below in "Swap Agreements."</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
<R> Swap Agreements. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term. Most swap agreements are currently traded over-the-counter. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange one or more payments based, for example, on the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, indexes, or other financial or economic interests). The gross payments to be exchanged between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.</R>
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness.
<R>A fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. In order to cover its outstanding obligations to a swap counterparty, a fund would generally be required to provide margin or collateral for the benefit of that counterparty. If a counterparty to a swap transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited temporarily or permanently in exercising its right to the return of related fund assets designated as margin or collateral in an action against the counterparty.</R>
<R>Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that an adviser will not accurately forecast market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other economic factors in establishing swap positions for a fund. If an adviser attempts to use a swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, a fund may be exposed to the risk that the swap will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment, which could cause substantial losses for a fund. While hedging strategies involving swap instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Swaps are complex and often valued subjectively.</R>
Illiquid Securities cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity fund's adviser determines the liquidity of the fund's investments and, through reports from the fund's adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid securities.
Various factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments, including (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
Increasing Government Debt. The total public debt of the United States and other countries around the globe as a percent of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented.
A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt cost higher and cause a country to sell additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In the worst case, unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns.
On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States one level to "AA+" from "AAA." While Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the United States' short-term sovereign credit rating as "A-1+," there is no guarantee that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services will not decide to lower this rating in the future. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services stated that its decision was prompted by its view on the rising public debt burden and its perception of greater policymaking uncertainty. The market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government may be adversely affected by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services decisions to downgrade the long-term sovereign credit rating of the United States.
<R> Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indexes, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.</R>
<R>Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indexes. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.</R>
Indexed securities may have principal payments as well as coupon payments that depend on the performance of one or more interest rates. Their coupon rates or principal payments may change by several percentage points for every 1% interest rate change.
Mortgage-indexed securities, for example, could be structured to replicate the performance of mortgage securities and the characteristics of direct ownership.
Inflation-protected securities, for example, can be indexed to a measure of inflation, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
<R>Commodity-indexed securities, for example, can be indexed to a commodities index such as the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return SM .</R>
Gold-indexed securities typically provide for a maturity value that depends on the price of gold, resulting in a security whose price tends to rise and fall together with gold prices.
Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Insolvency of Issuers, Counterparties, and Intermediaries. Issuers of fund portfolio securities or counterparties to fund transactions that become insolvent or declare bankruptcy can pose special investment risks. In each circumstance, risk of loss, valuation uncertainty, increased illiquidity, and other unpredictable occurrences may negatively impact an investment. Each of these risks may be amplified in foreign markets, where security trading, settlement, and custodial practices can be less developed than those in the U.S. markets, and bankruptcy laws differ from those of the U.S.
As a general matter, if the issuer of a fund portfolio security is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock have priority over the claims of common stock owners. These events can negatively impact the value of the issuer's securities and the results of related proceedings can be unpredictable.
If a counterparty to a fund transaction, such as a swap transaction, a short sale, a borrowing, or other complex transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise rights to obtain the return of related fund assets or in exercising other rights against the counterparty. In addition, insolvency and liquidation proceedings take time to resolve, which can limit or preclude a fund's ability to terminate a transaction or obtain related assets or collateral in a timely fashion. Uncertainty may also arise upon the insolvency of a securities or commodities intermediary such as a broker-dealer or futures commission merchant with which a fund has pending transactions. If an intermediary becomes insolvent, while securities positions and other holdings may be protected by U.S. or foreign laws, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these protections are available to specific trades based on the circumstances. Receiving the benefit of these protections can also take time to resolve, which may result in illiquid positions.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the SEC, a Fidelity fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) or its affiliates. A Fidelity fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. A Fidelity fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
<R> Investments by Funds of Funds or Other Large Shareholders. Certain funds and accounts that are managed by FMR or its affiliates (including funds of funds) invest in other funds and may at times have substantial investments in one or more other funds.</R>
<R> A fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by funds of funds, other large shareholders, or similarly managed accounts. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a fund's portfolio. In addition, when funds of funds or other investors own a substantial portion of a fund's shares, a large redemption by such an investor could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a fund of funds or other significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the fund's shares.</R>
<R>When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful. A high volume of redemption requests can impact a fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments.</R>
Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. Direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve a risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a fund supply additional cash to a borrower on demand. A fund may acquire loans by buying an assignment of all or a portion of the loan from a lender or by purchasing a loan participation from a lender or other purchaser of a participation.
Lenders and purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of foreign countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.
Direct lending and investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the lender/purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary.
A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest.
Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate lenders/purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a lender/purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
For a Fidelity fund that limits the amount of total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry, the fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require a fund, in appropriate circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for these purposes. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
Because the risk of default is higher for lower-quality debt securities, research and credit analysis are an especially important part of managing securities of this type. Such analysis may focus on relative values based on factors such as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earnings prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer, in an attempt to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved, or is expected to improve in the future.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Mortgage Securities are issued by government and non-government entities such as banks, mortgage lenders, or other institutions. A mortgage security is an obligation of the issuer backed by a mortgage or pool of mortgages or a direct interest in an underlying pool of mortgages. Some mortgage securities, such as collateralized mortgage obligations (or "CMOs"), make payments of both principal and interest at a range of specified intervals; others make semiannual interest payments at a predetermined rate and repay principal at maturity (like a typical bond). Mortgage securities are based on different types of mortgages, including those on commercial real estate or residential properties. Stripped mortgage securities are created when the interest and principal components of a mortgage security are separated and sold as individual securities. In the case of a stripped mortgage security, the holder of the "principal-only" security (PO) receives the principal payments made by the underlying mortgage, while the holder of the "interest-only" security (IO) receives interest payments from the same underlying mortgage.
Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs are pass-through securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, respectively. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which guarantee payment of interest and repayment of principal on Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs, respectively, are federally chartered corporations supervised by the U.S. Government that act as governmental instrumentalities under authority granted by Congress. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are authorized to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to meet their obligations. Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.
The value of mortgage securities may change due to shifts in the market's perception of issuers and changes in interest rates. In addition, regulatory or tax changes may adversely affect the mortgage securities market as a whole. Non-government mortgage securities may offer higher yields than those issued by government entities, but also may be subject to greater price changes than government issues. Mortgage securities are subject to prepayment risk, which is the risk that early principal payments made on the underlying mortgages, usually in response to a reduction in interest rates, will result in the return of principal to the investor, causing it to be invested subsequently at a lower current interest rate. Alternatively, in a rising interest rate environment, mortgage security values may be adversely affected when prepayments on underlying mortgages do not occur as anticipated, resulting in the extension of the security's effective maturity and the related increase in interest rate sensitivity of a longer-term instrument. The prices of stripped mortgage securities tend to be more volatile in response to changes in interest rates than those of non-stripped mortgage securities.
A fund may seek to earn additional income by using a trading strategy (commonly known as "mortgage dollar rolls" or "reverse mortgage dollar rolls") that involves selling (or buying) mortgage securities, realizing a gain or loss, and simultaneously agreeing to purchase (or sell) mortgage securities on a later date at a set price. During the period between the sale and repurchase in a mortgage dollar roll transaction, a fund will not be entitled to receive interest and principal payments on the securities sold but will invest the proceeds of the sale in other securities that are permissible investments for the fund. During the period between the purchase and subsequent sale in a reverse mortgage dollar roll transaction, a fund is entitled to interest and principal payments on the securities purchased. Losses may arise due to changes in the value of the securities or if the counterparty does not perform under the terms of the agreement. If the counterparty files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, a fund's right to repurchase or sell securities may be limited. This trading strategy may increase interest rate exposure and result in an increased portfolio turnover rate which increases costs and may increase taxable gains.
Precious Metals. Precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, at times have been subject to substantial price fluctuations over short periods of time and may be affected by unpredictable monetary and political policies such as currency devaluations or revaluations, economic and social conditions within a country, trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries. The prices of gold and other precious metals, however, are less subject to local and company-specific factors than securities of individual companies. As a result, precious metals may be more or less volatile in price than securities of companies engaged in precious metals-related businesses. Investments in precious metals can present concerns such as delivery, storage and maintenance, possible illiquidity, and the unavailability of accurate market valuations. Although precious metals can be purchased in any form, including bullion and coins, a Fidelity fund intends to purchase only those forms of precious metals that are readily marketable and that can be stored in accordance with custody regulations applicable to mutual funds. A fund may incur higher custody and transaction costs for precious metals than for securities. Also, precious metals investments do not pay income.
For a fund to qualify as a regulated investment company under current federal tax law, gains from selling precious metals may not exceed 10% of the fund's gross income for its taxable year. This tax requirement could cause a fund to hold or sell precious metals or securities when it would not otherwise do so.
Preferred Securities represent an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Real estate investment trusts issue debt securities to fund the purchase and/or development of commercial properties. The value of these debt securities may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property owned by the trusts, the creditworthiness of the trusts, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements. Real estate investment trusts are dependent upon management skill and the cash flow generated by the properties owned by the trusts. Real estate investment trusts are at the risk of the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
<R> Reforms and Government Intervention in the Financial Markets. Economic downturns can trigger various economic, legal, budgetary, tax, and regulatory reforms across the globe. Instability in the financial markets in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn led the U.S. Government and other governments to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility, and in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Reforms are ongoing and their effects are uncertain. Federal, state, local, foreign, and other governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which a fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Reforms may also change the way in which a fund is regulated and could limit or preclude a fund's ability to achieve its investment objective or engage in certain strategies. Also, while reforms generally are intended to strengthen markets, systems, and public finances, they could affect fund expenses and the value of fund investments.</R>
The value of a fund's holdings is also generally subject to the risk of future local, national, or global economic disturbances based on unknown weaknesses in the markets in which a fund invests. In the event of such a disturbance, the issuers of securities held by a fund may experience significant declines in the value of their assets and even cease operations, or may receive government assistance accompanied by increased restrictions on their business operations or other government intervention. In addition, it is not certain that the U.S. Government or foreign governments will intervene in response to a future market disturbance and the effect of any such future intervention cannot be predicted.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its right to liquidate assets related to a repurchase agreement with an insolvent counterparty. A Fidelity fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities Lending. Securities lending allows a fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The fund seeks to maintain the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased.
<R> Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies (which include business development companies (BDCs)), unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. For certain investment companies, such as BDCs, these expenses may be significant. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.</R>
The securities of closed-end funds may be leveraged. As a result, a fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. An investment in securities of closed-end funds that use leverage may expose a fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the fund's long-term returns on such securities will be diminished.
The extent to which a fund can invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws.
Short Sales. Short sales involve the market sale of a security a fund has borrowed from a prime broker with which it has a contractual relationship, with the expectation that the security will underperform either the market or the securities that the fund holds long. A fund closes a short sale by purchasing the same security at the current market price and delivering it to the prime broker.
Until a fund closes out a short position, the fund is obligated to pay the prime broker (from which it borrowed the security sold short) interest as well as any dividends that accrue during the period of the loan. While a short position is outstanding, a fund must also pledge a portion of its assets to the prime broker as collateral for the borrowed security. The collateral will be marked to market daily.
Short positions create a risk that a fund will be required to cover them by buying the security at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the fund. A short position in a security poses more risk than holding the same security long. Because a short position loses value as the security's price increases, the loss on a short sale is theoretically unlimited. The loss on a long position is limited to what a fund originally paid for the security together with any transaction costs. A fund may not always be able to borrow a security the fund seeks to sell short at a particular time or at an acceptable price. As a result, a fund may be unable to fully implement its investment strategy due to a lack of available stocks or for other reasons. It is possible that the market value of the securities a fund holds in long positions will decline at the same time that the market value of the securities the fund has sold short increases, thereby increasing the fund's potential volatility. Because a fund may be required to pay dividends, interest, premiums and other expenses in connection with a short sale, any benefit for the fund resulting from the short sale will be decreased, and the amount of any ultimate gain will be decreased or of any loss will be increased, by the amount of such expenses.
A fund may also enter into short sales against the box. Short sales "against the box" are short sales of securities that a fund owns or has the right to obtain (equivalent in kind or amount to the securities sold short). If a fund enters into a short sale against the box, it will be required to set aside securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short (or securities convertible or exchangeable into such securities) and will be required to hold such securities while the short sale is outstanding. A fund will incur transaction costs, including interest expenses, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales against the box.
Sources of Liquidity or Credit Support. Issuers may employ various forms of credit and liquidity enhancements, including letters of credit, guarantees, swaps, puts, and demand features, and insurance provided by domestic or foreign entities such as banks and other financial institutions. An adviser and its affiliates may rely on their evaluation of the credit of the issuer or the credit of the liquidity or credit enhancement provider in determining whether to purchase or hold a security supported by such enhancement. In evaluating the credit of a foreign bank or other foreign entities, factors considered may include whether adequate public information about the entity is available and whether the entity may be subject to unfavorable political or economic developments, currency controls, or other government restrictions that might affect its ability to honor its commitment. Changes in the credit quality of the issuer and/or entity providing the enhancement could affect the value of the security or a fund's share price.
Sovereign Debt Obligations are issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies, including debt of Latin American nations or other developing countries. Sovereign debt may be in the form of conventional securities or other types of debt instruments such as loans or loan participations. Sovereign debt of developing countries may involve a high degree of risk, and may be in default or present the risk of default. Governmental entities responsible for repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal and pay interest when due, and may require renegotiation or rescheduling of debt payments. In addition, prospects for repayment of principal and payment of interest may depend on political as well as economic factors. Although some sovereign debt, such as Brady Bonds, is collateralized by U.S. Government securities, repayment of principal and payment of interest is not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
Stripped Securities are the separate income or principal components of a debt security. The risks associated with stripped securities are similar to those of other debt securities, although stripped securities may be more volatile, and the value of certain types of stripped securities may move in the same direction as interest rates. U.S. Treasury securities that have been stripped by a Federal Reserve Bank are obligations issued by the U.S. Treasury.
Privately stripped government securities are created when a dealer deposits a U.S. Treasury security or other U.S. Government security with a custodian for safekeeping. The custodian issues separate receipts for the coupon payments and the principal payment, which the dealer then sells.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument ( e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
<R> Temporary Defensive Policies. </R>
<R> In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, a fund may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If a fund does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund reserves the right to invest without limitation in investment-grade money market or short-term debt instruments for temporary, defensive purposes.</R>
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Variable and Floating Rate Securities provide for periodic adjustments in the interest rate paid on the security. Variable rate securities provide for a specified periodic adjustment in the interest rate, while floating rate securities have interest rates that change whenever there is a change in a designated benchmark rate or the issuer's credit quality, sometimes subject to a cap or floor on such rate. Some variable or floating rate securities are structured with put features that permit holders to demand payment of the unpaid principal balance plus accrued interest from the issuers or certain financial intermediaries. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of a variable or floating rate security, a fund's adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments which entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss.
Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
When-Issued and Forward Purchase or Sale Transactions involve a commitment to purchase or sell specific securities at a predetermined price or yield in which payment and delivery take place after the customary settlement period for that type of security. Typically, no interest accrues to the purchaser until the security is delivered.
When purchasing securities pursuant to one of these transactions, the purchaser assumes the rights and risks of ownership, including the risks of price and yield fluctuations and the risk that the security will not be issued as anticipated. Because payment for the securities is not required until the delivery date, these risks are in addition to the risks associated with a fund's investments. If a fund remains substantially fully invested at a time when a purchase is outstanding, the purchases may result in a form of leverage. When a fund has sold a security pursuant to one of these transactions, the fund does not participate in further gains or losses with respect to the security. If the other party to a delayed-delivery transaction fails to deliver or pay for the securities, a fund could miss a favorable price or yield opportunity or suffer a loss.
A fund may renegotiate a when-issued or forward transaction and may sell the underlying securities before delivery, which may result in capital gains or losses for the fund.
A fund may also engage in purchases or sales of "to be announced" or "TBA" securities, which usually are transactions in which a fund buys or sells mortgage-backed securities on a forward commitment basis. A TBA transaction typically does not designate the actual security to be delivered and only includes an approximate principal amount. TBA trades can be used by a fund for investment purposes in order to gain exposure to certain securities, or for hedging purposes to adjust the risk exposure of a fund portfolio without having to restructure a portfolio. Purchases and sales of TBA securities involve risks similar to those discussed above for other when-issued and forward purchase and sale transactions. In addition, when a fund sells TBA securities, it incurs risks similar to those incurred in short sales. For example, when a fund sells TBA securities without owning or having the right to obtain the deliverable securities, it incurs a risk of loss because it could have to purchase the securities at a price that is higher than the price at which it sold them. Also, a fund may be unable to purchase the deliverable securities if the corresponding market is illiquid. In such transactions, the fund will set aside liquid assets in an amount sufficient to offset its exposure as long as the fund's obligations are outstanding.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
SPECIAL GEOGRAPHIC CONSIDERATIONS
<R> Emerging Markets. Investing in companies domiciled in emerging market countries may be subject to potentially higher risks than investments in developed countries. These risks include: (i) less social, political, and economic stability; (ii) greater illiquidity and price volatility due to smaller or limited local capital markets for such securities, or low or non-existent trading volumes; (iii) foreign exchanges and broker-dealers may be subject to less scrutiny and regulation by local authorities; (iv) local governments may decide to seize or confiscate securities held by foreign investors and/or local governments may decide to suspend or limit an issuer's ability to make dividend or interest payments; (v) local governments may limit or entirely restrict repatriation of invested capital, profits, and dividends; (vi) capital gains may be subject to local taxation, including on a retroactive basis; (vii) issuers facing restrictions on dollar or euro payments imposed by local governments may attempt to make dividend or interest payments to foreign investors in the local currency; (viii) investors may experience difficulty in enforcing legal claims related to the securities and/or local judges may favor the interests of the issuer over those of foreign investors; (ix) bankruptcy judgments may only be permitted to be paid in the local currency; (x) limited public information regarding the issuer may result in greater difficulty in determining market valuations of the securities, and (xi) infrequent financial reporting, substandard disclosure, and differences in accounting standards may make it difficult to ascertain the financial health of an issuer. In addition, unlike developed countries, many emerging countries' economic growth highly depends on exports and inflows of external capital, making them more vulnerable to the downturns of the world economy. The recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for their exports and tightened international credit supplies and, as a result, many emerging countries faced significant economic difficulties and some countries fell into recession.</R>
<R>Many emerging market countries suffer from uncertainty and corruption in their legal frameworks. Legislation may be difficult to interpret and laws may be too new to provide any precedential value. Laws regarding foreign investment and private property may be weak or non-existent. Sudden changes in governments may result in policies that are less favorable to investors such as policies designed to expropriate or nationalize "sovereign" assets. Certain emerging market countries in the past have expropriated large amounts of private property, in many cases with little or no compensation, and there can be no assurance that such expropriation will not occur in the future.</R>
<R>Many emerging market countries in which a fund may invest lack the social, political, and economic stability characteristic of the U.S. Political instability among emerging market countries can be common and may be caused by an uneven distribution of wealth, social unrest, labor strikes, civil wars, and religious oppression. Economic instability in emerging market countries may take the form of: (i) high interest rates; (ii) high levels of inflation, including hyperinflation; (iii) high levels of unemployment or underemployment; (iv) changes in government economic and tax policies, including confiscatory taxation (or taxes on foreign investments); and (v) imposition of trade barriers.</R>
<R>Currencies of emerging market countries are subject to significantly greater risks than currencies of developed countries. Some emerging market currencies may not be internationally traded or may be subject to strict controls by local governments, resulting in undervalued or overvalued currencies. Some emerging market countries have experienced balance of payment deficits and shortages in foreign exchange reserves. As a result, some governments have responded by restricting currency conversions. Future restrictive exchange controls could prevent or restrict a company's ability to make dividend or interest payments in the original currency of the obligation (usually U.S. dollars). In addition, even though the currencies of some emerging market countries may be convertible into U.S. dollars, the conversion rates may be artificial to their actual market values.</R>
<R>Governments of many emerging market countries have become overly reliant on the international capital markets and other forms of foreign credit to finance large public spending programs which cause huge budget deficits. Often, interest payments have become too overwhelming for these governments to meet, as these payments may represent a large percentage of a country's total GDP. Accordingly, these foreign obligations have become the subject of political debate and served as fuel for political parties of the opposition, which pressure governments not to make payments to foreign creditors, but instead to use these funds for social programs. Either due to an inability to pay or submission to political pressure, the governments have been forced to seek a restructuring of their loan and/or bond obligations, have declared a temporary suspension of interest payments, or have defaulted on their outstanding debt obligations. These events have adversely affected the values of securities issued by the governments and corporations domiciled in these emerging market countries and have negatively affected not only their cost of borrowing, but their ability to borrow in the future as well.</R>
<R>In addition to their over-reliance on international capital markets, many emerging economies are also highly dependent on international trade and exports, including exports of oil and other commodities. As a result, these economies are particularly vulnerable to downturns of the world economy. The recent global financial crisis tightened international credit supplies and weakened global demand for their exports and, as a result, certain of these economies faced significant difficulties and some economies fell into recession. Although certain economies in emerging market countries have recently shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. The reduced demand for exports and lack of available capital for investment resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy may limit recovery by emerging market countries.</R>
To the extent that Strategic Advisers grants investment management authority over an allocated portion of the fund's assets to a sub-adviser (see the section entitled "Management Contract"), that sub-adviser is authorized to provide the services described in the respective sub-advisory agreement, and in accordance with the policies described in this section.
Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities are placed on behalf of the fund by Strategic Advisers (either directly or through its affiliates) or a sub-adviser, pursuant to authority contained in the management contract and the respective sub-advisory agreement.
Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
<R>The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in affiliated funds, but it may incur such costs when it invests in non-affiliated funds and when it invests directly in other types of securities, including ETFs.</R>
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review Strategic Advisers' and its affiliates' and each sub-adviser's performance of their respective responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
Strategic Advisers.
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Strategic Advisers, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Strategic Advisers or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may enter into trading services agreements with FMR or its affiliates to facilitate transactions in non-United States markets.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.</R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Strategic Advisers or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services Strategic Advisers or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Strategic Advisers' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Strategic Advisers or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.</R>
Research Contracts. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Strategic Advisers or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) who have entered into arrangements with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
<R>Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), with whom they are under common control, provided Strategic Advisers or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade-execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.</R>
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Strategic Advisers to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis).
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Pyramis or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Pyramis, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Pyramis or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Pyramis' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Pyramis or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and character of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Pyramis and/or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for lessening or avoiding market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Pyramis and/or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Pyramis and/or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Pyramis and/or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Pyramis or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker is generally the same as the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Pyramis and/or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Pyramis) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Pyramis or its affiliates.
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. Pyramis or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Pyramis' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. </R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Pyramis or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in their investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Pyramis or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefits to Pyramis. Pyramis' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these products or services with their own resources. However, the trading desks of Pyramis and its affiliates are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services that Pyramis or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Pyramis or its affiliates or might not have an explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Pyramis or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Pyramis' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Pyramis or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Pyramis or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Pyramis' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Pyramis or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Pyramis or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Pyramis, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Pyramis or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Pyramis or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Pyramis or its affiliates.</R>
<R> Research Contracts. Pyramis or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Pyramis or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Pyramis or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Pyramis or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Pyramis or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Pyramis' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately ( e.g., with hard dollars), rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Pyramis' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.</R>
Commission Recapture
Pyramis or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Pyramis) who have entered into arrangements with Pyramis or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
Pyramis or its affiliates may be authorized to place portfolio transactions with Fidelity Capital Markets (FCM), a division of NFS, an affiliated broker-dealer of Pyramis and its affiliates, or other broker-dealers with whom they are under common control, and use CrossStream, an alternative trading system operated by NFS, if they reasonably believe the quality of the transaction is comparable to what it would be with other qualified broker-dealers. With respect to trades that are executed by Pyramis' affiliates, Pyramis and such affiliate seek to ensure that the trade execution obtained is comparable to that of unaffiliated brokers and that the continued use of such affiliate is appropriate. In addition, Pyramis or its affiliates may place trades with broker-dealers that use NFS as a clearing agent.
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Securities Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Pyramis or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers or may engage a third party to do so.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Pyramis or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Pyramis or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Pyramis to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
Commissions Paid
A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
<R>For the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 190% (annualized). Variations in turnover rate may be due to a fluctuating volume of shareholder purchase and redemption orders, market conditions, and/or changes in Strategic Advisers' investment outlook.</R>
<R>During the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013, the fund held securities issued by one or more of its regular brokers or dealers or a parent company of its regular brokers or dealers. The following table shows the aggregate value of the securities of the regular broker or dealer or parent company held by the fund as of the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013.</R>
<R>For the fiscal period June 19, 2012 to February 28, 2013, the fund paid no brokerage commissions.</R>
<R>During the fiscal period June 19, 2012 to February 28, 2013, the fund paid no brokerage commissions to firms for providing research or brokerage services.</R>
<R>The class's NAV is the value of a single share. The NAV of the class is computed by adding the class's pro rata share of the value of the fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting the class's pro rata share of the fund's liabilities, subtracting the liabilities allocated to the class, and dividing the result by the number of shares of that class that are outstanding.</R>
The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for pricing, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers has established the Strategic Advisers Fair Value Committee (Strategic Advisers Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities. The Strategic Advisers Committee may rely on information and recommendations provided by affiliates of Strategic Advisers in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, including the fair valuation of securities.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) held by the fund are valued at their respective NAVs. If an underlying fund's NAV is unavailable, shares of that underlying fund will be fair valued in good faith by the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by the fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity non-money market fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
<R>Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques.</R>
Short-term securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less for which market quotations and information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates current value.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
<R>Prices described above are obtained from pricing services that have been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available and the funds may use more than one of these services. The funds may also discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time. Strategic Advisers engages in oversight activities with respect to the fund's pricing services, which includes, among other things, testing the prices provided by pricing services prior to calculation of a fund's NAV, conducting periodic due diligence meetings, and periodically reviewing the methodologies and inputs used by these services.</R>
<R>Foreign securities and instruments are valued in their local currency following the methodologies described above. Foreign securities, instruments and currencies are translated to U.S. dollars, based on foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by a pricing service as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which uses a proprietary model to determine the exchange rate. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at an interpolated rate based on days to maturity between the closest preceding and subsequent settlement period reported by the third party pricing service.</R>
The Board of Trustees of the underlying Fidelity funds has ultimate responsibility for pricing portfolio securities and assets held by those funds, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee and the Strategic Advisers Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and ADRs, market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. This technique involves initially valuing an instrument at its cost as adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount rather than its current market value. The amortized cost value of an instrument may be higher or lower than the price a money market fund would receive if it sold the instrument.
At such intervals as they deem appropriate, the Trustees of an underlying Fidelity money market fund consider the extent to which NAV calculated using market valuations would deviate from the $1.00 per share calculated using amortized cost valuation. If the Trustees believe that a deviation from a money market fund's amortized cost per share may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Trustees have agreed to take such corrective action, if any, as they deem appropriate to eliminate or reduce, to the extent reasonably practicable, the dilution or unfair results. Such corrective action could include selling portfolio instruments prior to maturity to realize capital gains or losses or to shorten average portfolio maturity; withholding dividends; redeeming shares in kind; establishing NAV by using available market quotations; and such other measures as the Trustees may deem appropriate.
<R> BUYING, SELLING, AND EXCHANGING INFORMATION</R>
<R>The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the class's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.</R>
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
Dividends. Distributions by the fund to tax-advantaged retirement plan accounts are not taxable currently. For all other accounts, a portion of the fund's income may qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, but it is unlikely that all of the fund's income will qualify for the deduction. A portion of the fund's dividends, when distributed to individual shareholders, may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
Capital Gain Distributions. Unless your shares of the fund are held in a tax-advantaged retirement plan, the fund's long-term capital gain distributions, including amounts attributable to an underlying fund's long-term capital gain distributions, are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.
Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. As a general matter, if, at the close of its fiscal year, more than 50% of the fund's total assets is invested in securities of foreign issuers, the fund may elect to pass through eligible foreign taxes paid and thereby allow shareholders to take a deduction or, if they meet certain holding period requirements with respect to fund shares, a credit on their individual tax returns. In addition, if at the close of each quarter of its fiscal year at least 50% of the fund's total assets is represented by interests in other regulated investment companies, the same rules will apply to any foreign tax credits that underlying funds pass through to the fund. The amount of foreign taxes paid by the fund will be reduced to the extent that the fund lends securities over the dividend record date. Special rules may apply to the credit for individuals who receive dividends qualifying for the long-term capital gains tax rate.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
<R>The Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and executive officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. If the interests of the fund and an underlying Fidelity fund were to diverge, a conflict of interest could arise and affect how the Trustees and Member of the Advisory Board fulfill their fiduciary duties to the affected funds. Strategic Advisers has structured the fund to avoid these potential conflicts, although there may be situations where a conflict of interest is unavoidable. In such instances, Strategic Advisers, the Trustees, and Member of the Advisory Board would take reasonable steps to minimize and, if possible, eliminate the conflict. Except for Mary C. Farrell, each of the Trustees oversees 26 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. Ms. Farrell oversees 20 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.</R>
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. The executive officers and Advisory Board Member hold office without limit in time, except that any officer and Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
<R>Each Trustee who is not an interested person of the trust and the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) is referred to herein as an Independent Trustee.</R>
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Fund's Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also engage professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates with experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. Additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, may be considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. Roger T. Servison is an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) and currently serves as Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Ralph F. Cox serves as the lead Independent Trustee and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
Fidelity funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees asset allocation funds as well as the Fidelity enhanced index funds. Other boards oversee Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds and Fidelity's equity and high income funds. The fund may invest in Fidelity funds overseen by such other Boards. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues.
The Trustees primarily operate as a full Board, but also operate in committees, to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board has charged Strategic Advisers and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through Strategic Advisers, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. Board oversight of different aspects of the fund's activities is exercised primarily through the full Board, but also through the Audit and Compliance Committee. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees."
Interested Trustees *:
<R>Correspondence intended for each Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
|
<R>Roger T. Servison (1945)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Servison is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Servison serves as President of Strategic New Business Development for Fidelity Investments and serves as a Director of Strategic Advisers. Previously, Mr. Servison oversaw Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company (2005-2006) and Strategic Advisers (2005-2007). Mr. Servison also served as President and a Director of Fidelity Brokerage Services (Japan), LLC (1994-2004). |
<R>Derek L. Young (1964)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Mr. Young is Vice President of Fidelity's Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present), President and a Director of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2011-present), President of Fidelity Global Asset Allocation (GAA) (2011-present), and Vice Chairman of Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2011-present). Previously, Mr. Young served as Chief Investment Officer of GAA (2009-2011) and as a portfolio manager. |
* Trustees have been determined to be "Interested Trustees" by virtue of, among other things, their affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with Strategic Advisers.
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees :
Correspondence intended for each Independent Trustee (that is, the Trustees other than the Interested Trustees) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
|
<R>Peter C. Aldrich (1944)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Aldrich is a Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Director of the funds of BlackRock Realty Group (2006-present). Previously, Mr. Aldrich served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010), a Managing Member of Poseidon, LLC (foreign private investment, 1998-2004), and Chairman and Managing Member of AEGIS, LLC (foreign private investment, 1997-2004). Mr. Aldrich also served as Faculty Chairman of The Research Council on Global Investment of The Conference Board (business and professional education non-profit, 1999-2004). Mr. Aldrich is a Member of the Boards of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and an Overseer of the Longy School of Music. |
<R>Amy Butte Liebowitz (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011</R> Ms. Butte Liebowitz was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of TILE Financial (financial internet service, 2008-2012). Previously, Ms. Butte Liebowitz served as the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of MF Global (broker-dealer, 2006-2008), and Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange (2004-2006). Ms. Butte Liebowitz is a member of the Boards of Directors of Accion International and the New York Women's Forum, as well as an alumna of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader program. |
<R>Ralph F. Cox (1932)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Cox is President of RABAR Enterprises (management consulting for the petroleum industry). Mr. Cox is a Director of Abraxas Petroleum (exploration and production). Mr. Cox is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Business and Engineering Schools of Texas A&M University and the Engineering School of University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Mr. Cox served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010) and as an Advisory Director of CH2M Hill Companies (engineering, 1981-2011). Mr. Ralph F. Cox and Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. are not related. |
<R>Mary C. Farrell (1949)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2013</R> Ms. Farrell is a Director of the W.R. Berkley Corporation (insurance provider) and President (2009-present) and Director (2006-present) of the Howard Gilman Foundation (charitable organization). Previously, Ms. Farrell was Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at UBS Wealth Management USA and Co-Head of UBS Wealth Management Investment Strategy & Research Group (2003-2005). Ms. Farrell also served as Investment Strategist at PaineWebber (1982-2000) and UBS PaineWebber (2000-2002). Ms. Farrell also serves as Trustee on the Board of Overseers of the New York University Stern School of Business, the Board of Trustees of Yale-New Haven Hospital and is a member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II. |
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
|
<R>Karen Kaplan (1960)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Ms. Kaplan is President of Hill Holliday (advertising and specialized marketing, 2007-present). Ms. Kaplan is a Director of DSM (dba Delta Dental and DentaQuest) (2004-present), Director of Vera Bradley (2012-present), Member of the Board of Governors of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston (2010-present), Member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference for Women (2008-present), Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (2006-present), Board of Directors of Jobs for Massachusetts (2012-present), National Association of Corporate Directors Chapter (2012-present), and Board of Directors of the Post Office Square Trust (2012-present). She is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, an action oriented community of the most effective CEOs, heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, and non-governmental leaders in the world. Previously, Ms. Kaplan served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010), President of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2008-2010), Treasurer of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2002-2006), Vice Chair of the Board of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2003-2010), Director of United Way of Massachusetts Bay (2004-2006), Director of ADVO (direct mail marketing, 2003-2007), and Director of Tweeter Home Entertainment Group (2006-2007). |
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Member and Executive Officers :
<R>Correspondence intended for each executive officer and Howard E. Cox, Jr. may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupation</R> |
|
<R>Howard E. Cox, Jr. (1944)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II. Mr. Cox is a Member of the Advisory Board of Devonshire Investors (2009-present). Mr. Cox serves as an Advisory Partner of Greylock (venture capital) and a Director of Stryker Corporation (medical products and services). Previously, Mr. Cox served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010) and a Member of the Secretary of Defense's Business Board of Directors (2008-2010). Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. and Mr. Ralph F. Cox are not related. |
<R>Kenneth B. Robins (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 President and Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Robins also serves as President and Treasurer of other Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds (2008-present) and Assistant Treasurer of other Fidelity Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present). Mr. Robins is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Robins served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2005-2008) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2006-2008). |
<R>Marc Bryant (1966)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of the fund. Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Fidelity Investments. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Mr. Bryant served as a Senior Vice President and the Head of Global Retail Legal for AllianceBernstein L.P. (2006-2010), and as the General Counsel for ProFund Advisors LLC (2001-2006). |
<R>Elizabeth Paige Baumann (1968)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012 Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer of the fund. Ms. Baumann also serves as AML Officer of the Fidelity funds (2012-present) and The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2012-present), Chief AML Officer of FMR LLC (2012-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Baumann served as Vice President and Deputy Anti-Money Laundering Officer (2007-2012). |
<R>Nicholas E. Steck (1964)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the fund. Mr. Steck serves as Senior Vice President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. During the period 2002 to 2009, Mr. Steck served as a Compliance Officer of FMR, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc., FMR LLC, Fidelity Research & Analysis (U.K.) Inc., Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. |
<R>Laura M. Doherty (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Compliance Officer of the fund. Ms. Doherty also serves as Senior Vice President of the Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Doherty served as a Vice President in Fidelity's Corporate Audit department (1998-2008). |
<R>Adrien E. Deberghes (1967)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Deberghes also serves as Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) and Deputy Treasurer (2008-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Deberghes served as Senior Vice President of Mutual Fund Administration at State Street Corporation (2007-2008), Senior Director of Mutual Fund Administration at Investors Bank & Trust (2005-2007), and Director of Finance for Dunkin' Brands (2000-2005). |
<R>Stephanie J. Dorsey (1969)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Ms. Dorsey also serves as President and Treasurer (2013-present) and Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Dorsey served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2008-2013), Treasurer (2004-2008) of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds and Vice President (2004-2008) of JPMorgan Chase Bank. |
<R>Jonathan Davis (1968)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Davis is also Assistant Treasurer of certain Fidelity funds. Mr. Davis is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2003-2010). |
<R>Margaret A. Carey (1973)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 </R> Assistant Secretary of the fund. Ms. Carey also serves as Assistant Secretary of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present), Vice President, Associate General Counsel (2007-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). |
Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established two committees to supplement the work of the Board as a whole. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
<R>The Audit and Compliance Committee is composed of Ms. Butte Liebowitz (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, Mr. Ralph Cox, and Mses. Farrell and Kaplan. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The committee determines whether at least one member of the committee is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined in rules promulgated by the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The committee normally meets in conjunction with in person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee meets separately periodically with the fund's Treasurer, the fund's Chief Financial Officer, the fund's CCO, personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and the fund's outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the fund for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the fund and the fund's service providers, (ii) the financial reporting processes of the fund, (iii) the independence, objectivity and qualification of the auditors to the fund, (iv) the annual audits of the fund's financial statements, and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the fund. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations (Auditor Independence Regulations) of the SEC. In furtherance of the foregoing, the committee has adopted (and may from time to time amend or supplement) and provides oversight of policies and procedures for non-audit engagements by outside auditors of the fund. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the fund and for resolving disagreements between the fund and any outside auditor regarding the fund's financial reporting, and has sole authority to hire and fire any auditor. Auditors of the fund report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the fund and any service providers consistent with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Ethics and Independence Rule 3526, Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence. The committee will discuss with the outside auditors any such disclosed relationships and their impact on the auditor's independence and objectivity. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the Auditor Independence Regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the fund's service providers' internal controls and reviews with management, internal auditors, and outside auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of the fund's and service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the fund's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the fund's or service provider's internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will review with counsel any legal matters that may have a material impact on the fund's financial statements and any material reports or inquiries received from regulators or governmental agencies. The committee reviews at least annually a report from the outside auditor describing (i) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control review, peer review, or PCAOB examination of the auditing firm and (ii) any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm since the most recent report and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the fund's financial reporting process and will receive reports from an outside auditor relating to (i) critical accounting policies and practices used by the fund, (ii) alternative accounting treatments that the auditor has discussed with Strategic Advisers, and (iii) other material written communications between the auditor and Strategic Advisers (as determined by the auditor). The committee will discuss with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the fund. The committee will review with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC (to the extent relevant) the results of audits of the fund's financial statements. The committee will review periodically the fund's major internal controls exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. The committee also oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the fund and its service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee of the Board of Trustees or reserved to the Board itself. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the fund. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO and, if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports on significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the fund's compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1 and quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of Mr. Ralph Cox (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, and Mses. Butte Liebowitz, Farrell, and Kaplan. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the code of ethics and any supplemental policies regarding personal securities transactions applicable to the Independent Trustees. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the fund's or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the fund's expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the fund, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, (or as of March 31, 2013 for Ms. Farrell, Trustee as of March 5, 2013).</R>
Interested Trustees |
||
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Roger T. Servison |
Derek L. Young |
Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
none |
none |
<R></R>
<R>Independent Trustees</R> |
|||||
<R>
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Peter C. Aldrich |
Mary C. Farrell |
Amy Butte Liebowitz |
Ralph F. Cox |
Karen Kaplan</R> |
<R>
Strategic Advisers Core Income
|
none |
none |
none |
none |
none</R> |
<R>
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
over $100,000 |
none |
none |
over $100,000 |
none</R> |
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board for his or her services for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, or calendar year ended December 31, 2012, as applicable.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Compensation Table 1</R> |
||||||
<R>
AGGREGATE
|
Peter C.
|
Mary C.
|
Amy Butte
|
Ralph F.
|
Karen
|
</R> |
<R>
Strategic Advisers Core Income
|
$ 97 |
$ 0 |
$ 97 |
$ 97 |
$ 97 |
</R> |
<R>
TOTAL COMPENSATION
|
$ 137,500 |
$ 0 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
</R> |
1 Roger T. Servison, Howard E. Cox, Jr., and Derek L. Young are interested persons and are compensated by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate (including FMR).
<R> 2 Effective March 5, 2013, Ms. Farrell serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II.</R>
+ Estimated for the fund's first full year.
<R> A Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, for 26 funds of two trusts.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and officers of the fund owned, in the aggregate, less than 1% of the fund's total outstanding shares.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the following owned of record and/or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding shares of a class:</R>
<R>* The ownership information shown above is for a class of shares of the fund.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, approximately 98.34% of the fund's total outstanding shares was held of record and/or beneficially by FIMM LLC, Boston, Massachussets.</R>
<R>A shareholder owning of record or beneficially more than 25% of a fund's outstanding shares may be considered a controlling person. That shareholder's vote could have a more significant effect on matters presented at a shareholders' meeting than votes of other shareholders.</R>
CONTROL OF INVESTMENT ADVISERS
<R>FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of Strategic Advisers and Pyramis. The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Abigail P. Johnson family, directly or through trusts, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.</R>
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
<R>Prudential Investment Management, Inc. (PIM) is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Prudential Financial, Inc. (Prudential Financial), a publicly held company and the ultimate parent of PIM. Prudential Financial, Inc. is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential plc, a company incorporated in the United Kingdom. PIM is an SEC-registered investment adviser organized as a New Jersey corporation. Prudential Fixed Income (PFI) is the public fixed income asset management unit within PIM. In addition to PFI, the other units within PIM are Prudential Real Estate Investors (a provider of real estate investment advisory services) and Prudential Capital Group (a private fixed income investment adviser). Each of these units of PIM has a separate brochure that has been filed with the SEC and provides information about its advisory business. PFI is organized into groups specializing in different sectors of the fixed income market: U.S. and non-U.S. government bonds, mortgages and asset-backed securities, U.S. and non-U.S. investment grade corporate bonds, high-yield bonds, emerging markets bonds, municipal bonds, and money market securities. PFI provides investment advisory services to the fund.</R>
Pyramis is a registered investment adviser. FMR LLC is the ultimate parent company of Pyramis. Information regarding the ownership of FMR LLC is disclosed above.
<R>Strategic Advisers, PIM, Pyramis (the Investment Advisers), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and the fund have adopted codes of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that set forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establish procedures for personal investing, and restrict certain transactions. Employees subject to the codes of ethics, including the Investment Advisers' investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.</R>
The fund has entered into a management contract with Strategic Advisers, pursuant to which Strategic Advisers furnishes investment advisory and other services.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
<R>Strategic Advisers has retained PIM and Pyramis to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. The sub-advisers do not sponsor the fund.</R>
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
Management and Sub-Advisory Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, Strategic Advisers acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, directs the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. Strategic Advisers is authorized, in its discretion, to allocate the fund's assets pursuant to its investment strategy. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates provide the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensate all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of Strategic Advisers, and compensate all personnel of the fund or Strategic Advisers performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
Under its respective sub-advisory agreement, and subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, each sub-adviser directs the investment of its allocated portion of the fund's assets in accordance with the fund's investment objective, policies and limitations.
<R> Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to Strategic Advisers and the fees payable to the transfer agent and pricing and bookkeeping agent, the fund or each class thereof, as applicable, pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by those parties. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders; however, under the terms of the fund's transfer agent agreement, the transfer agent bears these costs. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.</R>
Management Fees. For the services of Strategic Advisers under the management contract, the fund pays Strategic Advisers a monthly management fee calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets; provided, however, that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.65% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.30% of the average daily net assets of the fund until April 30, 2014. The fee waiver by Strategic Advisers will increase the fund's return.</R>
<R>The following table shows the amount of management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers for the past fiscal period, the amount of credits reducing management fees for the fund, and the amount of waivers reducing management fees for the fund.</R>
<R> Fund |
Fiscal Year
|
Amount of
|
Management Fees
|
Management Fees
|
<R>Strategic Advisers Core Income
|
2013 A |
$ 86,636 |
$ 9,970* |
0.03%* ,B</R> |
<R>* After reduction of fees and expenses paid by the fund to the Independent Trustees.</R>
<R> A Fund commenced operations on June 19, 2012.</R>
<R> B Annualized.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of a class's operating expenses. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.</R>
<R>Expense reimbursements by Strategic Advisers will increase the class's returns, and repayment of the reimbursement by the class will decrease its returns.</R>
Sub-Adviser - Pyramis. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Pyramis pursuant to which Pyramis may provide investment advisory services for the fund.
<R>Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Pyramis fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Pyramis pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Pyramis under a particular Strategy based on the following rate schedule:</R>
Core Investment Grade : |
|||||
0.275% of the first $100 million in assets; |
|||||
<R>0.20% of the next $400 million in assets;</R> |
|||||
0.12% on any amount in excess of $500 million in assets |
|||||
<R> Core Plus :</R> |
|||||
<R>0.32% of all assets</R> |
<R>Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Pyramis or another affiliate pursuant to that Strategy.</R>
<R> Sub-Adviser - PIM. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with PIM pursuant to which PIM may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays PIM fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by PIM pursuant to a separately negotiated investment mandate (a "Strategy"). The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by PIM under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by PIM pursuant to that Strategy.</R>
<R>PIM has not currently been allocated a portion of the fund's assets to manage.</R>
<R>The following table shows the amount of sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to Pyramis for the past fiscal period.</R>
<R> A Fund commenced operations on June 19, 2012.</R>
<R> B Annualized.</R>
Portfolio Manager Compensation - Strategic Advisers.
Gregory Pappas is an employee of Strategic Advisers, a subsidiary of FMR LLC and an affiliate of FMR. Strategic Advisers is the adviser to the fund.
<R>Mr. Pappas is the lead portfolio manager of the fund and receives compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Strategic Advisers or at the election of the portfolio manager. </R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of a broad range of Strategic Advisers funds and accounts, including the fund. Accounts may include model portfolios designed for asset allocation, retirement planning, or tax-sensitive goals. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s), and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with the portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and peer group. A subjective component of the bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Strategic Advisers. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of his fund is based on the fund's pre-tax investment performance measured against the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund (based on the performance of the fund's retail class) within the Morningstar Intermediate-Term Bond Category. The portfolio manager may be compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Strategic Advisers' parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates. </R>
<R></R>
<R>The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics. </R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Pappas as of February 28, 2013: </R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
5 |
180 |
none</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 21,931 |
$ 42,166 |
none</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund ($42 (in millions) assets managed). The amount of assets managed of the fund reflects trades and other assets as of the close of the business day prior to the fund's fiscal year-end.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Pappas was none. </R>
Portfolio Manager Compensation - Pyramis.
<R>Jeffrey Moore is the portfolio manager of Pyramis' allocated portion of the fund's assets and receives compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by FMR or at the election of the portfolio manager. </R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at FMR or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus is based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of other FMR taxable bond funds and accounts. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s) and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over the portfolio manager's tenure on those fund(s) and account(s) over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with his tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to three years for the comparison to a benchmark index. A smaller, subjective component of the portfolio manager's bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of FMR. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of Pyramis' Core Investment Grade strategy is based on the pre-tax investment performance of the strategy measured against the Barclays ® U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The portfolio manager also is compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, FMR's parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates. </R>
The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by FMR or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Moore as of February 28, 2013: </R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
2 |
10 |
10</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 493 |
$ 2,487 |
$ 2,779</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund ($10 (in millions) assets managed). The amount of assets managed of the fund reflects trades and other assets as of the close of the business day prior to the fund's fiscal year-end.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Moore was none.</R>
Proxy Voting - Strategic Advisers.
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of the fund, after consultation with Strategic Advisers. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Strategic Advisers and its affiliates and by the Independent Trustees of the fund, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. The funds in the trust generally intend to vote shares of underlying funds using echo voting procedures (that is, in the same proportion as the holders of all other shares of the particular underlying fund).
B. Any proposals not covered by paragraph A above or other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate Strategic Advisers analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review and approval by the General Counsel or Compliance Officer of FMR or the General Counsel of FMR LLC.
<R> Sub-Advisers: </R>
Proxy voting policies and procedures are used by the sub-adviser to determine how to vote proxies relating to the securities held by its allocated portion of the fund's assets. The proxy voting policies and procedures used by the sub-adviser are described below.
Proxy Voting - Pyramis.
I. General Principles
A. Voting of shares will be conducted in a manner consistent with the best interests of clients as follows: (i) securities of a portfolio company will generally be voted in a manner consistent with the Guidelines; and (ii) voting will be done without regard to any other Pyramis or Fidelity companies' relationship, business or otherwise, with that portfolio company.
B. FMR Investment Proxy Research votes proxies on behalf of Pyramis' clients. Like other Pyramis employees, FMR Investment Proxy Research employees have a fiduciary duty to never place their own personal interest ahead of the interests of Pyramis's clients and are instructed to avoid actual and apparent conflicts of interest. In the event of a conflict of interest, FMR Investment Proxy Research employees, like other Pyramis employees, will escalate to their managers or the Ethics Office, as appropriate, in accordance with Fidelity's corporate policy on conflicts of interest. A conflict of interest arises when there are factors that may prompt one to question whether a Fidelity and/or Pyramis employee is acting solely on the best interests of Pyramis, Fidelity and their customers. Employees are expected to avoid situations that could present even the appearance of a conflict between their interests and the interests of Pyramis and its customers.
C. Except as set forth herein, Pyramis will generally vote in favor of routine management proposals.
D. Non-routine proposals will generally be voted in accordance with the Guidelines.
E. Non-routine proposals not covered by the Guidelines or involving other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review by an attorney within FMR's General Counsel's office and a member of senior management within FMR Investment Proxy Research. A significant pattern of such proposals or other special circumstances will be referred to Pyramis' Senior Compliance Officer or his designee.
F. Pyramis will vote on shareholder proposals not specifically addressed by the Guidelines based on an evaluation of a proposal's likelihood to enhance the economic returns or profitability of the portfolio company or to maximize shareholder value. Where information is not readily available to analyze the economic impact of the proposal, Pyramis will generally abstain.
G. Many Pyramis accounts invest in voting securities issued by companies that are domiciled outside the United States and are not listed on a U.S. securities exchange. Corporate governance standards, legal or regulatory requirements and disclosure practices in foreign countries can differ from those in the United States. When voting proxies relating to non-U.S. securities, Pyramis will generally evaluate proposals in the context of the Guidelines and where applicable and feasible, take into consideration differing laws, regulations and practices in the relevant foreign market in determining how to vote shares.
H. In certain non-U.S. jurisdictions, shareholders voting shares of a portfolio company may be restricted from trading the shares for a period of time around the shareholder meeting date. Because such trading restrictions can hinder portfolio management and could result in a loss of liquidity for a client, Pyramis will generally not vote proxies in circumstances where such restrictions apply. In addition, certain non-U.S. jurisdictions require voting shareholders to disclose current share ownership on a fund-by-fund basis. When such disclosure requirements apply, Pyramis will generally not vote proxies in order to safeguard fund holdings information.
I. Where a management-sponsored proposal is inconsistent with the Guidelines, Pyramis may receive a company's commitment to modify the proposal or its practice to conform to the Guidelines, and Pyramis will generally support management based on this commitment. If a company subsequently does not abide by its commitment, Pyramis will generally withhold authority for the election of directors at the next election.
II. Definitions (as used in this document)
A. <R>Anti-Takeover Provision - includes fair price amendments; classified boards; "blank check" preferred stock; Golden Parachutes; supermajority provisions; Poison Pills; restricting the right to call special meetings; provisions restricting the right of shareholders to set board size; and any other provision that eliminates or limits shareholder rights.</R>
B. Golden Parachute - Employment contracts, agreements, or policies that include an excise tax gross-up provision; single trigger for cash incentives; or may result in a lump sum payment of cash and acceleration of equity that may total more than three times annual compensation (salary and bonus) in the event of a termination following a change in control.
C. Greenmail - payment of a premium to repurchase shares from a shareholder seeking to take over a company through a proxy contest or other means.
D. Sunset Provision - a condition in a charter or plan that specifies an expiration date.
E. Permitted Bid Feature - a provision suspending the application of a Poison Pill, by shareholder referendum, in the event a potential acquirer announces a bona fide offer for all outstanding shares.
F. Poison Pill - a strategy employed by a potential take-over/target company to make its stock less attractive to an acquirer. Poison Pills are generally designed to dilute the acquirer's ownership and value in the event of a take-over.
G. <R>Large-Capitalization Company - a company included in the Russell 1000 ® Index or the Russell Global ex-U.S. Large Cap Index.</R>
H. <R>Small-Capitalization Company - a company not included in the Russell 1000 ® Index or the Russell Global ex-U.S. Large Cap Index that is not a Micro-Capitalization Company.</R>
I. Micro-Capitalization Company - a company with a market capitalization under US $300 million.
J. Evergreen Provision - a feature which provides for an automatic increase in the shares available for grant under an equity award plan on a regular basis.
III. Directors
A. Incumbent Directors
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of incumbent and nominee directors except where one or more such directors clearly appear to have failed to exercise reasonable judgment. Pyramis will also generally withhold authority for the election of all directors or directors on responsible committees if:
1. An Anti-Takeover Provision was introduced, an Anti-Takeover Provision was extended, or a new Anti-Takeover Provision was adopted upon the expiration of an existing Anti-Takeover Provision, without shareholder approval except as set forth below.
With respect to Poison Pills, however, Pyramis will consider not withholding authority on the election of directors if all of the following conditions are met when a Poison Pill is introduced, extended, or adopted:
a. The Poison Pill includes a Sunset Provision of less than five years;
b. The Poison Pill includes a Permitted Bid Feature;
c. The Poison Pill is linked to a business strategy that will result in greater value for the shareholders; and
d. Shareholder approval is required to reinstate the Poison Pill upon expiration.
Pyramis will also consider not withholding authority on the election of directors when one or more of the conditions above are not met if a board is willing to strongly consider seeking shareholder ratification of, or adding above conditions noted a. and b. to an existing Poison Pill. In such a case, if the company does not take appropriate action prior to the next annual shareholder meeting, Pyramis will withhold authority on the election of directors.
2. The company refuses, upon request by Pyramis, to amend the Poison Pill to allow Pyramis to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
3. Within the last year and without shareholder approval, a company's board of directors or compensation committee has repriced outstanding options, exchanged outstanding options for equity, or tendered cash for outstanding options.
4. <R>Executive compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as: (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether, in the case of stock awards, the restriction period was less than three years for non-performance based awards, and less than one year for performance-based awards; (iv) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restrictions; and (v) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.</R>
5. To gain Pyramis' support on a proposal, the company made a commitment to modify a proposal or practice to conform to the Guidelines and the company has failed to act on that commitment.
6. The director attended fewer than 75% of the aggregate number of meetings of the board or its committees on which the director served during the company's prior fiscal year, absent extenuating circumstances.
7. The board is not composed of a majority of independent directors.
B. Indemnification
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of charter and by-law amendments expanding the indemnification of directors and/or limiting their liability for breaches of care unless Pyramis is otherwise dissatisfied with the performance of management or the proposal is accompanied by Anti-Takeover Provisions.
C. Independent Chairperson
Pyramis will generally vote against shareholder proposals calling for or recommending the appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson. However, Pyramis will consider voting for such proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson appears likely to further the interests of shareholders and to promote effective oversight of management by the board of directors.
D. Majority Director Elections
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals calling for directors to be elected by an affirmative majority of votes cast in a board election, provided that the proposal allows for plurality voting standard in the case of contested elections (i.e., where there are more nominees than board seats). Pyramis may consider voting against such shareholder proposals where a company's board has adopted an alternative measure, such as a director resignation policy, that provides a meaningful alternative to the majority voting standard and appropriately addresses situations where an incumbent director fails to receive the support of a majority of the votes cast in an uncontested election.
IV. Compensation
A. Executive Compensation
1. Advisory votes on executive compensation
a. Pyramis will generally vote for proposals to ratify executive compensation unless such compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as, among other things, (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether, in the case of stock awards, the restriction period was less than three years for non-performance-based awards, and less than one year for performance-based awards; (iv) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restrictions; and (v) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.
b. Pyramis will generally vote against proposals to ratify Golden Parachutes.
2. Frequency of advisory vote on executive compensation
Pyramis will generally support annual advisory votes on executive compensation.
B. Equity Award Plans (including stock options, restricted stock awards, and other stock awards).
Pyramis will generally vote against equity award plans or amendments to authorize additional shares under such plans if:
1. (a) The company's average three year burn rate is greater than 1.5% for a Large-Capitalization Company, 2.5% for a Small-Capitalization Company or 3.5% for a Micro-Capitalization Company; and (b) there were no circumstances specific to the company or the plans that lead Pyramis to conclude that the burn rate is acceptable.
2. In the case of stock option plans, (a) the offering price of options is less than 100% of fair market value on the date of grant, except that the offering price may be as low as 85% of fair market value if the discount is expressly granted in lieu of salary or cash bonus; (b) the plan's terms allow repricing of underwater options; or (c) the board/committee has repriced options outstanding under the plan in the past two years without shareholder approval.
3. The plan includes an Evergreen Provision.
4. The plan provides for the acceleration of vesting of equity awards even though an actual change in control may not occur.
C. Equity Exchanges and Repricing
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of a management proposal to exchange, reprice or tender for cash, outstanding options if the proposed exchange, repricing, or tender offer is consistent with the interests of shareholders, taking into account such factors as:
1. Whether the proposal excludes senior management and directors;
2. Whether the exchange or repricing proposal is value neutral to shareholders based upon an acceptable pricing model;
3. The company's relative performance compared to other companies within the relevant industry or industries;
4. Economic and other conditions affecting the relevant industry or industries in which the company competes; and
5. Any other facts or circumstances relevant to determining whether an exchange or repricing proposal is consistent with the interests of shareholders.
D. Employee Stock Purchase Plans
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of employee stock purchase plans if the minimum stock purchase price is equal to or greater than 85% of the stock's fair market value and the plan constitutes a reasonable effort to encourage broad based participation in the company's equity. In the case of non-U.S. company stock purchase plans, Pyramis may permit a lower minimum stock purchase price equal to the prevailing "best practices" in the relevant non-U.S. market, provided that the minimum stock purchase price must be at least 75% of the stock's fair market value.
E. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of non-leveraged ESOPs. For leveraged ESOPs, Pyramis may examine the company's state of incorporation, existence of supermajority vote rules in the charter, number of shares authorized for the ESOP, and number of shares held by insiders. Pyramis may also examine where the ESOP shares are purchased and the dilution effect of the purchase. Pyramis will generally vote against leveraged ESOPs if all outstanding loans are due immediately upon change in control.
F. Bonus Plans and Tax Deductibility Proposals
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of cash and stock incentive plans that are submitted for shareholder approval in order to qualify for favorable tax treatment under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, provided that the plan includes well defined and appropriate performance criteria, and with respect to any cash component, that the maximum award per participant is clearly stated and is not unreasonable or excessive.
V. Anti-Takeover Provisions
Pyramis will generally vote against a proposal to adopt or approve the adoption of an Anti-Takeover Provision unless:
A. The Poison Pill includes the following features:
1. A Sunset Provision of no greater than five years;
2. Linked to a business strategy that is expected to result in greater value for the shareholders;
3. Requires shareholder approval to be reinstated upon expiration or if amended;
4. Contains a Permitted Bid Feature; and
5. Allows Pyramis accounts to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
B. An Anti-Greenmail proposal that does not include other Anti-Takeover Provisions; or
C. It is a fair price amendment that considers a two-year price history or less.
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of a proposal to eliminate an Anti-Takeover Provisions unless:
D. In the case of proposals to declassify a board of directors, Pyramis will generally vote against such a proposal if the issuer's Articles of Incorporation or applicable statutes include a provision whereby a majority of directors may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by written consent, or other reasonable procedures, by a majority of shareholders entitled to vote for the election of directors.
E. In the case of shareholder proposals regarding shareholders' right to call special meetings, Pyramis generally will vote against each proposal if the threshold required to call a special meeting is less than 25% of the outstanding stock.
F. In the case of proposals regarding shareholders' right to act by written consent, Pyramis will generally vote against each proposal if it does not include appropriate mechanisms for implementation including, among other things, that at least 25% of the outstanding stock request that the company establish a record date determining which shareholders are entitled to act and that consents be solicited from all shareholders.
VI. Capital Structure/Incorporation
A. Increases in Common Stock
Pyramis will generally vote against a provision to increase a company's common stock if such increase will result in a total number of authorized shares greater than three times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares, including stock options, except in the case of real estate investment trusts, where an increase that will result in a total number of authorized shares up to five times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares is generally acceptable.
B. New Classes of Shares
Pyramis will generally vote against the introduction of new classes of stock with differential voting rights.
C. Cumulative Voting Rights
Pyramis will generally vote against the introduction and in favor of the elimination of cumulative voting rights.
D. Acquisition or Business Combination Statutes
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposed amendments to a company's certificate of incorporation or by-laws that enable the company to opt out of the control shares acquisition or business combination statutes.
E. Incorporation or Reincorporation in Another State or Country
Pyramis will generally vote for management proposals calling for, or recommending that, a portfolio company reincorporate in another state or country if, on balance, the economic and corporate governance factors in the proposed jurisdiction appear reasonably likely to be better aligned with shareholder interests, taking into account the corporate laws of the current and proposed jurisdictions and any changes to the company's current and proposed governing documents. Pyramis will consider supporting such shareholder proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, remaining incorporated in the current jurisdiction appears misaligned with shareholder interests.
VII. Shares of Investment Companies
A. If applicable, when a Pyramis account invests in an underlying Fidelity Fund with public shareholders, an exchange traded fund (ETF), or non-affiliated fund, Pyramis will vote in the same proportion as all other voting shareholders of such underlying fund or class ("echo voting"). Pyramis may choose not to vote if "echo voting" is not operationally feasible.
B. Certain Pyramis accounts may invest in shares of underlying Fidelity Funds, which are held exclusively by Fidelity Funds or accounts managed by FMR or an affiliate. Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals recommended by the underlying funds' Board of Trustees.
VIII. Other
A. Voting Process
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals to adopt confidential voting and independent vote tabulation practices.
B. Regulated Industries
Voting of shares in securities of any regulated industry (e.g. U.S. banking) organization shall be conducted in a manner consistent with conditions that may be specified by the industry's regulator (e.g. the Federal Reserve Board) for a determination under applicable law (e.g. federal banking law) that no client or group of clients has acquired control of such organization.
<R>To view a fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, visit www.fidelity.com/proxyvotingresults or visit the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.</R>
<R>For purposes of the following "Distribution Services" discussion, the term "shares" (as it relates to the fund) means the one class of shares of the fund offered through the prospectus to which this SAI relates.</R>
The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. The principal business address of FDC is 100 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by Strategic Advisers.
<R>The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan with respect to shares of the fund (the Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a mutual fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows shares of the fund and Strategic Advisers to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.</R>
Under the Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to Strategic Advisers is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Plan. The Plan specifically recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Plan provides that Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers or FDC), that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
<R>Prior to approving the Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Plan will benefit the fund or class, as applicable, and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Plan does not authorize payments by shares of the fund other than those made to Strategic Advisers under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Plan gives Strategic Advisers and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of shares of the fund, additional sales of shares of the fund or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.</R>
FDC or an affiliate may compensate, or upon direction make payments for certain retirement plan expenses to, intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (including affiliates of FDC). A number of factors are considered in determining whether to pay these additional amounts. Such factors may include, without limitation, the level or type of services provided by the intermediary, the level or expected level of assets or sales of shares, and other factors. In addition to such payments, FDC or an affiliate may offer other incentives such as sponsorship of educational or client seminars relating to current products and issues, payments or reimbursements for travel and related expenses associated with due diligence trips that an intermediary may undertake in order to explore possible business relationships with affiliates of FDC, and/or payments of costs and expenses associated with attendance at seminars, including travel, lodging, entertainment, and meals. Certain of the payments described above may be significant to an intermediary. As permitted by SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rules and other applicable laws and regulations, FDC or an affiliate may pay or allow other incentives or payments to intermediaries.
The fund's transfer agent or an affiliate may also make payments and reimbursements from its own resources to certain intermediaries (who may be affiliated with the transfer agent) for performing recordkeeping and other services. Please see "Transfer and Service Agent Agreements" in this SAI for more information.
Any of the payments described in this section may represent a premium over payments made by other fund families. Retirement plan sponsors may take these payments into account when deciding whether to include a fund as a plan investment option.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
<R>For purposes of the following "Transfer and Service Agent Agreements" discussion, the term "shares" (as it relates to the fund) means the one class of shares of the fund offered through the prospectus to which this SAI relates.</R>
<R>The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (FIIOC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers, which is located at 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services for shares of the fund.</R>
For providing transfer agency services, FIIOC receives an account fee and an asset-based fee with respect to assets managed by one or more sub-advisers and assets invested in non-affiliated ETFs. For retail accounts, these fees are based on fund type. For certain institutional accounts, these fees are based on size of position and fund type. For institutional retirement accounts, these fees are based on account type and fund type. The account fee is billed monthly on a pro rata basis at one-twelfth of the applicable annual rate as of the end of each calendar month. The asset-based fee is calculated and paid monthly on the basis of average daily net assets. For assets invested in underlying Fidelity funds, each underlying Fidelity fund pays its respective transfer agent (either FIIOC or an affiliate of FIIOC) fees based, in part, on the number of positions in and assets of the fund invested in such underlying Fidelity fund.
FIIOC also may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
FIIOC or an affiliate may make payments out of its own resources to intermediaries (including affiliates of FIIOC) for recordkeeping services. Payments may also be made, upon direction, for other plan expenses. FIIOC may also pay an affiliate for providing services that otherwise would have been performed by FIIOC.
<R>The fund has entered into a service agent agreement with Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers (or an agent, including an affiliate). Under the terms of the agreement, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for shares of the fund and maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records.</R>
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
The annual rates for pricing and bookkeeping services for the fund are 0.0415% of the first $500 million of average net assets, 0.0301% of average net assets between $500 million and $3.5 billion, 0.0041% of average net assets between $3.5 billion and $25 billion, and 0.0019% of average net assets in excess of $25 billion.
<R>Pricing and bookkeeping fees paid by the fund to FSC for the past fiscal period are shown in the following table.</R>
<R> Fund |
2013 *</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund |
$ 12,025</R> |
<R>* From June 19, 2012.</R>
<R> Trust Organization. Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund is a fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, an open-end management investment company created under an initial trust instrument dated March 8, 2006. Currently, there are 20 funds offered in the trust: Strategic Advisers Core Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.</R>
<R>The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund, except that liabilities and expenses may be allocated to a particular class. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds or classes.</R>
Shareholder Liability. The trust is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that, except to the extent otherwise provided in the Trust Instrument, shareholders shall be entitled to the same limitations of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit organized under the general corporation law of Delaware. The courts of some states, however, may decline to apply Delaware law on this point. The Trust Instrument contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust. The Trust Instrument provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Trust Instrument further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
<R>The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of each fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Trust Instrument also provides that each fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which Delaware law does not apply, no contractual limitation of liability was in effect, and a fund is unable to meet its obligations. Strategic Advisers believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is extremely remote. Claims asserted against one class of shares may subject holders of another class of shares to certain liabilities.</R>
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. As a shareholder, you are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value you own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
<R></R>
The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodians. State Street Bank and Trust Company, 1776 Heritage Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as special purpose custodians of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions.
Strategic Advisers, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Member of the Advisory Board, and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by Strategic Advisers. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of Strategic Advisers, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 125 High Street, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit, tax, and related services.
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized Strategic Advisers, in consultation with FMR, to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
Other registered investment companies that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be subject to different portfolio holdings disclosure policies, and neither Strategic Advisers nor the Board exercises control over such policies or disclosure. In addition, separate account clients of Strategic Advisers and the sub-advisers have access to their portfolio holdings and are not subject to the fund's portfolio holdings disclosure policies. Some of the funds that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser and some of the separate accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser have investment objectives and strategies that are substantially similar or identical to the fund's and, therefore, potentially substantially similar, and in certain cases nearly identical, portfolio holdings as the fund.
The fund will provide a full list of holdings monthly on www.fidelity.com 30 days after the month-end (excluding high income security holdings, which generally will be presented collectively monthly and included in a list of full holdings 60 days after its fiscal quarter-end).
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations.
<R> The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the activities associated with managing Fidelity funds to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons Strategic Advisers believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include, but are not limited to: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics (including portfolio managers of affiliated funds of funds); contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.</R>
Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, (ii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iii) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. Strategic Advisers relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.
<R>At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day) and DocuLynx Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day).</R>
Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, Strategic Advisers desired to make such an arrangement, it would seek prior Board approval and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
<R>The fund's financial statements and financial highlights for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013, and report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the fund's annual report and are incorporated herein by reference. Total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table may differ from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the financial highlights because total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table include any acquired fund fees and expenses, whereas the ratios of expenses in the financial highlights do not, except to the extent any acquired fund fees and expenses relate to an entity, such as a wholly-owned subsidiary, with which a fund's financial statements are consolidated. Acquired funds include other investment companies in which the fund has invested, if and to the extent it is permitted to do so. Total annual operating expenses in the prospectus fee table and the financial highlights do not include any expenses associated with investments in certain structured or synthetic products that may rely on the exception from the definition of "investment company" provided by section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
Strategic Advisers ® Core Income Multi-Manager Fund
Class /Ticker
F /FMAKX
Class F shares of the fund are available for purchase only by mutual funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager.
Prospectus
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R>
</R>
Fund Summary |
Strategic Advisers ® Core Income Multi-Manager Fund |
|
<R> Fund Basics |
Investment Details </R> |
|
<R> |
Valuing Shares </R> |
|
<R> Shareholder Information |
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares </R> |
|
<R> |
Account Policies </R> |
|
<R> |
Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions </R> |
|
<R> |
Tax Consequences </R> |
|
<R> Fund Services |
Fund Management </R> |
|
<R> |
Fund Distribution </R> |
|
<R> Appendix |
Financial Highlights </R> |
|
<R> |
Additional Information about the Index </R> |
Prospectus
<R>
Fund
/Class:
Strategic
Advisers
®
Core Income Multi-Manager Fund
/F</R>
The fund seeks a high level of current income.
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy and hold shares of the fund.
Shareholder fees
|
None |
Annual class operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
<R> Management fee (fluctuates based on the fund's allocation among underlying funds and sub-advisers) A |
0.33% </R> |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees |
None |
<R> Other expenses B |
0.31% </R> |
Acquired fund fees and expenses (fees and expenses of underlying funds) B |
0.36% |
<R> Total annual operating expenses |
1.00% </R> |
<R> Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement A |
0.30% </R> |
<R> Total annual operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement |
0.70% </R> |
<R> A Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) has contractually agreed that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.65% of the fund's average daily net assets. Strategic Advisers has also contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets. This arrangement will remain in effect through April 30, 2014. Strategic Advisers may not terminate this arrangement without the approval of the Board of Trustees. </R>
B Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
<R> 1 year |
$ 72 </R> |
<R> 3 years |
$ 283 </R> |
<R> 5 years |
$ 518 </R> |
<R> 10 years |
$ 1,193 </R> |
<R>The fund will not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of affiliated funds but may incur transaction costs when buying or selling non-affiliated funds and other types of securities (including non-affiliated exchange traded funds) directly (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance. For the period from June 19, 2012 to February 28, 2013, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 190% (annualized) of the average value of its portfolio.</R>
Prospectus
<R> Pursuant to an exemptive order granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) is permitted, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees, to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement. </R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
Performance history will be available for the fund after the fund has been in operation for one calendar year.
<R>Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. Prudential Investment Management, Inc. (PIM) and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis) have been retained to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. PIM has not currently been allocated a portion of the fund's assets to manage.</R>
Gregory Pappas (lead portfolio manager) has managed the fund since June 2012.
Jeffrey Moore (portfolio manager) has managed Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets since June 2012.
Class F shares are not available for sale to the general public.
The fund offers Class F shares only to certain other mutual funds managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.
The price to buy one share of Class F is its net asset value per share (NAV). Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of Class F is its NAV. Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
There is no purchase minimum for Class F shares.
Distributions received from the fund are subject to federal income tax and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state or local taxes, unless invested through a tax-advantaged retirement account (in which case the distributions may be taxed later, upon withdrawal of the investment from such account).
Prospectus
The fund, Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Investment Objective
The fund seeks a high level of current income.
Principal Investment Strategies
The fund normally invests primarily in investment-grade debt securities (those of medium and high quality) of all types and repurchase agreements for those securities. The fund may invest up to 30% of its assets in high yield and emerging market debt securities.
The fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers in addition to securities of domestic issuers.
The fund may engage in transactions that have a leveraging effect, including investments in derivatives, regardless of whether it may own the asset, instrument, or components of the index underlying the derivative, and forward-settling securities. The fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in these types of investments. The fund's derivative investments may include interest rate swaps, total return swaps, credit default swaps, and futures contracts (both long and short positions) on securities and indexes. The fund may engage in these transactions to increase or decrease its exposure to changing security prices, interest rates, credit qualities, or other factors that affect security values, or to gain or reduce exposure to an asset, instrument, or index.
The fund implements its investment strategies by investing directly in securities through one or more sub-advisers or indirectly in securities through one or more underlying funds, which in turn invest directly in securities.
Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of underlying funds or sub-advisers at any time.
Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds and sub-advisers according to an allocation strategy designed to achieve portfolio characteristics similar to those of the Barclays ® U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds and sub-advisers to achieve similar overall interest rate risk to the Index.
Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds and sub-advisers to attempt to diversify the fund's portfolio among different market sectors (for example, corporate, asset-backed or government securities) and different maturities based on its view of the relative value of each sector or maturity.
Strategic Advisers pursues a disciplined, benchmark-driven approach to portfolio construction, and monitors and adjusts allocations to underlying funds and sub-advisers as necessary to favor those underlying funds and sub-advisers that Strategic Advisers believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the fund's investment objective.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among underlying funds, Strategic Advisers relies on proprietary fundamental and quantitative fund research in its fund selection process. Factors considered when investing in underlying funds include fund performance, a fund manager's experience and investment style, fund company infrastructure, and fund characteristics such as expense ratio, asset size, and portfolio turnover.
Prospectus
<R>The fund may invest in affiliated fixed-income funds ( i.e., Fidelity funds) and non-affiliated fixed-income funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork ® and in non-affiliated ETFs. Underlying funds include both funds managed by FMR (an affiliated company that, together with Strategic Advisers, is part of Fidelity Investments) or an affiliate and funds managed by investment advisers other than Fidelity. Fidelity may receive service fees that typically are at an annual rate of up to 0.40% of a non-affiliated underlying fund's average daily net assets attributable to purchases through Fidelity's FundsNetwork, though such fees may be higher or lower, or may be charged as transaction and/or account fees. In addition, the fund may invest in ETFs in transactions not occurring through Fidelity's FundsNetwork.</R>
Strategic Advisers generally identifies fixed-income funds by reference to a fund's name, policies, or classification by a third-party ranking or ratings organization.
Strategic Advisers may actively adjust the allocation of the fund's assets at any time. For current information on fund holdings, please call 1-800-835-5095 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.401k.com. For information on the underlying funds, see the underlying funds' prospectuses. A copy of any underlying Fidelity fund's prospectus is available at www.fidelity.com or www.advisor.fidelity.com. For a copy of any other underlying fund's prospectus, visit the web site of the company that manages or sponsors that underlying fund.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers considers a variety of factors including, but not limited to, a sub-adviser's investment approach, the characteristics of a sub-adviser's typical investment portfolio, and a sub-adviser's performance patterns in different market environments.
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
To select investments, a sub-adviser may analyze the credit quality of the issuer, security-specific features, current valuation relative to alternatives in the market, short-term trading opportunities resulting from market inefficiencies, and potential future valuation. In managing the fund's exposure to various risks, including interest rate risk, a sub-adviser may consider, among other things, the market's overall risk characteristics, the market's current pricing of those risks, information on the fund's competitive universe and internal views of potential future market conditions.
In selecting foreign securities, a sub-adviser's analysis may also consider the credit, currency, and economic risks associated with the security and the country of its issuer. A sub-adviser may also consider an issuer's potential for success in light of its current financial condition, its industry position, and economic and market conditions.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
To earn additional income for the fund, a sub-adviser may use a trading strategy that involves selling (or buying) mortgage securities and simultaneously agreeing to buy (or sell) mortgage securities on a later date at a set price. This trading strategy may increase interest rate exposure and result in an increased portfolio turnover rate which increases transaction costs and may increase taxable gains.
In addition, the fund may have indirect exposure to derivatives through its investments in underlying funds.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Description of Principal Security Types
In addition to investing in underlying funds, the fund may invest directly in the following principal security types:
Debt securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay current interest but are sold at a discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, mortgage and other asset-backed securities, and other securities that Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser believes have debt-like characteristics, including hybrids and synthetic securities.
A repurchase agreement is an agreement to buy a security at one price and a simultaneous agreement to sell it back at an agreed-upon price.
Derivatives are investments whose values are tied to an underlying asset, instrument, currency, or index. Derivatives include futures, options, forwards, and swaps, such as interest rate swaps (exchanging a floating rate for a fixed rate), total return swaps (exchanging a floating rate for the total return of a security or index) and credit default swaps (buying or selling credit default protection).
Forward-settling securities involve a commitment to purchase or sell specific securities when issued, or at a predetermined price or yield. When a fund does not already own or have the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount, a commitment to sell securities is equivalent to a short sale. Payment and delivery take place after the customary settlement period.
Prospectus
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on the performance of the underlying funds and securities in which it invests and on changes in market conditions and interest rates and in response to other economic, political, or financial developments. The fund's reaction to these developments will be affected by the types of underlying funds and securities in which the fund invests, the financial condition, industry and economic sector, and geographic location of an issuer, and the fund's level of investment in the securities of that underlying fund or issuer.
If Strategic Advisers' or a sub-adviser's allocation strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective. The portfolio managers' evaluations and assumptions in selecting underlying funds or individual securities may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.
When your shares are sold they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
Investing in Other Funds. Regulatory restrictions may limit the amount that one fund can invest in another, and in certain cases further limit investments to the extent a fund's shares are already held by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The fund bears all risks of investment strategies employed by the underlying funds. The fund does not control the investments of the underlying funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the fund would not engage in directly. Aggregation of underlying fund holdings may result in indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase volatility.
Interest Rate Changes. Debt securities have varying levels of sensitivity to changes in interest rates. In general, the price of a debt security can fall when interest rates rise and can rise when interest rates fall. Securities with longer maturities and mortgage securities can be more sensitive to interest rate changes. In other words, the longer the maturity of a security, the greater the impact a change in interest rates could have on the security's price. In addition, short-term and long-term interest rates do not necessarily move in the same amount or the same direction. Short-term securities tend to react to changes in short-term interest rates, and long-term securities tend to react to changes in long-term interest rates. Inflation-protected debt securities may react differently from other types of debt securities and tend to react to changes in "real" interest rates. Real interest rates represent nominal (stated) interest rates reduced by the expected impact of inflation. In general, the price of an inflation-protected debt security can fall when real interest rates rise, and can rise when real interest rates fall. Interest payments on inflation-protected debt securities can be unpredictable and will vary as the principal and/or interest is adjusted for inflation.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
<R> Foreign Exposure. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; withholding or other taxes; trading, settlement, custodial, and other operational risks; and the less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets. All of these factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and potentially less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can perform differently from the U.S. market.</R>
Investing in emerging markets can involve risks in addition to and greater than those generally associated with investing in more developed foreign markets. The extent of economic development; political stability; market depth, infrastructure, and capitalization; and regulatory oversight can be less than in more developed markets. Emerging market economies can be subject to greater social, economic, regulatory, and political uncertainties. All of these factors can make emerging market securities more volatile and potentially less liquid than securities issued in more developed markets.
Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers or providers in, or foreign exchange rates with, a different country or region.
Industry Exposure. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry or a group of related industries, and the securities of companies in that industry or group of industries could react similarly to these or other developments. In addition, from time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry or a group of related industries as a whole, and these companies can be sensitive to adverse economic, regulatory, or financial developments.
Prepayment. Many types of debt securities, including mortgage securities and inflation-protected debt securities, are subject to prepayment risk. Prepayment risk occurs when the issuer of a security can repay principal prior to the security's maturity. Securities subject to prepayment can offer less potential for gains during a declining interest rate environment and similar or greater potential for loss in a rising interest rate environment. In addition, the potential impact of prepayment features on the price of a debt security can be difficult to predict and result in greater volatility.
Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's credit quality or value. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers. Entities providing credit support or a maturity-shortening structure also can be affected by these types of changes. If the structure of a security fails to function as intended, the security could decline in value. Lower-quality debt securities (those of less than investment-grade quality, also referred to as high yield debt securities), including floating rate loans, and certain types of other securities tend to be particularly sensitive to these changes.
Prospectus
Lower-quality debt securities and certain types of other securities involve greater risk of default or price changes due to changes in the credit quality of the issuer. The value of lower-quality debt securities and certain types of other securities often fluctuates in response to company, political, or economic developments and can decline significantly over short as well as long periods of time or during periods of general or regional economic difficulty. Lower-quality debt securities can be thinly traded or have restrictions on resale, making them difficult to sell at an acceptable price, and often are considered to be speculative. The default rate for lower-quality debt securities is likely to be higher during economic recessions or periods of high interest rates.
Leverage Risk. Derivatives, forward-settling securities, and short sale transactions involve leverage because they can provide investment exposure in an amount exceeding the initial investment. Leverage can magnify investment risks and cause losses to be realized more quickly. A small change in the underlying asset, instrument, or index can lead to a significant loss. Assets segregated to cover these transactions may decline in value and are not available to meet redemptions. Forward-settling securities and short sale transactions also involve the risk that a security will not be issued, delivered, available for purchase, or paid for when anticipated. An increase in the market price of securities sold short will result in a loss. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of these transactions and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies.
Investing in ETFs. ETFs may trade in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) at prices below the value of their underlying portfolios and may not be liquid. An ETF that is not actively managed cannot sell poorly performing stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in its index or other benchmark. ETFs that track an index are subject to tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to its index or other benchmark).
Quantitative Investing. The value of securities selected using quantitative analysis can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis. The factors used in quantitative analysis and the weight placed on those factors may not be predictive of a security's value. In addition, factors that affect a security's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
<R>In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser, if any, may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
The following policy is fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:
The fund seeks a high level of current income.
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
A class's NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates the class's NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing the class's NAV.
NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the SEC.
To the extent that the fund's assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some of the fund's assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) are valued at their respective NAVs. For an explanation of the circumstances under which the underlying funds will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the underlying funds' prospectuses and statements of additional information (SAIs). The fund's NAV is calculated using the values of the underlying funds in which it invests. Other assets (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service. Certain short-term securities are valued on the basis of amortized cost. If market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, are deemed unreliable for a security, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before the fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. Fair value pricing will be used for high yield debt securities when available pricing information is determined to be stale or for other reasons not to accurately reflect fair value.
Prospectus
Arbitrage opportunities may exist when trading in a portfolio security or securities is halted and does not resume before a fund calculates its NAV. These arbitrage opportunities may enable short-term traders to dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Securities trading in overseas markets present time zone arbitrage opportunities when events affecting portfolio security values occur after the close of the overseas markets but prior to the close of the U.S. market. Fair valuation of a fund's portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that fair value pricing policies will prevent dilution of a fund's NAV by short-term traders.
Although the fund has policies regarding excessive trading, these too may not be effective to prevent short-term NAV arbitrage trading, particularly in regard to omnibus accounts.
Fair value pricing is based on subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value of a security may differ materially from the value that would be realized if the security were sold.
Prospectus
CLASS F SHARES ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase or exchange, including transactions deemed to represent excessive trading, at any time.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
The Board of Trustees has adopted policies designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares. Excessive trading activity in the fund is measured by the number of roundtrip transactions in a shareholder's account and each class of a multiple class fund is treated separately. A roundtrip transaction occurs when a shareholder sells fund shares (including exchanges) within 30 days of the purchase date.
Shareholders with two or more roundtrip transactions in a single fund within a rolling 90-day period will be blocked from making additional purchases or exchange purchases of the fund for 85 days. Shareholders with four or more roundtrip transactions across all Fidelity funds within any rolling 12-month period will be blocked for at least 85 days from additional purchases or exchange purchases across all Fidelity funds. Any roundtrip within 12 months of the expiration of a multi-fund block will initiate another multi-fund block. Repeat offenders may be subject to long-term or permanent blocks on purchase or exchange purchase transactions in any account under the shareholder's control at any time. In addition to enforcing these roundtrip limitations, the fund may in its discretion restrict, reject, or cancel any purchases or exchanges that, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, may be disruptive to the management of the fund or otherwise not be in the fund's interests.
The following transactions are exempt from the fund's excessive trading policy described above: (i) transactions of $1,000 or less, (ii) systematic withdrawal and/or contribution programs, (iii) mandatory retirement distributions, and (iv) transactions initiated by a plan sponsor or sponsors of certain employee benefit plans or other related accounts. In addition, the fund's excessive trading policy does not apply to transactions initiated by the trustee or adviser to a donor-advised charitable gift fund, qualified fund of fund(s), or other strategy funds. A qualified fund of fund(s) is a mutual fund, qualified tuition program, or other strategy fund consisting of qualified plan assets that either applies the fund's excessive trading policies to shareholders at the fund of fund(s) level, or demonstrates that the fund of fund(s) has an investment strategy coupled with policies designed to control frequent trading that are reasonably likely to be effective as determined by the fund's Treasurer.
Prospectus
Omnibus accounts, in which shares are held in the name of an intermediary on behalf of multiple investors, are a common form of holding shares among retirement plans and financial intermediaries such as brokers, advisers, and third-party administrators. Individual trades in omnibus accounts are often not disclosed to the fund, making it difficult to determine whether a particular shareholder is engaging in excessive trading. Excessive trading in omnibus accounts is likely to go undetected by the fund and may increase costs to the fund and disrupt its portfolio management.
Under policies adopted by the Board of Trustees, intermediaries will be permitted to apply the fund's excessive trading policy (described above), or their own excessive trading policy if approved by Strategic Advisers. In these cases, the fund will typically not request or receive individual account data but will rely on the intermediary to monitor trading activity in good faith in accordance with its or the fund's policies. Reliance on intermediaries increases the risk that excessive trading may go undetected. For other intermediaries, the fund will generally monitor trading activity at the omnibus account level to attempt to identify disruptive trades. The fund may request transaction information, as frequently as daily, from any intermediary at any time, and may apply the fund's policy to transactions that exceed thresholds established by the Board of Trustees. The fund may prohibit purchases of fund shares by an intermediary or by some or all of any intermediary's clients. There is no assurance that Strategic Advisers will request data with sufficient frequency to detect or deter excessive trading in omnibus accounts effectively.
If you purchase or sell fund shares through a financial intermediary, you may wish to contact the intermediary to determine the policies applicable to your account.
For employer-sponsored retirement plans, only participant directed exchanges count toward the roundtrip limits. Employer-sponsored retirement plan participants whose activity triggers a purchase or exchange block will be permitted one trade every calendar quarter. In the event of a block, employer and participant contributions and loan repayments by the participant may still be invested in the fund.
The fund will monitor aggregate trading activity of adviser transactions to attempt to identify excessive trading in qualified wrap programs, as defined below. Excessive trading by an adviser will lead to fund blocks and the wrap program will lose its qualified status. Adviser transactions will not be matched with client-directed transactions unless the wrap program ceases to be a qualified wrap program (but all client-directed transactions will be subject to the fund's excessive trading policy). A qualified wrap program is: (i) a program whose adviser certifies that it has investment discretion over $100 million or more in client assets invested in mutual funds at the time of the certification, (ii) a program in which the adviser directs transactions in the accounts participating in the program in concert with changes in a model portfolio, and (iii) managed by an adviser who agrees to give Strategic Advisers sufficient information to permit Strategic Advisers to identify the individual accounts in the wrap program.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
The fund reserves the right at any time to restrict purchases or exchanges or impose conditions that are more restrictive on excessive or disruptive trading than those stated in this prospectus. The fund's Treasurer is authorized to suspend the fund's policies during periods of severe market turbulence or national emergency. The fund reserves the right to modify its policies at any time without prior notice.
The fund does not knowingly accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares by investors, except to the extent permitted by the policies described above.
As described in "Valuing Shares," the fund also uses fair value pricing to help reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders. There is no assurance that the fund's excessive trading policy will be effective, or will successfully detect or deter excessive or disruptive trading.
Class F shares of the fund have no exchange privilege with any other fund.
Class F shares of the fund are available for purchase only by mutual funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager.
The price to buy one share of Class F is its NAV. Class F shares are sold without a sales charge.
Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
Orders by funds of funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.
<R>Provided the fund receives an order to buy shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to buy shares of an underlying fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.</R>
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
Prospectus
The price to sell one share of Class F is its NAV.
Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
Orders by funds of funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.
<R>Provided the fund receives an order to sell shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to sell shares of an underlying fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.</R>
Redemptions may be suspended or payment dates postponed when the NYSE is closed (other than weekends or holidays), when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as permitted by the SEC.
Redemption proceeds may be paid in securities or other property rather than in cash if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, redemption requests may be suspended, restricted, canceled, or processed and the proceeds may be withheld.
Fidelity will send monthly account statements detailing fund balances and all transactions completed during the prior month.
You may be asked to provide additional information in order for Fidelity to verify your identity in accordance with requirements under anti-money laundering regulations. Accounts may be restricted and/or closed, and the monies withheld, pending verification of this information or as otherwise required under these and other federal regulations.
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
The fund normally declares dividends daily and pays them monthly. The fund normally pays capital gain distributions in April and December.
Shares generally begin to earn dividends on the first business day following the day of purchase.
Shares generally earn dividends until, but not including, the next business day following the day of redemption.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Dividends and capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional Class F shares of the fund.
As with any investment, investing in the fund could have tax consequences. If not investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account, these tax consequences should be considered.
Taxes on distributions. Distributions received from the fund are subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes.
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including dividends and distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable as ordinary income, while certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of long-term capital gains, are taxable generally as capital gains. A percentage of certain distributions of dividends may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
If shares are purchased on your behalf when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.
Any taxable distributions received from the fund will normally be taxable when received.
Taxes on transactions. Redemptions may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on an investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of shares and the price received when sold.
Prospectus
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
The fund employs a multi-manager and a fund of funds investment structure. Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of sub-advisers or underlying funds.
<R> Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. The address of Strategic Advisers and its affiliates, unless otherwise indicated below, is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R>As of December 31, 2012, Strategic Advisers had approximately $320.7 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
As the manager, Strategic Advisers has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
<R> PIM, at 100 Mulberry Street, Gateway Center 2 - 3rd Floor, Newark, NJ 07102, has been retained to serve as sub-adviser for the fund. As of December 31, 2012, Prudential Fixed Income (PFI), the asset management unit of PIM that may provide investment advisory services to the fund, had approximately $395 billion in assets under management. PIM has not currently been allocated a portion of the fund's assets to manage.</R>
<R> Pyramis, at 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. Pyramis is an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. As of December 31, 2012, Pyramis had approximately $31.7 billion in discretionary assets under management. Pyramis provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
Strategic Advisers
Gregory Pappas is lead portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since June 2012. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1990, Mr. Pappas has worked as a senior fund analyst, fixed income strategist, and portfolio manager.
Pyramis
Jeffrey Moore is portfolio manager for Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since June 2012. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1995, Mr. Moore has worked as a research analyst and portfolio manager.
The SAI provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by the portfolio managers.
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.
Prospectus
The fund pays a management fee to Strategic Advisers. The management fee is calculated and paid to Strategic Advisers every month.
The fund's management fee is calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets. Because the fund's management fee rate may fluctuate, the fund's management fee may be higher or lower in the future. The fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.65% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets through April 30, 2014.</R>
In return for the services of the fund's sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers will pay each of the fund's sub-advisers the fee (as described above) payable to that sub-adviser.
<R>The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract and sub-advisory agreements for the fund is available in the fund's semi-annual report for the fiscal period ended August 31, 2012.</R>
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, agree to reimburse a class for, or waive, management fees and other expenses above a specified limit. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid by a class if expenses fall below the specified limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Reimbursement or waiver arrangements can decrease expenses and boost performance.
<R>Strategic Advisers has voluntarily agreed to reimburse Class F of the fund to the extent that total operating expenses of Class F (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, extraordinary expenses, sub-advisory fees, and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any), as a percentage of its average net assets, exceed 0.20%. This arrangement may be discontinued by Strategic Advisers at any time.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, approximately 98.34% of the fund's total outstanding shares was held by Strategic Advisers and/or another entity or entities of which FMR LLC is the ultimate parent.</R>
The fund is composed of multiple classes of shares. All classes of the fund have a common investment objective and investment portfolio.
Class F has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) that recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of Class F shares and/or shareholder support services. Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, service-providers, and administrators, that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for Class F shares.
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
Affiliates of Strategic Advisers may receive service fees or distribution fees or both with respect to underlying funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork.
If payments made by Strategic Advisers to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of Class F's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
Prospectus
The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand Class F's financial history for the period of the class' operations. Certain information reflects financial results for a single class share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the class (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial highlights and financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report. A free copy of the annual report is available upon request.
Period ended February 28, |
2013 F |
Selected Per-Share Data |
|
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 10.19 |
Income from Investment Operations |
|
Net investment income (loss) D |
.072 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
(.029 ) E |
Total from investment operations |
.043 |
Distributions from net investment income |
(.068) |
Distributions from net realized gain |
(.065 ) |
Total distributions |
(.133 ) |
Net asset value, end of period |
$ 10.10 |
Total Return B, C |
.43% |
Ratios to Average Net Assets G |
|
Expenses before reductions |
.66% A |
Expenses net of fee waivers, if any |
.23% A |
Expenses net of all reductions |
.23% A |
Net investment income (loss) |
3.62% A |
Supplemental Data |
|
Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$ 272 |
Portfolio turnover rate H |
190% A |
A Annualized
B Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.
C Total returns would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reduced during the applicable periods shown.
D Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.
E The amount shown for a share outstanding does not correspond with the aggregate net gain (loss) on investments for the period due to the timing of sales and repurchases of shares in relation to fluctuating market values of the investments of the Fund.
F For the period December 18, 2012 (commencement of operations) to February 28, 2013.
G Expense ratios reflect operating expenses of the class. Expenses before reductions do not reflect amounts reimbursed by the investment adviser or reductions from expense offset arrangements and do not represent the amount paid by the class during periods when reimbursements or reductions occur. Expense ratios before reductions for start-up periods may not be representative of longer-term operating periods. Expenses net of fee waivers reflect expenses after reimbursement by the investment adviser but prior to reductions from expense offset arrangements. Expenses net of all reductions represent the net expenses paid by the class. Fees and expenses of the Underlying Funds are not included in the class' annualized ratios. The class indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the Underlying Funds.
H Amount does not include the portfolio activity of any Underlying Funds.
Prospectus
Appendix - continued
Barclays ® U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is a broad-based, market-value-weighted benchmark that measures the performance of the investment grade, U.S. dollar-denominated, fixed-rate taxable bond market. Sectors in the index include Treasuries, government-related and corporate securities, MBS (agency fixed-rate and hybrid ARM pass-throughs), ABS, and CMBS.
Prospectus
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account. For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account such as name, residential address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity. |
You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.
For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call Fidelity at 1-800-835-5095. In addition, existing investors may visit the web site at www.401k.com for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number, 811-21991 |
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design, and FundsNetwork are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R>1.951460.102 ACF-F-PRO-0413</R>
Strategic Advisers ® Core Income Multi-Manager Fund
Class F (FMAKX)
A Fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R>This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. Portions of the fund's annual report are incorporated herein. The annual report is supplied with this SAI.</R>
<R>To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated April 29, 2013, or an annual report, please call Fidelity at 1-800-835-5095 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.401k.com.</R>
<R>ACF-F-PTB-0413
1.951461.103</R>
<R>
</R>
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PAGE |
Investment Policies and Limitations |
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<R>Special Geographic Considerations |
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<R>Portfolio Transactions |
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<R>Valuation |
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<R>Buying and Selling Information |
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<R>Distributions and Taxes |
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<R>Trustees and Officers |
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<R>Control of Investment Advisers |
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<R>Management Contract |
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<R>Proxy Voting Guidelines |
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<R>Distribution Services |
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<R>Transfer and Service Agent Agreements |
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<R>Description of the Trust |
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<R>Fund Holdings Information |
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<R>Financial Statements |
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<R>Appendix |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not with respect to 75% of the fund's total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except in connection with the insurance program established by the fund pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission or as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry (provided that investments in other investment companies shall not be considered an investment in any particular industry for purposes of this investment limitation).
For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities, Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) looks through to the U.S. Government securities.
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The acquisitions of loans and loan participations excluded from the fund's lending limitation discussed above are only those loans and loan participations considered securities within the meaning of the 1940 Act.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, except for sales of to be announced (TBA) securities, and provided that transactions in futures contracts, options, and swaps are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 10% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 10% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
To the extent that the fund acquires the shares of an underlying fund in accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, the underlying fund is not obligated to redeem its shares in an amount exceeding 1% of its shares outstanding during any period of less than 30 days. Those underlying fund shares will not be treated as illiquid securities for purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation described above to the extent that the fund is able to dispose of such securities by distributing them in kind to redeeming shareholders. (See "Securities of Other Investment Companies" on page (Click Here).)
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to lend assets other than securities to other parties, except by (a) lending money (up to 15% of the fund's net assets) to a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) assuming any unfunded commitments in connection with the acquisition of loans, loan participations, or other forms of debt instruments. (This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities, to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.)
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
<R>For the fund's limitations on futures and options transactions, see the section entitled "Futures, Options, and Swaps" on page (Click Here).< /R>
Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitations, the underlying funds in which the fund may invest have adopted certain investment limitations that may be more or less restrictive than those listed above, thereby permitting the fund to engage indirectly in investment strategies that are prohibited under the investment limitations listed above. The investment limitations of each underlying fund are set forth in its registration statement.
In accordance with its investment program as set forth in the prospectus, the fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in any one underlying Fidelity fund. Although the fund does not intend to concentrate its investments in a particular industry, the fund may indirectly concentrate in a particular industry or group of industries through its investments in one or more underlying funds.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
Strategic Advisers ® Core Income Multi-Manager Fund may have exposure to instruments, techniques, and risks either directly or indirectly through an investment in an underlying fund. An underlying fund may invest in the same or other types of instruments and its adviser may employ the same or other types of techniques. Strategic Advisers ® Core Income Multi-Manager Fund's performance will be affected by the instruments, techniques, and risks associated with an underlying fund, in proportion to the amount of assets that the fund allocates to that underlying fund.
<R>On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "a fund" or "the fund" may relate to Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund or an underlying fund, and references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to Strategic Advisers (or its affiliates) or a sub-adviser of Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, or an adviser of an underlying fund.</R>
Asset-Backed Securities represent interests in pools of mortgages, loans, receivables, or other assets. Payment of interest and repayment of principal may be largely dependent upon the cash flows generated by the assets backing the securities and, in certain cases, supported by letters of credit, surety bonds, or other credit enhancements. Asset-backed security values may also be affected by other factors including changes in interest rates, the availability of information concerning the pool and its structure, the creditworthiness of the servicing agent for the pool, the originator of the loans or receivables, or the entities providing the credit enhancement. In addition, these securities may be subject to prepayment risk.
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of short-term bond or money market funds, including (for Fidelity funds and other advisory clients only) shares of Fidelity central funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.
<R> Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Notice of Exclusion. The trust, on behalf of the Fidelity fund to which this SAI relates, has filed with the National Futures Association a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the CFTC promulgated thereunder, with respect to the fund's operation. Accordingly, neither the fund nor its adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or a CPO. However, the CFTC has adopted certain rule amendments that significantly affect the continued availability of this exclusion, and may subject advisers to funds to regulation by the CFTC. As of the date of this SAI, the adviser does not expect to register as a CPO of the fund. However, there is no certainty that a fund or its adviser will be able to rely on an exclusion in the future as the fund's investments change over time. A fund may determine not to use investment strategies that trigger additional CFTC regulation or may determine to operate subject to CFTC regulation, if applicable. If a fund or its adviser operates subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.</R>
Common Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock, although related proceedings can take time to resolve and results can be unpredictable.
Convertible Securities are bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption or conversion, the fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
Debt Securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay interest but are sold at a deep discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, and mortgage and other asset-backed securities.
Dollar-Weighted Average Maturity is derived by multiplying the value of each investment by the time remaining to its maturity, adding these calculations, and then dividing the total by the value of a fund's portfolio. An obligation's maturity is typically determined on a stated final maturity basis, although there are some exceptions to this rule.
Under certain circumstances, a fund may invest in nominally long-term securities that have maturity shortening features of shorter-term securities, and the maturities of these securities may be deemed to be earlier than their ultimate maturity dates by virtue of an existing demand feature or an adjustable interest rate. Under other circumstances, if it is probable that the issuer of an instrument will take advantage of a maturity-shortening device, such as a call, refunding, or redemption provision, the date on which the instrument will probably be called, refunded, or redeemed may be considered to be its maturity date. The maturities of mortgage securities, including collateralized mortgage obligations, and some asset-backed securities are determined on a weighted average life basis, which is the average time for principal to be repaid. For a mortgage security, this average time is calculated by estimating the timing of principal payments, including unscheduled prepayments, during the life of the mortgage. The weighted average life of these securities is likely to be substantially shorter than their stated final maturity.
<R> Duration is a measure of a bond's price sensitivity to a change in its yield. For example, if a bond has a 5-year duration and its yield rises 1%, the bond's value is likely to fall about 5%. Similarly, if a bond fund has a 5-year average duration and the yield on each of the bonds held by the fund rises 1%, the fund's value is likely to fall about 5%. For funds with exposure to foreign markets, there are many reasons why all of the bond holdings do not experience the same yield changes. These reasons include: the bonds are spread off of different yield curves around the world and these yield curves do not move in tandem; the shapes of these yield curves change; and sector and issuer yield spreads change. Other factors can influence a bond fund's performance and share price. Accordingly, a bond fund's actual performance will likely differ from the example.</R>
<R> Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments. An ETF may seek to replicate the performance of a specified index or may be actively managed.</R>
Typically, ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks (typically, 50,000 shares) often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.
Some of the risks of investing in an ETF that tracks an index are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their intraday indicative value. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater.
Exposure to Foreign and Emerging Markets. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Foreign investments involve risks relating to local political, economic, regulatory, or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments, and may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Such actions may include expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. Additionally, governmental issuers of foreign debt securities may be unwilling to pay interest and repay principal when due and may require that the conditions for payment be renegotiated. There is no assurance that a fund's adviser will be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies and of dividends and interest paid with respect to such securities will fluctuate based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar.
It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for foreign securities will be on an exchange or in over-the-counter (OTC) markets located outside of the United States. Foreign stock markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign security trading, settlement and custodial practices (including those involving securities settlement where fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment) are often less developed than those in U.S. markets, and may result in increased investment or valuation risk or substantial delays in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of, or breach of duty by, a foreign broker-dealer, securities depository, or foreign subcustodian. In addition, the costs associated with foreign investments, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions, and custodial costs, are generally higher than with U.S. investments.
Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors than U.S. markets. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Adequate public information on foreign issuers may not be available, and it may be difficult to secure dividends and information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. OTC markets tend to be less regulated than stock exchange markets and, in certain countries, may be totally unregulated. Regulatory enforcement may be influenced by economic or political concerns, and investors may have difficulty enforcing their legal rights in foreign countries.
Some foreign securities impose restrictions on transfer within the United States or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than foreign securities of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks include foreign exchange risk as well as the political and economic risks of the underlying issuer's country.
The risks of foreign investing may be magnified for investments in emerging markets. Security prices in emerging markets can be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
Floating Rate Loans and Other Debt Securities. Floating rate loans consist generally of obligations of companies or other entities (collectively, "borrowers") incurred for the purpose of reorganizing the assets and liabilities of a borrower (recapitalization); acquiring another company (acquisition); taking over control of a company (leveraged buyout); temporary financing (bridge loan); or refinancings, internal growth, or other general business purposes. Floating rate loans are often obligations of borrowers who are highly leveraged.
Floating rate loans may be structured to include both term loans, which are generally fully funded at the time of the making of the loan, and revolving credit facilities, which would require additional investments upon the borrower's demand. A revolving credit facility may require a purchaser to increase its investment in a floating rate loan at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
Floating rate loans may be acquired by direct investment as a lender, as a participation interest (which represents a fractional interest in a floating rate loan) issued by a lender or other financial institution, or as an assignment of the portion of a floating rate loan previously attributable to a different lender.
A floating rate loan offered as part of the original lending syndicate typically is purchased at par value. As part of the original lending syndicate, a purchaser generally earns a yield equal to the stated interest rate. In addition, members of the original syndicate typically are paid a commitment fee. In secondary market trading, floating rate loans may be purchased or sold above, at, or below par, which can result in a yield that is below, equal to, or above the stated interest rate, respectively. At certain times when reduced opportunities exist for investing in new syndicated floating rate loans, floating rate loans may be available only through the secondary market. There can be no assurance that an adequate supply of floating rate loans will be available for purchase.
Historically, floating rate loans have not been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or any state securities commission or listed on any securities exchange. As a result, the amount of public information available about a specific floating rate loan historically has been less extensive than if the floating rate loan were registered or exchange-traded.
Purchasers of floating rate loans and other forms of debt securities depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the security may be adversely affected. Floating rate loans and other debt securities that are fully secured provide more protections than unsecured securities in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Some floating rate loans and other debt securities are not rated by any nationally recognized statistical rating organization. In connection with the restructuring of a floating rate loan or other debt security outside of bankruptcy court in a negotiated work-out or in the context of bankruptcy proceedings, equity securities or junior debt securities may be received in exchange for all or a portion of an interest in the security.
Floating rate debt securities include other forms of indebtedness of borrowers such as notes and bonds, securities with fixed rate interest payments in conjunction with a right to receive floating rate interest payments, and shares of other investment companies. These instruments are generally subject to the same risks as floating rate loans but are often more widely issued and traded.
Foreign Currency Transactions. A fund may conduct foreign currency transactions on a spot ( i.e., cash) or forward basis ( i.e., by entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies). Although foreign exchange dealers generally do not charge a fee for such conversions, they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the counterparty desire to resell that currency to the dealer. Forward contracts are customized transactions that require a specific amount of a currency to be delivered at a specific exchange rate on a specific date or range of dates in the future. Forward contracts are generally traded in an interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The parties to a forward contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated currency exchange.
The following discussion summarizes the principal currency management strategies involving forward contracts that could be used by a fund. A fund may also use swap agreements, indexed securities, and options and futures contracts relating to foreign currencies for the same purposes. Forward contracts not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying currency. All of these instruments and transactions are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default.
A "settlement hedge" or "transaction hedge" is designed to protect a fund against an adverse change in foreign currency values between the date a security denominated in a foreign currency is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in an underlying security transaction for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars "locks in" the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used to protect a fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected.
A fund may also use forward contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in a foreign currency. For example, if a fund owned securities denominated in pounds sterling, it could enter into a forward contract to sell pounds sterling in return for U.S. dollars to hedge against possible declines in the pound's value. Such a hedge, sometimes referred to as a "position hedge," would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. A fund could also attempt to hedge the position by selling another currency expected to perform similarly to the pound sterling. This type of hedge, sometimes referred to as a "proxy hedge," could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield, or efficiency, but generally would not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a direct hedge into U.S. dollars. Proxy hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated.
A fund may enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a "cross-hedge," will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if a fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. A fund may cross-hedge its U.S. dollar exposure in order to achieve a representative weighted mix of the major currencies in its benchmark index and/or to cover an underweight country or region exposure in its portfolio. Cross-hedges protect against losses resulting from a decline in the hedged currency, but will cause a fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases.
Successful use of currency management strategies will depend on an adviser's skill in analyzing currency values. Currency management strategies may substantially change a fund's investment exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and could result in losses to a fund if currencies do not perform as an adviser anticipates. For example, if a currency's value rose at a time when a fund had hedged its position by selling that currency in exchange for dollars, the fund would not participate in the currency's appreciation. If a fund hedges currency exposure through proxy hedges, the fund could realize currency losses from both the hedge and the security position if the two currencies do not move in tandem. Similarly, if a fund increases its exposure to a foreign currency and that currency's value declines, the fund will realize a loss. Foreign currency transactions involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that a fund's hedging strategies will be ineffective. Moreover, it is impossible to precisely forecast the market value of portfolio securities at the expiration of a foreign currency forward contract. Accordingly, a fund may be required to buy or sell additional currency on the spot market (and bear the expenses of such transaction), if an adviser's predictions regarding the movement of foreign currency or securities markets prove inaccurate.
A fund may be required to limit its hedging transactions in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options in order to maintain its classification as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Hedging transactions could result in the application of the mark-to-market provisions of the Code, which may cause an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a fund and could affect whether dividends paid by a fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. A fund will cover its exposure to foreign currency transactions with liquid assets in compliance with applicable requirements. There is no assurance that an adviser's use of currency management strategies will be advantageous to a fund or that it will employ currency management strategies at appropriate times.
Options and Futures Relating to Foreign Currencies. Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges (and have margin requirements) and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The underlying instrument of a currency option may be a foreign currency, which generally is purchased or delivered in exchange for U.S. dollars, or may be a futures contract. The purchaser of a currency call obtains the right to purchase the underlying currency, and the purchaser of a currency put obtains the right to sell the underlying currency.
The uses and risks of currency options and futures are similar to options and futures relating to securities or indexes, as discussed below. A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and may purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. Currency options may also be purchased or written in conjunction with each other or with currency futures or forward contracts. Currency futures and options values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates, but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated security from a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of a fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the fund's investments exactly over time.
Currency options traded on U.S. or other exchanges may be subject to position limits which may limit the ability of the fund to reduce foreign currency risk using such options.
Foreign Repurchase Agreements. Foreign repurchase agreements involve an agreement to purchase a foreign security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price in either U.S. dollars or foreign currency. Unlike typical U.S. repurchase agreements, foreign repurchase agreements may not be fully collateralized at all times. The value of a security purchased by a fund may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to repurchase the security. In the event of default by the counterparty, a fund may suffer a loss if the value of the security purchased is less than the agreed-upon repurchase price, or if the fund is unable to successfully assert a claim to the collateral under foreign laws. As a result, foreign repurchase agreements may involve higher credit risks than repurchase agreements in U.S. markets, as well as risks associated with currency fluctuations. In addition, as with other emerging market investments, repurchase agreements with counterparties located in emerging markets or relating to emerging markets may involve issuers or counterparties with lower credit ratings than typical U.S. repurchase agreements.
Fund's Rights as an Investor. Fidelity funds do not intend to direct or administer the day-to-day operations of any company. A fund may, however, exercise its rights as a shareholder or lender and may communicate its views on important matters of policy to a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders, and holders of a company's other securities when such matters could have a significant effect on the value of the fund's investment in the company. The activities in which a fund may engage, either individually or in conjunction with others, may include, among others, supporting or opposing proposed changes in a company's corporate structure or business activities; seeking changes in a company's directors or management; seeking changes in a company's direction or policies; seeking the sale or reorganization of the company or a portion of its assets; supporting or opposing third-party takeover efforts; supporting the filing of a bankruptcy petition; or foreclosing on collateral securing a security. This area of corporate activity is increasingly prone to litigation and it is possible that a fund could be involved in lawsuits related to such activities. Such activities will be monitored with a view to mitigating, to the extent possible, the risk of litigation against a fund and the risk of actual liability if a fund is involved in litigation. No guarantee can be made, however, that litigation against a fund will not be undertaken or liabilities incurred. The fund's proxy voting guidelines are included in this SAI.
Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. If a fund invests a significant portion of its assets in derivatives, its investment exposure could far exceed the value of its portfolio securities and its investment performance could be primarily dependent upon securities it does not own.
Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.
The limitations on the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps, and the fund's policies regarding futures contracts, options, and swaps may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts.
Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts and the price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities or baskets of securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indexes (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indexes of securities prices (including foreign indexes for funds that seek foreign exposure). In addition, some currently available futures contracts are based on Eurodollars. Positions in Eurodollar futures reflect market expectations of forward levels of three-month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) rates. Futures on indexes and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out by offsetting purchases or sales of futures contracts before then if a liquid market is available. A fund may realize a gain or loss by closing out its futures contracts.
The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the underlying instrument. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.
The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by a fund, but is instead a settlement between a fund and the FCM of the amount one would owe the other if the fund's contract expired. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is also required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.
Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement, and margin procedures that are different from those for U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may not involve a clearing mechanism or related guarantees and may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to a fund. Because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuation.
There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.
If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
Futures contracts on U.S. Government securities historically have reacted to an increase or decrease in interest rates in a manner similar to the manner in which the underlying U.S. Government securities reacted. To the extent, however, that a fund enters into such futures contracts, the value of these futures contracts will not vary in direct proportion to the value of the fund's holdings of U.S. Government securities. Thus, the anticipated spread between the price of the futures contract and the hedged security may be distorted due to differences in the nature of the markets. The spread also may be distorted by differences in initial and variation margin requirements, the liquidity of such markets and the participation of speculators in such markets.
Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, baskets of assets or securities, indexes of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). Options may be traded on an exchange or OTC. The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. Depending on the terms of the contract, upon exercise, an option may require physical delivery of the underlying instrument or may be settled through cash payments. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right (but not the obligation) to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer should mitigate the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.
Where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price to close out the put or call option on the secondary market may move more or less than the price of the related security.
There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for exchange-traded options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps (swaptions), which are generally options on interest rate swaps. An option on a swap gives a party the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, a fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes (sells) an option on a swap than it will incur when it purchases an option on a swap. When a fund purchases an option on a swap, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when a fund writes an option on a swap, upon exercise of the option the fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement. A fund that writes an option on a swap receives the premium and bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the preset rate on the underlying interest rate swap. Whether a fund's use of options on swaps will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend on the adviser's ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Options on swaps may involve risks similar to those discussed below in "Swap Agreements."
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
Swap Agreements. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term. Most swap agreements are currently traded over-the-counter. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange one or more payments based, for example, on the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, indexes, or other financial or economic interests). The gross payments to be exchanged between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness.
A fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. In order to cover its outstanding obligations to a swap counterparty, a fund would generally be required to provide margin or collateral for the benefit of that counterparty. If a counterparty to a swap transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited temporarily or permanently in exercising its right to the return of related fund assets designated as margin or collateral in an action against the counterparty.
Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that an adviser will not accurately forecast market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other economic factors in establishing swap positions for a fund. If an adviser attempts to use a swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, a fund may be exposed to the risk that the swap will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment, which could cause substantial losses for a fund. While hedging strategies involving swap instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Swaps are complex and often valued subjectively.
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Illiquid Securities cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity fund's adviser determines the liquidity of the fund's investments and, through reports from the fund's adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid securities.
Various factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments, including (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
Increasing Government Debt. The total public debt of the United States and other countries around the globe as a percent of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented.
A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt cost higher and cause a country to sell additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In the worst case, unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns.
On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States one level to "AA+" from "AAA." While Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the United States' short-term sovereign credit rating as "A-1+," there is no guarantee that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services will not decide to lower this rating in the future. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services stated that its decision was prompted by its view on the rising public debt burden and its perception of greater policymaking uncertainty. The market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government may be adversely affected by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services decisions to downgrade the long-term sovereign credit rating of the United States.
Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indexes, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.
Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indexes. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.
Indexed securities may have principal payments as well as coupon payments that depend on the performance of one or more interest rates. Their coupon rates or principal payments may change by several percentage points for every 1% interest rate change.
Mortgage-indexed securities, for example, could be structured to replicate the performance of mortgage securities and the characteristics of direct ownership.
Inflation-protected securities, for example, can be indexed to a measure of inflation, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Commodity-indexed securities, for example, can be indexed to a commodities index such as the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return SM .
Gold-indexed securities typically provide for a maturity value that depends on the price of gold, resulting in a security whose price tends to rise and fall together with gold prices.
Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Insolvency of Issuers, Counterparties, and Intermediaries. Issuers of fund portfolio securities or counterparties to fund transactions that become insolvent or declare bankruptcy can pose special investment risks. In each circumstance, risk of loss, valuation uncertainty, increased illiquidity, and other unpredictable occurrences may negatively impact an investment. Each of these risks may be amplified in foreign markets, where security trading, settlement, and custodial practices can be less developed than those in the U.S. markets, and bankruptcy laws differ from those of the U.S.
As a general matter, if the issuer of a fund portfolio security is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock have priority over the claims of common stock owners. These events can negatively impact the value of the issuer's securities and the results of related proceedings can be unpredictable.
If a counterparty to a fund transaction, such as a swap transaction, a short sale, a borrowing, or other complex transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise rights to obtain the return of related fund assets or in exercising other rights against the counterparty. In addition, insolvency and liquidation proceedings take time to resolve, which can limit or preclude a fund's ability to terminate a transaction or obtain related assets or collateral in a timely fashion. Uncertainty may also arise upon the insolvency of a securities or commodities intermediary such as a broker-dealer or futures commission merchant with which a fund has pending transactions. If an intermediary becomes insolvent, while securities positions and other holdings may be protected by U.S. or foreign laws, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these protections are available to specific trades based on the circumstances. Receiving the benefit of these protections can also take time to resolve, which may result in illiquid positions.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the SEC, a Fidelity fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) or its affiliates. A Fidelity fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. A Fidelity fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
Investments by Funds of Funds or Other Large Shareholders. Certain funds and accounts that are managed by FMR or its affiliates (including funds of funds) invest in other funds and may at times have substantial investments in one or more other funds.
A fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by funds of funds, other large shareholders, or similarly managed accounts. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a fund's portfolio. In addition, when funds of funds or other investors own a substantial portion of a fund's shares, a large redemption by such an investor could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a fund of funds or other significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the fund's shares.
When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful. A high volume of redemption requests can impact a fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments.
Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. Direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve a risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a fund supply additional cash to a borrower on demand. A fund may acquire loans by buying an assignment of all or a portion of the loan from a lender or by purchasing a loan participation from a lender or other purchaser of a participation.
Lenders and purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of foreign countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.
Direct lending and investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the lender/purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary.
A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest.
Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate lenders/purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a lender/purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
For a Fidelity fund that limits the amount of total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry, the fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require a fund, in appropriate circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for these purposes. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
Because the risk of default is higher for lower-quality debt securities, research and credit analysis are an especially important part of managing securities of this type. Such analysis may focus on relative values based on factors such as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earnings prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer, in an attempt to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved, or is expected to improve in the future.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Mortgage Securities are issued by government and non-government entities such as banks, mortgage lenders, or other institutions. A mortgage security is an obligation of the issuer backed by a mortgage or pool of mortgages or a direct interest in an underlying pool of mortgages. Some mortgage securities, such as collateralized mortgage obligations (or "CMOs"), make payments of both principal and interest at a range of specified intervals; others make semiannual interest payments at a predetermined rate and repay principal at maturity (like a typical bond). Mortgage securities are based on different types of mortgages, including those on commercial real estate or residential properties. Stripped mortgage securities are created when the interest and principal components of a mortgage security are separated and sold as individual securities. In the case of a stripped mortgage security, the holder of the "principal-only" security (PO) receives the principal payments made by the underlying mortgage, while the holder of the "interest-only" security (IO) receives interest payments from the same underlying mortgage.
Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs are pass-through securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, respectively. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which guarantee payment of interest and repayment of principal on Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs, respectively, are federally chartered corporations supervised by the U.S. Government that act as governmental instrumentalities under authority granted by Congress. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are authorized to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to meet their obligations. Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.
The value of mortgage securities may change due to shifts in the market's perception of issuers and changes in interest rates. In addition, regulatory or tax changes may adversely affect the mortgage securities market as a whole. Non-government mortgage securities may offer higher yields than those issued by government entities, but also may be subject to greater price changes than government issues. Mortgage securities are subject to prepayment risk, which is the risk that early principal payments made on the underlying mortgages, usually in response to a reduction in interest rates, will result in the return of principal to the investor, causing it to be invested subsequently at a lower current interest rate. Alternatively, in a rising interest rate environment, mortgage security values may be adversely affected when prepayments on underlying mortgages do not occur as anticipated, resulting in the extension of the security's effective maturity and the related increase in interest rate sensitivity of a longer-term instrument. The prices of stripped mortgage securities tend to be more volatile in response to changes in interest rates than those of non-stripped mortgage securities.
A fund may seek to earn additional income by using a trading strategy (commonly known as "mortgage dollar rolls" or "reverse mortgage dollar rolls") that involves selling (or buying) mortgage securities, realizing a gain or loss, and simultaneously agreeing to purchase (or sell) mortgage securities on a later date at a set price. During the period between the sale and repurchase in a mortgage dollar roll transaction, a fund will not be entitled to receive interest and principal payments on the securities sold but will invest the proceeds of the sale in other securities that are permissible investments for the fund. During the period between the purchase and subsequent sale in a reverse mortgage dollar roll transaction, a fund is entitled to interest and principal payments on the securities purchased. Losses may arise due to changes in the value of the securities or if the counterparty does not perform under the terms of the agreement. If the counterparty files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, a fund's right to repurchase or sell securities may be limited. This trading strategy may increase interest rate exposure and result in an increased portfolio turnover rate which increases costs and may increase taxable gains.
Precious Metals. Precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, at times have been subject to substantial price fluctuations over short periods of time and may be affected by unpredictable monetary and political policies such as currency devaluations or revaluations, economic and social conditions within a country, trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries. The prices of gold and other precious metals, however, are less subject to local and company-specific factors than securities of individual companies. As a result, precious metals may be more or less volatile in price than securities of companies engaged in precious metals-related businesses. Investments in precious metals can present concerns such as delivery, storage and maintenance, possible illiquidity, and the unavailability of accurate market valuations. Although precious metals can be purchased in any form, including bullion and coins, a Fidelity fund intends to purchase only those forms of precious metals that are readily marketable and that can be stored in accordance with custody regulations applicable to mutual funds. A fund may incur higher custody and transaction costs for precious metals than for securities. Also, precious metals investments do not pay income.
For a fund to qualify as a regulated investment company under current federal tax law, gains from selling precious metals may not exceed 10% of the fund's gross income for its taxable year. This tax requirement could cause a fund to hold or sell precious metals or securities when it would not otherwise do so.
Preferred Securities represent an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Real estate investment trusts issue debt securities to fund the purchase and/or development of commercial properties. The value of these debt securities may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property owned by the trusts, the creditworthiness of the trusts, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements. Real estate investment trusts are dependent upon management skill and the cash flow generated by the properties owned by the trusts. Real estate investment trusts are at the risk of the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
<R> Reforms and Government Intervention in the Financial Markets. Economic downturns can trigger various economic, legal, budgetary, tax, and regulatory reforms across the globe. Instability in the financial markets in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn led the U.S. Government and other governments to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility, and in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Reforms are ongoing and their effects are uncertain. Federal, state, local, foreign, and other governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which a fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Reforms may also change the way in which a fund is regulated and could limit or preclude a fund's ability to achieve its investment objective or engage in certain strategies. Also, while reforms generally are intended to strengthen markets, systems, and public finances, they could affect fund expenses and the value of fund investments.</R>
The value of a fund's holdings is also generally subject to the risk of future local, national, or global economic disturbances based on unknown weaknesses in the markets in which a fund invests. In the event of such a disturbance, the issuers of securities held by a fund may experience significant declines in the value of their assets and even cease operations, or may receive government assistance accompanied by increased restrictions on their business operations or other government intervention. In addition, it is not certain that the U.S. Government or foreign governments will intervene in response to a future market disturbance and the effect of any such future intervention cannot be predicted.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its right to liquidate assets related to a repurchase agreement with an insolvent counterparty. A Fidelity fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities Lending. Securities lending allows a fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The fund seeks to maintain the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased.
Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies (which include business development companies (BDCs)), unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. For certain investment companies, such as BDCs, these expenses may be significant. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.
The securities of closed-end funds may be leveraged. As a result, a fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. An investment in securities of closed-end funds that use leverage may expose a fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the fund's long-term returns on such securities will be diminished.
The extent to which a fund can invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws.
Short Sales. Short sales involve the market sale of a security a fund has borrowed from a prime broker with which it has a contractual relationship, with the expectation that the security will underperform either the market or the securities that the fund holds long. A fund closes a short sale by purchasing the same security at the current market price and delivering it to the prime broker.
Until a fund closes out a short position, the fund is obligated to pay the prime broker (from which it borrowed the security sold short) interest as well as any dividends that accrue during the period of the loan. While a short position is outstanding, a fund must also pledge a portion of its assets to the prime broker as collateral for the borrowed security. The collateral will be marked to market daily.
Short positions create a risk that a fund will be required to cover them by buying the security at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the fund. A short position in a security poses more risk than holding the same security long. Because a short position loses value as the security's price increases, the loss on a short sale is theoretically unlimited. The loss on a long position is limited to what a fund originally paid for the security together with any transaction costs. A fund may not always be able to borrow a security the fund seeks to sell short at a particular time or at an acceptable price. As a result, a fund may be unable to fully implement its investment strategy due to a lack of available stocks or for other reasons. It is possible that the market value of the securities a fund holds in long positions will decline at the same time that the market value of the securities the fund has sold short increases, thereby increasing the fund's potential volatility. Because a fund may be required to pay dividends, interest, premiums and other expenses in connection with a short sale, any benefit for the fund resulting from the short sale will be decreased, and the amount of any ultimate gain will be decreased or of any loss will be increased, by the amount of such expenses.
A fund may also enter into short sales against the box. Short sales "against the box" are short sales of securities that a fund owns or has the right to obtain (equivalent in kind or amount to the securities sold short). If a fund enters into a short sale against the box, it will be required to set aside securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short (or securities convertible or exchangeable into such securities) and will be required to hold such securities while the short sale is outstanding. A fund will incur transaction costs, including interest expenses, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales against the box.
Sources of Liquidity or Credit Support. Issuers may employ various forms of credit and liquidity enhancements, including letters of credit, guarantees, swaps, puts, and demand features, and insurance provided by domestic or foreign entities such as banks and other financial institutions. An adviser and its affiliates may rely on their evaluation of the credit of the issuer or the credit of the liquidity or credit enhancement provider in determining whether to purchase or hold a security supported by such enhancement. In evaluating the credit of a foreign bank or other foreign entities, factors considered may include whether adequate public information about the entity is available and whether the entity may be subject to unfavorable political or economic developments, currency controls, or other government restrictions that might affect its ability to honor its commitment. Changes in the credit quality of the issuer and/or entity providing the enhancement could affect the value of the security or a fund's share price.
Sovereign Debt Obligations are issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies, including debt of Latin American nations or other developing countries. Sovereign debt may be in the form of conventional securities or other types of debt instruments such as loans or loan participations. Sovereign debt of developing countries may involve a high degree of risk, and may be in default or present the risk of default. Governmental entities responsible for repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal and pay interest when due, and may require renegotiation or rescheduling of debt payments. In addition, prospects for repayment of principal and payment of interest may depend on political as well as economic factors. Although some sovereign debt, such as Brady Bonds, is collateralized by U.S. Government securities, repayment of principal and payment of interest is not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
Stripped Securities are the separate income or principal components of a debt security. The risks associated with stripped securities are similar to those of other debt securities, although stripped securities may be more volatile, and the value of certain types of stripped securities may move in the same direction as interest rates. U.S. Treasury securities that have been stripped by a Federal Reserve Bank are obligations issued by the U.S. Treasury.
Privately stripped government securities are created when a dealer deposits a U.S. Treasury security or other U.S. Government security with a custodian for safekeeping. The custodian issues separate receipts for the coupon payments and the principal payment, which the dealer then sells.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument ( e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
<R> Temporary Defensive Policies. </R>
<R> In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, a fund may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If a fund does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund reserves the right to invest without limitation in investment-grade money market or short-term debt instruments for temporary, defensive purposes.
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Variable and Floating Rate Securities provide for periodic adjustments in the interest rate paid on the security. Variable rate securities provide for a specified periodic adjustment in the interest rate, while floating rate securities have interest rates that change whenever there is a change in a designated benchmark rate or the issuer's credit quality, sometimes subject to a cap or floor on such rate. Some variable or floating rate securities are structured with put features that permit holders to demand payment of the unpaid principal balance plus accrued interest from the issuers or certain financial intermediaries. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of a variable or floating rate security, a fund's adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments which entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss.
Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
When-Issued and Forward Purchase or Sale Transactions involve a commitment to purchase or sell specific securities at a predetermined price or yield in which payment and delivery take place after the customary settlement period for that type of security. Typically, no interest accrues to the purchaser until the security is delivered.
When purchasing securities pursuant to one of these transactions, the purchaser assumes the rights and risks of ownership, including the risks of price and yield fluctuations and the risk that the security will not be issued as anticipated. Because payment for the securities is not required until the delivery date, these risks are in addition to the risks associated with a fund's investments. If a fund remains substantially fully invested at a time when a purchase is outstanding, the purchases may result in a form of leverage. When a fund has sold a security pursuant to one of these transactions, the fund does not participate in further gains or losses with respect to the security. If the other party to a delayed-delivery transaction fails to deliver or pay for the securities, a fund could miss a favorable price or yield opportunity or suffer a loss.
A fund may renegotiate a when-issued or forward transaction and may sell the underlying securities before delivery, which may result in capital gains or losses for the fund.
A fund may also engage in purchases or sales of "to be announced" or "TBA" securities, which usually are transactions in which a fund buys or sells mortgage-backed securities on a forward commitment basis. A TBA transaction typically does not designate the actual security to be delivered and only includes an approximate principal amount. TBA trades can be used by a fund for investment purposes in order to gain exposure to certain securities, or for hedging purposes to adjust the risk exposure of a fund portfolio without having to restructure a portfolio. Purchases and sales of TBA securities involve risks similar to those discussed above for other when-issued and forward purchase and sale transactions. In addition, when a fund sells TBA securities, it incurs risks similar to those incurred in short sales. For example, when a fund sells TBA securities without owning or having the right to obtain the deliverable securities, it incurs a risk of loss because it could have to purchase the securities at a price that is higher than the price at which it sold them. Also, a fund may be unable to purchase the deliverable securities if the corresponding market is illiquid. In such transactions, the fund will set aside liquid assets in an amount sufficient to offset its exposure as long as the fund's obligations are outstanding.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
<R> SPECIAL GEOGRAPHIC CONSIDERATIONS</R>
<R> Emerging Markets. Investing in companies domiciled in emerging market countries may be subject to potentially higher risks than investments in developed countries. These risks include: (i) less social, political, and economic stability; (ii) greater illiquidity and price volatility due to smaller or limited local capital markets for such securities, or low or non-existent trading volumes; (iii) foreign exchanges and broker-dealers may be subject to less scrutiny and regulation by local authorities; (iv) local governments may decide to seize or confiscate securities held by foreign investors and/or local governments may decide to suspend or limit an issuer's ability to make dividend or interest payments; (v) local governments may limit or entirely restrict repatriation of invested capital, profits, and dividends; (vi) capital gains may be subject to local taxation, including on a retroactive basis; (vii) issuers facing restrictions on dollar or euro payments imposed by local governments may attempt to make dividend or interest payments to foreign investors in the local currency; (viii) investors may experience difficulty in enforcing legal claims related to the securities and/or local judges may favor the interests of the issuer over those of foreign investors; (ix) bankruptcy judgments may only be permitted to be paid in the local currency; (x) limited public information regarding the issuer may result in greater difficulty in determining market valuations of the securities, and (xi) infrequent financial reporting, substandard disclosure, and differences in accounting standards may make it difficult to ascertain the financial health of an issuer. In addition, unlike developed countries, many emerging countries' economic growth highly depends on exports and inflows of external capital, making them more vulnerable to the downturns of the world economy. The recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for their exports and tightened international credit supplies and, as a result, many emerging countries faced significant economic difficulties and some countries fell into recession.</R>
<R>Many emerging market countries suffer from uncertainty and corruption in their legal frameworks. Legislation may be difficult to interpret and laws may be too new to provide any precedential value. Laws regarding foreign investment and private property may be weak or non-existent. Sudden changes in governments may result in policies that are less favorable to investors such as policies designed to expropriate or nationalize "sovereign" assets. Certain emerging market countries in the past have expropriated large amounts of private property, in many cases with little or no compensation, and there can be no assurance that such expropriation will not occur in the future.</R>
<R>Many emerging market countries in which a fund may invest lack the social, political, and economic stability characteristic of the U.S. Political instability among emerging market countries can be common and may be caused by an uneven distribution of wealth, social unrest, labor strikes, civil wars, and religious oppression. Economic instability in emerging market countries may take the form of: (i) high interest rates; (ii) high levels of inflation, including hyperinflation; (iii) high levels of unemployment or underemployment; (iv) changes in government economic and tax policies, including confiscatory taxation (or taxes on foreign investments); and (v) imposition of trade barriers.</R>
<R>Currencies of emerging market countries are subject to significantly greater risks than currencies of developed countries. Some emerging market currencies may not be internationally traded or may be subject to strict controls by local governments, resulting in undervalued or overvalued currencies. Some emerging market countries have experienced balance of payment deficits and shortages in foreign exchange reserves. As a result, some governments have responded by restricting currency conversions. Future restrictive exchange controls could prevent or restrict a company's ability to make dividend or interest payments in the original currency of the obligation (usually U.S. dollars). In addition, even though the currencies of some emerging market countries may be convertible into U.S. dollars, the conversion rates may be artificial to their actual market values.</R>
<R>Governments of many emerging market countries have become overly reliant on the international capital markets and other forms of foreign credit to finance large public spending programs which cause huge budget deficits. Often, interest payments have become too overwhelming for these governments to meet, as these payments may represent a large percentage of a country's total GDP. Accordingly, these foreign obligations have become the subject of political debate and served as fuel for political parties of the opposition, which pressure governments not to make payments to foreign creditors, but instead to use these funds for social programs. Either due to an inability to pay or submission to political pressure, the governments have been forced to seek a restructuring of their loan and/or bond obligations, have declared a temporary suspension of interest payments, or have defaulted on their outstanding debt obligations. These events have adversely affected the values of securities issued by the governments and corporations domiciled in these emerging market countries and have negatively affected not only their cost of borrowing, but their ability to borrow in the future as well.</R>
<R>In addition to their over-reliance on international capital markets, many emerging economies are also highly dependent on international trade and exports, including exports of oil and other commodities. As a result, these economies are particularly vulnerable to downturns of the world economy. The recent global financial crisis tightened international credit supplies and weakened global demand for their exports and, as a result, certain of these economies faced significant difficulties and some economies fell into recession. Although certain economies in emerging market countries have recently shown signs of recovery from this recession, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. The reduced demand for exports and lack of available capital for investment resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy may limit recovery by emerging market countries.</R>
To the extent that Strategic Advisers grants investment management authority over an allocated portion of the fund's assets to a sub-adviser (see the section entitled "Management Contract"), that sub-adviser is authorized to provide the services described in the respective sub-advisory agreement, and in accordance with the policies described in this section.
Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities are placed on behalf of the fund by Strategic Advisers (either directly or through its affiliates) or a sub-adviser, pursuant to authority contained in the management contract and the respective sub-advisory agreement.
Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
<R>The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in affiliated funds, but it may incur such costs when it invests in non-affiliated funds and when it invests directly in other types of securities, including ETFs.</R>
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review Strategic Advisers' and its affiliates' and each sub-adviser's performance of their respective responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
Strategic Advisers.
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Strategic Advisers, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Strategic Advisers or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may enter into trading services agreements with FMR or its affiliates to facilitate transactions in non-United States markets.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.
Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.
Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Strategic Advisers or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services Strategic Advisers or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Strategic Advisers' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Strategic Advisers or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.</R>
Research Contracts. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Strategic Advisers or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) who have entered into arrangements with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
<R>Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), with whom they are under common control, provided Strategic Advisers or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade-execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.</R>
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Strategic Advisers to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis).
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Pyramis or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Pyramis, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Pyramis or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Pyramis' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Pyramis or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and character of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Pyramis and/or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for lessening or avoiding market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Pyramis and/or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Pyramis and/or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Pyramis and/or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Pyramis or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker is generally the same as the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Pyramis and/or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Pyramis) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Pyramis or its affiliates.
Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. Pyramis or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Pyramis' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise.
Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Pyramis or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in their investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Pyramis or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefits to Pyramis. Pyramis' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these products or services with their own resources. However, the trading desks of Pyramis and its affiliates are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services that Pyramis or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Pyramis or its affiliates or might not have an explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Pyramis or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Pyramis' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Pyramis or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Pyramis or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Pyramis' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Pyramis or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Pyramis or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Pyramis, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Pyramis or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Pyramis or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Pyramis or its affiliates.</R>
<R> Research Contracts. Pyramis or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Pyramis or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Pyramis or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Pyramis or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Pyramis or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Pyramis' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately ( e.g., with hard dollars), rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Pyramis' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.</R>
Commission Recapture
Pyramis or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Pyramis) who have entered into arrangements with Pyramis or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
Pyramis or its affiliates may be authorized to place portfolio transactions with Fidelity Capital Markets (FCM), a division of NFS, an affiliated broker-dealer of Pyramis and its affiliates, or other broker-dealers with whom they are under common control, and use CrossStream, an alternative trading system operated by NFS, if they reasonably believe the quality of the transaction is comparable to what it would be with other qualified broker-dealers. With respect to trades that are executed by Pyramis' affiliates, Pyramis and such affiliate seek to ensure that the trade execution obtained is comparable to that of unaffiliated brokers and that the continued use of such affiliate is appropriate. In addition, Pyramis or its affiliates may place trades with broker-dealers that use NFS as a clearing agent.
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Securities Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Pyramis or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers or may engage a third party to do so.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Pyramis or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Pyramis or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Pyramis to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
Commissions Paid
A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
<R>For the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 190% (annualized). Variations in turnover rate may be due to a fluctuating volume of shareholder purchase and redemption orders, market conditions, and/or changes in Strategic Advisers' investment outlook.</R>
<R>During the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013, the fund held securities issued by one or more of its regular brokers or dealers or a parent company of its regular brokers or dealers. The following table shows the aggregate value of the securities of the regular broker or dealer or parent company held by the fund as of the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013.</R>
<R>For the fiscal period June 19, 2012 to February 28, 2013, the fund paid no brokerage commissions.</R>
<R>During the fiscal period June 19, 2012 to February 28, 2013, the fund paid no brokerage commissions to firms for providing research or brokerage services.</R>
The class's NAV is the value of a single share. The NAV of the class is computed by adding the class's pro rata share of the value of the fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting the class's pro rata share of the fund's liabilities, subtracting the liabilities allocated to the class, and dividing the result by the number of shares of that class that are outstanding.
The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for pricing, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers has established the Strategic Advisers Fair Value Committee (Strategic Advisers Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities. The Strategic Advisers Committee may rely on information and recommendations provided by affiliates of Strategic Advisers in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, including the fair valuation of securities.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) held by the fund are valued at their respective NAVs. If an underlying fund's NAV is unavailable, shares of that underlying fund will be fair valued in good faith by the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by the fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity non-money market fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
<R>Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques.</R>
Short-term securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less for which market quotations and information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates current value.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
<R>Prices described above are obtained from pricing services that have been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available and the funds may use more than one of these services. The funds may also discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time. Strategic Advisers engages in oversight activities with respect to the fund's pricing services, which includes, among other things, testing the prices provided by pricing services prior to calculation of a fund's NAV, conducting periodic due diligence meetings, and periodically reviewing the methodologies and inputs used by these services.</R>
<R>Foreign securities and instruments are valued in their local currency following the methodologies described above. Foreign securities, instruments and currencies are translated to U.S. dollars, based on foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by a pricing service as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which uses a proprietary model to determine the exchange rate. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at an interpolated rate based on days to maturity between the closest preceding and subsequent settlement period reported by the third party pricing service.</R>
The Board of Trustees of the underlying Fidelity funds has ultimate responsibility for pricing portfolio securities and assets held by those funds, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee and the Strategic Advisers Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and ADRs, market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. This technique involves initially valuing an instrument at its cost as adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount rather than its current market value. The amortized cost value of an instrument may be higher or lower than the price a money market fund would receive if it sold the instrument.
At such intervals as they deem appropriate, the Trustees of an underlying Fidelity money market fund consider the extent to which NAV calculated using market valuations would deviate from the $1.00 per share calculated using amortized cost valuation. If the Trustees believe that a deviation from a money market fund's amortized cost per share may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Trustees have agreed to take such corrective action, if any, as they deem appropriate to eliminate or reduce, to the extent reasonably practicable, the dilution or unfair results. Such corrective action could include selling portfolio instruments prior to maturity to realize capital gains or losses or to shorten average portfolio maturity; withholding dividends; redeeming shares in kind; establishing NAV by using available market quotations; and such other measures as the Trustees may deem appropriate.
BUYING AND SELLING INFORMATION
Class F shares of the fund are available for purchase only by mutual funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager.
The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the class's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
Dividends. A portion of the fund's income may qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, but it is unlikely that all of the fund's income will qualify for the deduction. A portion of the fund's dividends, when distributed to individual shareholders, may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
Capital Gain Distributions. The fund's long-term capital gain distributions, including amounts attributable to an underlying fund's long-term capital gain distributions, are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.
Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. As a general matter, if, at the close of its fiscal year, more than 50% of the fund's total assets is invested in securities of foreign issuers, the fund may elect to pass through eligible foreign taxes paid and thereby allow shareholders to take a deduction or, if they meet certain holding period requirements with respect to fund shares, a credit on their individual tax returns. In addition, if at the close of each quarter of its fiscal year at least 50% of the fund's total assets is represented by interests in other regulated investment companies, the same rules will apply to any foreign tax credits that underlying funds pass through to the fund. The amount of foreign taxes paid by the fund will be reduced to the extent that the fund lends securities over the dividend record date. Special rules may apply to the credit for individuals who receive dividends qualifying for the long-term capital gains tax rate.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
<R>The Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and executive officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. If the interests of the fund and an underlying Fidelity fund were to diverge, a conflict of interest could arise and affect how the Trustees and Member of the Advisory Board fulfill their fiduciary duties to the affected funds. Strategic Advisers has structured the fund to avoid these potential conflicts, although there may be situations where a conflict of interest is unavoidable. In such instances, Strategic Advisers, the Trustees, and Member of the Advisory Board would take reasonable steps to minimize and, if possible, eliminate the conflict. Except for Mary C. Farrell, each of the Trustees oversees 26 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. Ms. Farrell oversees 20 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.</R>
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. The executive officers and Advisory Board Member hold office without limit in time, except that any officer and Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
<R>Each Trustee who is not an interested person of the trust and the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) is referred to herein as an Independent Trustee.</R>
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Fund's Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also engage professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates with experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. Additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, may be considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. Roger T. Servison is an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) and currently serves as Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Ralph F. Cox serves as the lead Independent Trustee and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
Fidelity funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees asset allocation funds as well as the Fidelity enhanced index funds. Other boards oversee Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds and Fidelity's equity and high income funds. The fund may invest in Fidelity funds overseen by such other Boards. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues.
The Trustees primarily operate as a full Board, but also operate in committees, to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board has charged Strategic Advisers and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through Strategic Advisers, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. Board oversight of different aspects of the fund's activities is exercised primarily through the full Board, but also through the Audit and Compliance Committee. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees."
Interested Trustees *:
<R>Correspondence intended for each Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
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<R>Roger T. Servison (1945)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Servison is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Servison serves as President of Strategic New Business Development for Fidelity Investments and serves as a Director of Strategic Advisers. Previously, Mr. Servison oversaw Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company (2005-2006) and Strategic Advisers (2005-2007). Mr. Servison also served as President and a Director of Fidelity Brokerage Services (Japan), LLC (1994-2004). |
<R>Derek L. Young (1964)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Mr. Young is Vice President of Fidelity's Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present), President and a Director of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2011-present), President of Fidelity Global Asset Allocation (GAA) (2011-present), and Vice Chairman of Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2011-present). Previously, Mr. Young served as Chief Investment Officer of GAA (2009-2011) and as a portfolio manager. |
* Trustees have been determined to be "Interested Trustees" by virtue of, among other things, their affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with Strategic Advisers.
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees :
Correspondence intended for each Independent Trustee (that is, the Trustees other than the Interested Trustees) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
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<R>Peter C. Aldrich (1944)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Aldrich is a Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Director of the funds of BlackRock Realty Group (2006-present). Previously, Mr. Aldrich served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010), a Managing Member of Poseidon, LLC (foreign private investment, 1998-2004), and Chairman and Managing Member of AEGIS, LLC (foreign private investment, 1997-2004). Mr. Aldrich also served as Faculty Chairman of The Research Council on Global Investment of The Conference Board (business and professional education non-profit, 1999-2004). Mr. Aldrich is a Member of the Boards of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and an Overseer of the Longy School of Music. |
<R>Amy Butte Liebowitz (1968)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011</R> Ms. Butte Liebowitz was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of TILE Financial (financial internet service, 2008-2012). Previously, Ms. Butte Liebowitz served as the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of MF Global (broker-dealer, 2006-2008), and Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange (2004-2006). Ms. Butte Liebowitz is a member of the Boards of Directors of Accion International and the New York Women's Forum, as well as an alumna of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader program. |
<R>Ralph F. Cox (1932)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Cox is President of RABAR Enterprises (management consulting for the petroleum industry). Mr. Cox is a Director of Abraxas Petroleum (exploration and production). Mr. Cox is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Business and Engineering Schools of Texas A&M University and the Engineering School of University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Mr. Cox served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010) and as an Advisory Director of CH2M Hill Companies (engineering, 1981-2011). Mr. Ralph F. Cox and Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. are not related. |
<R>Mary C. Farrell (1949)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2013</R> Ms. Farrell is a Director of the W.R. Berkley Corporation (insurance provider) and President (2009-present) and Director (2006-present) of the Howard Gilman Foundation (charitable organization). Previously, Ms. Farrell was Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at UBS Wealth Management USA and Co-Head of UBS Wealth Management Investment Strategy & Research Group (2003-2005). Ms. Farrell also served as Investment Strategist at PaineWebber (1982-2000) and UBS PaineWebber (2000-2002). Ms. Farrell also serves as Trustee on the Board of Overseers of the New York University Stern School of Business, the Board of Trustees of Yale-New Haven Hospital and is a member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II. |
<R>Karen Kaplan (1960)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Ms. Kaplan is President of Hill Holliday (advertising and specialized marketing, 2007-present). Ms. Kaplan is a Director of DSM (dba Delta Dental and DentaQuest) (2004-present), Director of Vera Bradley (2012-present), Member of the Board of Governors of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston (2010-present), Member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference for Women (2008-present), Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (2006-present), Board of Directors of Jobs for Massachusetts (2012-present), National Association of Corporate Directors Chapter (2012-present), and Board of Directors of the Post Office Square Trust (2012-present). She is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, an action oriented community of the most effective CEOs, heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, and non-governmental leaders in the world. Previously, Ms. Kaplan served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010), President of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2008-2010), Treasurer of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2002-2006), Vice Chair of the Board of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2003-2010), Director of United Way of Massachusetts Bay (2004-2006), Director of ADVO (direct mail marketing, 2003-2007), and Director of Tweeter Home Entertainment Group (2006-2007). |
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Member and Executive Officers :
<R>Correspondence intended for each executive officer and Howard E. Cox, Jr. may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupation</R> |
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<R>Howard E. Cox, Jr. (1944)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II. Mr. Cox is a Member of the Advisory Board of Devonshire Investors (2009-present). Mr. Cox serves as an Advisory Partner of Greylock (venture capital) and a Director of Stryker Corporation (medical products and services). Previously, Mr. Cox served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010) and a Member of the Secretary of Defense's Business Board of Directors (2008-2010). Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. and Mr. Ralph F. Cox are not related. |
<R>Kenneth B. Robins (1969)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 President and Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Robins also serves as President and Treasurer of other Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds (2008-present) and Assistant Treasurer of other Fidelity Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present). Mr. Robins is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Robins served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2005-2008) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2006-2008). |
<R>Marc Bryant (1966)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of the fund. Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Fidelity Investments. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Mr. Bryant served as a Senior Vice President and the Head of Global Retail Legal for AllianceBernstein L.P. (2006-2010), and as the General Counsel for ProFund Advisors LLC (2001-2006). |
<R>Elizabeth Paige Baumann (1968)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2012 Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer of the fund. Ms. Baumann also serves as AML Officer of the Fidelity funds (2012-present) and The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2012-present), Chief AML Officer of FMR LLC (2012-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Baumann served as Vice President and Deputy Anti-Money Laundering Officer (2007-2012). |
<R>Nicholas E. Steck (1964)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the fund. Mr. Steck serves as Senior Vice President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. During the period 2002 to 2009, Mr. Steck served as a Compliance Officer of FMR, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc., FMR LLC, Fidelity Research & Analysis (U.K.) Inc., Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. |
<R>Laura M. Doherty (1969)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Compliance Officer of the fund. Ms. Doherty also serves as Senior Vice President of the Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Doherty served as a Vice President in Fidelity's Corporate Audit department (1998-2008). |
<R>Adrien E. Deberghes (1967)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Deberghes also serves as Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) and Deputy Treasurer (2008-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Deberghes served as Senior Vice President of Mutual Fund Administration at State Street Corporation (2007-2008), Senior Director of Mutual Fund Administration at Investors Bank & Trust (2005-2007), and Director of Finance for Dunkin' Brands (2000-2005). |
<R>Stephanie J. Dorsey (1969)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Ms. Dorsey also serves as President and Treasurer (2013-present) and Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Dorsey served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2008-2013), Treasurer (2004-2008) of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds and Vice President (2004-2008) of JPMorgan Chase Bank. |
<R>Jonathan Davis (1968)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Davis is also Assistant Treasurer of certain Fidelity funds. Mr. Davis is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2003-2010). |
<R>Margaret A. Carey (1973)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 </R> Assistant Secretary of the fund. Ms. Carey also serves as Assistant Secretary of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present), Vice President, Associate General Counsel (2007-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). |
Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established two committees to supplement the work of the Board as a whole. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
<R>The Audit and Compliance Committee is composed of Ms. Butte Liebowitz (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, Mr. Ralph Cox, and Mses. Farrell and Kaplan. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The committee determines whether at least one member of the committee is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined in rules promulgated by the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The committee normally meets in conjunction with in person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee meets separately periodically with the fund's Treasurer, the fund's Chief Financial Officer, the fund's CCO, personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and the fund's outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the fund for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the fund and the fund's service providers, (ii) the financial reporting processes of the fund, (iii) the independence, objectivity and qualification of the auditors to the fund, (iv) the annual audits of the fund's financial statements, and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the fund. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations (Auditor Independence Regulations) of the SEC. In furtherance of the foregoing, the committee has adopted (and may from time to time amend or supplement) and provides oversight of policies and procedures for non-audit engagements by outside auditors of the fund. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the fund and for resolving disagreements between the fund and any outside auditor regarding the fund's financial reporting, and has sole authority to hire and fire any auditor. Auditors of the fund report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the fund and any service providers consistent with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Ethics and Independence Rule 3526, Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence. The committee will discuss with the outside auditors any such disclosed relationships and their impact on the auditor's independence and objectivity. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the Auditor Independence Regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the fund's service providers' internal controls and reviews with management, internal auditors, and outside auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of the fund's and service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the fund's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the fund's or service provider's internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will review with counsel any legal matters that may have a material impact on the fund's financial statements and any material reports or inquiries received from regulators or governmental agencies. The committee reviews at least annually a report from the outside auditor describing (i) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control review, peer review, or PCAOB examination of the auditing firm and (ii) any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm since the most recent report and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the fund's financial reporting process and will receive reports from an outside auditor relating to (i) critical accounting policies and practices used by the fund, (ii) alternative accounting treatments that the auditor has discussed with Strategic Advisers, and (iii) other material written communications between the auditor and Strategic Advisers (as determined by the auditor). The committee will discuss with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the fund. The committee will review with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC (to the extent relevant) the results of audits of the fund's financial statements. The committee will review periodically the fund's major internal controls exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. The committee also oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the fund and its service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee of the Board of Trustees or reserved to the Board itself. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the fund. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO and, if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports on significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the fund's compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1 and quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of Mr. Ralph Cox (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, and Mses. Butte Liebowitz, Farrell, and Kaplan. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the code of ethics and any supplemental policies regarding personal securities transactions applicable to the Independent Trustees. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the fund's or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the fund's expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the fund, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, (or as of March 31, 2013 for Ms. Farrell, Trustee as of March 5, 2013).</R>
Interested Trustees |
||
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Roger T. Servison |
Derek L. Young |
Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
none |
none |
<R></R>
<R>Independent Trustees</R> |
|||||
<R>
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Peter C. Aldrich |
Mary C. Farrell |
Amy Butte Liebowitz |
Ralph F. Cox |
Karen Kaplan</R> |
<R>
Strategic Advisers Core Income
|
none |
none |
none |
none |
none</R> |
<R>
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
over $100,000 |
none |
none |
over $100,000 |
none</R> |
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board for his or her services for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, or calendar year ended December 31, 2012, as applicable.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Compensation Table 1</R> |
||||||
<R>
AGGREGATE
|
Peter C.
|
Mary C.
|
Amy
|
Ralph F.
|
Karen
|
</R> |
<R>
Strategic Advisers Core Income
|
$ 97 |
$ 0 |
$ 97 |
$ 97 |
$ 97 |
</R> |
<R>
TOTAL COMPENSATION
|
$ 137,500 |
$ 0 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
</R> |
1 Roger T. Servison, Howard E. Cox, Jr., and Derek L. Young are interested persons and are compensated by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate (including FMR).
<R> 2 Effective March 5, 2013, Ms. Farrell serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II.</R>
+ Estimated for the fund's first full year.
<R> A Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, for 26 funds of two trusts.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and officers of the fund owned, in the aggregate, less than 1% of the fund's total outstanding shares.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the following owned of record and/or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding shares of a class:</R>
<R>* The ownership information shown above is for a class of shares of the fund.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, approximately 98.34% of the fund's total outstanding shares was held of record and/or beneficially by FIMM LLC, Boston, Massachusetts.</R>
A shareholder owning of record or beneficially more than 25% of a fund's outstanding shares may be considered a controlling person. That shareholder's vote could have a more significant effect on matters presented at a shareholders' meeting than votes of other shareholders.
CONTROL OF INVESTMENT ADVISERS
<R>FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of Strategic Advisers and Pyramis. The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Abigail P. Johnson family, directly or through trusts, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.</R>
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
<R>Prudential Investment Management, Inc. (PIM) is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Prudential Financial, Inc. (Prudential Financial), a publicly held company and the ultimate parent of PIM. Prudential Financial, Inc. is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential plc, a company incorporated in the United Kingdom. PIM is an SEC-registered investment adviser organized as a New Jersey corporation. Prudential Fixed Income (PFI) is the public fixed income asset management unit within PIM. In addition to PFI, the other units within PIM are Prudential Real Estate Investors (a provider of real estate investment advisory services) and Prudential Capital Group (a private fixed income investment adviser). Each of these units of PIM has a separate brochure that has been filed with the SEC and provides information about its advisory business. PFI is organized into groups specializing in different sectors of the fixed income market: U.S. and non-U.S. government bonds, mortgages and asset-backed securities, U.S. and non-U.S. investment grade corporate bonds, high-yield bonds, emerging markets bonds, municipal bonds, and money market securities. PFI provides investment advisory services to the fund.</R>
Pyramis is a registered investment adviser. FMR LLC is the ultimate parent company of Pyramis. Information regarding the ownership of FMR LLC is disclosed above.
<R>Strategic Advisers, PIM, Pyramis (the Investment Advisers), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and the fund have adopted codes of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that set forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establish procedures for personal investing, and restrict certain transactions. Employees subject to the codes of ethics, including the Investment Advisers' investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.</R>
The fund has entered into a management contract with Strategic Advisers, pursuant to which Strategic Advisers furnishes investment advisory and other services.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
<R>Strategic Advisers has retained PIM and Pyramis to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. The sub-advisers do not sponsor the fund.</R>
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
Management and Sub-Advisory Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, Strategic Advisers acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, directs the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. Strategic Advisers is authorized, in its discretion, to allocate the fund's assets pursuant to its investment strategy. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates provide the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensate all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of Strategic Advisers, and compensate all personnel of the fund or Strategic Advisers performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
Under its respective sub-advisory agreement, and subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, each sub-adviser directs the investment of its allocated portion of the fund's assets in accordance with the fund's investment objective, policies and limitations.
Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to Strategic Advisers and the fees payable to the transfer agent and pricing and bookkeeping agent, the fund or each class thereof, as applicable, pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by those parties. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders; however, under the terms of the fund's transfer agent agreement, the transfer agent bears these costs. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.
Management Fees. For the services of Strategic Advisers under the management contract, the fund pays Strategic Advisers a monthly management fee calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets; provided, however, that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.65% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.30% of the average daily net assets of the fund until April 30, 2014. The fee waiver by Strategic Advisers will increase the fund's return.</R>
<R>The following table shows the amount of management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers for the past fiscal period, the amount of credits reducing management fees for the fund, and the amount of waivers reducing management fees for the fund.</R>
<R> Fund |
Fiscal Year
|
Amount of
|
Management Fees
|
Management Fees
|
<R>Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund |
2013 A |
$ 86,636 |
$ 9,970* |
0.03%* ,B</R> |
<R>* After reduction of fees and expenses paid by the fund to the Independent Trustees.</R>
<R> A Fund commenced operations on June 19, 2012.</R>
<R> B Annualized.</R>
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of a class's operating expenses. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Expense reimbursements by Strategic Advisers will increase the class's returns, and repayment of the reimbursement by the class will decrease its returns.
Sub-Adviser - Pyramis. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Pyramis pursuant to which Pyramis may provide investment advisory services for the fund.
<R>Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Pyramis fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Pyramis pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Pyramis under a particular Strategy based on the following rate schedule:</R>
<R></R>
<R> Core Investment Grade :</R> |
<R>0.275% of the first $100 million in assets;</R> |
<R>0.20% of the next $400 million in assets;</R> |
<R>0.12% on any amount in excess of $500 million in assets</R> |
<R> Core Plus :</R> |
<R>0.32% of all assets</R> |
Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Pyramis or another affiliate pursuant to that Strategy.
<R> Sub-Adviser - PIM. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with PIM pursuant to which PIM may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays PIM fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by PIM pursuant to a separately negotiated investment mandate (a "Strategy"). The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by PIM under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by PIM pursuant to that Strategy.</R>
<R>PIM has not currently been allocated a portion of the fund's assets to manage.</R>
<R>The following table shows the amount of sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to Pyramis for the past fiscal period.</R>
<R> A Fund commenced operations on June 19, 2012.</R>
<R> B Annualized.</R>
Portfolio Manager Compensation - Strategic Advisers.
Gregory Pappas is an employee of Strategic Advisers, a subsidiary of FMR LLC and an affiliate of FMR. Strategic Advisers is the adviser to the fund.
<R>Mr. Pappas is the lead portfolio manager of the fund and receives compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Strategic Advisers or at the election of the portfolio manager. </R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of a broad range of Strategic Advisers funds and accounts, including the fund. Accounts may include model portfolios designed for asset allocation, retirement planning, or tax-sensitive goals. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s), and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with the portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and peer group. A subjective component of the bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Strategic Advisers. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of his fund is based on the fund's pre-tax investment performance measured against the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund (based on the performance of the fund's retail class) within the Morningstar Intermediate-Term Bond Category. The portfolio manager may be compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Strategic Advisers' parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates. </R>
<R></R>
<R>The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics. </R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Pappas as of February 28, 2013: </R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
5 |
180 |
none</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 21,931 |
$ 42,166 |
none</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund ($42 (in millions) assets managed). The amount of assets managed of the fund reflects trades and other assets as of the close of the business day prior to the fund's fiscal year-end.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Pappas was none. </R>
Portfolio Manager Compensation - Pyramis.
<R>Jeffrey Moore is the portfolio manager of Pyramis' allocated portion of the fund's assets and receives compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by FMR or at the election of the portfolio manager. </R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at FMR or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus is based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of other FMR taxable bond funds and accounts. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s) and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over the portfolio manager's tenure on those fund(s) and account(s) over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with his tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to three years for the comparison to a benchmark index. A smaller, subjective component of the portfolio manager's bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of FMR. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of Pyramis' Core Investment Grade strategy is based on the pre-tax investment performance of the strategy measured against the Barclays ® U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The portfolio manager also is compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, FMR's parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.</R>
The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by FMR or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Moore as of February 28, 2013: </R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
2 |
10 |
10</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 493 |
$ 2,487 |
$ 2,779</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund ($10 (in millions) assets managed). The amount of assets managed of the fund reflects trades and other assets as of the close of the business day prior to the fund's fiscal year-end.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Moore was none.</R>
Proxy Voting - Strategic Advisers.
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of the fund, after consultation with Strategic Advisers. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Strategic Advisers and its affiliates and by the Independent Trustees of the fund, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. The funds in the trust generally intend to vote shares of underlying funds using echo voting procedures (that is, in the same proportion as the holders of all other shares of the particular underlying fund).
B. Any proposals not covered by paragraph A above or other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate Strategic Advisers analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review and approval by the General Counsel or Compliance Officer of FMR or the General Counsel of FMR LLC.
<R> Sub-Advisers: </R>
Proxy voting policies and procedures are used by the sub-adviser to determine how to vote proxies relating to the securities held by its allocated portion of the fund's assets. The proxy voting policies and procedures used by the sub-adviser are described below.
Proxy Voting - Pyramis.
I. General Principles
A. Voting of shares will be conducted in a manner consistent with the best interests of clients as follows: (i) securities of a portfolio company will generally be voted in a manner consistent with the Guidelines; and (ii) voting will be done without regard to any other Pyramis or Fidelity companies' relationship, business or otherwise, with that portfolio company.
B. FMR Investment Proxy Research votes proxies on behalf of Pyramis' clients. Like other Pyramis employees, FMR Investment Proxy Research employees have a fiduciary duty to never place their own personal interest ahead of the interests of Pyramis's clients and are instructed to avoid actual and apparent conflicts of interest. In the event of a conflict of interest, FMR Investment Proxy Research employees, like other Pyramis employees, will escalate to their managers or the Ethics Office, as appropriate, in accordance with Fidelity's corporate policy on conflicts of interest. A conflict of interest arises when there are factors that may prompt one to question whether a Fidelity and/or Pyramis employee is acting solely on the best interests of Pyramis, Fidelity and their customers. Employees are expected to avoid situations that could present even the appearance of a conflict between their interests and the interests of Pyramis and its customers.
C. Except as set forth herein, Pyramis will generally vote in favor of routine management proposals.
D. Non-routine proposals will generally be voted in accordance with the Guidelines.
E. Non-routine proposals not covered by the Guidelines or involving other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review by an attorney within FMR's General Counsel's office and a member of senior management within FMR Investment Proxy Research. A significant pattern of such proposals or other special circumstances will be referred to Pyramis' Senior Compliance Officer or his designee.
F. Pyramis will vote on shareholder proposals not specifically addressed by the Guidelines based on an evaluation of a proposal's likelihood to enhance the economic returns or profitability of the portfolio company or to maximize shareholder value. Where information is not readily available to analyze the economic impact of the proposal, Pyramis will generally abstain.
G. Many Pyramis accounts invest in voting securities issued by companies that are domiciled outside the United States and are not listed on a U.S. securities exchange. Corporate governance standards, legal or regulatory requirements and disclosure practices in foreign countries can differ from those in the United States. When voting proxies relating to non-U.S. securities, Pyramis will generally evaluate proposals in the context of the Guidelines and where applicable and feasible, take into consideration differing laws, regulations and practices in the relevant foreign market in determining how to vote shares.
H. In certain non-U.S. jurisdictions, shareholders voting shares of a portfolio company may be restricted from trading the shares for a period of time around the shareholder meeting date. Because such trading restrictions can hinder portfolio management and could result in a loss of liquidity for a client, Pyramis will generally not vote proxies in circumstances where such restrictions apply. In addition, certain non-U.S. jurisdictions require voting shareholders to disclose current share ownership on a fund-by-fund basis. When such disclosure requirements apply, Pyramis will generally not vote proxies in order to safeguard fund holdings information.
I. Where a management-sponsored proposal is inconsistent with the Guidelines, Pyramis may receive a company's commitment to modify the proposal or its practice to conform to the Guidelines, and Pyramis will generally support management based on this commitment. If a company subsequently does not abide by its commitment, Pyramis will generally withhold authority for the election of directors at the next election.
II. Definitions (as used in this document)
A. <R>Anti-Takeover Provision - includes fair price amendments; classified boards; "blank check" preferred stock; Golden Parachutes; supermajority provisions; Poison Pills; restricting the right to call special meetings; provisions restricting the right of shareholders to set board size; and any other provision that eliminates or limits shareholder rights.</R>
B. Golden Parachute - Employment contracts, agreements, or policies that include an excise tax gross-up provision; single trigger for cash incentives; or may result in a lump sum payment of cash and acceleration of equity that may total more than three times annual compensation (salary and bonus) in the event of a termination following a change in control.
C. Greenmail - payment of a premium to repurchase shares from a shareholder seeking to take over a company through a proxy contest or other means.
D. Sunset Provision - a condition in a charter or plan that specifies an expiration date.
E. Permitted Bid Feature - a provision suspending the application of a Poison Pill, by shareholder referendum, in the event a potential acquirer announces a bona fide offer for all outstanding shares.
F. Poison Pill - a strategy employed by a potential take-over/target company to make its stock less attractive to an acquirer. Poison Pills are generally designed to dilute the acquirer's ownership and value in the event of a take-over.
G. <R>Large-Capitalization Company - a company included in the Russell 1000 ® Index or the Russell Global ex-U.S. Large Cap Index.</R>
H. <R>Small-Capitalization Company - a company not included in the Russell 1000 ® Index or the Russell Global ex-U.S. Large Cap Index that is not a Micro-Capitalization Company.</R>
I. Micro-Capitalization Company - a company with a market capitalization under US $300 million.
J. Evergreen Provision - a feature which provides for an automatic increase in the shares available for grant under an equity award plan on a regular basis.
III. Directors
A. Incumbent Directors
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of incumbent and nominee directors except where one or more such directors clearly appear to have failed to exercise reasonable judgment. Pyramis will also generally withhold authority for the election of all directors or directors on responsible committees if:
1. An Anti-Takeover Provision was introduced, an Anti-Takeover Provision was extended, or a new Anti-Takeover Provision was adopted upon the expiration of an existing Anti-Takeover Provision, without shareholder approval except as set forth below.
With respect to Poison Pills, however, Pyramis will consider not withholding authority on the election of directors if all of the following conditions are met when a Poison Pill is introduced, extended, or adopted:
a. The Poison Pill includes a Sunset Provision of less than five years;
b. The Poison Pill includes a Permitted Bid Feature;
c. The Poison Pill is linked to a business strategy that will result in greater value for the shareholders; and
d. Shareholder approval is required to reinstate the Poison Pill upon expiration.
Pyramis will also consider not withholding authority on the election of directors when one or more of the conditions above are not met if a board is willing to strongly consider seeking shareholder ratification of, or adding above conditions noted a. and b. to an existing Poison Pill. In such a case, if the company does not take appropriate action prior to the next annual shareholder meeting, Pyramis will withhold authority on the election of directors.
2. The company refuses, upon request by Pyramis, to amend the Poison Pill to allow Pyramis to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
3. Within the last year and without shareholder approval, a company's board of directors or compensation committee has repriced outstanding options, exchanged outstanding options for equity, or tendered cash for outstanding options.
4. <R>Executive compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as: (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether, in the case of stock awards, the restriction period was less than three years for non-performance based awards, and less than one year for performance-based awards; (iv) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restrictions; and (v) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.</R>
5. To gain Pyramis' support on a proposal, the company made a commitment to modify a proposal or practice to conform to the Guidelines and the company has failed to act on that commitment.
6. The director attended fewer than 75% of the aggregate number of meetings of the board or its committees on which the director served during the company's prior fiscal year, absent extenuating circumstances.
7. The board is not composed of a majority of independent directors.
B. Indemnification
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of charter and by-law amendments expanding the indemnification of directors and/or limiting their liability for breaches of care unless Pyramis is otherwise dissatisfied with the performance of management or the proposal is accompanied by Anti-Takeover Provisions.
C. Independent Chairperson
Pyramis will generally vote against shareholder proposals calling for or recommending the appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson. However, Pyramis will consider voting for such proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson appears likely to further the interests of shareholders and to promote effective oversight of management by the board of directors.
D. Majority Director Elections
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals calling for directors to be elected by an affirmative majority of votes cast in a board election, provided that the proposal allows for plurality voting standard in the case of contested elections (i.e., where there are more nominees than board seats). Pyramis may consider voting against such shareholder proposals where a company's board has adopted an alternative measure, such as a director resignation policy, that provides a meaningful alternative to the majority voting standard and appropriately addresses situations where an incumbent director fails to receive the support of a majority of the votes cast in an uncontested election.
IV. Compensation
A. Executive Compensation
1. Advisory votes on executive compensation
a. Pyramis will generally vote for proposals to ratify executive compensation unless such compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as, among other things, (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether, in the case of stock awards, the restriction period was less than three years for non-performance-based awards, and less than one year for performance-based awards; (iv) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restrictions; and (v) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.
b. Pyramis will generally vote against proposals to ratify Golden Parachutes.
2. Frequency of advisory vote on executive compensation
Pyramis will generally support annual advisory votes on executive compensation.
B. Equity Award Plans (including stock options, restricted stock awards, and other stock awards).
Pyramis will generally vote against equity award plans or amendments to authorize additional shares under such plans if:
1. (a) The company's average three year burn rate is greater than 1.5% for a Large-Capitalization Company, 2.5% for a Small-Capitalization Company or 3.5% for a Micro-Capitalization Company; and (b) there were no circumstances specific to the company or the plans that lead Pyramis to conclude that the burn rate is acceptable.
2. In the case of stock option plans, (a) the offering price of options is less than 100% of fair market value on the date of grant, except that the offering price may be as low as 85% of fair market value if the discount is expressly granted in lieu of salary or cash bonus; (b) the plan's terms allow repricing of underwater options; or (c) the board/committee has repriced options outstanding under the plan in the past two years without shareholder approval.
3. The plan includes an Evergreen Provision.
4. The plan provides for the acceleration of vesting of equity awards even though an actual change in control may not occur.
C. Equity Exchanges and Repricing
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of a management proposal to exchange, reprice or tender for cash, outstanding options if the proposed exchange, repricing, or tender offer is consistent with the interests of shareholders, taking into account such factors as:
1. Whether the proposal excludes senior management and directors;
2. Whether the exchange or repricing proposal is value neutral to shareholders based upon an acceptable pricing model;
3. The company's relative performance compared to other companies within the relevant industry or industries;
4. Economic and other conditions affecting the relevant industry or industries in which the company competes; and
5. Any other facts or circumstances relevant to determining whether an exchange or repricing proposal is consistent with the interests of shareholders.
D. Employee Stock Purchase Plans
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of employee stock purchase plans if the minimum stock purchase price is equal to or greater than 85% of the stock's fair market value and the plan constitutes a reasonable effort to encourage broad based participation in the company's equity. In the case of non-U.S. company stock purchase plans, Pyramis may permit a lower minimum stock purchase price equal to the prevailing "best practices" in the relevant non-U.S. market, provided that the minimum stock purchase price must be at least 75% of the stock's fair market value.
E. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of non-leveraged ESOPs. For leveraged ESOPs, Pyramis may examine the company's state of incorporation, existence of supermajority vote rules in the charter, number of shares authorized for the ESOP, and number of shares held by insiders. Pyramis may also examine where the ESOP shares are purchased and the dilution effect of the purchase. Pyramis will generally vote against leveraged ESOPs if all outstanding loans are due immediately upon change in control.
F. Bonus Plans and Tax Deductibility Proposals
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of cash and stock incentive plans that are submitted for shareholder approval in order to qualify for favorable tax treatment under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, provided that the plan includes well defined and appropriate performance criteria, and with respect to any cash component, that the maximum award per participant is clearly stated and is not unreasonable or excessive.
V. Anti-Takeover Provisions
Pyramis will generally vote against a proposal to adopt or approve the adoption of an Anti-Takeover Provision unless:
A. The Poison Pill includes the following features:
1. A Sunset Provision of no greater than five years;
2. Linked to a business strategy that is expected to result in greater value for the shareholders;
3. Requires shareholder approval to be reinstated upon expiration or if amended;
4. Contains a Permitted Bid Feature; and
5. Allows Pyramis accounts to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
B. An Anti-Greenmail proposal that does not include other Anti-Takeover Provisions; or
C. It is a fair price amendment that considers a two-year price history or less.
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of a proposal to eliminate an Anti-Takeover Provisions unless:
D. In the case of proposals to declassify a board of directors, Pyramis will generally vote against such a proposal if the issuer's Articles of Incorporation or applicable statutes include a provision whereby a majority of directors may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by written consent, or other reasonable procedures, by a majority of shareholders entitled to vote for the election of directors.
E. In the case of shareholder proposals regarding shareholders' right to call special meetings, Pyramis generally will vote against each proposal if the threshold required to call a special meeting is less than 25% of the outstanding stock.
F. In the case of proposals regarding shareholders' right to act by written consent, Pyramis will generally vote against each proposal if it does not include appropriate mechanisms for implementation including, among other things, that at least 25% of the outstanding stock request that the company establish a record date determining which shareholders are entitled to act and that consents be solicited from all shareholders.
VI. Capital Structure/Incorporation
A. Increases in Common Stock
Pyramis will generally vote against a provision to increase a company's common stock if such increase will result in a total number of authorized shares greater than three times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares, including stock options, except in the case of real estate investment trusts, where an increase that will result in a total number of authorized shares up to five times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares is generally acceptable.
B. New Classes of Shares
Pyramis will generally vote against the introduction of new classes of stock with differential voting rights.
C. Cumulative Voting Rights
Pyramis will generally vote against the introduction and in favor of the elimination of cumulative voting rights.
D. Acquisition or Business Combination Statutes
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposed amendments to a company's certificate of incorporation or by-laws that enable the company to opt out of the control shares acquisition or business combination statutes.
E. Incorporation or Reincorporation in Another State or Country
Pyramis will generally vote for management proposals calling for, or recommending that, a portfolio company reincorporate in another state or country if, on balance, the economic and corporate governance factors in the proposed jurisdiction appear reasonably likely to be better aligned with shareholder interests, taking into account the corporate laws of the current and proposed jurisdictions and any changes to the company's current and proposed governing documents. Pyramis will consider supporting such shareholder proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, remaining incorporated in the current jurisdiction appears misaligned with shareholder interests.
VII. Shares of Investment Companies
A. If applicable, when a Pyramis account invests in an underlying Fidelity Fund with public shareholders, an exchange traded fund (ETF), or non-affiliated fund, Pyramis will vote in the same proportion as all other voting shareholders of such underlying fund or class ("echo voting"). Pyramis may choose not to vote if "echo voting" is not operationally feasible.
B. Certain Pyramis accounts may invest in shares of underlying Fidelity Funds, which are held exclusively by Fidelity Funds or accounts managed by FMR or an affiliate. Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals recommended by the underlying funds' Board of Trustees.
VIII. Other
A. Voting Process
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals to adopt confidential voting and independent vote tabulation practices.
B. Regulated Industries
Voting of shares in securities of any regulated industry (e.g. U.S. banking) organization shall be conducted in a manner consistent with conditions that may be specified by the industry's regulator (e.g. the Federal Reserve Board) for a determination under applicable law (e.g. federal banking law) that no client or group of clients has acquired control of such organization.
<R>To view a fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, visit www.fidelity.com/proxyvotingresults or visit the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.</R>
The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. The principal business address of FDC is 100 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by Strategic Advisers.
The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan on behalf of Class F of the fund (the Class F Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a mutual fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Class F Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows Class F and Strategic Advisers to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.
Under the Class F Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to Strategic Advisers is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Class F Plan. The Class F Plan specifically recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of Class F shares and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Class F Plan provides that Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers or FDC), that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for Class F shares.
Prior to approving the Class F Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Class F Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Class F Plan will benefit Class F of the fund and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Class F Plan does not authorize payments by Class F of the fund other than those made to Strategic Advisers under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Class F Plan gives Strategic Advisers and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of class shares, additional sales of class shares or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Class F Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.
FDC or an affiliate may compensate, or upon direction make payments for certain retirement plan expenses to, intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (including affiliates of FDC). A number of factors are considered in determining whether to pay these additional amounts. Such factors may include, without limitation, the level or type of services provided by the intermediary, the level or expected level of assets or sales of shares, and other factors. In addition to such payments, FDC or an affiliate may offer other incentives such as sponsorship of educational or client seminars relating to current products and issues, payments or reimbursements for travel and related expenses associated with due diligence trips that an intermediary may undertake in order to explore possible business relationships with affiliates of FDC, and/or payments of costs and expenses associated with attendance at seminars, including travel, lodging, entertainment, and meals. Certain of the payments described above may be significant to an intermediary. As permitted by SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rules and other applicable laws and regulations, FDC or an affiliate may pay or allow other incentives or payments to intermediaries.
The fund's transfer agent or an affiliate may also make payments and reimbursements from its own resources to certain intermediaries (who may be affiliated with the transfer agent) for performing recordkeeping and other services. Please see "Transfer and Service Agent Agreements" in this SAI for more information.
Any of the payments described in this section may represent a premium over payments made by other fund families. Retirement plan sponsors may take these payments into account when deciding whether to include a fund as a plan investment option.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
<R>The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (FIIOC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers, which is located at 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services for Class F of the fund.</R>
FIIOC receives no fees for providing transfer agency services to Class F.
FIIOC may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
<R>The fund has entered into a service agent agreement with Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers (or an agent, including an affiliate). Under the terms of the agreement, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for Class F of the fund and maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records.</R>
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
The annual rates for pricing and bookkeeping services for the fund are 0.0415% of the first $500 million of average net assets, 0.0301% of average net assets between $500 million and $3.5 billion, 0.0041% of average net assets between $3.5 billion and $25 billion, and 0.0019% of average net assets in excess of $25 billion.
<R>Pricing and bookkeeping fees paid by the fund to FSC for the past fiscal period are shown in the following table.</R>
<R> Fund |
2013 *</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund |
$ 12,025</R> |
<R>* From June 19, 2012.</R>
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
<R> Trust Organization. Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund is a fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, an open-end management investment company created under an initial trust instrument dated March 8, 2006. Currently, there are 20 funds offered in the trust: Strategic Advisers Core Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.</R>
The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund, except that liabilities and expenses may be allocated to a particular class. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds or classes.
Shareholder Liability. The trust is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that, except to the extent otherwise provided in the Trust Instrument, shareholders shall be entitled to the same limitations of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit organized under the general corporation law of Delaware. The courts of some states, however, may decline to apply Delaware law on this point. The Trust Instrument contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust. The Trust Instrument provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Trust Instrument further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of each fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Trust Instrument also provides that each fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which Delaware law does not apply, no contractual limitation of liability was in effect, and a fund is unable to meet its obligations. Strategic Advisers believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is extremely remote. Claims asserted against one class of shares may subject holders of another class of shares to certain liabilities.
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. As a shareholder, you are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value you own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
<R></R>
The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodians. State Street Bank and Trust Company, 1776 Heritage Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as special purpose custodians of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions.
Strategic Advisers, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Member of the Advisory Board, and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by Strategic Advisers. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of Strategic Advisers, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 125 High Street, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit, tax, and related services.
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized Strategic Advisers, in consultation with FMR, to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
Other registered investment companies that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be subject to different portfolio holdings disclosure policies, and neither Strategic Advisers nor the Board exercises control over such policies or disclosure. In addition, separate account clients of Strategic Advisers and the sub-advisers have access to their portfolio holdings and are not subject to the fund's portfolio holdings disclosure policies. Some of the funds that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser and some of the separate accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser have investment objectives and strategies that are substantially similar or identical to the fund's and, therefore, potentially substantially similar, and in certain cases nearly identical, portfolio holdings as the fund.
The fund will provide a full list of holdings monthly on www.fidelity.com 30 days after the month-end (excluding high income security holdings, which generally will be presented collectively monthly and included in a list of full holdings 60 days after its fiscal quarter-end).
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations.
The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the activities associated with managing Fidelity funds to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons Strategic Advisers believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include, but are not limited to: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics (including portfolio managers of affiliated funds of funds); contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.
Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, (ii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iii) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. Strategic Advisers relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.
<R>At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day) and DocuLynx Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day).</R>
Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, Strategic Advisers desired to make such an arrangement, it would seek prior Board approval and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
<R>The fund's financial statements and financial highlights for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013, and report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the fund's annual report and are incorporated herein by reference. Total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table may differ from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the financial highlights because total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table include any acquired fund fees and expenses, whereas the ratios of expenses in the financial highlights do not, except to the extent any acquired fund fees and expenses relate to an entity, such as a wholly-owned subsidiary, with which a fund's financial statements are consolidated. Acquired funds include other investment companies in which the fund has invested, if and to the extent it is permitted to do so. Total annual operating expenses in the prospectus fee table and the financial highlights do not include any expenses associated with investments in certain structured or synthetic products that may rely on the exception from the definition of "investment company" provided by section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R></R>
<R> Strategic Advisers ® Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund </R>
<R> Class /Ticker </R>
<R> Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund /FNAPX </R>
<R>In this prospectus, the term "shares" (as it relates to the fund) means the class of shares offered through this prospectus.</R>
Prospectus
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
Fund Summary |
Strategic Advisers ® Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund |
|
<R> Fund Basics |
Investment Details </R> |
|
<R> |
Valuing Shares </R> |
|
<R> Shareholder Information |
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares </R> |
|
<R> |
Exchanging Shares </R> |
|
<R> |
Features and Policies </R> |
|
<R> |
Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions </R> |
|
<R> |
Tax Consequences </R> |
|
<R> Fund Services |
Fund Management </R> |
|
<R> |
147 |
Fund Distribution </R> |
<R> Appendix |
Financial Highlights </R> |
|
<R> |
Additional Information about the Index </R> |
Prospectus
<R>
Fund
/Class:
Strategic
Advisers
®
Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund
/Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager
Fund</R>
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy, hold, or sell shares of the fund.
<R></R>
<R>
Shareholder fees
|
</R> |
<R> Redemption fee on shares held less than 90 days (as a % of amount redeemed) |
1.50% </R> |
<R>
Annual class operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
</R>
<R> Management fee (fluctuates based on the fund's allocation among underlying funds and sub-advisers) A,C |
0.76% </R> |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees |
None |
<R> Other expenses |
0.43% </R> |
<R> Acquired fund fees and expenses (fees and expenses of underlying funds) |
0.04% </R> |
<R> Total annual operating expenses B |
1.23% </R> |
<R> Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement C |
0.03% </R> |
<R> Total annual operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement B |
1.20% </R> |
<R> A Based on historical expenses, adjusted to reflect current fees. </R>
<R> B Differs from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the Financial Highlights section of the prospectus because of acquired fund fees and expenses. As a result, the total annual operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement in the fee table exceed the contractual expense limitation of the class. </R>
<R> C Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) has contractually agreed that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.15% of the fund's average daily net assets. In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to reimburse the class to the extent that total operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, extraordinary expenses, and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any), as a percentage of its average net assets, exceed 1.16%. This arrangement will remain in effect through April 30, 2014. Strategic Advisers may not terminate this arrangement without the approval of the Board of Trustees. </R>
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
1 year |
$ 122 |
<R> 3 years |
$ 387 </R> |
<R> 5 years |
$ 672 </R> |
<R> 10 years |
$ 1,486 </R> |
<R>The fund will not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of affiliated funds but may incur transaction costs when buying or selling non-affiliated funds and other types of securities (including non-affiliated exchange traded funds) directly (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 66% of the average value of its portfolio.</R>
Prospectus
<R> Pursuant to an exemptive order granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) is permitted, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees, to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement. </R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
<R>The following information is intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the fund. The information illustrates the performance of the fund's shares over the past year and compares the performance of the fund's shares to the performance of a securities market index over various periods of time. The index description appears in the Additional Information about the Index section of the prospectus. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future performance.</R>
<R>Visit www.401k.com and log in (plan accounts) or www.fidelity.com (all other accounts) for updated return information.</R>
Prospectus
<R> Calendar Year |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2012 </R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
15.54% </R> |
<R>
</R>
<R> During the period shown in the chart: |
Returns |
Quarter ended </R> |
<R> Highest Quarter Return |
13.56% |
March 31, 2012 </R> |
<R> Lowest Quarter Return |
-5.15% |
June 30, 2012 </R> |
<R> Year-to-Date Return |
12.36% |
March 31, 2013 </R> |
<R>After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, but do not reflect the impact of state or local taxes. Actual after-tax returns may differ depending on your individual circumstances. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your shares in a retirement account or in another tax-deferred arrangement.</R>
<R>
For the periods ended
|
Past 1
|
Life of
|
<R> Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund |
|
</R> |
<R> Return Before Taxes |
15.54% |
16.18% </R> |
<R> Return After Taxes on Distributions |
14.81% |
15.45% </R> |
<R> Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
10.53% |
10.95% </R> |
<R>
Russell 2500 Index
|
17.88% |
18.42% </R> |
<R> A From December 20, 2011. </R>
<R>Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. Advisory Research, Inc. (ARI), Fred Alger Management, Inc. (Alger Management), Invesco Advisers, Inc. (Invesco), Kennedy Capital Management, Inc. (Kennedy Capital), Neuberger Berman Management LLC (Neuberger Berman), Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis), and Systematic Financial Management, L.P. (Systematic) have been retained to serve as sub-advisers for the fund.</R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
<R>Barry Golden (lead portfolio manager) has managed the fund since April 2013.</R>
<R> James M. Langer (portfolio manager) and Matthew K. Swaim (portfolio manager) have co-managed ARI's portion of the fund's assets since December 2011.</R>
Jill Greenwald (portfolio manager) has managed Alger Management's portion of the fund's assets since December 2011.
Juliet S. Ellis (lead portfolio manager), Juan Hartsfield (portfolio manager), and Clay Manley (portfolio manager) have co-managed Invesco's portion of the fund's assets since December 2011.
<R>Donald Cobin, CFA (portfolio manager) and Christian McDonald, CFA (assistant portfolio manager) have co-managed Kennedy Capital's portion of the fund's assets since December 2012.</R>
Benjamin H. Nahum (portfolio manager) has managed Neuberger Berman's portion of the fund's assets since December 2011.
Young Chin (lead portfolio manager) has co-managed Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets since March 2012.
Thorsten Becker (co-manager), Andrew Burzumato (co-manager), Chad Colman (co-manager), Arun Daniel (co-manager), Chandler Willett (co-manager), Jody Simes (co-manager), and Vincent Rivers (co-manager) have co-managed Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets since December 2011.
Ronald Mushock (lead portfolio manager) and D. Kevin McCreesh (co-portfolio manager) have co-managed Systematic's portion of the fund's assets since December 2011.
Shares of the fund generally are available only to: (i) employer-sponsored retirement plans (including profit sharing, 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), and similar plans) for which an affiliate of Strategic Advisers provides recordkeeping services; and (ii) Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund accounts held by individuals who currently own shares of the fund originally held in an employer sponsored retirement plan. You may buy or sell shares in various ways:
The price to buy one share of the fund is its net asset value per share (NAV). Your shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after your investment is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable. Your shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
There is no purchase minimum for fund shares.
Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state or local taxes, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account (in which case you may be taxed later, upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).
The fund, Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Investment Objective
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
Principal Investment Strategies
The fund normally invests primarily in common stocks.
The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of small and mid cap companies and in shares of other small and mid cap funds. Although a universal definition of small to medium market capitalization companies does not exist, for purposes of this fund, small to medium market capitalization companies are generally defined as those companies with market capitalizations similar to those of companies included in the Russell 2500 Index. A company's market capitalization is based on its current market capitalization or its market capitalization at the time of the fund's investment. The size of the companies in the index changes with market conditions and the composition of the index.
The fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers in addition to securities of domestic issuers.
The fund is not constrained by any particular investment style. At any given time, the fund may tend to buy "growth" stocks or "value" stocks, or a combination of both types.
The fund implements its investment strategies by investing directly in securities through one or more sub-advisers or indirectly in securities through one or more underlying funds, which in turn invest directly in securities.
Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of underlying funds or sub-advisers at any time.
Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds and sub-advisers according to an allocation strategy designed to achieve portfolio characteristics similar to those of the Russell 2500 Index.
Strategic Advisers pursues a disciplined, benchmark-driven approach to portfolio construction, and monitors and adjusts allocations to underlying funds and sub-advisers as necessary to favor those underlying funds and sub-advisers that Strategic Advisers believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the fund's investment objective.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among underlying funds, Strategic Advisers relies on proprietary fundamental and quantitative fund research in its fund selection process. Factors considered when investing in underlying funds include fund performance, a fund manager's experience and investment style, fund company infrastructure, and fund characteristics such as expense ratio, asset size, and portfolio turnover.
<R>The fund may invest in affiliated small and mid cap funds ( i.e., Fidelity funds) and non-affiliated small and mid cap funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork ® and in non-affiliated ETFs. Underlying funds include both funds managed by FMR (an affiliated company that, together with Strategic Advisers, is part of Fidelity Investments) or an affiliate and funds managed by investment advisers other than Fidelity. Fidelity may receive service fees that typically are at an annual rate of up to 0.40% of a non-affiliated underlying fund's average daily net assets attributable to purchases through Fidelity's FundsNetwork, though such fees may be higher or lower, or may be charged as transaction and/or account fees. In addition, the fund may invest in ETFs in transactions not occurring through Fidelity's FundsNetwork.</R>
Prospectus
Strategic Advisers generally identifies small and mid cap funds by reference to a fund's name, policies, or classification by a third-party ranking or ratings organization. Whether an underlying fund is a small or mid cap fund is determined at the time of investment. Investments in funds whose names, policies or classifications change after purchase continue to be considered investments in small or mid cap funds for purposes of the 80% policy.
<R>Strategic Advisers may actively adjust the allocation of the fund's assets at any time. For current information on fund holdings, please call 1-800-835-5095 (plan accounts) or 1-800-544-3455 (all other accounts) or visit the web site at www.401k.com (plan accounts) or www.fidelity.com (all other accounts). For information on the underlying funds, see the underlying funds' prospectuses. A copy of any underlying Fidelity fund's prospectus is available at www.fidelity.com or www.advisor.fidelity.com. For a copy of any other underlying fund's prospectus, visit the web site of the company that manages or sponsors that underlying fund.</R>
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers considers a variety of factors including, but not limited to, a sub-adviser's investment approach, the characteristics of a sub-adviser's typical investment portfolio, and a sub-adviser's performance patterns in different market environments.
Common types of investment approaches that a sub-adviser may use in selecting investments for a fund include, but are not limited to, quantitative analysis, fundamental analysis, or a combination of both approaches. Quantitative analysis refers to programmatic models that analyze such factors as growth potential, valuation, liquidity, and investment risk based on data inputs. Fundamental analysis involves a bottom-up assessment of a company's potential for success in light of factors including its financial condition, earnings outlook, strategy, management, industry position, and economic and market conditions.
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
The fund may also use various techniques, such as buying and selling futures contracts, to increase or decrease its exposure to changing security prices or other factors that affect security values. In addition, the fund may have indirect exposure to derivatives through its investments in underlying funds.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Description of Principal Security Types
In addition to investing in underlying funds, the fund may invest directly in the following principal security types:
Equity securities represent an ownership interest, or the right to acquire an ownership interest, in an issuer. Different types of equity securities provide different voting and dividend rights and priority in the event of the bankruptcy of the issuer. Equity securities include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, and warrants.
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on the performance of the underlying funds and securities in which it invests and on changes in market conditions and interest rates and in response to other economic, political, or financial developments. The fund's reaction to these developments will be affected by the types of underlying funds and securities in which the fund invests, the financial condition, industry and economic sector, and geographic location of an issuer, and the fund's level of investment in the securities of that underlying fund or issuer.
If Strategic Advisers' or a sub-adviser's allocation strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective. The portfolio managers' evaluations and assumptions in selecting underlying funds or individual securities may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.
When your shares are sold they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
<R> Multiple Sub-Adviser Risk. Because each sub-adviser manages its allocated portion, if any, independently from another sub-adviser, it is possible that the sub-advisers' security selection processes may not complement one another. As a result, the fund's aggregate exposure to a particular industry or group of industries, or to a single issuer, could unintentionally be larger or smaller than intended. Because each sub-adviser directs the trading for its own portion, if any, of the fund, and does not aggregate its transactions with those of the other sub-advisers, the fund may incur higher brokerage costs than would be the case if a single sub-adviser were managing the entire fund.</R>
Prospectus
<R> Investing in Other Funds. Regulatory restrictions may limit the amount that one fund can invest in another, and in certain cases further limit investments to the extent a fund's shares are already held by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The fund bears all risks of investment strategies employed by the underlying funds. The fund does not control the investments of the underlying funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the fund would not engage in directly. Aggregation of underlying fund holdings may result in indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase volatility.</R>
Stock Market Volatility. The value of equity securities fluctuates in response to issuer, political, market, and economic developments. Fluctuations can be dramatic over the short as well as long term, and different parts of the market and different types of equity securities can react differently to these developments. For example, large cap stocks can react differently from small cap stocks, "growth" stocks can react differently from "value" stocks, and stocks selected using quantitative or technical analysis can react differently than stocks selected using fundamental analysis. Issuer, political, or economic developments can affect a single issuer, issuers within an industry or economic sector or geographic region, or the market as a whole. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact the market as a whole. Terrorism and related geo-political risks have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
<R> Foreign Exposure. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; withholding or other taxes; trading, settlement, custodial, and other operational risks; and the less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets. All of these factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and potentially less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can perform differently from the U.S. market.</R>
<R>Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers or providers in, or foreign exchange rates with, a different country or region.</R>
Industry Exposure. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry or a group of related industries, and the securities of companies in that industry or group of industries could react similarly to these or other developments. In addition, from time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry or a group of related industries as a whole, and these companies can be sensitive to adverse economic, regulatory, or financial developments.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's value.
Investing in ETFs. ETFs may trade in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) at prices below the value of their underlying portfolios and may not be liquid. An ETF that is not actively managed cannot sell poorly performing stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in its index or other benchmark. ETFs that track an index are subject to tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to its index or other benchmark).
<R></R>
Quantitative Investing. The value of securities selected using quantitative analysis can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis. The factors used in quantitative analysis and the weight placed on those factors may not be predictive of a security's value. In addition, factors that affect a security's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model.
Mid Cap Investing. The value of securities of medium size, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of relatively larger issuers and can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole and other types of stocks.
Small Cap Investing. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers and can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole and other types of stocks. Smaller issuers can have more limited product lines, markets, and financial resources.
<R>In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser, if any, may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
The following policy is fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The following policy is subject to change only upon 60 days' prior notice to shareholders:
The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of small and mid cap companies and in shares of other small and mid cap funds.
Prospectus
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
<R>The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates the fund's NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing the fund's NAV. Fidelity calculates net asset value separately for each class of shares of a multiple class fund.</R>
NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the SEC.
To the extent that the fund's assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some of the fund's assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) are valued at their respective NAVs. For an explanation of the circumstances under which the underlying funds will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the underlying funds' prospectuses and statements of additional information (SAIs). The fund's NAV is calculated using the values of the underlying funds in which it invests. Other assets (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations or official closing prices. Certain short-term securities are valued on the basis of amortized cost. If market quotations or official closing prices are not readily available or, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, are deemed unreliable for a security, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before the fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Arbitrage opportunities may exist when trading in a portfolio security or securities is halted and does not resume before a fund calculates its NAV. These arbitrage opportunities may enable short-term traders to dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Securities trading in overseas markets present time zone arbitrage opportunities when events affecting portfolio security values occur after the close of the overseas markets but prior to the close of the U.S. market. Fair valuation of a fund's portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that fair value pricing policies will prevent dilution of a fund's NAV by short-term traders.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Although the fund has policies regarding excessive trading, these too may not be effective to prevent short-term NAV arbitrage trading, particularly in regard to omnibus accounts.
Fair value pricing is based on subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value of a security may differ materially from the value that would be realized if the security were sold.
Prospectus
THE FUND IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO CERTAIN EMPLOYER-SPONSORED RETIREMENT PLANS AND FIDELITY BROKERAGE OR MUTUAL FUND ACCOUNTS. PLEASE SEE "FUND SUMMARY - PURCHASE AND SALE OF SHARES" ABOVE FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS.
Fidelity Investments was established in 1946 to manage one of America's first mutual funds. Today, Fidelity is one of the world's largest providers of financial services.
In addition to its mutual fund business, the company operates one of America's leading brokerage firms, Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC. Fidelity is also a leader in providing tax-advantaged retirement plans for individuals investing on their own or through their employer.
<R>Subject to the purchase and sale requirements stated in this prospectus, you may buy or sell shares of a fund through a Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity mutual fund account. If you buy or sell shares of a fund (other than by exchange) through a Fidelity brokerage account, your transactions generally involve your Fidelity brokerage core (a settlement vehicle included as part of your Fidelity brokerage account).</R>
If you do not currently have a Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity mutual fund account and would like to invest in a fund, you may need to complete an application. For more information about a Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity mutual fund account, please visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com, call 1-800-FIDELITY, or visit a Fidelity Investor Center (call 1-800-544-9797 for the center nearest you).
<R>You may also buy or sell shares of the fund through a retirement account (such as an IRA or an account funded through salary deductions) or an investment professional. Retirement specialists are available at 1-800-544-4774 to answer your questions about Fidelity retirement products. If you buy or sell shares of a fund through a retirement account or an investment professional, the procedures for buying, selling, and exchanging shares of the fund and the account features, policies, and fees may differ from those discussed in this prospectus. Fees in addition to those discussed in this prospectus may also apply. For example, you may be charged a transaction fee if you buy or sell shares of the fund through a non-Fidelity broker or other investment professional.</R>
You should include the following information with any order to buy, sell, or exchange shares:
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Certain methods of contacting Fidelity, such as by telephone or electronically, may be unavailable or delayed (for example, during periods of unusual market activity). In addition, the level and type of service available may be restricted based on criteria established by Fidelity.
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase or exchange, including transactions deemed to represent excessive trading, at any time.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
<R>The Board of Trustees has adopted policies designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares. Excessive trading activity in the fund is measured by the number of roundtrip transactions in a shareholder's account and each class of a multiple class fund is treated separately. A roundtrip transaction occurs when a shareholder sells fund shares (including exchanges) within 30 days of the purchase date.</R>
<R>Shareholders with two or more roundtrip transactions in a single fund within a rolling 90-day period will be blocked from making additional purchases or exchange purchases of the fund for 85 days. Shareholders with four or more roundtrip transactions across all Fidelity funds within any rolling 12-month period will be blocked for at least 85 days from additional purchases or exchange purchases across all Fidelity funds. Any roundtrip within 12 months of the expiration of a multi-fund block will initiate another multi-fund block. Repeat offenders may be subject to long-term or permanent blocks on purchase or exchange purchase transactions in any account under the shareholder's control at any time. In addition to enforcing these roundtrip limitations, the fund may in its discretion restrict, reject, or cancel any purchases or exchanges that, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, may be disruptive to the management of the fund or otherwise not be in the fund's interests.</R>
The following transactions are exempt from the fund's excessive trading policy described above: (i) transactions of $1,000 or less, (ii) systematic withdrawal and/or contribution programs, (iii) mandatory retirement distributions, and (iv) transactions initiated by a plan sponsor or sponsors of certain employee benefit plans or other related accounts. In addition, the fund's excessive trading policy does not apply to transactions initiated by the trustee or adviser to a donor-advised charitable gift fund, qualified fund of fund(s), or other strategy funds. A qualified fund of fund(s) is a mutual fund, qualified tuition program, or other strategy fund consisting of qualified plan assets that either applies the fund's excessive trading policies to shareholders at the fund of fund(s) level, or demonstrates that the fund of fund(s) has an investment strategy coupled with policies designed to control frequent trading that are reasonably likely to be effective as determined by the fund's Treasurer.
Prospectus
Omnibus accounts, in which shares are held in the name of an intermediary on behalf of multiple investors, are a common form of holding shares among retirement plans and financial intermediaries such as brokers, advisers, and third-party administrators. Individual trades in omnibus accounts are often not disclosed to the fund, making it difficult to determine whether a particular shareholder is engaging in excessive trading. Excessive trading in omnibus accounts is likely to go undetected by the fund and may increase costs to the fund and disrupt its portfolio management.
Under policies adopted by the Board of Trustees, intermediaries will be permitted to apply the fund's excessive trading policy (described above), or their own excessive trading policy if approved by Strategic Advisers. In these cases, the fund will typically not request or receive individual account data but will rely on the intermediary to monitor trading activity in good faith in accordance with its or the fund's policies. Reliance on intermediaries increases the risk that excessive trading may go undetected. For other intermediaries, the fund will generally monitor trading activity at the omnibus account level to attempt to identify disruptive trades. The fund may request transaction information, as frequently as daily, from any intermediary at any time, and may apply the fund's policy to transactions that exceed thresholds established by the Board of Trustees. The fund may prohibit purchases of fund shares by an intermediary or by some or all of any intermediary's clients. There is no assurance that Strategic Advisers will request data with sufficient frequency to detect or deter excessive trading in omnibus accounts effectively.
If you purchase or sell fund shares through a financial intermediary, you may wish to contact the intermediary to determine the policies applicable to your account.
For employer-sponsored retirement plans, only participant directed exchanges count toward the roundtrip limits. Employer-sponsored retirement plan participants whose activity triggers a purchase or exchange block will be permitted one trade every calendar quarter. In the event of a block, employer and participant contributions and loan repayments by the participant may still be invested in the fund.
The fund will monitor aggregate trading activity of adviser transactions to attempt to identify excessive trading in qualified wrap programs, as defined below. Excessive trading by an adviser will lead to fund blocks and the wrap program will lose its qualified status. Adviser transactions will not be matched with client-directed transactions unless the wrap program ceases to be a qualified wrap program (but all client-directed transactions will be subject to the fund's excessive trading policy). A qualified wrap program is: (i) a program whose adviser certifies that it has investment discretion over $100 million or more in client assets invested in mutual funds at the time of the certification, (ii) a program in which the adviser directs transactions in the accounts participating in the program in concert with changes in a model portfolio, and (iii) managed by an adviser who agrees to give Strategic Advisers sufficient information to permit Strategic Advisers to identify the individual accounts in the wrap program.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
The fund reserves the right at any time to restrict purchases or exchanges or impose conditions that are more restrictive on excessive or disruptive trading than those stated in this prospectus. The fund's Treasurer is authorized to suspend the fund's policies during periods of severe market turbulence or national emergency. The fund reserves the right to modify its policies at any time without prior notice.
The fund does not knowingly accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares by investors, except to the extent permitted by the policies described above.
<R>In addition to these policies, the fund imposes a short-term redemption fee on redemptions from the fund, which is discussed in "Selling Shares." As described in "Valuing Shares," the fund also uses fair value pricing to help reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders. There is no assurance that the fund's excessive trading policy will be effective, or will successfully detect or deter excessive or disruptive trading.</R>
The price to buy one share of the fund is its NAV. The fund's shares are sold without a sales charge.
Your shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after your investment is received in proper form.
The fund has authorized certain intermediaries to accept orders to buy shares on its behalf. When authorized intermediaries receive an order in proper form, the order is considered as being placed with the fund, and shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after the order is received by the authorized intermediary. Orders by funds of funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.
<R>Provided the fund receives an order to buy shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to buy shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.</R>
There is no minimum balance or purchase minimum for investments through Portfolio Advisory Services, a mutual fund or a qualified tuition program for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager, certain Fidelity retirement accounts funded through salary deduction, or fund positions opened with the proceeds of distributions from such retirement accounts or from a Fidelity systematic withdrawal service. In addition, the fund may waive or lower purchase minimums in other circumstances.
Prospectus
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
If your payment is not received and collected, your purchase may be canceled and you could be liable for any losses or fees the fund or Fidelity has incurred.
Certain financial institutions that have entered into sales agreements with FDC may enter confirmed purchase orders on behalf of customers by phone, with payment to follow no later than the time when fund shares are priced on the following business day. If payment is not received by that time, the order will be canceled and the financial institution could be held liable for resulting fees or losses.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.
<R>If you sell your shares after holding them less than 90 days, a 1.50% short-term redemption fee may be deducted from the redemption amount. For this purpose, shares held longest will be treated as being redeemed first and shares held shortest as being redeemed last. The fees are paid to the fund, not Strategic Advisers, and are designed to help offset the brokerage commissions, market impact, and other costs associated with short-term shareholder trading.</R>
<R>The short-term redemption fee does not apply to: (i) redemptions of shares acquired by reinvesting dividends and distributions; (ii) rollovers, transfers, and changes of account registration within the fund, or transfers between classes of a multiple class fund (if applicable) as long as the money never leaves the fund; and (iii) redemptions in kind.</R>
The fund also permits waivers of the short-term redemption fee for the following transactions:
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
The application of short-term redemption fees and waivers may vary among intermediaries and certain intermediaries may not apply the waivers listed above. If you purchase or sell fund shares through an intermediary, you should contact your intermediary for more information on whether the short-term redemption fee will be applied to redemptions of your shares.
The fund reserves the right to modify or eliminate the short-term redemption fee or waivers at any time. Investment advisers or their affiliates may pay short-term redemption fees on behalf of investors in managed accounts. Unitized group accounts consisting of qualified plan assets may be treated as a single account for redemption fee purposes.
Fidelity seeks to identify intermediaries that hold fund shares in omnibus accounts and will refuse their purchase orders if they do not agree to track and remit short-term redemption fees based on the transactions of underlying investors. There are no assurances that Fidelity will successfully identify all intermediaries or that the intermediaries will properly assess short-term redemption fees.
Your shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
<R>The fund has authorized certain intermediaries to accept orders to sell shares on its behalf. When authorized intermediaries receive an order in proper form, the order is considered as being placed with the fund, and shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after the order is received by the authorized intermediary, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable. Orders by funds of funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.</R>
<R>Provided the fund receives an order to sell shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to sell shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.</R>
A signature guarantee is designed to protect you and Fidelity from fraud. Fidelity may require that your request be made in writing and include a signature guarantee in certain circumstances, such as:
Prospectus
You should be able to obtain a signature guarantee from a bank, broker (including Fidelity Investor Centers), dealer, credit union (if authorized under state law), securities exchange or association, clearing agency, or savings association. A notary public cannot provide a signature guarantee.
When you place an order to sell shares, note the following:
An exchange involves the redemption of all or a portion of the shares of one fund and the purchase of shares of another fund.
If you hold your shares of the fund through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, your shares of the fund may be exchanged into shares of any class of a Fidelity fund available through your plan. If you hold your shares of the fund through a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, your shares of the fund may be exchanged into shares of other Fidelity funds.
However, you should note the following policies and restrictions governing exchanges:
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
The fund may terminate or modify exchange privileges in the future.
Other funds may have different exchange restrictions and minimums, and may impose redemption fees of up to 2.00% of the amount exchanged. Check each fund's prospectus for details.
The following features may be available to buy and sell shares of the fund or to move money to and from your account, if you are investing through a Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity mutual fund account. Please visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com or call 1-800-544-6666 for more information.
Prospectus
<R> Electronic Funds Transfer: electronic money movement through the Automated Clearing House </R> • To transfer money between a bank account and a Fidelity brokerage account or Fidelity mutual fund account. • You can use electronic funds transfer to: - Make periodic (automatic) purchases of Fidelity fund shares or payments to your Fidelity brokerage account. - Make periodic (automatic) redemptions of Fidelity fund shares or withdrawals from your Fidelity brokerage account. |
||
Wire: electronic money movement through the Federal Reserve wire system • To transfer money between a bank account and a Fidelity brokerage account or Fidelity mutual fund account. |
||
|
||
<R> Automatic Transactions: periodic (automatic) transactions </R> • To directly deposit all or a portion of your compensation from your employer (or the U.S. Government, in the case of Social Security) into a Fidelity brokerage account or Fidelity mutual fund account. • To make contributions from a Fidelity mutual fund account to a Fidelity mutual fund IRA. • To sell shares of a Fidelity money market fund and simultaneously to buy shares of another Fidelity fund in a Fidelity mutual fund account. |
The following policies apply to you as a shareholder.
Statements that Fidelity sends to you include the following:
<R></R>
Electronic copies of most financial reports and prospectuses are available at Fidelity's web site. To participate in Fidelity's electronic delivery program, call Fidelity or visit Fidelity's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
<R>You may initiate many transactions by telephone or electronically. Fidelity will not be responsible for any loss, cost, expense, or other liability resulting from unauthorized transactions if it follows reasonable security procedures designed to verify the identity of the investor. Fidelity will request personalized security codes or other information, and may also record calls. For transactions conducted through the Internet, Fidelity recommends the use of an Internet browser with 128-bit encryption. You should verify the accuracy of your confirmation statements upon receipt and notify Fidelity immediately of any discrepancies in your account activity. If you do not want the ability to sell and exchange by telephone, call Fidelity for instructions. Additional documentation may be required from corporations, associations, and certain fiduciaries.</R>
You may also be asked to provide additional information in order for Fidelity to verify your identity in accordance with requirements under anti-money laundering regulations. Accounts may be restricted and/or closed, and the monies withheld, pending verification of this information or as otherwise required under these and other federal regulations.
If you hold your shares of the fund in a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, Fidelity may deduct a small balance maintenance fee of $12.00 from a fund balance with a value of less than $2,000 in shares. It is expected that fund balances will be valued after November 1 but prior to December 31 of each calendar year. Fund positions opened after September 30 will not be subject to the fee for that calendar year. The fee, which is payable to Fidelity, is designed to offset in part the relatively higher costs of servicing smaller fund positions. This fee will not be deducted from fund positions opened after January 1 of that calendar year if those positions use certain regular investment plans.
<R>If your fund balance falls below $2,000 worth of shares ($500 for fund balances in Fidelity Simplified Employee Pension-IRA and Keogh accounts, and Non-Fidelity Prototype Retirement accounts) for any reason, including solely due to declines in NAV, and you do not increase your balance, Fidelity may sell all of your shares and send the proceeds to you after providing you with at least 30 days' notice to reestablish the minimum balance. Your shares will be sold at the NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable, on the day Fidelity closes your fund position. Certain fund positions are not subject to these balance requirements and will not be closed for failure to maintain a minimum balance.</R>
Fidelity may charge a fee for certain services, such as providing historical account documents.
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
Prospectus
The fund normally pays dividends and capital gain distributions in April and December.
If you hold your shares of the fund through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, all dividends and capital gains distributions paid will be automatically reinvested. If you hold your shares of the fund in a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, when you open an account, specify on your application how you want to receive your distributions. The following distribution options are available for shares of the fund:
1. Reinvestment Option. Your dividends and capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional shares of the fund. If you do not indicate a choice on your application, you will be assigned this option.
2. Income-Earned Option. Your capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional shares of the fund. Your dividends will be paid in cash.
3. Cash Option. Your dividends and capital gain distributions will be paid in cash.
4. Directed Dividends ® Option. Your dividends will be automatically invested in shares of another identically registered Fidelity fund. Your capital gain distributions will be automatically invested in shares of another identically registered Fidelity fund, automatically reinvested in additional shares of the fund, or paid in cash.
If the distribution option you prefer is not listed on your account application, or if you want to change your current distribution option, visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com or call 1-800-544-6666 for more information.
If you elect to receive distributions paid in cash by check and the U.S. Postal Service does not deliver your checks, your distribution option may be converted to the Reinvestment Option. You will not receive interest on amounts represented by uncashed distribution checks.
If your dividend check(s) remains uncashed for more than six months, your check(s) may be invested in additional shares of the fund at the NAV next calculated on the day of the investment.
As with any investment, your investment in the fund could have tax consequences for you. If you are not investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account, you should consider these tax consequences.
Taxes on distributions. If you hold your shares of the fund through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, distributions by the fund to tax-advantaged retirement plan accounts are not taxable currently. If you hold your shares of the fund in a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including dividends and distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable to you as ordinary income, while certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of long-term capital gains, are taxable to you generally as capital gains. A percentage of certain distributions of dividends may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
If you buy shares when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.
Any taxable distributions you receive from the fund will normally be taxable to you when you receive them, regardless of your distribution option.
Taxes on transactions. If you hold your shares of the fund through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, exchanges within a tax-advantaged retirement plan account will not result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. Please consult your tax advisor regarding the tax treatment of distributions from a tax-advantaged retirement plan account. If you hold your shares of the fund in a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, your redemptions, including exchanges, may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on your investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of your shares and the price you receive when you sell them.
Prospectus
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
The fund employs a multi-manager and a fund of funds investment structure. Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of sub-advisers or underlying funds.
<R> Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. The address of Strategic Advisers and its affiliates, unless otherwise indicated below, is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R>As of December 31, 2012, Strategic Advisers had approximately $320.7 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
As the manager, Strategic Advisers has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
<R> ARI, at Two Prudential Plaza, 180 N. Stetson Avenue, Suite 5500, Chicago, IL 60601, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of March 31, 2013, ARI had approximately $10.2 billion in discretionary assets under management. ARI provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Alger Management, at 360 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10010, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of March 31, 2013, Alger Management had approximately $18 billion in discretionary assets under management. Alger Management provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Invesco, at 1555 Peachtree, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30309, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, Invesco had approximately $713.8 billion in discretionary assets under management. Invesco provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Kennedy Capital, at 10829 Olive Boulevard, Suite 100, St. Louis, MO 63141, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, Kennedy Capital had approximately $4.9 billion in discretionary assets under management. Kennedy Capital provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Neuberger Berman, at 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, Neuberger Berman had approximately $210 billion in discretionary assets under management. Neuberger Berman provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Pyramis, at 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. Pyramis is an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. As of December 31, 2012, Pyramis had approximately $31.7 billion in discretionary assets under management. Pyramis provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Systematic, at 300 Frank W. Burr Boulevard, 7th Floor, Teaneck, New Jersey 07666, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, Systematic had approximately $10.9 billion in discretionary assets under management. Systematic provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
Prospectus
<R> StrategicAdvisers </R>
<R>Barry Golden, CFA, is lead portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since April 2013. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 2003, Mr. Golden has worked as a research analyst, associate director of investments for Strategic Advisers' Charitable Gift Fund, portfolio manager, and as a team leader for Strategic Advisers' alternatives research investment team.</R>
ARI
<R></R>
James Langer, CFA, ARI Managing Director and portfolio manager, has co-managed ARI's portion of the fund's assets since December 2011. Mr. Langer has served as a member of ARI's investment team and research analyst since joining ARI in 1996, and as a portfolio manager since 2007.
Matthew Swaim, CFA, CPA, ARI Managing Director and portfolio manager, has co-managed ARI's portion of the fund's assets since December 2011. Mr. Swaim has served as a member of ARI's investment team and research analyst since joining ARI in 2005, and as a portfolio manager since 2009.
Alger Management
Jill Greenwald serves as a portfolio manager for Alger Management's portion of the fund's assets, which she has managed since December 2011. Ms. Greenwald has been employed by Alger Management since 2001 and currently serves as Executive Vice President and portfolio manager.
Invesco
Juliet Ellis is the lead portfolio manager of Invesco's portion of the fund's assets, which she has managed since December 2011. She has been associated with Invesco and/or its affiliates since 2004.
Juan Hartsfield is portfolio manager of Invesco's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. He has been associated with Invesco and/or its affiliates since 2004.
Clay Manley is portfolio manager of Invesco's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. He has been associated with Invesco and/or its affiliates since 2001.
<R> Kennedy Capital </R>
<R>Donald Cobin, CFA, a Vice President and Director, is the Portfolio Manager for Kennedy Capital's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2012. Mr. Cobin joined Kennedy Capital in February 2007 as an analyst and later became Portfolio Manager in November 2007.</R>
<R>Christian McDonald, CFA, is the Assistant Portfolio Manager for Kennedy Capital's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2012, and also serves as a Research Analyst at Kennedy Capital, primarily responsible for selecting and monitoring securities within the industrials (including aerospace, defense, and machinery) sector of Kennedy Capital's universe. Mr. McDonald joined Kennedy Capital in November 2005.</R>
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
Neuberger Berman
Benjamin H. Nahum is portfolio manager of Neuberger Berman's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. Mr. Nahum, Managing Director, joined Neuberger Berman in 2008 when David J. Greene and Company was acquired by Neuberger Berman. Prior to the acquisition, he was an executive vice president and principal at David J. Greene and Company, LLC where he managed the Small/Mid Cap strategies since inception in 1997.
Pyramis
Young Chin is the lead portfolio manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since March 2012. He is Chief Investment Officer of Pyramis and team leader for the U.S. Large Cap Core, the U.S. Large Cap Core 130/30, and the U.S. Small/Mid Cap Core strategies. Mr. Chin joined Fidelity Investments in 2006 and oversees the portfolio management, research, and trading functions at Pyramis.
Thorsten Becker is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1996, Mr. Becker has worked as a research analyst and portfolio manager.
Andrew Burzumato is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 2002, Mr. Burzumato has worked as a research analyst and portfolio manager.
Chad Colman is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments in 2009, Mr. Colman was a senior analyst at RiverSource Investments (formerly American Express Financial Advisors), and was responsible for research coverage of the industrials sector and portfolio management of various long-only and long-short sector focused products. Mr. Colman was also an engineer at Boeing Co. for more than three years.
Arun Daniel is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments in 2007 as a portfolio manager, Mr. Daniel served as vice president and sector head for the consumer sector at ING Investment Management, North America from 2003 to 2007.
Chandler Willett is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. Prior to joining Pyramis in 2006 as a research analyst, Mr. Willett served as a senior analyst at Highline Capital Management from 2004 to 2006.
Jody Simes, CFA, is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1993, Mr. Simes has worked as a fixed income trader, technology sector specialist, equity research analyst, and portfolio manager.
Vincent Rivers is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. Prior to joining Pyramis in 2006 as a research analyst, Mr. Rivers worked as a portfolio analyst at Wellington Management Company, LLP from 2004 to 2006.
Prospectus
Systematic
<R>Ronald Mushock serves as lead portfolio manager for Systematic's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. Mr. Mushock, CFA, has been the lead portfolio manager for all of Systematic's Small/Mid Cap Value Equity portfolios since their inception in 2002 and all of Systematic's Mid Cap Value portfolios since their inception in 2000. Mr. Mushock became a Managing Partner of Systematic in 2005.</R>
<R>D. Kevin McCreesh serves as co-portfolio manager for Systematic's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. Mr. McCreesh, CFA, co-portfolio manager for all of Systematic's Small/Mid Cap Value portfolios, has been the Chief Investment Officer for Systematic since 2004 and has oversight responsibilities for all client portfolios. In addition, Mr. McCreesh serves as the lead portfolio manager for Systematic's Large and Small Cap Value portfolios. Mr. McCreesh joined Systematic as a portfolio manager in 1996 and is a Managing Partner of the firm.</R>
The SAI provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by the portfolio managers.
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.
The fund pays a management fee to Strategic Advisers. The management fee is calculated and paid to Strategic Advisers every month.
The fund's management fee is calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets. Because the fund's management fee rate may fluctuate, the fund's management fee may be higher or lower in the future. The fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.15% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>Effective January 1, 2013, Strategic Advisers has voluntarily agreed to waive 0.01% of the fund's management fee. This arrangement may be discontinued by Strategic Advisers at any time.</R>
<R>For the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid a management fee of 0.73% of the fund's average net assets, after waiver and/or reimbursement.</R>
In return for the services of the fund's sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers will pay each of the fund's sub-advisers the fee (as described above) payable to that sub-adviser.
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
<R>The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract and sub-advisory agreements for the fund is available in the fund's annual report for the fiscal period ended February 29, 2012 and in the fund's annual report for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, agree to reimburse a class for, or waive, management fees and other expenses above a specified limit. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid by a class if expenses fall below the specified limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.</R>
Reimbursement or waiver arrangements can decrease expenses and boost performance.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, approximately 99.42% of the fund's total outstanding shares was held by Strategic Advisers and/or another entity or entities of which FMR LLC is the ultimate parent.</R>
<R>The fund is composed of multiple classes of shares. All classes of the fund have a common investment objective and investment portfolio.</R>
FDC distributes the fund's shares.
<R>Intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), may receive from Strategic Advisers, FMR, FDC, and/or their affiliates compensation for providing recordkeeping and administrative services, as well as other retirement plan expenses, and compensation for services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund. These payments are described in more detail in this section and in the SAI.</R>
The fund has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) with respect to its shares that recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, service-providers, and administrators, that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Affiliates of Strategic Advisers may receive service fees or distribution fees or both with respect to underlying funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork.
<R>If payments made by Strategic Advisers to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of a class's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.</R>
Prospectus
<R>From time to time, FDC may offer special promotional programs to investors who purchase shares of Fidelity funds. For example, FDC may offer merchandise, discounts, vouchers, or similar items to investors who purchase shares of certain Fidelity funds during certain periods. To determine if you qualify for any such programs, contact Fidelity or visit our web site at www.fidelity.com.</R>
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
Prospectus
<R>The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the financial history of the fund's shares for the period of operations. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of the fund. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in shares of the fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial highlights and financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report. A free copy of the annual report is available upon request.</R>
<R></R>
<R> Years ended February 28, |
2013 |
2012 E </R> |
<R> Selected Per-Share Data |
|
</R> |
<R> Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 11.24 |
$ 10.00 </R> |
<R> Income from Investment Operations |
|
</R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) D |
.04 |
- I </R> |
<R> Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
1.30 |
1.25 </R> |
<R> Total from investment operations |
1.34 |
1.25 </R> |
<R> Distributions from net investment income |
(.04) |
- </R> |
<R> Distributions from net realized gain |
(.30 ) F |
(.01 ) F </R> |
<R> Total distributions |
(.33 ) |
(.01 ) </R> |
<R> Redemption fees added to paid in capital D |
- I |
- </R> |
<R> Net asset value, end of period |
$ 12.25 |
$ 11.24 </R> |
<R> Total Return B,C |
12.26% |
12.46% </R> |
<R> Ratios to Average Net Assets G |
|
</R> |
<R> Expenses before reductions |
1.16% |
1.58% A </R> |
<R> Expenses net of fee waivers, if any |
1.16% |
1.16% A </R> |
<R> Expenses net of all reductions |
1.16% |
1.16% A </R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) |
.35% |
(.19)% A </R> |
<R> Supplemental Data |
|
</R> |
<R> Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$ 44,361 |
$ 39,375 </R> |
<R> Portfolio turnover rate H |
66% |
11% J </R> |
A Annualized
B Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.
C Total returns would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reduced during the applicable periods shown.
D Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.
E For the period December 20, 2011 (commencement of operations) to February 29, 2012.
<R> F The amounts shown reflect certain reclassifications related to book to tax differences that were made in the year shown. </R>
<R> G Expense ratios reflect operating expenses of the class. Expenses before reductions do not reflect amounts reimbursed by the investment adviser or reductions from brokerage service arrangements or reductions from other expense offset arrangements and do not represent the amount paid by the class during periods when reimbursements or reductions occur. Expense ratios before reductions for start-up periods may not be representative of longer-term operating periods. Expenses net of fee waivers reflect expenses after reimbursement by the investment adviser but prior to reductions from brokerage service arrangements or other expense offset arrangements. Expenses net of all reductions represent the net expenses paid by the class. Fees and expenses of the Underlying Funds are not included in the class' annualized ratios. The class indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the Underlying Funds. </R>
<R> H The portfolio turnover rate does not include the portfolio activity of any Underlying Funds. </R>
Prospectus
Appendix - continued
I Amount represents less than $.01 per share.
J Amount not annualized.
<R> Additional Information about the Index </R>
<R> Russell 2500 Index is a market capitalization-weighted index designed to measure the performance of the small to mid-cap segment of the U.S. equity market. It includes approximately 2,500 of the smallest securities in the Russell 3000 ® Index.</R>
Prospectus
Notes
<R> IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT </R> To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account. For individual investors opening an account: When you open an account, you will be asked for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow Fidelity to identify you. You may also be asked to provide documents that may help to establish your identity, such as your driver's license. For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account such as name, residential address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity. |
You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.
<R>For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call 1-800-835-5095 (plan accounts) or 1-800-544-3455 (all other accounts). In addition, you may visit the web site at www.401k.com (plan accounts) or www.fidelity.com (all other accounts) for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.</R>
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number, 811-21991 |
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design, FundsNetwork, and FAST are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R>1.933016.103 AMM-PRO-0413</R>
Strategic Advisers ® Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund (FNAPX)
<R> A Class of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund </R>
A Fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. Portions of the fund's annual report are incorporated herein. The annual report is supplied with this SAI.
<R>To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated April 29, 2013, or an annual report, please call Fidelity at 1-800-835-5095 (plan accounts) or 1-800-544-3455 (all other accounts) or visit the web site at www.401k.com (plan accounts) or www.fidelity.com (all other accounts).</R>
<R>AMM-PTB-0413
1.933017.104</R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
|
PAGE |
Investment Policies and Limitations |
|
<R>Portfolio Transactions |
|
<R>Valuation |
|
<R>Buying, Selling, and Exchanging Information |
181</R> |
<R>Distributions and Taxes |
180 </R> |
<R>Trustees and Officers |
181 </R> |
<R>Control of Investment Advisers |
187 </R> |
<R>Management Contract |
188 </R> |
<R>Proxy Voting Guidelines |
201 </R> |
<R>Distribution Services |
217 </R> |
<R>Transfer and Service Agent Agreements |
217 </R> |
<R>Description of the Trust |
218 </R> |
<R>Fund Holdings Information |
219 </R> |
<R>Financial Statements |
220 </R> |
<R>Appendix |
220 </R> |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not with respect to 75% of the fund's total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except in connection with the insurance program established by the fund pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission or as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry (provided that investments in other investment companies shall not be considered an investment in any particular industry for purposes of this investment limitation).
<R>For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities, Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) looks through to the U.S. Government securities.</R>
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The acquisitions of loans and loan participations excluded from the fund's lending limitation discussed above are only those loans and loan participations considered securities within the meaning of the 1940 Act.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, and provided that transactions in futures contracts and options are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 10% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 10% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
<R>To the extent that the fund acquires the shares of an underlying fund in accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, the underlying fund is not obligated to redeem its shares in an amount exceeding 1% of its shares outstanding during any period of less than 30 days. Those underlying fund shares will not be treated as illiquid securities for purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation described above to the extent that the fund is able to dispose of such securities by distributing them in kind to redeeming shareholders. (See "Securities of Other Investment Companies" on page 165 .)</R>
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to lend assets other than securities to other parties, except by (a) lending money (up to 15% of the fund's net assets) to a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) assuming any unfunded commitments in connection with the acquisition of loans, loan participations, or other forms of debt instruments. (This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities, to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.)
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
<R>For the fund's limitations on futures and options transactions, see the section entitled "Futures, Options, and Swaps" on page 157 .</R>
For purposes of the fund's 80% investment policy that defines a particular market capitalization by reference to the capitalization range of one or more indexes (as described in the prospectus), the capitalization range of the index(es) generally will be measured no less frequently than once per month.
Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitations, the underlying funds in which the fund may invest have adopted certain investment limitations that may be more or less restrictive than those listed above, thereby permitting the fund to engage indirectly in investment strategies that are prohibited under the investment limitations listed above. The investment limitations of each underlying fund are set forth in its registration statement.
In accordance with its investment program as set forth in the prospectus, the fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in any one underlying Fidelity fund. Although the fund does not intend to concentrate its investments in a particular industry, the fund may indirectly concentrate in a particular industry or group of industries through its investments in one or more underlying funds.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
Strategic Advisers ® Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund may have exposure to instruments, techniques, and risks either directly or indirectly through an investment in an underlying fund. An underlying fund may invest in the same or other types of instruments and its adviser may employ the same or other types of techniques. Strategic Advisers ® Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund's performance will be affected by the instruments, techniques, and risks associated with an underlying fund, in proportion to the amount of assets that the fund allocates to that underlying fund.
<R>On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "a fund" or "the fund" may relate to Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund or an underlying fund, and references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to Strategic Advisers (or its affiliates) or a sub-adviser of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, or an adviser of an underlying fund.</R>
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of short-term bond or money market funds, including (for Fidelity funds and other advisory clients only) shares of Fidelity central funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.
<R> Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Notice of Exclusion. The trust, on behalf of the Fidelity fund to which this SAI relates, has filed with the National Futures Association a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the CFTC promulgated thereunder, with respect to the fund's operation. Accordingly, neither the fund nor its adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or a CPO. However, the CFTC has adopted certain rule amendments that significantly affect the continued availability of this exclusion, and may subject advisers to funds to regulation by the CFTC. As of the date of this SAI, the adviser does not expect to register as a CPO of the fund. However, there is no certainty that a fund or its adviser will be able to rely on an exclusion in the future as the fund's investments change over time. A fund may determine not to use investment strategies that trigger additional CFTC regulation or may determine to operate subject to CFTC regulation, if applicable. If a fund or its adviser operates subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.</R>
Common Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock, although related proceedings can take time to resolve and results can be unpredictable.
Convertible Securities are bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption or conversion, the fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
Debt Securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay interest but are sold at a deep discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, and mortgage and other asset-backed securities.
<R> Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments. An ETF may seek to replicate the performance of a specified index or may be actively managed.</R>
Typically, ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
<R>ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks (typically, 50,000 shares) often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.</R>
Some of the risks of investing in an ETF that tracks an index are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
<R> ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their intraday indicative value. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater.</R>
Exposure to Foreign and Emerging Markets. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Foreign investments involve risks relating to local political, economic, regulatory, or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments, and may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Such actions may include expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. Additionally, governmental issuers of foreign debt securities may be unwilling to pay interest and repay principal when due and may require that the conditions for payment be renegotiated. There is no assurance that a fund's adviser will be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies and of dividends and interest paid with respect to such securities will fluctuate based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar.
It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for foreign securities will be on an exchange or in over-the-counter (OTC) markets located outside of the United States. Foreign stock markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign security trading, settlement and custodial practices (including those involving securities settlement where fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment) are often less developed than those in U.S. markets, and may result in increased investment or valuation risk or substantial delays in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of, or breach of duty by, a foreign broker-dealer, securities depository, or foreign subcustodian. In addition, the costs associated with foreign investments, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions, and custodial costs, are generally higher than with U.S. investments.
Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors than U.S. markets. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Adequate public information on foreign issuers may not be available, and it may be difficult to secure dividends and information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. OTC markets tend to be less regulated than stock exchange markets and, in certain countries, may be totally unregulated. Regulatory enforcement may be influenced by economic or political concerns, and investors may have difficulty enforcing their legal rights in foreign countries.
Some foreign securities impose restrictions on transfer within the United States or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than foreign securities of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks include foreign exchange risk as well as the political and economic risks of the underlying issuer's country.
The risks of foreign investing may be magnified for investments in emerging markets. Security prices in emerging markets can be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
Foreign Currency Transactions. A fund may conduct foreign currency transactions on a spot ( i.e., cash) or forward basis ( i.e., by entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies). Although foreign exchange dealers generally do not charge a fee for such conversions, they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the counterparty desire to resell that currency to the dealer. Forward contracts are customized transactions that require a specific amount of a currency to be delivered at a specific exchange rate on a specific date or range of dates in the future. Forward contracts are generally traded in an interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The parties to a forward contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated currency exchange.
The following discussion summarizes the principal currency management strategies involving forward contracts that could be used by a fund. A fund may also use swap agreements, indexed securities, and options and futures contracts relating to foreign currencies for the same purposes. Forward contracts not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying currency. All of these instruments and transactions are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default.
<R>A "settlement hedge" or "transaction hedge" is designed to protect a fund against an adverse change in foreign currency values between the date a security denominated in a foreign currency is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in an underlying security transaction for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars "locks in" the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used to protect a fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected.</R>
<R>A fund may also use forward contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in a foreign currency. For example, if a fund owned securities denominated in pounds sterling, it could enter into a forward contract to sell pounds sterling in return for U.S. dollars to hedge against possible declines in the pound's value. Such a hedge, sometimes referred to as a "position hedge," would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. A fund could also attempt to hedge the position by selling another currency expected to perform similarly to the pound sterling. This type of hedge, sometimes referred to as a "proxy hedge," could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield, or efficiency, but generally would not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a direct hedge into U.S. dollars. Proxy hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated.</R>
A fund may enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a "cross-hedge," will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if a fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. A fund may cross-hedge its U.S. dollar exposure in order to achieve a representative weighted mix of the major currencies in its benchmark index and/or to cover an underweight country or region exposure in its portfolio. Cross-hedges protect against losses resulting from a decline in the hedged currency, but will cause a fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases.
<R>Successful use of currency management strategies will depend on an adviser's skill in analyzing currency values. Currency management strategies may substantially change a fund's investment exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and could result in losses to a fund if currencies do not perform as an adviser anticipates. For example, if a currency's value rose at a time when a fund had hedged its position by selling that currency in exchange for dollars, the fund would not participate in the currency's appreciation. If a fund hedges currency exposure through proxy hedges, the fund could realize currency losses from both the hedge and the security position if the two currencies do not move in tandem. Similarly, if a fund increases its exposure to a foreign currency and that currency's value declines, the fund will realize a loss. Foreign currency transactions involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that a fund's hedging strategies will be ineffective. Moreover, it is impossible to precisely forecast the market value of portfolio securities at the expiration of a foreign currency forward contract. Accordingly, a fund may be required to buy or sell additional currency on the spot market (and bear the expenses of such transaction), if an adviser's predictions regarding the movement of foreign currency or securities markets prove inaccurate.</R>
<R>A fund may be required to limit its hedging transactions in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options in order to maintain its classification as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Hedging transactions could result in the application of the mark-to-market provisions of the Code, which may cause an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a fund and could affect whether dividends paid by a fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. A fund will cover its exposure to foreign currency transactions with liquid assets in compliance with applicable requirements. There is no assurance that an adviser's use of currency management strategies will be advantageous to a fund or that it will employ currency management strategies at appropriate times.</R>
Options and Futures Relating to Foreign Currencies. Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges (and have margin requirements) and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The underlying instrument of a currency option may be a foreign currency, which generally is purchased or delivered in exchange for U.S. dollars, or may be a futures contract. The purchaser of a currency call obtains the right to purchase the underlying currency, and the purchaser of a currency put obtains the right to sell the underlying currency.
<R>The uses and risks of currency options and futures are similar to options and futures relating to securities or indexes, as discussed below. A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and may purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. Currency options may also be purchased or written in conjunction with each other or with currency futures or forward contracts. Currency futures and options values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates, but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated security from a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of a fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the fund's investments exactly over time.</R>
<R>Currency options traded on U.S. or other exchanges may be subject to position limits which may limit the ability of the fund to reduce foreign currency risk using such options.</R>
Foreign Repurchase Agreements. Foreign repurchase agreements involve an agreement to purchase a foreign security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price in either U.S. dollars or foreign currency. Unlike typical U.S. repurchase agreements, foreign repurchase agreements may not be fully collateralized at all times. The value of a security purchased by a fund may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to repurchase the security. In the event of default by the counterparty, a fund may suffer a loss if the value of the security purchased is less than the agreed-upon repurchase price, or if the fund is unable to successfully assert a claim to the collateral under foreign laws. As a result, foreign repurchase agreements may involve higher credit risks than repurchase agreements in U.S. markets, as well as risks associated with currency fluctuations. In addition, as with other emerging market investments, repurchase agreements with counterparties located in emerging markets or relating to emerging markets may involve issuers or counterparties with lower credit ratings than typical U.S. repurchase agreements.
Fund's Rights as an Investor. Fidelity funds do not intend to direct or administer the day-to-day operations of any company. A fund may, however, exercise its rights as a shareholder or lender and may communicate its views on important matters of policy to a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders, and holders of a company's other securities when such matters could have a significant effect on the value of the fund's investment in the company. The activities in which a fund may engage, either individually or in conjunction with others, may include, among others, supporting or opposing proposed changes in a company's corporate structure or business activities; seeking changes in a company's directors or management; seeking changes in a company's direction or policies; seeking the sale or reorganization of the company or a portion of its assets; supporting or opposing third-party takeover efforts; supporting the filing of a bankruptcy petition; or foreclosing on collateral securing a security. This area of corporate activity is increasingly prone to litigation and it is possible that a fund could be involved in lawsuits related to such activities. Such activities will be monitored with a view to mitigating, to the extent possible, the risk of litigation against a fund and the risk of actual liability if a fund is involved in litigation. No guarantee can be made, however, that litigation against a fund will not be undertaken or liabilities incurred. The fund's proxy voting guidelines are included in this SAI.
<R> Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. If a fund invests a significant portion of its assets in derivatives, its investment exposure could far exceed the value of its portfolio securities and its investment performance could be primarily dependent upon securities it does not own.</R>
Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.
The limitations on the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps, and the fund's policies regarding futures contracts, options, and swaps may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts.
<R> Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts and the price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities or baskets of securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indexes (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indexes of securities prices (including foreign indexes for funds that seek foreign exposure). Futures on indexes and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out by offsetting purchases or sales of futures contracts before then if a liquid market is available. A fund may realize a gain or loss by closing out its futures contracts.</R>
<R>The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the underlying instrument. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.</R>
<R>The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by a fund, but is instead a settlement between a fund and the FCM of the amount one would owe the other if the fund's contract expired. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is also required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.</R>
<R>Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement, and margin procedures that are different from those for U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may not involve a clearing mechanism or related guarantees and may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to a fund. Because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuation.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.</R>
<R>If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
<R>Futures contracts on U.S. Government securities historically have reacted to an increase or decrease in interest rates in a manner similar to the manner in which the underlying U.S. Government securities reacted. To the extent, however, that a fund enters into such futures contracts, the value of these futures contracts will not vary in direct proportion to the value of the fund's holdings of U.S. Government securities. Thus, the anticipated spread between the price of the futures contract and the hedged security may be distorted due to differences in the nature of the markets. The spread also may be distorted by differences in initial and variation margin requirements, the liquidity of such markets and the participation of speculators in such markets.</R>
<R> Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, baskets of assets or securities, indexes of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). Options may be traded on an exchange or OTC. The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. Depending on the terms of the contract, upon exercise, an option may require physical delivery of the underlying instrument or may be settled through cash payments. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.</R>
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
<R>The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right (but not the obligation) to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.</R>
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
<R>Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer should mitigate the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.</R>
<R>Where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price to close out the put or call option on the secondary market may move more or less than the price of the related security.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for exchange-traded options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.</R>
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
<R>A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps (swaptions), which are generally options on interest rate swaps. An option on a swap gives a party the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, a fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes (sells) an option on a swap than it will incur when it purchases an option on a swap. When a fund purchases an option on a swap, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when a fund writes an option on a swap, upon exercise of the option the fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement. A fund that writes an option on a swap receives the premium and bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the preset rate on the underlying interest rate swap. Whether a fund's use of options on swaps will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend on the adviser's ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Options on swaps may involve risks similar to those discussed below in "Swap Agreements."</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
<R> Swap Agreements. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term. Most swap agreements are currently traded over-the-counter. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange one or more payments based, for example, on the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, indexes, or other financial or economic interests). The gross payments to be exchanged between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.</R>
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness.
<R>A fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. In order to cover its outstanding obligations to a swap counterparty, a fund would generally be required to provide margin or collateral for the benefit of that counterparty. If a counterparty to a swap transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited temporarily or permanently in exercising its right to the return of related fund assets designated as margin or collateral in an action against the counterparty.</R>
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<R>Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that an adviser will not accurately forecast market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other economic factors in establishing swap positions for a fund. If an adviser attempts to use a swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, a fund may be exposed to the risk that the swap will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment, which could cause substantial losses for a fund. While hedging strategies involving swap instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Swaps are complex and often valued subjectively.</R>
Illiquid Securities cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity fund's adviser determines the liquidity of the fund's investments and, through reports from the fund's adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid securities.
Various factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments, including (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
Increasing Government Debt. The total public debt of the United States and other countries around the globe as a percent of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented.
A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt cost higher and cause a country to sell additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In the worst case, unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns.
On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States one level to "AA+" from "AAA." While Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the United States' short-term sovereign credit rating as "A-1+," there is no guarantee that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services will not decide to lower this rating in the future. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services stated that its decision was prompted by its view on the rising public debt burden and its perception of greater policymaking uncertainty. The market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government may be adversely affected by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services decisions to downgrade the long-term sovereign credit rating of the United States.
<R> Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indexes, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.</R>
<R>Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indexes. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.</R>
Indexed securities may have principal payments as well as coupon payments that depend on the performance of one or more interest rates. Their coupon rates or principal payments may change by several percentage points for every 1% interest rate change.
Mortgage-indexed securities, for example, could be structured to replicate the performance of mortgage securities and the characteristics of direct ownership.
Inflation-protected securities, for example, can be indexed to a measure of inflation, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
<R>Commodity-indexed securities, for example, can be indexed to a commodities index such as the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return SM .</R>
Gold-indexed securities typically provide for a maturity value that depends on the price of gold, resulting in a security whose price tends to rise and fall together with gold prices.
Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Insolvency of Issuers, Counterparties, and Intermediaries. Issuers of fund portfolio securities or counterparties to fund transactions that become insolvent or declare bankruptcy can pose special investment risks. In each circumstance, risk of loss, valuation uncertainty, increased illiquidity, and other unpredictable occurrences may negatively impact an investment. Each of these risks may be amplified in foreign markets, where security trading, settlement, and custodial practices can be less developed than those in the U.S. markets, and bankruptcy laws differ from those of the U.S.
As a general matter, if the issuer of a fund portfolio security is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock have priority over the claims of common stock owners. These events can negatively impact the value of the issuer's securities and the results of related proceedings can be unpredictable.
If a counterparty to a fund transaction, such as a swap transaction, a short sale, a borrowing, or other complex transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise rights to obtain the return of related fund assets or in exercising other rights against the counterparty. In addition, insolvency and liquidation proceedings take time to resolve, which can limit or preclude a fund's ability to terminate a transaction or obtain related assets or collateral in a timely fashion. Uncertainty may also arise upon the insolvency of a securities or commodities intermediary such as a broker-dealer or futures commission merchant with which a fund has pending transactions. If an intermediary becomes insolvent, while securities positions and other holdings may be protected by U.S. or foreign laws, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these protections are available to specific trades based on the circumstances. Receiving the benefit of these protections can also take time to resolve, which may result in illiquid positions.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a Fidelity fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) or its affiliates. A Fidelity fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. A Fidelity fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
<R> Investments by Funds of Funds or Other Large Shareholders. Certain funds and accounts that are managed by FMR or its affiliates (including funds of funds) invest in other funds and may at times have substantial investments in one or more other funds.</R>
<R> A fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by funds of funds, other large shareholders, or similarly managed accounts. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a fund's portfolio. In addition, when funds of funds or other investors own a substantial portion of a fund's shares, a large redemption by such an investor could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a fund of funds or other significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the fund's shares.</R>
<R>When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful. A high volume of redemption requests can impact a fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments.</R>
Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. Direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve a risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a fund supply additional cash to a borrower on demand. A fund may acquire loans by buying an assignment of all or a portion of the loan from a lender or by purchasing a loan participation from a lender or other purchaser of a participation.
Lenders and purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of foreign countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.
Direct lending and investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the lender/purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary.
A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest.
Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate lenders/purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a lender/purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
For a Fidelity fund that limits the amount of total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry, the fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require a fund, in appropriate circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for these purposes. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
Because the risk of default is higher for lower-quality debt securities, research and credit analysis are an especially important part of managing securities of this type. Such analysis may focus on relative values based on factors such as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earnings prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer, in an attempt to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved, or is expected to improve in the future.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Precious Metals. Precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, at times have been subject to substantial price fluctuations over short periods of time and may be affected by unpredictable monetary and political policies such as currency devaluations or revaluations, economic and social conditions within a country, trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries. The prices of gold and other precious metals, however, are less subject to local and company-specific factors than securities of individual companies. As a result, precious metals may be more or less volatile in price than securities of companies engaged in precious metals-related businesses. Investments in precious metals can present concerns such as delivery, storage and maintenance, possible illiquidity, and the unavailability of accurate market valuations. Although precious metals can be purchased in any form, including bullion and coins, a Fidelity fund intends to purchase only those forms of precious metals that are readily marketable and that can be stored in accordance with custody regulations applicable to mutual funds. A fund may incur higher custody and transaction costs for precious metals than for securities. Also, precious metals investments do not pay income.
For a fund to qualify as a regulated investment company under current federal tax law, gains from selling precious metals may not exceed 10% of the fund's gross income for its taxable year. This tax requirement could cause a fund to hold or sell precious metals or securities when it would not otherwise do so.
Preferred Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Equity real estate investment trusts own real estate properties, while mortgage real estate investment trusts make construction, development, and long-term mortgage loans. Their value may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property of the trusts, the creditworthiness of the issuer, property taxes, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements, such as those relating to the environment. Both types of trusts are dependent upon management skill, are not diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers, self-liquidation, and the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
<R> Reforms and Government Intervention in the Financial Markets. Economic downturns can trigger various economic, legal, budgetary, tax, and regulatory reforms across the globe. Instability in the financial markets in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn led the U.S. Government and other governments to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility, and in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Reforms are ongoing and their effects are uncertain. Federal, state, local, foreign, and other governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which a fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Reforms may also change the way in which a fund is regulated and could limit or preclude a fund's ability to achieve its investment objective or engage in certain strategies. Also, while reforms generally are intended to strengthen markets, systems, and public finances, they could affect fund expenses and the value of fund investments.</R>
The value of a fund's holdings is also generally subject to the risk of future local, national, or global economic disturbances based on unknown weaknesses in the markets in which a fund invests. In the event of such a disturbance, the issuers of securities held by a fund may experience significant declines in the value of their assets and even cease operations, or may receive government assistance accompanied by increased restrictions on their business operations or other government intervention. In addition, it is not certain that the U.S. Government or foreign governments will intervene in response to a future market disturbance and the effect of any such future intervention cannot be predicted.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its right to liquidate assets related to a repurchase agreement with an insolvent counterparty. A Fidelity fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities Lending. Securities lending allows a fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The fund seeks to maintain the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased.
<R> Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies (which include business development companies (BDCs)), unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. For certain investment companies, such as BDCs, these expenses may be significant. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.</R>
<R>The securities of closed-end funds may be leveraged. As a result, a fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. An investment in securities of closed-end funds that use leverage may expose a fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the fund's long-term returns on such securities will be diminished.</R>
The extent to which a fund can invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws.
Short Sales. Short sales involve the market sale of a security a fund has borrowed from a prime broker with which it has a contractual relationship, with the expectation that the security will underperform either the market or the securities that the fund holds long. A fund closes a short sale by purchasing the same security at the current market price and delivering it to the prime broker.
Until a fund closes out a short position, the fund is obligated to pay the prime broker (from which it borrowed the security sold short) interest as well as any dividends that accrue during the period of the loan. While a short position is outstanding, a fund must also pledge a portion of its assets to the prime broker as collateral for the borrowed security. The collateral will be marked to market daily.
Short positions create a risk that a fund will be required to cover them by buying the security at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the fund. A short position in a security poses more risk than holding the same security long. Because a short position loses value as the security's price increases, the loss on a short sale is theoretically unlimited. The loss on a long position is limited to what a fund originally paid for the security together with any transaction costs. A fund may not always be able to borrow a security the fund seeks to sell short at a particular time or at an acceptable price. As a result, a fund may be unable to fully implement its investment strategy due to a lack of available stocks or for other reasons. It is possible that the market value of the securities a fund holds in long positions will decline at the same time that the market value of the securities the fund has sold short increases, thereby increasing the fund's potential volatility. Because a fund may be required to pay dividends, interest, premiums and other expenses in connection with a short sale, any benefit for the fund resulting from the short sale will be decreased, and the amount of any ultimate gain will be decreased or of any loss will be increased, by the amount of such expenses.
A fund may also enter into short sales against the box. Short sales "against the box" are short sales of securities that a fund owns or has the right to obtain (equivalent in kind or amount to the securities sold short). If a fund enters into a short sale against the box, it will be required to set aside securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short (or securities convertible or exchangeable into such securities) and will be required to hold such securities while the short sale is outstanding. A fund will incur transaction costs, including interest expenses, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales against the box.
Sources of Liquidity or Credit Support. Issuers may employ various forms of credit and liquidity enhancements, including letters of credit, guarantees, swaps, puts, and demand features, and insurance provided by domestic or foreign entities such as banks and other financial institutions. An adviser and its affiliates may rely on their evaluation of the credit of the issuer or the credit of the liquidity or credit enhancement provider in determining whether to purchase or hold a security supported by such enhancement. In evaluating the credit of a foreign bank or other foreign entities, factors considered may include whether adequate public information about the entity is available and whether the entity may be subject to unfavorable political or economic developments, currency controls, or other government restrictions that might affect its ability to honor its commitment. Changes in the credit quality of the issuer and/or entity providing the enhancement could affect the value of the security or a fund's share price.
Sovereign Debt Obligations are issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies, including debt of Latin American nations or other developing countries. Sovereign debt may be in the form of conventional securities or other types of debt instruments such as loans or loan participations. Sovereign debt of developing countries may involve a high degree of risk, and may be in default or present the risk of default. Governmental entities responsible for repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal and pay interest when due, and may require renegotiation or rescheduling of debt payments. In addition, prospects for repayment of principal and payment of interest may depend on political as well as economic factors. Although some sovereign debt, such as Brady Bonds, is collateralized by U.S. Government securities, repayment of principal and payment of interest is not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument ( e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
<R> Temporary Defensive Policies. </R>
<R> In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, a fund may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If a fund does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund reserves the right to invest without limitation in preferred stocks and investment-grade debt instruments for temporary, defensive purposes.
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments which entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss.
Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
To the extent that Strategic Advisers grants investment management authority over an allocated portion of the fund's assets to a sub-adviser (see the section entitled "Management Contract"), that sub-adviser is authorized to provide the services described in the respective sub-advisory agreement, and in accordance with the policies described in this section.
Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities are placed on behalf of the fund by Strategic Advisers (either directly or through its affiliates) or a sub-adviser, pursuant to authority contained in the management contract and the respective sub-advisory agreement.
Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
<R>The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in affiliated funds, but it may incur such costs when it invests in non-affiliated funds and when it invests directly in other types of securities, including ETFs.</R>
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review Strategic Advisers' and its affiliates' and each sub-adviser's performance of their respective responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
Strategic Advisers.
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Strategic Advisers, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Strategic Advisers or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.</R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Strategic Advisers or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services Strategic Advisers or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Strategic Advisers' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Strategic Advisers or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.</R>
Research Contracts. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Strategic Advisers or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) who have entered into arrangements with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
<R>Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), with whom they are under common control, provided Strategic Advisers or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade-execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.</R>
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Strategic Advisers to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
Advisory Research, Inc. (ARI).
Pursuant to the Sub-Advisory Agreement, ARI determines which securities are to be purchased and sold for a portion of the fund's assets and which broker-dealers are eligible to execute the fund's portfolio transactions. The purchases and sales of securities in the over-the-counter market will generally be executed by using a broker for the transaction. Purchases of portfolio securities for the fund also may be made directly from issuers or from underwriters. Where possible, purchase and sale transactions will be effected through dealers (including banks) that specialize in the types of securities which the fund will be holding unless better executions are available elsewhere. Dealers and underwriters usually act as principals for their own accounts. Purchases from underwriters will include a concession paid by the issuer to the underwriter and purchases from dealers will include the spread between the bid and the asked price. If the execution and price offered by more than one dealer or underwriter are comparable, the order may be allocated to a dealer or underwriter that has provided research or other services as discussed below.
In placing portfolio transactions, ARI will use its reasonable efforts to choose broker-dealers capable of providing the services necessary to obtain the most favorable price and execution available. The full range and quality of services available will be considered in making these determinations, such as the size of the order, the difficulty of execution, the operational facilities of the broker-dealer involved, the risk in positioning the block of securities, and other factors. In those instances where it is reasonably determined that more than one broker-dealer can offer the services needed to obtain the most favorable price and execution available, consideration may be given to those broker-dealers which furnish or supply research and statistical information to ARI that they may lawfully and appropriately use in their investment advisory capacities, as well as provide other services in addition to execution services. ARI considers such information, which is in addition to and not in lieu of the services required to be performed by it under its Sub-Advisory Agreement with the fund, to be useful in varying degrees, but of indeterminable value.
While it is ARI's general policy to seek to obtain the most favorable price and execution available in selecting a broker-dealer to execute portfolio transactions for the fund, weight is also given to the ability of a broker-dealer to furnish brokerage and research services as defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, to the fund or to ARI, even if the specific services are not directly useful to the fund and may be useful to ARI in advising other clients. In negotiating commissions with a broker or evaluating the spread to be paid to a dealer, the fund may therefore pay a higher commission or spread than would be the case if no weight were given to the furnishing of these supplemental services, provided that the amount of such commission or spread has been determined in good faith by ARI to be reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research services provided by such broker-dealer. The standard of reasonableness is to be measured in light of ARI's overall responsibilities to the fund.
Investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other client accounts that may be managed or advised by ARI. Nevertheless, it is possible that at times, identical securities will be acceptable for both the fund and one or more of such client accounts. In such event, the position of the fund and such client accounts in the same issuer may vary and the holding period may likewise vary. However, to the extent any of these client accounts seek to acquire the same security as the fund at the same time, the fund may not be able to acquire as large a position in such security as it desires, or it may have to pay a higher price or obtain a lower yield for such security. Similarly, the fund may not be able to obtain as high a price for, or as large an execution of, an order to sell any particular security at the same time as ARI's other client accounts.
The fund does not effect securities transactions through brokers in accordance with any formula, nor does it effect securities transactions through brokers for selling shares of the fund. However, broker-dealers who execute brokerage transactions may effect purchase of shares of the fund for their customers.
Fred Alger Management, Inc. (Alger Management).
Decisions to buy and sell securities and other financial instruments for the fund are made by Alger Management, which also is responsible for placing these transactions, subject to the overall review of the Trust's Board of Trustees. Although investment requirements for the fund are reviewed independently from those of the other accounts managed by Alger Management and those of the other funds, investments of the type the fund may make may also be made by these other accounts or funds. When the fund and one or more other funds or accounts managed by Alger Management are prepared to invest in, or desire to dispose of, the same security or other financial instrument, available investments or opportunities for sales will be allocated in a manner believed by Alger Management to be equitable to each. In some cases, this procedure may affect adversely the price paid or received by a fund or the size of the position obtained or disposed of by a fund.
<R>Transactions in equity securities are in most cases effected on U. S. stock exchanges or in over-the-counter markets and involve the payment of negotiated brokerage commissions.</R>
<R> The cost of securities purchased from underwriters includes an underwriting commission or concession.</R>
<R>To the extent consistent with applicable provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules and exemptions adopted by the SEC thereunder, as well as other regulatory requirements, Alger Management's portion of fund transactions may be executed through Fred Alger & Company, Incorporated ("Alger Inc."), a registered broker-dealer, if, in the judgment of Alger Management, the use of Alger Inc. is likely to result in price and execution at least as favorable as those of other qualified broker-dealers and if, in particular transactions, Alger Inc. charges the fund involved a rate consistent with that which other broker-dealers charge to comparable unaffiliated customers in similar transactions.</R>
In selecting brokers or dealers to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of a fund, Alger Management seeks the best overall terms available. In assessing the best overall terms available for any transaction, Alger Management will consider the factors it deems relevant, including the breadth of the market in the investment, the price of the investment, the financial condition and execution capability of the broker or dealer and the reasonableness of the commission, if any, for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. In addition, Alger Management is authorized, in selecting parties to execute a particular transaction and in evaluating the best overall terms available, to consider the brokerage and research services, as those terms are defined in section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, provided to the fund involved, the other funds and/or other accounts over which Alger Management or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. Alger Management's fees under its agreements with the funds are not reduced by reason of its receiving brokerage and research service. The Board of Trustees will periodically review the commissions paid by the funds to determine if the commissions paid over representative periods of time are reasonable in relation to the benefits inuring to the funds.
Invesco Advisers, Inc. (Invesco).
The Selection of Brokers
Invesco's primary consideration in selecting brokers or dealers to execute portfolio transactions for the fund is to obtain best execution. Invesco considers the full range and quality of a broker's services, including the value of research and/or brokerage services provided, execution capability, commission rate, and willingness to commit capital, anonymity and responsiveness. The determinative factor is not the lowest commission or spread available but whether the transaction represents the best qualitative execution for the fund. Invesco will not select brokers based upon their promotion or sale of fund shares.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Invesco) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of brokerage or other research products and services (Soft Dollar Products) they provide to Invesco or its affiliates.
Research Products and Services supplement Invesco's own research (and the research of certain of its affiliates), and may include the following types of products and services: database, analyses related to the investment process (such as forecasts and models used in the portfolio management process), quotation/trading/news systems, economic data/forecasting tools, quantitative/technical analysis, fundamental/industry analysis, and other specialized tools.
Execution Services. Invesco also uses soft dollars to acquire products from third parties that are supplied to Invesco through brokers executing the trades or other brokers who "step in" to a transaction and receive a portion of the brokerage commission for the trade. Invesco may from time to time instruct the executing broker to allocate or "step out" a portion of a transaction to another broker. The broker to which Invesco has "stepped out" would then settle and complete the designated portion of the transaction, and the executing broker would settle and complete the remaining portion of the transaction that has not been "stepped out." Each broker may receive a commission or brokerage fee with respect to that portion of the transaction that it settles and completes.
Mixed-Use Products and Services. If Invesco determines that any service or product has a mixed use (i.e., it also serves functions that do not assist the investment decision-making or trading process), Invesco will allocate the costs of such service or product accordingly in its reasonable discretion. Invesco will allocate brokerage commissions to brokers only for the portion of the service or product that Invesco determines assists it in the investment decision-making or trading process and will pay for the remaining value of the product or service in cash.
Benefit to Invesco. Outside research assistance is useful to Invesco because the brokers used by Invesco tend to provide more in-depth analysis of a broader universe of securities and other matters than Invesco's staff follows. In addition, such services provide Invesco with a diverse perspective on financial markets. Some brokers may indicate that the provision of research services is dependent upon the generation of certain specified levels of commissions and underwriting concessions by Invesco's clients. In some cases, Soft Dollar Products are available only from the broker providing them. In other cases, Soft Dollar Products may be obtainable from alternative sources in return for cash payments. Invesco believes that because broker research supplements rather than replaces Invesco's research, the receipt of such research tends to improve the quality of Invesco's investment advice.
Potential Conflicts. Invesco faces a potential conflict of interest when it uses client trades to obtain Soft Dollar Products. This conflict exists because Invesco is able to use the Soft Dollar Products to manage client accounts without paying cash for the Soft Dollar Products, which reduces Invesco's expenses to the extent that Invesco would have purchased such products had they not been provided by brokers. Section 28(e) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended permits Invesco to use Soft Dollar Products for the benefit of any account it manages. Certain Invesco-managed accounts may generate soft dollars used to purchase Soft Dollar Products that ultimately benefit other Invesco-managed accounts, effectively cross subsidizing the other Invesco-managed accounts that benefit directly from the product. Invesco may not use all of the Soft Dollar Products provided by brokers through which a fund effects securities transactions in connection with managing the fund whose trades generated the soft dollars used to purchase such products.
Invesco attempts to reduce or eliminate the potential conflicts of interest concerning the use of Soft Dollar Products by directing client trades for Soft Dollar Products only if Invesco concludes that the broker supplying the product is capable of providing best execution.
Invesco's Decision-Making Process. In choosing brokers to execute portfolio transactions for the fund, Invesco may select brokers that provide Soft Dollar Products to the funds and/or the other accounts over which Invesco and its affiliates have investment discretion. Section 28(e) provides that Invesco, under certain circumstances, lawfully may cause an account to pay a higher commission than the lowest available. Invesco must make a good faith determination that the commissions paid are "reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or Invesco's overall responsibilities with respect to the accounts as to which it exercises investment discretion." The services provided by the broker also must lawfully and appropriately assist Invesco in the performance of its investment decision-making responsibilities. Accordingly, the fund may pay a broker commissions higher than those available from another broker in recognition of the broker's provision of Soft Dollar Products to Invesco.
Allocation of Portfolio Transactions
Invesco manages numerous funds and other accounts. Some of these accounts may have investment objectives similar to the fund. Occasionally, identical securities will be appropriate for investment by one of the funds and by another fund or one or more other accounts. However, the position of each account in the same security and the length of time that each account may hold its investment in the same security may vary. Invesco will also determine the timing and amount of purchases for an account based on its cash position. If the purchase or sale of securities is consistent with the investment policies of the fund(s) and one or more other accounts, and is considered at or about the same time, Invesco will allocate transactions in such securities among the fund(s) and these accounts on a pro rata basis based on order size or in such other manner believed by Invesco to be fair and equitable. Invesco may combine transactions in accordance with applicable laws and regulations to obtain the most favorable execution. Simultaneous transactions could, however, adversely affect a fund's ability to obtain or dispose of the full amount of a security which it seeks to purchase or sell.
<R> Kennedy Capital Management, Inc. (Kennedy Capital). </R>
<R> The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers </R>
<R>In determining which broker-dealers to execute trades Kennedy Capital considers various factors which it believes are important, such as the quality of trade executions, costs of transactions, quality of client services, execution capability, commission rates and volume discounts, financial responsibility, reputation, ability to integrate with existing systems, effectiveness of systems for monitoring client investments and regulatory compliance, and responsiveness. While Kennedy Capital seeks competitive commission rates, it may not necessarily obtain the lowest possible commission rates for client transactions. Broker-dealers may offer investment research, which may be used to service other accounts managed by Kennedy Capital.</R>
<R> The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services </R>
<R>Brokers (who are not affiliates of Kennedy Capital) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Kennedy Capital.</R>
<R> Research Products and Services. Certain broker-dealers through whom Kennedy Capital executes trades may provide research, brokerage products or other services (collectively "Products and Services"). The Products and Services may be useful for all client accounts, and not all research may be useful for the account for which the particular transaction was effected. Kennedy Capital may select broker-dealers that may be paid commissions for effecting transactions for clients that exceed the amounts other broker-dealers would have charged for effecting these transactions if it determines in good faith that such amounts are reasonable in relation to the value of the Products and Services provided by those broker-dealers, viewed either in terms of a particular transaction or in the overall duty to clients.</R>
<R>Products and Services may be used by Kennedy Capital for itself and/or in servicing some or all of its clients. In addition, some Products and Services may not necessarily be used for an account even though the account's commission dollars (or other transaction charges) helped to provide for the Products and Services. A client, therefore, may not, in any particular instance, be the direct or indirect beneficiary of the Products and Services provided.</R>
<R>Products and Services may either be provided by a broker-dealer, or paid for by a broker-dealer (either by direct or reimbursement payments - in whatever form - or by commissions, mark-ups, mark-downs or credits or by any other means) to be provided by others. The availability of such Products and Services may create a conflict between the interests of the client in obtaining the lowest cost execution and the interest in obtaining such services. Products and Services may be in any form (e.g., written, oral or online) and may include (but are not limited to): research products or services; clearance; settlement; on-line pricing and financial information; access to computerized data regarding clients' accounts; performance measurement data and services; portfolio strategy advice; market, economic and financial information; statistical information; data on the pricing and availability of securities; publications; electronic market quotations; document retrieval services; analyses concerning specific securities, companies, governments or sectors; market, economic, political and financial studies and forecasts; industry and company comments; technical data, recommendations and general reports; quotation services; custody; brokerage; and computer databases.</R>
<R>In addition, several brokers through whom Kennedy Capital executes orders provide proprietary research on general economic trends or particular companies. Kennedy Capital also periodically obtains opinions from health care providers or other industry experts on industries in general as well as on specific companies or technologies, and these providers may be compensated by a broker-dealer on Kennedy Capital's behalf. In many cases, third-party research and other services are provided by means of orders executed through brokers unrelated to the provider of research or other services.</R>
<R> Execution Services. Kennedy Capital, in recommending broker-dealers to clients, need not solicit competitive bids and does not have an obligation to seek the lowest available transaction cost (e.g., commission cost). It is generally not Kennedy Capital's practice to negotiate "execution only" transaction costs (e.g., commission rates); thus, clients may be deemed to be paying for Products and Services provided by the broker-dealer which are included in the transaction charges. When Kennedy Capital determines that more than one broker-dealer can offer the brokerage and execution services needed to obtain the best available price and most favorable execution, consideration may be given to recommending those broker-dealers which also supply Products and Services that assist in fulfilling investment advisory responsibilities. Products and Services may be used by Kennedy Capital or affiliates and/or in servicing some or all of Kennedy Capital's clients.</R>
<R> Mixed-Use Products and Services. In some instances, Kennedy Capital may receive Products and Services that may be used for both research/brokerage and non-research/brokerage purposes. In such instances, Kennedy Capital will make a good faith effort to determine the relative proportion of the Products and Services used for research/brokerage purposes and the relative proportion used for non-research/brokerage purposes. The proportion of the Products and Services attributable to research/brokerage purposes will be paid through brokerage commissions generated by client transactions; the proportion attributable to non-research/brokerage purposes will be paid for or reimbursed from Kennedy Capital's own resources. The receipt of "mixed-use" Products and Services and the determination of an appropriate allocation between research/brokerage and non-research/brokerage purposes create a potential conflict of interest between Kennedy Capital and its clients.</R>
<R> Benefits to Kennedy Capital. An adviser that uses client brokerage commissions to obtain research (whether proprietary or third-party), products, or services receives a benefit because it does not have to produce or pay for the research, products, or services itself. Consequently, the adviser may have an incentive to select or recommend a broker based on its desire to receive research, products, or services rather than a desire to obtain the most favorable execution, which is in the clients' best interest. Kennedy Capital seeks to obtain overall best execution for client transactions and in the selection of broker-dealers taking into account the value of the Products and Services of the type contemplated under Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are provided by broker-dealers.</R>
<R>Kennedy Capital's expenses likely would be increased if it attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through its own efforts, or if it paid for these brokerage and research products or services with its own resources. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Kennedy Capital or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Kennedy Capital may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.</R>
<R> Kennedy Capital Decision-Making Process. In choosing brokers to execute portfolio transactions for the fund, Kennedy Capital may select brokers that provide soft dollar Products and Services to the funds and/or the other accounts over which Kennedy Capital has investment discretion. Section 28(e) provides that Kennedy Capital, under certain circumstances, lawfully may cause an account to pay a higher commission than the lowest available. Kennedy Capital must make a good faith determination that the commissions paid are reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or Kennedy Capital's overall responsibilities with respect to the accounts as to which it exercises investment discretion. The services provided by the broker also must lawfully and appropriately assist Kennedy Capital in the performance of its investment decision-making responsibilities. Accordingly, the fund may pay broker commissions higher than those available from another broker in recognition of the broker's provision of Soft Dollar Products to Kennedy Capital.</R>
<R> Research Contracts. Kennedy Capital has entered into an agreement for certain business consulting services with an independent contractor who is also a consultant for one of the broker-dealers Kennedy Capital uses for trade execution services. In addition, the same broker-dealer provides proprietary research services to Kennedy Capital and pays for the consulting fees charged by the consultant which are paid for by means of client commissions. This contractual arrangement has been made by and between the business consultant and Kennedy Capital Management, Inc., and the broker-dealer is not a party to it. This arrangement has not caused Kennedy Capital to alter its use of this broker-dealer nor has it caused Kennedy Capital to commit to or pay additional commissions for client transactions.</R>
<R> Non-U.S. Transactions </R>
<R>To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Kennedy Capital may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.</R>
<R> Trade Allocation </R>
<R>Kennedy Capital may be able to obtain better execution and negotiate more favorable brokerage commissions for its clients by "bunching" orders in the same security with the objective of purchasing a block of stock for various clients. Whenever Kennedy Capital determines that it is in the client's best interest to bunch client orders, it will attempt to execute the transactions in this manner.</R>
<R>Shares purchased in bunched transactions are generally allocated pro-rata relative to account assets among the clients for whom the stock is being purchased subject to adjustment for additional factors, including: 1) cash availability within specific accounts, 2) consideration of minimum distribution of shares bought for an account, 3) portfolio sector balancing, and 4) building the percentage of assets invested in the stock in selected accounts. Allocations may also reflect the judgment of the portfolio manager as to the specific needs of an account, such as the need for cash. Shares allocated in accordance with these procedures are priced based on the average price of the executions.</R>
<R>A portfolio manager may work a particular stock without competition from other internal orders until the stock reaches a full position for the accounts in the composite/group. If the stock is being purchased by more than one composite/group, the shares are allocated in accordance with procedures that Kennedy Capital believes to be appropriate and equitable to each account.</R>
Neuberger Berman Management LLC (Neuberger Berman).
In determining the broker through which, and the transaction cost at which securities transactions for clients are to be effected, Neuberger Berman seeks to obtain the best results for the client. Neuberger Berman takes into consideration such relevant factors as price, the broker's execution ability, reliability and financial responsibility and the ability to help effect the transaction by contributing to critical elements as timing and order size. Commission rates, being a component of purchase/sale price are also considered as a factor. Neuberger Berman does not obligate itself to seek the lowest commission cost except to the extent that it contributes to the overall goal of obtaining the best results for clients.
Transactions are reviewed on a daily basis at the trading and portfolio management level, and periodically by senior trading management. On a quarterly basis, the firm's transaction committee meets and reviews all of the firm's equity transaction using ITG's Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA) product. ITG is an independent firm whose TCA benchmarking product analyzes Neuberger's equity execution quality. The Portfolio Transactions Committee of the Neuberger Berman Mutual Funds also reviews the ITG analysis.
On an annual basis the Head Trader of Neuberger Berman's Equity Trading Desk and the CIO, Equities perform a comparative review of Neuberger Berman's commission rates against the Greenwich Associates peer review survey. Neuberger Berman utilizes this survey as a means to assess its average blended commission rate. Neuberger Berman's trading desk monitors its targeted blended rate through various internal commission reports.
Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis).
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Pyramis or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Pyramis, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Pyramis or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Pyramis' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Pyramis or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and character of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Pyramis and/or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for lessening or avoiding market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Pyramis and/or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Pyramis and/or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Pyramis and/or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Pyramis or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker is generally the same as the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Pyramis and/or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Pyramis) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Pyramis or its affiliates.
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. Pyramis or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Pyramis' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. </R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Pyramis or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in their investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Pyramis or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefits to Pyramis. Pyramis' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these products or services with their own resources. However, the trading desks of Pyramis and its affiliates are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services that Pyramis or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Pyramis or its affiliates or might not have an explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Pyramis or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Pyramis' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Pyramis or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Pyramis or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Pyramis' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Pyramis or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Pyramis or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Pyramis, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Pyramis or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Pyramis or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Pyramis or its affiliates.</R>
<R> Research Contracts. Pyramis or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Pyramis or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Pyramis or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Pyramis or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Pyramis or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Pyramis' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately ( e.g., with hard dollars), rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Pyramis' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.</R>
Commission Recapture
Pyramis or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Pyramis) who have entered into arrangements with Pyramis or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
Pyramis or its affiliates may be authorized to place portfolio transactions with Fidelity Capital Markets (FCM), a division of NFS, an affiliated broker-dealer of Pyramis and its affiliates, or other broker-dealers with whom they are under common control, and use CrossStream, an alternative trading system operated by NFS, if they reasonably believe the quality of the transaction is comparable to what it would be with other qualified broker-dealers. With respect to trades that are executed by Pyramis' affiliates, Pyramis and such affiliate seek to ensure that the trade execution obtained is comparable to that of unaffiliated brokers and that the continued use of such affiliate is appropriate. In addition, Pyramis or its affiliates may place trades with broker-dealers that use NFS as a clearing agent.
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Securities Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Pyramis or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers or may engage a third party to do so.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Pyramis or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Pyramis or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Pyramis to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
Systematic Financial Management, L.P. (Systematic).
Best Execution
It is Systematic's duty to seek the best overall execution of transactions for client accounts consistent with the Firm's judgment as to the business qualifications of the various broker-dealers with which Systematic may do business. In selecting broker-dealers to effect securities transactions for clients, Systematic will select broker-dealers based on its consideration of the broker's financial soundness, the broker's ability to effectively and efficiently execute, report, clear and settle the order, provide valuable research, commit capital, timely and accurately communicate with Systematic's trading desk and operations team and charge commission rates which, when combined with these services, will produce the most favorable total cost or proceeds for each transaction under the circumstances. "Best execution" is generally understood to mean the most favorable cost or net proceeds reasonably obtained under the circumstances.
Systematic's approach to seeking best execution focuses on consideration of explicit commission costs or spreads as well as on critically important factors such as minimizing market impact and price movements and achieving the Firm's overall investment goals. The Firm seeks to negotiate commission rates which, when combined with the factors used in the selection of brokers, will produce the most favorable total cost or proceeds for each transaction under the circumstances. Systematic is not obligated to choose the broker-dealer offering the lowest available commission rate if, in the Firm's reasonable judgment, there is a risk that the total cost or proceeds from the transaction may be less favorable than may be obtained elsewhere, or, if a higher commission is justified by trading provided by the broker-dealer, or if other considerations, such as those set forth above dictate utilizing a different broker-dealer. While Systematic's approach seeks to contain explicit trading costs, these considerations may not predominate in seeking to achieve the Firm's overall investment goals.
Selection Factors for Brokers
If the client engages Systematic on a fully discretionary basis, Systematic will select a broker based on a number of factors, which may include but are not limited to the following: the broker's financial soundness, the broker's ability to effectively and efficiently execute, report, clear and settle the order, provide valuable research, commit capital, timely and accurately communicate with Systematic's trading desk and operations team; research services provided in connection with soft dollar arrangements; and similar factors. Recognizing the value of these factors, Systematic may allow a brokerage commission in excess of that which another broker might have charged for effecting the same transaction.
When selecting trading venues on which to execute an order, Systematic generally considers whether it has viable options among trading venues such as different markets or trading systems. If options exist, Systematic may consider executing part or all of the trade order using an Alternative Trading System ("ATS"). These systems can, but not always, permit at least as favorable a quality of execution as may occur using conventional brokers on conventional exchanges. These systems may reduce the role of market makers and can assist buyers and sellers in dealing directly with each other, thereby increasing market anonymity. ATS's may also offer limited market impact, lower commissions, and protection of proprietary information with respect to relatively liquid securities. At times however, these systems may also present certain limitations. In certain trading circumstances, given time constraints, priority trading needs, lack of liquidity or other conditions use of such alternative trading systems may be impractical. Systematic is not required to use alternative trading systems in any particular circumstances.
Commission Rates
Systematic obtains information as to the general level of commission rates being charged by the brokerage community from time to time and periodically evaluates the overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions paid on client transactions by reference to such data.
Systematic periodically reviews the past performance of the exchange members, brokers, or dealers with whom it has been placing order to execute portfolio transactions in light of the factors discussed above. Systematic may cease to do business with certain exchange members, brokers or dealers whose performance may not have been competitive or may demand that such persons improve their performance before receiving any further orders.
Systematic monitors the commission rates paid by clients whose transactions are executed with or through brokers selected by the Firm. As appropriate and warranted, the Firm takes steps to renegotiate its commission rates where the Firm has discretion to choose the broker with which the transaction is to be executed. Systematic also uses soft dollars which may result in client's paying higher commission rates than what may be available for execution-only trades, as further described under the Soft Dollar disclosure below.
Systematic shall not be responsible for obtaining competitive bids on directed trades done on a net basis. Systematic may be unable to obtain a more favorable price based on transaction volume on transactions that cannot be aggregated with transactions of its other advisory clients. Systematic may enter certain orders after other clients' orders for the same security, with the result that market movements may work against the client.
Trade Allocation and Aggregation
Trade allocation decisions are made among client accounts to ensure fair and equitable treatment of client accounts over time. Investment decisions are generally applied to all accounts utilizing that particular strategy, taking into consideration client restrictions, instructions and individual needs. Systematic, when rebalancing individual accounts, may or may not have an opportunity to aggregate or "bunch" trades; thus there may be disparity in price or commissions among clients. When the brokerage firm has not been designated by the clients, Systematic may, but is not obligated to, aggregate or "bunch" trades of securities to be purchased or sold into block trades in order to seek the most favorable execution and lower brokerage commissions in such manner as Systematic deems equitable and fair to the clients. As a general rule, all accounts for which trades are aggregated will receive the same average execution price for that day. All allocations of block trades, including expenses incurred in the transaction, shall be made on a fair and equitable basis over time, to the extent practicable, without favoring any account or type of account or client over another over a period of time. In cases when a trade is not completed in a single "bunched" day, Systematic will allocate the traded shares on a pro-rata basis among all of the accounts in the trade block. Systematic is not obligated to aggregate trades in any circumstances.
The choice of the method of trade allocation will be based on various factors including how much of the total block was completed and the liquidity of the issue being traded.
Although Systematic generally seeks to allocate investment opportunities as fairly and equitably as possible over the long term, Systematic cannot assure the equal participation of every client in every investment opportunity or every transaction. Systematic may determine that a limited supply or demand for a particular opportunity or investment or other factors noted above may preclude the participation of some clients in a particular investment opportunity or trade.
Initial Public Offerings
Initial public offerings ("IPOs") and certain secondary offerings often present limited opportunities for client participation because not all clients are eligible to participate in every offering; the number of shares of each offering allotted to Systematic may be too small to permit meaningful participation by all clients that may be eligible to participate; and the number and nature of offerings generally may be dependent upon market or economic factors beyond the Firm's control.
IPOs typically do not qualify for the traditional value style portfolios managed by Systematic due to a lack of earnings and/or cash flows associated with a new issuance. In the event that Systematic participates in any initial public offerings and other securities with limited availability, Systematic allocates IPOs among client accounts in a fair and equitable manner over time, taking into consideration factors such as client account objectives and preference, investment restrictions, account sizes, cash availability, and current specific needs. Systematic generally seeks to ensure that over the long term, each eligible client with the same or similar investment objectives will receive an equitable opportunity to participate in such offerings, and that no eligible client will be unfairly disadvantaged, subject to limitations noted above. Secondary offerings are generally allocated to non-directed accounts based on product style and account size. Systematic's Wrap accounts and non-discretionary program (or directed accounts) are generally not eligible for IPOs.
Soft Dollars
<R>Consistent with Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended Systematic may direct certain transactions for execution to certain broker/dealers in recognition of brokerage and research services provided by those broker/dealers and/or other third-party providers. The practice of obtaining research in this manner is referred to as using "soft dollars." Systematic may facilitate its use of soft dollars through traditional soft dollar arrangements, commission sharing arrangements ("CSAs") and/or "full service" broker/dealers offering "bundled" services. The products and services provided are either proprietary (created and provided by the broker/dealer, including tangible research products, as well as, for example, access to company management or broker/dealer generated research reports) or third-party (created by the third-party, but provided by the broker/dealers), and, may include, investment research (either directly or through publications or reports) as to the value of securities, the advisability of investing in, purchasing, or selling securities, the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities, presentation of special situations and trading opportunities, advice concerning trading strategy, and analyses and reports concerning issues, industries, securities, economic factors and trends, portfolio strategy, and the performance of specific strategies. This practice of generating and using soft dollars generally causes clients to pay a broker/dealer a commission rate higher than a broker/dealer would charge for execution only services.</R>
<R>In the allocation of brokerage, Systematic may give preference to those broker/dealers that provide research products and services, either directly or indirectly, so long as Systematic believes that the selection of a particular broker/dealer is consistent with Systematic's duty to seek best execution. To the extent that Systematic is able to obtain such products and services through the use of clients' commission dollars, it reduces the need to produce the same research internally or through outside providers for hard dollars and thus provides an economic benefit to Systematic and its clients. As an example, Systematic has received research services relating to data used by the investment team for attribution analysis and risk control purposes; software that has substantial data, alpha and risk models and the ability to track news events on portfolios, and industry-specific information, which Systematic has found useful in its research process. Systematic may have an incentive to select a broker/dealer in order to receive such products and services whether or not the client receives best execution. On an ongoing basis, Systematic monitors the research and brokerage services received to ensure that the services received are reasonable in relation to the brokerage allocated.</R>
<R>Products and services which provide lawful and appropriate assistance to Systematic's investment decision-making process may be paid for with commissions generated by client accounts to the extent such products and services were used in that process. Systematic allocates the cost of such products on a basis that it deems reasonable over time according to the various uses of the product, and maintains records to document this allocation process. Systematic does not, as a matter of practice, employ step-out transactions for the purpose of securing such products and services.</R>
<R>In traditional soft dollar arrangements, trades placed by Systematic with certain broker-dealers generate soft dollars based upon the amount of commissions associated with Systematic's trades. An agreement between Systematic and the broker-dealer then obligates the broker-dealer to pay for a specific research or brokerage product or service received by Systematic.</R>
<R></R>
<R>In addition to traditional soft dollar arrangements, Systematic may use CSAs, under which certain broker-dealers allocate a percentage of commissions generated by Systematic's trades with the broker-dealer to a pool of soft dollars. Systematic may use these commissions to obtain products or services provided by the broker/dealers ("proprietary research") or direct compensation from the pool to third party service providers, which may or may not be broker-dealers, pursuant to an agreement between Systematic and the broker/dealer. Through these pooled CSA structures, Systematic could conclude that if a broker dealer does not meet its requirements in terms of execution capabilities, yet provides valuable research, it could terminate any execution relationship and pay for the research through another broker/dealer. The CSAs enable Systematic to work more closely with certain key broker/dealers, and limit the broker/dealers with whom it trades, while still maintaining research relationships with broker/dealers that provide Systematic with research and research services.</R>
<R>Systematic may also receive unsolicited proprietary research from broker/dealers through which it trades. Proprietary research of this nature is generally part of a "bundle" of brokerage and research and is not separately priced. Any research received is used to service all clients to which it is applicable. Systematic executes trade orders with broker/dealers on the basis of best execution, without consideration of any unsolicited research services that it may receive. Systematic makes no attempts to link the acquisition of unsolicited research with any particular client transactions.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Systematic may also receive services which, based on their use, are only partially paid for through soft dollars. Any such service is considered "mixed-use" because it is used by Systematic for both research or brokerage and non-research, non-brokerage purposes, such as for administration or marketing. In each such case, Systematic makes a good faith determination of which portion of the service should be paid for with soft dollars and which portion should be paid for with hard dollars. Systematic allocates the cost of the products on a basis which it deemed reasonable according to the various uses of the product. Only that portion of the cost of the product allocable to research services would be paid with the brokerage commissions generated by fiduciary accounts and the non-research portion will be paid in cash by Systematic. Systematic retains documentation of the soft to hard dollar allocation for mixed-use items and periodically reviews this allocation.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Systematic uses the research products/services provided by broker/dealers through its soft dollar arrangements in formulating investment advice for any and all clients' accounts, including accounts other than those that paid commissions to the broker/dealers on a particular transaction. As a result, not all research generated by a particular client's trade will benefit that particular client's account. In some instances, the other accounts benefited may include accounts for which the accounts' owners have directed their portion of brokerage commissions to go to particular broker/dealers other than those that provided the research products/services. However, research services obtained through soft dollar transactions may be used in advising all accounts, and not all such services would necessarily be used by Systematic in connection with the specific account that paid commissions to the broker/dealer providing such services. From time to time, certain clients may request that Systematic not generate soft dollar credits on trades executed for their accounts. While Systematic may accommodate such requests in its discretion, trades for these clients generally do not experience lower transaction costs. In addition, the trading process for these clients may be adversely affected in other ways, including that the client may not participate in aggregated orders with clients that have not made such a request, therefore preventing the client from receiving the price and execution benefits of the aggregated order. In addition, and as with other directed or customized brokerage arrangements, the positions of these accounts in trade ordering and trade rotation may be impacted. Systematic reserves the right to reject or limit client requests of this type, and clients may be charged a premium for such arrangements.</R>
<R></R>
<R>For additional information regarding Systematic's use of soft-dollars, as well as its brokerage practices generally, please refer to Item 12 of Systematic's Form ADV Part 2A.</R>
Commissions Paid
A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
<R>For the fiscal periods ended February 28, 2013 and February 29, 2012, the fund's portfolio turnover rates were 66% and 11%, respectively. Variations in turnover rate may be due to a fluctuating volume of shareholder purchase and redemption orders, market conditions, and/or changes in Strategic Advisers' investment outlook.</R>
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund held securities issued by one or more of its regular brokers or dealers or a parent company of its regular brokers or dealers. The following table shows the aggregate value of the securities of the regular broker or dealer or parent company held by the fund as of the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013.</R>
<R> Fund |
Regular Broker or Dealer |
Aggregate Value of
|
Stifel Financial Corp. |
$ 88,595</R> |
<R>The following table shows the total amount of brokerage commissions paid by the fund, comprising commissions paid on securities and/or futures transactions, as applicable, for the fiscal years ended February 28, 2013 and February 29, 2012. The total amount of brokerage commissions paid is stated as a dollar amount and a percentage of the fund's average net assets.</R>
<R>Fiscal Year
|
|
Dollar
|
Percentage of
|
<R>2013 |
|
$ 47,483 |
0.12%</R> |
<R>2012 + A |
|
$ 32,292 |
0.09%</R> |
<R> + Fiscal year ended February 29.</R>
<R> A Fund commenced operations on December 20, 2011.</R>
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the following brokerage commissions were paid to affiliated brokers:</R>
<R> Broker |
Affiliated With |
Commissions |
Percentage of
|
Percentage of
|
<R>Alger Inc. |
Alger Management |
$ 3,592 |
7.56% |
3.97%</R> |
<R>During the fiscal period December 20, 2011 to February 29, 2012, the following brokerage commissions were paid to affiliated brokers:</R>
<R> Broker |
Affiliated With |
Commissions</R> |
<R>Alger Inc. |
Alger Management |
$ 761</R> |
<R>Buckingham Research Group Inc. |
Systematic |
$ 9</R> |
<R>Suntrust Capital Markets Inc. |
Systematic |
$ 23</R> |
<R>The fund commenced operations on December 20, 2011 and, therefore, does not have any affiliated brokerage commissions to report for fiscal year ended February 28, 2011.</R>
<R>Brokerage commissions may vary significantly from year to year due to a variety of factors, including the types of investments selected by the sub-adviser(s), changes in transaction costs, and market conditions.</R>
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid $32,309 in brokerage commissions to firms that may have provided research or brokerage services involving approximately $34,924,784 of transactions.</R>
<R>The class's NAV is the value of a single share. The NAV of the class is computed by adding the class's pro rata share of the value of the fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting the class's pro rata share of the fund's liabilities, subtracting the liabilities allocated to the class, and dividing the result by the number of shares of that class that are outstanding.</R>
The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for pricing, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers has established the Strategic Advisers Fair Value Committee (Strategic Advisers Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities. The Strategic Advisers Committee may rely on information and recommendations provided by affiliates of Strategic Advisers in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, including the fair valuation of securities.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) held by the fund are valued at their respective NAVs. If an underlying fund's NAV is unavailable, shares of that underlying fund will be fair valued in good faith by the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by the fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity non-money market fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
<R>Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques.</R>
Short-term securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less for which market quotations and information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates current value.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
<R>Prices described above are obtained from pricing services that have been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available and the funds may use more than one of these services. The funds may also discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time. Strategic Advisers engages in oversight activities with respect to the fund's pricing services, which includes, among other things, testing the prices provided by pricing services prior to calculation of a fund's NAV, conducting periodic due diligence meetings, and periodically reviewing the methodologies and inputs used by these services.</R>
<R>Foreign securities and instruments are valued in their local currency following the methodologies described above. Foreign securities, instruments and currencies are translated to U.S. dollars, based on foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by a pricing service as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which uses a proprietary model to determine the exchange rate. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at an interpolated rate based on days to maturity between the closest preceding and subsequent settlement period reported by the third party pricing service.</R>
The Board of Trustees of the underlying Fidelity funds has ultimate responsibility for pricing portfolio securities and assets held by those funds, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee and the Strategic Advisers Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and ADRs, market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. This technique involves initially valuing an instrument at its cost as adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount rather than its current market value. The amortized cost value of an instrument may be higher or lower than the price a money market fund would receive if it sold the instrument.
At such intervals as they deem appropriate, the Trustees of an underlying Fidelity money market fund consider the extent to which NAV calculated using market valuations would deviate from the $1.00 per share calculated using amortized cost valuation. If the Trustees believe that a deviation from a money market fund's amortized cost per share may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Trustees have agreed to take such corrective action, if any, as they deem appropriate to eliminate or reduce, to the extent reasonably practicable, the dilution or unfair results. Such corrective action could include selling portfolio instruments prior to maturity to realize capital gains or losses or to shorten average portfolio maturity; withholding dividends; redeeming shares in kind; establishing NAV by using available market quotations; and such other measures as the Trustees may deem appropriate.
<R> BUYING, SELLING, AND EXCHANGING INFORMATION</R>
<R>The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the class's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.</R>
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
<R> Dividends. Distributions by the fund to tax-advantaged retirement plan accounts are not taxable currently. For all other accounts, a portion of the fund's income may qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, but it is unlikely that all of the fund's income will qualify for the deduction. A portion of the fund's dividends, when distributed to individual shareholders, may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).</R>
Capital Gain Distributions. Unless your shares of the fund are held in a tax-advantaged retirement plan, the fund's long-term capital gain distributions, including amounts attributable to an underlying fund's long-term capital gain distributions, are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.
Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. As a general matter, if, at the close of its fiscal year, more than 50% of the fund's total assets is invested in securities of foreign issuers, the fund may elect to pass through eligible foreign taxes paid and thereby allow shareholders to take a deduction or, if they meet certain holding period requirements with respect to fund shares, a credit on their individual tax returns. In addition, if at the close of each quarter of its fiscal year at least 50% of the fund's total assets is represented by interests in other regulated investment companies, the same rules will apply to any foreign tax credits that underlying funds pass through to the fund. The amount of foreign taxes paid by the fund will be reduced to the extent that the fund lends securities over the dividend record date. Special rules may apply to the credit for individuals who receive dividends qualifying for the long-term capital gains tax rate.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
<R>The Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and executive officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. If the interests of the fund and an underlying Fidelity fund were to diverge, a conflict of interest could arise and affect how the Trustees and Member of the Advisory Board fulfill their fiduciary duties to the affected funds. Strategic Advisers has structured the fund to avoid these potential conflicts, although there may be situations where a conflict of interest is unavoidable. In such instances, Strategic Advisers, the Trustees, and Member of the Advisory Board would take reasonable steps to minimize and, if possible, eliminate the conflict. Except for Mary C. Farrell, each of the Trustees oversees 26 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. Ms. Farrell oversees 20 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.</R>
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. The executive officers and Advisory Board Member hold office without limit in time, except that any officer and Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
<R>Each Trustee who is not an interested person of the trust and the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) is referred to herein as an Independent Trustee.</R>
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Fund's Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also engage professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates with experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. Additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, may be considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. Roger T. Servison is an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) and currently serves as Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Ralph F. Cox serves as the lead Independent Trustee and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
<R>Fidelity funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees asset allocation funds as well as the Fidelity enhanced index funds. Other boards oversee Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds and Fidelity's equity and high income funds. The fund may invest in Fidelity funds overseen by such other Boards. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues.</R>
The Trustees primarily operate as a full Board, but also operate in committees, to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board has charged Strategic Advisers and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through Strategic Advisers, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. Board oversight of different aspects of the fund's activities is exercised primarily through the full Board, but also through the Audit and Compliance Committee. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees."
Interested Trustees *:
<R>Correspondence intended for each Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
|
<R>Roger T. Servison (1945)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Servison is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Servison serves as President of Strategic New Business Development for Fidelity Investments and serves as a Director of Strategic Advisers. Previously, Mr. Servison oversaw Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company (2005-2006) and Strategic Advisers (2005-2007). Mr. Servison also served as President and a Director of Fidelity Brokerage Services (Japan), LLC (1994-2004). |
<R>Derek L. Young (1964)</R> |
|
|
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Mr. Young is Vice President of Fidelity's Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present), President and a Director of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2011-present), President of Fidelity Global Asset Allocation (GAA) (2011-present), and Vice Chairman of Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2011-present). Previously, Mr. Young served as Chief Investment Officer of GAA (2009-2011) and as a portfolio manager. |
* Trustees have been determined to be "Interested Trustees" by virtue of, among other things, their affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with Strategic Advisers.
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees :
Correspondence intended for each Independent Trustee (that is, the Trustees other than the Interested Trustees) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
|
<R>Peter C. Aldrich (1944)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Aldrich is a Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Director of the funds of BlackRock Realty Group (2006-present). Previously, Mr. Aldrich served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010), a Managing Member of Poseidon, LLC (foreign private investment, 1998-2004), and Chairman and Managing Member of AEGIS, LLC (foreign private investment, 1997-2004). Mr. Aldrich also served as Faculty Chairman of The Research Council on Global Investment of The Conference Board (business and professional education non-profit, 1999-2004). Mr. Aldrich is a Member of the Boards of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and an Overseer of the Longy School of Music. |
<R>Amy Butte Liebowitz (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011</R> Ms. Butte Liebowitz was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of TILE Financial (financial internet service, 2008-2012). Previously, Ms. Butte Liebowitz served as the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of MF Global (broker-dealer, 2006-2008), and Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange (2004-2006). Ms. Butte Liebowitz is a member of the Boards of Directors of Accion International and the New York Women's Forum, as well as an alumna of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader program. |
<R>Ralph F. Cox (1932)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Cox is President of RABAR Enterprises (management consulting for the petroleum industry). Mr. Cox is a Director of Abraxas Petroleum (exploration and production). Mr. Cox is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Business and Engineering Schools of Texas A&M University and the Engineering School of University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Mr. Cox served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010) and as an Advisory Director of CH2M Hill Companies (engineering, 1981-2011). Mr. Ralph F. Cox and Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. are not related. |
<R>Mary C. Farrell (1949)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2013</R> Ms. Farrell is a Director of the W.R. Berkley Corporation (insurance provider) and President (2009-present) and Director (2006-present) of the Howard Gilman Foundation (charitable organization). Previously, Ms. Farrell was Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at UBS Wealth Management USA and Co-Head of UBS Wealth Management Investment Strategy & Research Group (2003-2005). Ms. Farrell also served as Investment Strategist at PaineWebber (1982-2000) and UBS PaineWebber (2000-2002). Ms. Farrell also serves as Trustee on the Board of Overseers of the New York University Stern School of Business, the Board of Trustees of Yale-New Haven Hospital and is a member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II. |
<R>Karen Kaplan (1960)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Ms. Kaplan is President of Hill Holliday (advertising and specialized marketing, 2007-present). Ms. Kaplan is a Director of DSM (dba Delta Dental and DentaQuest) (2004-present), Director of Vera Bradley (2012-present), Member of the Board of Governors of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston (2010-present), Member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference for Women (2008-present), Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (2006-present), Board of Directors of Jobs for Massachusetts (2012-present), National Association of Corporate Directors Chapter (2012-present), and Board of Directors of the Post Office Square Trust (2012-present). She is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, an action oriented community of the most effective CEOs, heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, and non-governmental leaders in the world. Previously, Ms. Kaplan served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010), President of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2008-2010), Treasurer of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2002-2006), Vice Chair of the Board of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2003-2010), Director of United Way of Massachusetts Bay (2004-2006), Director of ADVO (direct mail marketing, 2003-2007), and Director of Tweeter Home Entertainment Group (2006-2007). |
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Member and Executive Officers :
<R>Correspondence intended for each executive officer and Howard E. Cox, Jr. may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupation</R> |
|
<R>Howard E. Cox, Jr. (1944)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2009</R> Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II. Mr. Cox is a Member of the Advisory Board of Devonshire Investors (2009-present). Mr. Cox serves as an Advisory Partner of Greylock (venture capital) and a Director of Stryker Corporation (medical products and services). Previously, Mr. Cox served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010) and a Member of the Secretary of Defense's Business Board of Directors (2008-2010). Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. and Mr. Ralph F. Cox are not related. |
<R>Kenneth B. Robins (1969)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2010</R> President and Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Robins also serves as President and Treasurer of other Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds (2008-present) and Assistant Treasurer of other Fidelity Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present). Mr. Robins is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Robins served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2005-2008) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2006-2008). |
<R>Marc Bryant (1966)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2010</R> Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of the fund. Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Fidelity Investments. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Mr. Bryant served as a Senior Vice President and the Head of Global Retail Legal for AllianceBernstein L.P. (2006-2010), and as the General Counsel for ProFund Advisors LLC (2001-2006). |
<R>Elizabeth Paige Baumann (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2012</R> Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer of the fund. Ms. Baumann also serves as AML Officer of the Fidelity funds (2012-present) and The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2012-present), Chief AML Officer of FMR LLC (2012-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Baumann served as Vice President and Deputy Anti-Money Laundering Officer (2007-2012). |
<R>Nicholas E. Steck (1964)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2009</R> Chief Financial Officer of the fund. Mr. Steck serves as Senior Vice President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. During the period 2002 to 2009, Mr. Steck served as a Compliance Officer of FMR, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc., FMR LLC, Fidelity Research & Analysis (U.K.) Inc., Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. |
<R>Laura M. Doherty (1969)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2009</R> Chief Compliance Officer of the fund. Ms. Doherty also serves as Senior Vice President of the Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Doherty served as a Vice President in Fidelity's Corporate Audit department (1998-2008). |
<R>Adrien E. Deberghes (1967)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Deberghes also serves as Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) and Deputy Treasurer (2008-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Deberghes served as Senior Vice President of Mutual Fund Administration at State Street Corporation (2007-2008), Senior Director of Mutual Fund Administration at Investors Bank & Trust (2005-2007), and Director of Finance for Dunkin' Brands (2000-2005). |
<R>Stephanie J. Dorsey (1969)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Ms. Dorsey also serves as President and Treasurer (2013-present) and Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Dorsey served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2008-2013), Treasurer (2004-2008) of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds and Vice President (2004-2008) of JPMorgan Chase Bank. |
<R>Jonathan Davis (1968)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Davis is also Assistant Treasurer of certain Fidelity funds. Mr. Davis is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2003-2010). |
<R>Margaret A. Carey (1973)</R> |
|
<R> |
YearofElection or Appointment: 2009</R> Assistant Secretary of the fund. Ms. Carey also serves as Assistant Secretary of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present), Vice President, Associate General Counsel (2007-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). |
Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established two committees to supplement the work of the Board as a whole. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
<R>The Audit and Compliance Committee is composed of Ms. Butte Liebowitz (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, Mr. Ralph Cox, and Mses. Farrell and Kaplan. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The committee determines whether at least one member of the committee is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined in rules promulgated by the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The committee normally meets in conjunction with in person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee meets separately periodically with the fund's Treasurer, the fund's Chief Financial Officer, the fund's CCO, personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and the fund's outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the fund for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the fund and the fund's service providers, (ii) the financial reporting processes of the fund, (iii) the independence, objectivity and qualification of the auditors to the fund, (iv) the annual audits of the fund's financial statements, and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the fund. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations (Auditor Independence Regulations) of the SEC. In furtherance of the foregoing, the committee has adopted (and may from time to time amend or supplement) and provides oversight of policies and procedures for non-audit engagements by outside auditors of the fund. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the fund and for resolving disagreements between the fund and any outside auditor regarding the fund's financial reporting, and has sole authority to hire and fire any auditor. Auditors of the fund report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the fund and any service providers consistent with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Ethics and Independence Rule 3526, Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence. The committee will discuss with the outside auditors any such disclosed relationships and their impact on the auditor's independence and objectivity. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the Auditor Independence Regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the fund's service providers' internal controls and reviews with management, internal auditors, and outside auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of the fund's and service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the fund's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the fund's or service provider's internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will review with counsel any legal matters that may have a material impact on the fund's financial statements and any material reports or inquiries received from regulators or governmental agencies. The committee reviews at least annually a report from the outside auditor describing (i) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control review, peer review, or PCAOB examination of the auditing firm and (ii) any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm since the most recent report and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the fund's financial reporting process and will receive reports from an outside auditor relating to (i) critical accounting policies and practices used by the fund, (ii) alternative accounting treatments that the auditor has discussed with Strategic Advisers, and (iii) other material written communications between the auditor and Strategic Advisers (as determined by the auditor). The committee will discuss with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the fund. The committee will review with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC (to the extent relevant) the results of audits of the fund's financial statements. The committee will review periodically the fund's major internal controls exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. The committee also oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the fund and its service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee of the Board of Trustees or reserved to the Board itself. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the fund. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO and, if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports on significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the fund's compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1 and quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of Mr. Ralph Cox (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, and Mses. Butte Liebowitz, Farrell, and Kaplan. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the code of ethics and any supplemental policies regarding personal securities transactions applicable to the Independent Trustees. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the fund's or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the fund's expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the fund, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012 (or as of March 31, 2013 for Ms. Farrell, Trustee as of March 5, 2013).</R>
Interested Trustees |
||
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Roger T. Servison |
Derek L. Young |
Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
none |
none |
<R></R>
<R>Independent Trustees</R> |
|||||
<R>
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Peter C. Aldrich |
Mary C. Farrell |
Amy Butte Liebowitz |
Ralph F. Cox |
Karen Kaplan</R> |
<R>
Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap
|
none |
none |
none |
none |
none</R> |
<R>
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
over $100,000 |
none |
none |
over $100,000 |
none</R> |
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board for his or her services for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, or calendar year ended December 31, 2012, as applicable.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Compensation Table 1</R> |
||||||
<R>
AGGREGATE
|
Peter C.
|
Mary C.
|
Amy Butte
|
Ralph F.
|
Karen
|
</R> |
<R>
Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap
|
$ 95 |
$ 0 |
$ 95 |
$ 95 |
$ 95 |
</R> |
<R>
TOTAL COMPENSATION
|
$ 137,500 |
$ 0 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
</R> |
1 Roger T. Servison, Howard E. Cox, Jr., and Derek L. Young are interested persons and are compensated by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate (including FMR).
<R> 2 Effective March 5, 2013, Ms. Farrell serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II.</R>
<R></R>
<R> A Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, for 26 funds of two trusts.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and officers of the fund owned, in the aggregate, less than 1% of the fund's total outstanding shares.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the following owned of record and/or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding shares of a class:</R>
<R> Class Name |
Owner Name |
City |
State |
Ownership %</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund* |
FIMM LLC |
Boston |
MA |
99.63%</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund: Class F |
FIMM LLC |
Boston |
MA |
58.01%</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund: Class F |
Strategic Advisers Multi-Manager 2035 Fund |
Boston |
MA |
5.18%</R> |
<R>* The ownership information shown above is for a class of shares of the fund.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, approximately 99.42% of the fund's total outstanding shares was held of record and/or beneficially by FIMM LLC, Boston, MA.</R>
A shareholder owning of record or beneficially more than 25% of a fund's outstanding shares may be considered a controlling person. That shareholder's vote could have a more significant effect on matters presented at a shareholders' meeting than votes of other shareholders.
CONTROL OF INVESTMENT ADVISERS
<R>FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of Strategic Advisers and Pyramis. The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Abigail P. Johnson family, directly or through trusts, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.</R>
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
ARI, a registered investment adviser, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Piper Jaffray Companies (PJC), which is an international investment firm.
Alger Management, a registered investment adviser, has been in the business of providing investment advisory services since 1964. Alger Management is owned by Alger Associates, a financial services holding company. Alger Associates and, indirectly, Alger Management, are controlled by Hilary M. Alger, Nicole D. Alger and Alexandra D. Alger, who own in the aggregate in excess of 99% of the voting rights of Alger Associates.
Invesco, as successor in interest to multiple investment advisers, has been a registered investment adviser since 1976 and is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Invesco Ltd., a publicly traded company that, through its subsidiaries, engages in the business of investment management on an international basis.
<R>Kennedy Capital is an independent, employee and director-owned advisory firm registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the Act) that provides investment management services on a discretionary basis for taxable and tax-exempt institutions, investment companies, and individual clients. The directors, officers and/or employees of Kennedy Capital, who are deemed "control persons," all of whom have offices at the same address as Kennedy Capital, are: Richard Henry Sinise, Executive Vice President and Chief Portfolio Manager; Richard Ernest Oliver, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Richard Lee Todaro, Vice President and Research Analyst; Timothy Paul Hasara, Vice President and Portfolio Manager; Francis Andrew Latuda, Jr., Director, Vice President, and Chief Investment Officer; Randall Lee Kirkland, President and Chairman of the Board; Stephen Alan Mace, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; Marilyn Kay Lammert, Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer; and Donald M. Cobin, Vice President, Director, and Portfolio Manager. Kennedy Capital also provides investment sub-advisory services to investment companies, a number of wrap fee programs, and to clients of consultants and other investment advisers.</R>
Neuberger Berman, a registered investment adviser, is an indirect subsidiary of Neuberger Berman Group LLC ("Neuberger Berman Group"). The directors, officers and/or employees of Neuberger Berman, who are deemed "control persons," all of whom have offices at the same address as Neuberger Berman, are: Joseph Amato and Robert Conti.
On May 4, 2009, NBSH Acquisition, LLC ("NBSH"), an entity organized by key members of Neuberger Berman Group's senior management, acquired a majority interest in the business conducted by Neuberger Berman Group, as well as the fixed income and certain alternative asset management businesses of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ("LBHI"), LBHI's Investment Management Division (together with Neuberger Berman and Neuberger Berman Group, the "Acquired Businesses") (the "Acquisition"). Prior to that date, the predecessor in interest of Neuberger Berman Group was an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of LBHI. On September 15, 2008, LBHI filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, and on December 22, 2008, the bankruptcy court having jurisdiction over the LBHI matter approved the sale of the Acquired Businesses to NBSH (or its successor or assign).
<R>Through NBSH, portfolio managers, Neuberger Berman Group's management team, and certain of its key employees and senior professionals now indirectly own 72% of the voting equity of Neuberger Berman Group. LBHI and certain affiliates of LBHI own the remaining 28% of Neuberger Berman Group's voting equity.</R>
Pyramis is a registered investment adviser. FMR LLC is the ultimate parent company of Pyramis. Information regarding the ownership of FMR LLC is disclosed above.
<R>Systematic was founded in 1982, as a registered investment adviser with the SEC pursuant to the Advisers Act, specializing in the management of value portfolios. In 1995, a majority stake in the firm was sold to Affiliated Managers Group (AMG), a holding company and publicly traded company that invests in mid-sized asset management firms. The firm was subsequently re-registered with the SEC as Systematic Financial Management, L.P. on April 10, 1995. In 1996, AMG brought in the current senior members of the investment management team. AMG currently holds a majority interest in Systematic through AMG's wholly owned subsidiary, Titan NJ LP Holdings LLC.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers, ARI, Alger Management, Invesco, Kennedy Capital, Neuberger Berman, Pyramis, Systematic (the Investment Advisers), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and the fund have adopted codes of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that set forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establish procedures for personal investing, and restrict certain transactions. Employees subject to the codes of ethics, including the Investment Advisers' investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.</R>
The fund has entered into a management contract with Strategic Advisers, pursuant to which Strategic Advisers furnishes investment advisory and other services.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
<R>Strategic Advisers has retained ARI, Alger Management, Invesco, Kennedy Capital, Neuberger Berman, Pyramis, and Systematic to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. The sub-advisers do not sponsor the fund.</R>
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
Management and Sub-Advisory Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, Strategic Advisers acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, directs the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. Strategic Advisers is authorized, in its discretion, to allocate the fund's assets pursuant to its investment strategy. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates provide the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensate all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of Strategic Advisers, and compensate all personnel of the fund or Strategic Advisers performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
Under its respective sub-advisory agreement, and subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, each sub-adviser directs the investment of its allocated portion of the fund's assets in accordance with the fund's investment objective, policies and limitations.
<R> Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to Strategic Advisers and the fees payable to the transfer agent and pricing and bookkeeping agent, the fund or each class thereof, as applicable, pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by those parties. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders; however, under the terms of the fund's transfer agent agreement, the transfer agent bears these costs. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.</R>
Management Fees. For the services of Strategic Advisers under the management contract, the fund pays Strategic Advisers a monthly management fee calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets; provided, however, that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.15% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>Effective January 1, 2013, Strategic Advisers has voluntarily agreed to waive 0.01% of the fund's management fee. This arrangement may be discontinued by Strategic Advisers at any time.</R>
<R>The following table shows the amount of management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers for the past two fiscal years and the amount of waivers reducing management fees for the fund.</R>
<R></R>
<R> Fund |
Fiscal Years
|
Management Fees
|
Management Fees
|
Management Fees
|
<R>Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund |
2013 |
$ 306 |
$ 292,304 |
0.73%</R> |
<R> |
2012 +A |
-- |
$ 53,678 |
0.75% B</R> |
<R> + Fiscal year ended February 29.</R>
A Fund commenced operations on December 20, 2011.
B Annualized.
<R>Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of a class's operating expenses. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.</R>
<R>Expense reimbursements by Strategic Advisers will increase the class's returns, and repayment of the reimbursement by the class will decrease its returns.</R>
Sub-Adviser - ARI. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with ARI pursuant to which ARI may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays ARI fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by ARI pursuant to a separately negotiated investment mandate (a "Strategy"). The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by ARI under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by ARI pursuant to that Strategy.
Sub-Adviser - Alger Management. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Alger Management pursuant to which Alger Management may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Alger Management fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Alger Management pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Alger Management under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Alger Management pursuant to that Strategy.
Sub-Adviser - Invesco. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Invesco pursuant to which Invesco may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Invesco fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Invesco pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Invesco under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Invesco pursuant to that Strategy.
<R> Sub-Adviser - Kennedy Capital. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Kennedy Capital pursuant to which Kennedy Capital may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Kennedy Capital fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Kennedy Capital pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Kennedy Capital under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Kennedy Capital pursuant to that Strategy.</R>
<R> Sub-Adviser - Neuberger Berman. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Neuberger Berman pursuant to which Neuberger Berman may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Neuberger Berman fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Neuberger Berman pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Neuberger Berman under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Neuberger Berman pursuant to that Strategy.</R>
<R> Sub-Adviser - Pyramis. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Pyramis pursuant to which Pyramis may provide investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Pyramis fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Pyramis pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Pyramis under a particular Strategy based on the following rate schedule:</R>
<R> Small-Mid Cap : </R> |
<R>0.50% of the first $200 million in assets;</R> |
<R>0.45% of the next $200 million in assets; and</R> |
0.40% on any amount in excess of $400 million in assets |
Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Pyramis pursuant to that Strategy.
Sub-Adviser - Systematic. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Systematic pursuant to which Systematic may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Systematic fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Systematic pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Systematic under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Systematic pursuant to that Strategy.
<R>The following table shows the amount of sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to Pyramis for the past two fiscal years.</R>
<R> + Fiscal year ended February 29.</R>
A Fund commenced operations on December 20, 2011.
B Annualized.
<R>The following table shows the aggregate amount of sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to unaffiliated sub-advisers for the past two fiscal years.</R>
<R> + Fiscal year ended February 29.</R>
A Fund commenced operations on December 20, 2011.
B Annualized.
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Strategic Advisers. Barry Golden is an employee of Strategic Advisers, a subsidiary of FMR LLC and an affiliate of FMR. Strategic Advisers is the adviser to the fund.</R>
<R>Mr. Golden is the lead portfolio manager of the fund effective April 30, 2013 and receives compensation for his services. As of April 30, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Strategic Advisers or at the election of the portfolio manager. </R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of a broad range of Strategic Advisers funds and accounts, including the fund. Accounts may include model portfolios designed for asset allocation, retirement planning, or tax-sensitive goals. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s), and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with the portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and peer group. A subjective component of the bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Strategic Advisers. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of his fund is based on the fund's pre-tax investment performance measured against the Russell 2500 ® Index, and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund (based on the performance of the fund's retail class) within the Morningstar ® Small Blend Category. The portfolio manager may be compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Strategic Advisers' parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.</R>
<R></R>
<R>The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.</R>
<R>Information with respect to Mr. Golden's holdings and other accounts managed will be updated in a supplement to this SAI.</R>
<R></R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - ARI. ARI manages its allocated portion of the fund's portfolio on a team basis, with portfolio managers James M. Langer and Matthew K. Swaim.</R>
ARI's compensation structure/levels for staff and professionals are, by design, higher than industry levels. ARI believes that portfolio manager compensation should be driven primarily by the delivery of consistent and superior long-term performance for its clients. Portfolio managers are compensated with competitive salaries, annual bonuses that are based on overall job performance and retirement benefits. Bonuses are discretionary and determined by ARI's CEO. The success of ARI and the individual employees' contribution to that success is the primary determinant of incentive compensation. This compensation structure is designed to align the best interests of its clients with the management of the portfolio.
In addition, as part of ARI's merger with PJC in early 2010, PJC stock (with a vesting schedule over 5 years) was gifted to key employees as a retention bonus. Going forward, equity ownership is expected to be part of ARI's long term succession efforts to all employees.
Potential Conflicts of Interests
Actual or apparent conflicts of interest may arise when a portfolio manager has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to more than one fund or other account. More specifically, portfolio managers who manage multiple funds and/or other accounts may be presented with one or more of the following potential conflicts.
The management of multiple funds and/or other accounts may result in a portfolio manager devoting unequal time and attention to the management of the fund and/or other account. Most other accounts managed by a portfolio manager are managed using the same investment models that are used in connection with the management of the fund. ARI has adopted a policy to provide for fair and equitable treatment of all client accounts, and periodically reviews such policy.
If a portfolio manager identifies a limited investment opportunity which may be suitable for more than one fund or other account, the fund may not be able to take full advantage of that opportunity due to an allocation of filled purchase or sale orders across all eligible funds and other accounts. To deal with these situations, ARI has adopted procedures for allocating portfolio transactions across multiple accounts.
ARI determines which broker to use to execute each order, consistent with its duty to seek best execution of the transaction. However, with respect to certain other accounts (such as mutual funds for which ARI acts as advisor, other pooled investment vehicles that are not registered mutual funds, and other accounts managed for organizations and individuals), ARI may be limited by the client with respect to the selection of brokers or may be instructed to direct trades through a particular broker. In these cases, trades for the fund in a particular security may be placed separately from, rather than aggregated with, such other accounts. Having separate transactions with respect to a security may temporarily affect the market price of the security or the execution of the transaction, or both, to the possible detriment of the fund or other account(s) involved.
ARI has adopted certain compliance procedures which are designed to address these types of conflicts. However, there is no guarantee that such procedures will detect each and every situation in which a conflict arises.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Langer as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($6 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Langer was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Swaim as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($6 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R></R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Swaim was none.</R>
Portfolio Manager Compensation - Alger Management. An Alger portfolio manager's compensation generally consists of salary and an annual bonus. In addition, portfolio managers are eligible for health and retirement benefits available to all Alger employees, including a 401(k) plan sponsored by Alger. A portfolio manager's base salary is typically a function of the portfolio manager's experience (with consideration given to type, investment style and size of investment portfolios previously managed), performance of his or her job responsibilities, and financial services industry peer comparisons. Base salary is generally a fixed amount that is subject to an annual review. The annual bonus is variable from year to year, and considers various factors, including:
While the benchmarks and peer groups used in determining a portfolio manager's compensation may change from time to time, Alger Management may refer to benchmarks, such as those provided by Russell Investments and Standard & Poor's, and peer groups, such as those provided by Lipper Inc. and Morningstar Inc., that are widely-recognized by the investment industry.
Alger Management has implemented a long-term deferred compensation program ("LTDC") which gives key personnel the opportunity to have equity-like participation in the long-term growth and profitability of the firm. There is broad participation in the LTDC program amongst the investment professionals. The LTDC reinforces the portfolio managers' commitment to generating superior investment performance for the firm's clients. The awards are invested in Alger mutual funds and have a four year vesting schedule. The total award earned can increase or decrease with the firm's investment and earnings results over the four year period.
Additionally, the Alger Partner's Plan provides key investment executives with phantom equity that allows participants to pro-rata rights to growth in the firm's book value, dividend payments and participation in any significant corporate transactions (e.g. partial sale, initial public offering, merger, etc.). The firm does not have a limit on the overall percentage of the firm's value it will convey through this program. Further, participation in this program will be determined annually.
It is possible that conflicts of interest may arise in connection with the portfolio manager's management of the fund's investments on the one hand and the investments of other accounts or vehicles for which the portfolio manager is responsible on the other. For example, the portfolio manager may have conflicts of interest in allocating management time, resources and investment opportunities among the fund and the other accounts or vehicles she advises. In addition, due to differences in the investment strategies or restrictions between the fund and the other accounts or vehicles, a portfolio manager may take action with respect to another account or vehicle that differs from the action taken with respect to the fund. In some cases, another account managed by the portfolio manager may provide more revenue to the investment adviser. While these factors may create conflicts of interest for the portfolio manager in the allocation of management time, resources and investment opportunities, the portfolio manager will endeavor to exercise her discretion in a manner that she believes is equitable to all interested persons.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Ms. Greenwald as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
10 |
1 |
22</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 3,525 |
$ 16 |
$ 706</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($6 (in millions) assets managed).
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Ms. Greenwald was none.</R>
Portfolio Manager Compensation - Invesco. Invesco portfolio managers receive a base salary, an incentive bonus opportunity and an equity compensation opportunity. Portfolio manager compensation is reviewed and may be modified each year as appropriate to reflect changes in the market, as well as to adjust the factors used to determine bonuses to promote competitive fund performance. Invesco evaluates competitive market compensation by reviewing compensation survey results conducted by an independent third party of investment industry compensation. Each portfolio manager's compensation consists of the following three elements:
Base Salary. Each portfolio manager is paid a base salary. In setting the base salary, Invesco's intention is to be competitive in light of the particular portfolio manager's experience and responsibilities.
Annual Bonus. The portfolio managers are eligible, along with other employees of Invesco, to participate in a discretionary year-end bonus pool. The Compensation Committee of Invesco Ltd. reviews and approves the amount of the bonus pool available for Invesco's investment centers. The Compensation Committee considers investment performance and financial results in its review. In addition, while having no direct impact on individual bonuses, assets under management are considered when determining the starting bonus funding levels. Each portfolio manager is eligible to receive an annual cash bonus which is based on quantitative (i.e. investment performance) and non-quantitative factors (which may include, but are not limited to, individual performance, risk management and teamwork).
Each portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax investment performance of the funds/accounts managed by the portfolio manager as described in the table below.
Sub-Adviser |
Performance time period 1 |
Invesco 2 |
One-, Three- and Five-year performance against Fund peer group |
1 Rolling time periods based on calendar year-end.
<R> 2 Portfolio Managers may be granted an annual deferral award that vests on a pro-rata basis over a four year period and final payments are based on the performance of eligible Funds selected by the portfolio manager at the time the award is granted.</R>
High investment performance (against applicable peer group and/or benchmarks) would deliver compensation generally associated with top pay in the industry (determined by reference to the third-party provided compensation survey information) and poor investment performance (versus applicable peer group) would result in low bonus compared to the applicable peer group or no bonus at all. These decisions are reviewed and approved collectively by senior leadership which has responsibility for executing the compensation approach across the organization.
<R> Deferred/Long Term Compensation. Portfolio managers may be granted an annual deferral award that allows them to select receipt of shares of certain Invesco Funds with a vesting period as well as common shares and/or restricted shares of Invesco Ltd. stock from pools determined from time to time by the Compensation Committee of Invesco Ltd.'s Board of Directors. Awards of deferred/long term compensation typically vest over time, so as to create incentives to retain key talent.</R>
Portfolio managers also participate in benefit plans and programs available generally to all employees.
Potential Conflicts of Interests
Actual or apparent conflicts of interest may arise when a portfolio manager has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to more than one fund or other account. More specifically, portfolio managers who manage multiple funds and/or other accounts may be presented with one or more of the following potential conflicts:
Invesco has adopted certain compliance procedures which are designed to address these types of conflicts. However, there is no guarantee that such procedures will detect each and every situation in which a conflict arises.
Juliet Ellis, managing director, is a portfolio manager and she is lead portfolio manager of Invesco Small Cap Equity Fund, Invesco Small Cap Growth Fund and Invesco V.I. Small Cap Equity Fund. Ms. Ellis is also chief investment officer (CIO) of Invesco's Domestic Growth Investment Management Unit. Ms. Ellis joined Invesco in 2004. Prior to joining Invesco, Ms. Ellis was Managing Director of JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management. She also served as senior portfolio manager for JPMorgan's Dynamic Small Cap Growth and Small Cap Core strategies and was responsible for the management of over $2 billion in assets. Ms. Ellis began her investment career in 1981 as a financial consultant with Merrill Lynch. She joined JPMorgan in 1987 as a senior equity analyst where she also served as an assistant portfolio manager and director of equity research before being promoted to senior portfolio manager in 1993 and managing director in 2000. Ms. Ellis is a Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Indiana University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and political science. She is a CFA charterholder.
Juan Hartsfield is a portfolio manager affiliated with the management of Invesco Small Cap Equity Fund, Invesco Small Cap Growth Fund and Invesco V.I. Small Cap Equity Fund. Prior to joining Invesco in 2004, Mr. Hartsfield was a portfolio manager with JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management, where he was involved with the management of over $2 billion in various small-cap portfolios. Prior to joining JPMorgan, Mr. Hartsfield served as an associate with Booz Allen & Hamilton. Mr. Hartsfield earned a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan. He is a CFA charterholder.
Clay Manley is a portfolio manager affiliated with the management of Invesco Small Cap Growth Fund. Mr. Manley joined Invesco Ltd. (formerly Invesco PLC) in 2001 in its Corporate Associate Program, working with fund managers throughout Invesco Ltd., before joining Invesco as an equity analyst in 2002. He was promoted to his current position in 2008. Prior to joining Invesco he was an analyst with Sterne, Agee and Leach, Inc., where he specialized in analysis of the telecommunications and information technology services industries. Mr. Manley earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with cum laude honors in history and geology at Vanderbilt University, and a Master of Business Administration degree with concentrations in finance and accounting from Goizueta Business School at Emory University. He is a CFA charterholder.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Ms. Ellis as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
16 |
1 |
2</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 7,006 |
$ 661 |
$ 148</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($9 (in millions) assets managed). </R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Ms. Ellis was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Hartsfield as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
17 |
2 |
2</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 7,407 |
$ 703 |
$ 148</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($9 (in millions) assets managed). </R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Hartsfield was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Manley as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
9 |
none |
2</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 4,763 |
none |
$ 148</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($9 (in millions) assets managed). </R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Manley was none.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Kennedy Capital. Kennedy Capital's compensation structure is designed to directly tie investment professionals to the performance of client portfolios and thus to align our employees' interests with those of our clients. We believe our measures to be highly objective and significantly driven by the performance contribution attributable to each investment professional. Portfolio manager (PM) compensation begins with base salary and is typically augmented by both quarterly and annual bonuses. Quarterly investment performance bonuses are generally based upon the returns generated for client accounts relative to the Russell 2500 ® Index on a trailing one-year basis, and also relative to industry peers on a rolling three-year basis. Other forms of variable compensation, including annual bonuses, are typically based on the achievement of certain goals (such as assets under management and investment performance) as well as subjective scoring.</R>
<R>In line with the way PMs are compensated, assistant portfolio managers (APMs) at Kennedy Capital receive a combination of fixed and variable pay. APMs may continue to perform research on stocks in one or more economic sectors, and may therefore be compensated in part by tracking a "shadow" portfolio designed to emulate the performance of clients' accounts.</R>
<R> Potential Conflicts of Interests </R>
<R>Donald Cobin and Christian McDonald manage Kennedy Capital's SMID Cap Core and Small Cap Core strategies. Within the Small Cap Core strategy, Mr. Cobin and Mr. McDonald manage a number of separately managed accounts and also manage a commingled vehicle. Certain conflicts may arise as the result of an account's size, client-imposed restrictions or fee schedule. Investment opportunities are allocated fairly among clients within each strategy managed by Mr. Cobin and Mr. McDonald pursuant to Kennedy Capital's internal policies and procedures, which also extends to its brokerage practices.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Cobin as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($3 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Cobin was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. McDonald as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($3 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. McDonald was none.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Neuberger Berman. Our compensation philosophy is one that focuses on rewarding performance and incentivizing our employees. We consider a variety of factors in determining fixed and variable compensation for employees, including firm performance, individual performance, overall contribution to the team, collaboration with colleagues across the firm, effective partnering with clients to achieve goals, risk management and the overall investment performance. It is our foremost goal to create a compensation process that is fair, transparent, and competitive with the market.</R>
<R>Neuberger Berman investment professionals on portfolio management teams receive a fixed salary and are eligible for an annual bonus. The annual bonus for an individual investment professional is paid from a "bonus pool" made available to the portfolio management team with which the investment professional is associated. The amount available in the bonus pool is determined based on a number of factors including the revenue that is generated by that particular portfolio management team, less certain adjustments. Once the final size of the available bonus pool is determined, individual bonuses are determined based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the aggregate investment performance of all strategies managed by the individual, utilization of central resources, business building to further the longer term sustainable success of the investment team, effective team/people management, and overall contribution to the success of Neuberger Berman. In some cases, bonus pools may be subject to a hold-back applied to revenues. Research Analysts who are embedded within portfolio management teams participate in a similar compensation structure established for their respective teams, at the discretion of their group heads, thereby aligning them with the long-term performance of their respective teams.</R>
<R>Incentive Structure</R>
<R>As a firm, we believe that providing our employees with appropriate incentives, a positive work environment and an inclusive and collaborative culture is critical to our success in retaining employees.</R>
The terms of our long-term retention incentives are as follows:
<R>• Employee-Owned Equity. An integral part of our management buyout was the implementation of an equity ownership structure which embodies the importance of incentivizing and retaining key investment professionals. Investment professionals have received a majority of the common equity owned by all employees. Employee equity is generally subject to vesting (generally 25% vests each year at the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th anniversaries of the grant).</R>
<R></R>
<R></R>
<R>• Restrictive Covenants. Select senior professionals who have received equity grants have agreed to restrictive covenants which may include non-compete and non-solicit restrictions depending on participation.</R>
<R></R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to the other accounts managed by Mr. Nahum as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
4 |
1 |
140</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 339 |
$ 2 |
$ 835</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($2 (in millions) assets managed).
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Nahum was none.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Pyramis. Young Chin is the Lead Portfolio Manager of the Pyramis Small/Mid Cap Core strategy to which a portion of the fund's assets are allocated and receives compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed-base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Pyramis or at the election of the portfolio manager.</R>
<R>The Lead Portfolio Manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Pyramis or its affiliates. The components of Mr. Chin's bonus are based on (i) the general management of Pyramis in his role as Chief Investment Officer, and (ii) the investment performance of Pyramis funds and accounts which eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index or peer group, if applicable. A subjective component of the Lead Portfolio Manager's bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Pyramis. The portion of the Lead Portfolio Manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of Pyramis Small/Mid Cap Core strategy is based on the pre-tax investment performance of the fund measured against the Russell 2500 Index. The Lead Portfolio Manager also is compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Pyramis's parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.</R>
<R>Chad Colman, Andrew Burzumato, Thorsten Becker, Jody Simes, Arun Daniel, Chandler Willett and Vince Rivers are Sector Portfolio Managers that assist the Lead Portfolio Manager in managing the strategy and receive compensation for their services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed-base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Pyramis or at the election of the portfolio manager.</R>
The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Pyramis or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group, if applicable, assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of other Pyramis funds and accounts. A smaller, subjective component of the Sector Portfolio Manager's bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Pyramis. The portion of each Sector Portfolio Manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of Pyramis Small/Mid Cap Core strategy is based on the pre-tax investment performance of the fund measured against the Russell 2500 Index. An additional portion of each Sector Portfolio Manager's bonus is based on the pre-tax investment performance of the portion of the fund's assets each Sector Portfolio Manager manages measured against a customized sector benchmark. Each Sector Portfolio Manager also is compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Pyramis's parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.
A portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, a portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. A portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as a portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Pyramis or an affiliate. A portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. For example, a portfolio manager may manage other funds or accounts that engage in short sales, and could sell short a security for such other fund or account that the fund also trades or holds. Although Pyramis monitors such transactions to attempt to ensure equitable treatment of both the fund and a fund or account that engages in short sales, there can be no assurance that the price of a security held by the fund would not be impacted as a result. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Chin as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($3 (in millions) assets managed).
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Chin was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Colman as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Colman, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Colman was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Burzumato as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Burzumato, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Burzumato was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Becker as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Becker, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Becker was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Simes as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Simes, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Simes was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Daniel as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Daniel, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Daniel was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Willett as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Willett, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Willett was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Rivers as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Rivers, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Rivers was none.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Systematic. Certain Systematic employees share equity ownership with AMG as Partners, which may serve to incentivize Systematic's investment professionals to perform successfully. The compensation package for portfolio managers Ronald Mushock and D. Kevin McCreesh, both of whom are Managing Partners of Systematic, consists of a fixed base salary, and a share of the Firm's profits based on each Partner's respective individual ownership position in Systematic. Total compensation is influenced by Systematic's overall profitability, and therefore is based in part on the aggregate performance of all of Systematic's portfolios. Portfolio managers are not compensated based solely on the performance of, or the value of assets held in, any product managed by Systematic. Moreover, the Portfolio Managers are provided with a benefits package, including health insurance, and participation in a company 401(K) plan, comparable to that received by other Systematic employees.</R>
Potential Conflicts of Interests
<R>Portfolio managers of Systematic Financial Management, LP ("Systematic") oversee the investment of various types of accounts in the same strategy, such as mutual funds, pooled investment vehicles and separate accounts for individuals and institutions. The simultaneous management of these diverse accounts and specific client circumstances may create perceived conflicts of interest related to differences in the investment management fees charged and unequal time and attention devoted to certain accounts. However, Systematic recognizes its affirmative duty to treat all accounts fairly and equitably over time and maintains a series of controls in furtherance of this goal.</R>
<R>Generally, portfolio managers apply investment decisions to all accounts utilizing a particular strategy on a pro rata basis, while also accounting for varying client circumstances, including client objectives and preferences, instructions, restrictions, account size, cash availability and current specific needs. Nevertheless, during the normal course of managing assets for multiple clients of different types and asset levels, portfolio managers may encounter conflicts of interest that could, if not properly addressed, be harmful to one or more of our clients. Those of a material nature that are encountered most frequently involve, without limitation, investment security selection, employee personal securities trading, proxy voting and the allocation of investment opportunities. To mitigate these potential conflicts and ensure its clients are not negatively impacted by the adverse actions of Systematic or its employees, Systematic has implemented a series of policies and procedures that are overseen by compliance professionals and, in Systematic's view, reasonably designed to prevent and detect conflicts.</R>
<R>For example, Systematic's Code of Ethics restricts employees' personal securities trading, forbids employees from giving, soliciting or accepting inappropriate gifts and entertainment and requires employees to receive explicit approval prior to serving as a board member or officer of a public company or rendering outside investment advice. Additionally, to effectively remove conflicts of interest related to voting proxies for accounts that have delegated such authority to Systematic, Systematic has a Proxy Voting Policy that provides for an independent third-party proxy voting agent, which agent's pre-determined voting policy guidelines Systematic has adopted. Systematic's Allocation and Aggregation and Trade Error Correction policies similarly seek to reduce potential conflicts of interest by promoting the fair and equitable allocation of investment opportunities among client accounts over time and the consistent resolution of trading errors.</R>
<R>Notably, Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (NYSE: AMG), a publicly traded asset management company, holds a majority interest in Systematic through AMG's wholly-owned subsidiary, Titan NJ LP Holdings LLC. Systematic operates independently as a separate, autonomous affiliate of AMG, which has equity investments in a group of investment management firms including Systematic. The AMG Affiliates do not formulate advice for Systematic's clients and do not, in Systematic's view, present any potential conflict of interest with Systematic's clients.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Mushock as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($9 (in millions) assets managed). </R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Mushock was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. McCreesh as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($9 (in millions) assets managed). </R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. McCreesh was none.</R>
Proxy Voting - Strategic Advisers.
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of the fund, after consultation with Strategic Advisers. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Strategic Advisers and its affiliates and by the Independent Trustees of the fund, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. The funds in the trust generally intend to vote shares of underlying funds using echo voting procedures (that is, in the same proportion as the holders of all other shares of the particular underlying fund).
B. Any proposals not covered by paragraph A above or other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate Strategic Advisers analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review and approval by the General Counsel or Compliance Officer of FMR or the General Counsel of FMR LLC.
Sub-Advisers:
Proxy voting policies and procedures are used by a sub-adviser to determine how to vote proxies relating to the securities held by its allocated portion of the fund's assets. The proxy voting policies and procedures used by the sub-advisers are described below.
ARI is a fiduciary that owes each client a duty of care with regard to all services undertaken on the client's behalf. Proxy voting is one such service for the following clients: 1) those covered under the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act ("ERISA") and 2) those non-ERISA clients over which ARI exercises such voting authority. To fulfill these duties, ARI must cast votes in a manner consistent with the best interests of its clients. In accordance with Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, ARI has adopted policies and procedures to address its proxy voting responsibilities.
I. Summary of Proxy Voting Policies. ARI has engaged Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") to provide proxy voting services for clients over which ARI exercises proxy voting authority. ARI has adopted standard proxy voting guidelines, which are applied by ISS to all ARI proxy votes, absent instruction from ARI to the contrary. ARI generally votes in accordance with its proxy voting guidelines; however, in rare circumstances ARI may opt to override the guidelines if it is decided to be the best interest of its clients. It should be noted that the below Summary of Proxy Voting Guidelines is general in nature and provided for informational purposes. Complete proxy voting policies and procedures, including complete guidelines are available upon request.
II. Summary of Proxy Voting Guidelines.
<R></R>
<R> Routine Issues. Vote FOR proposals to ratify auditors, unless an auditor has a financial interest in or association with the company, there is reason to believe that the independent auditor has rendered an opinion that is neither accurate nor indicative of the company's financial position; Poor accounting practices are identified that rise to a serious level of concern; or Fees for non-audit services are excessive.</R>
<R> Board of Directors. Voting on Director Nominees in Uncontested Elections should be determined CASE-BY-CASE based on the following four fundamental principles: Board Accountability, Board Responsiveness, Director Independence and Director Competence.</R>
<R> Proxy Access. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on proposals to enact proxy access, taking into account, among other factors: Company-specific factors and Proposal-specific factors.</R>
<R> Proxy Contests-Voting for Director Nominees in Contested Elections. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on the election of directors in contested elections.</R>
<R> Shareholder Rights & Defenses. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on management proposals on poison pill ratification, focusing on the features of the shareholder rights plan. Vote AGAINST proposals to adopt a poison pill for the stated purpose of protecting a company's net operating losses (NOL) if the term of the pill would exceed the shorter of three years and the exhaustion of the NOL. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on management proposals for poison pill ratification.</R>
<R>CAPITAL RESTRUCTURING</R>
<R></R>
<R> Preferred Stock Authorization. Vote FOR proposals to increase the number of authorized preferred shares where the primary purpose of the increase is to issue shares in connection with a transaction on the same ballot that warrants support. Vote AGAINST proposals at companies with more than one class or series of preferred stock to increase the number of authorized shares of the class or series of preferred stock that has superior voting rights. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on all other proposals to increase the number of shares of preferred stock authorized for issuance.</R>
<R> Mergers and Acquisitions. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on mergers and acquisitions. Review and evaluate the merits and drawbacks of the proposed transaction, balancing various and sometimes countervailing factors.</R>
<R>COMPENSATION</R>
<R> Voting on Golden Parachutes in an Acquisition, Merger, Consolidation, or Proposed Sale. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on say on Golden Parachute proposals, including consideration of existing change-in-control arrangements maintained with named executive officers rather than focusing primarily on new or extended arrangements.</R>
<R> Equity-Based and Other Incentive Plans. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on equity-based compensation plans.</R>
III. Conflicts of Interest. ARI believes that the use of standard proxy voting guidelines and the use of an independent third party, such as ISS, mitigate potential conflicts of interest between ARI and its clients. In addition, any recommendations by its employees to vote against the guidelines should be brought to the attention of ARI's Chief Compliance Officer. Any resulting override shall be documented and then submitted to ISS by compliance personnel. Finally, the Advisor has adopted a Code of Ethics, advocating strictly ethical behavior and mandating that all of its business activities be conducted in the best interest of its clients.
Proxy Voting - Alger Management.
Alger Management, an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, maintains discretionary authority over client accounts, including certain Funds, and is responsible for voting proxies of all foreign and domestic securities held in such Funds. Management views the responsibility its clients have entrusted to it seriously and has adopted and implemented written policies and procedures designed to ensure that proxies are voted in the best interests of its clients.
Alger Management delegates its proxy voting authority for all foreign and domestic securities held in the Funds to Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. ("ISS"), a leading proxy voting service provider and registered investment adviser. ISS votes proxies strictly in accordance with pre-determined proxy voting guidelines in order to minimize conflicts of interest. The predetermined proxy voting guidelines, which are summarized below, address matters such as operations, board of directors, proxy contests, anti-takeover defenses, mergers and corporate restructuring, state of incorporation, capital structure, executive and director compensation, social and environmental issues and mutual fund proxies. ISS will recuse itself from voting proxies should it have a material conflict of interest with the company whose proxies are at issue. Alger Management monitors ISS's proxy voting policies and procedures on a quarterly basis to ensure that the proxies are voted in the best interests of the applicable Fund.
Alger Management maintains records of its proxy voting policies and procedures. Alger Management or ISS, on Management's behalf, maintains proxy statements received regarding securities held by the Funds; records of votes cast on behalf of each Fund; records of requests for proxy voting information; and any documents prepared that were material to making a voting decision.
The following is a summary of the pre-determined voting guidelines used by Alger Management or ISS, on Alger Management's behalf, to vote proxies of securities held by the Funds.
Operational Issues
Vote FOR proposals to ratify auditors, unless an auditor has a financial interest in the company, fees for non-audit services are excessive or there is reason to believe that the auditor's opinion is inaccurate.
Board of Directors
Votes on director nominees in uncontested elections are made on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, examining such factors as the independence of the board and key board committees, attendance at board meetings, corporate governance provisions and takeover activity.
Proxy Contests
Votes in a contested election of directors are evaluated on a CASE-BY-CASE basis considering such factors as the management's track record, qualifications of director nominees and an evaluation of what each side is offering shareholders.
Anti-Takeover Defenses
Vote FOR shareholder proposals that ask a company to submit its poison pill for shareholder ratification.
Mergers and Corporate Restructurings
Vote on a CASE-BY-CASE basis on mergers and corporate restructurings based on factors such as financial issues and terms of the offer.
State of Incorporation
Proposals for changing a company's state of incorporation are evaluated on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, giving consideration to both financial and corporate governance concerns, including the reasons for reincorporating.
Capital Structure
Vote AGAINST proposals at companies with dual-class capital structures to increase the number of authorized shares of the class of stock that has superior voting rights; Vote FOR proposals to approve increases beyond the allowable increase when a company's shares are in danger of being de-listed.
Executive and Director Compensation
Votes are determined on a CASE-BY-CASE basis analyzing the estimated dollar cost for the proposed plan.
Social and Environmental Issues
Votes are determined on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, with a focus on how the proposal will enhance the economic value of the company.
Mutual Fund Proxies
Votes to elect directors are determined on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, considering factors such as board structure and director independence and qualifications.
Proxy Voting - Invesco.
A. Policy Statement
Introduction
Our Belief
Invesco's investment professionals expect a high standard of corporate governance from the companies in our portfolios so that Invesco may fulfill its fiduciary obligation to our fund shareholders and other account holders. Well governed companies are characterized by a primary focus on the interests of shareholders, accountable boards of directors, ample transparency in financial disclosure, performance-driven cultures and appropriate consideration of all stakeholders. Invesco believes well governed companies create greater shareholder wealth over the long term than poorly governed companies, so we endeavor to vote in a manner that increases the value of our investments and fosters good governance within our portfolio companies.
In determining how to vote proxy issues, Invesco considers the probable business consequences of each issue and votes in a manner designed to protect and enhance fund shareholders' and other account holders' interests. Our voting decisions are intended to enhance each company's total shareholder value over Invesco's typical investment horizon.
Proxy voting is an integral part of Invesco's investment process. We believe that the right to vote proxies should be managed with the same care as all other elements of the investment process. The objective of Invesco's proxy-voting activity is to promote good governance and advance the economic interests of our clients. At no time will Invesco exercise its voting power to advance its own commercial interests, to pursue a social or political cause that is unrelated to our clients' economic interests, or to favor a particular client or business relationship to the detriment of others.
B. Operating Procedures and Responsible Parties
Proxy administration
The Invesco Retail Proxy Committee (the "Proxy Committee") consists of members representing Invesco's Investments, Legal and Compliance departments. Invesco's Proxy Voting Guidelines (the "Guidelines") are revised annually by the Proxy Committee. The Proxy Committee implements the Guidelines and oversees proxy voting.
The Proxy Committee has retained outside experts to assist with the analysis and voting of proxy issues. In addition to the advice offered by these experts, Invesco uses information gathered from our own research, company managements, Invesco's portfolio managers and outside shareholder groups to reach our voting decisions.
Generally speaking, Invesco's investment-research process leads us to invest in companies led by management teams we believe have the ability to conceive and execute strategies to outperform their competitors. We select companies for investment based in large part on our assessment of their management teams' ability to create shareholder wealth. Therefore, in formulating our proxy-voting decisions, Invesco gives proper consideration to the recommendations of a company's Board of Directors.
Important principles underlying the Invesco Proxy Voting Guidelines
I. Accountability
Management teams of companies are accountable to their boards of directors, and directors of publicly held companies are accountable to their shareholders. Invesco endeavors to vote the proxies of its portfolio companies in a manner that will reinforce the notion of a board's accountability to its shareholders. Consequently, Invesco votes against any actions that would impair the rights of shareholders or would reduce shareholders' influence over the board or over management.
The following are specific voting issues that illustrate how Invesco applies this principle of accountability.
II. Incentives
Invesco believes properly constructed compensation plans that include equity ownership are effective in creating incentives that induce managements and employees of our portfolio companies to create greater shareholder wealth. Invesco supports equity compensation plans that promote the proper alignment of incentives, and votes against plans that are overly dilutive to existing shareholders, plans that contain objectionable structural features, and plans that appear likely to reduce the value of an account's investment.
Following are specific voting issues that illustrate how Invesco evaluates incentive plans.
III. Capitalization
Examples of management proposals related to a company's capital structure include authorizing or issuing additional equity capital, repurchasing outstanding stock, or enacting a stock split or reverse stock split. On requests for additional capital stock, Invesco analyzes the company's stated reasons for the request. Except where the request could adversely affect the fund's ownership stake or voting rights, Invesco generally supports a board's decisions on its needs for additional capital stock. Some capitalization proposals require a case-by-case analysis within the context of Invesco's investment thesis on a company. Examples of such proposals include authorizing common or preferred stock with special voting rights, or issuing additional stock in connection with an acquisition.
IV. Mergers, Acquisitions and Other Corporate Actions
Issuers occasionally require shareholder approval to engage in certain corporate actions such as mergers, acquisitions, name changes, dissolutions, reorganizations, divestitures and reincorporations. Invesco analyzes these proposals within the context of our investment thesis on the company, and determines its vote on a case-by-case basis.
V. Anti-Takeover Measures
Practices designed to protect a company from unsolicited bids can adversely affect shareholder value and voting rights, and they create conflicts of interests among directors, management and shareholders. Except under special issuer-specific circumstances, Invesco votes to reduce or eliminate such measures. These measures include adopting or renewing "poison pills", requiring supermajority voting on certain corporate actions, classifying the election of directors instead of electing each director to an annual term, or creating separate classes of common or preferred stock with special voting rights. Invesco generally votes against management proposals to impose these types of measures, and generally votes for shareholder proposals designed to reduce such measures. Invesco supports shareholder proposals directing companies to subject their anti-takeover provisions to a shareholder vote.
VI. Shareholder Proposals on Corporate Governance
Invesco generally votes for shareholder proposals that are designed to protect shareholder rights if a company's corporate-governance standards indicate that such additional protections are warranted.
VII. Shareholder Proposals on Social Responsibility
<R>The potential costs and economic benefits of shareholder proposals seeking to amend a company's practices for social reasons are often difficult to assess. Analyzing the costs and economic benefits of these proposals is generally highly subjective and does not fit readily within our framework of voting to create greater shareholder wealth over Invesco's typical investment horizon. Therefore, Invesco generally abstains from voting on shareholder proposals deemed to be of a purely social, political or moral nature. However, there are instances when the costs and economic benefits of these proposals can be more readily assessed, in which case, Invesco votes such proposals on a case-by-case basis.</R>
VIII. Routine Business Matters
Routine business matters rarely have a potentially material effect on the economic prospects of fund holdings, so we generally support the board's discretion on these items. However, Invesco votes against proposals where there is insufficient information to make a decision about the nature of the proposal. Similarly, Invesco votes against proposals to conduct other unidentified business at shareholder meetings.
Summary
These Guidelines provide an important framework for making proxy-voting decisions, and should give fund shareholders and other account holders insight into the factors driving Invesco's decisions. The Guidelines cannot address all potential proxy issues, however. Decisions on specific issues must be made within the context of these Guidelines and within the context of the investment thesis of the funds and other accounts that own the company's stock. Where a different investment thesis is held by portfolio managers who may hold stocks in common, Invesco may vote the shares held on a fund-by-fund or account-by-account basis.
Exceptions
In certain circumstances, Invesco may refrain from voting where the economic cost of voting a company's proxy exceeds any anticipated benefits of that proxy proposal.
Share-lending programs
One reason that some portion of Invesco's position in a particular security might not be voted is the securities lending program. When securities are out on loan and earning fees for the lending fund, they are transferred into the borrower's name. Any proxies during the period of the loan are voted by the borrower. The lending fund would have to terminate the loan to vote the company's proxy, an action that is not generally in the best economic interest of fund shareholders. However, whenever Invesco determines that the benefit to shareholders or other account holders of voting a particular proxy outweighs the revenue lost by terminating the loan, we recall the securities for the purpose of voting the fund's full position.
"Share-blocking"
Another example of a situation where Invesco may be unable to vote is in countries where the exercise of voting rights requires the fund to submit to short-term trading restrictions, a practice known as "share-blocking." Invesco generally refrains from voting proxies in share-blocking countries unless the portfolio manager determines that the benefit to fund shareholders and other account holders of voting a specific proxy outweighs the fund's or other account's temporary inability to sell the security.
International constraints
An additional concern that sometimes precludes our voting non-U.S. proxies is our inability to receive proxy materials with enough time and enough information to make a voting decision. In the great majority of instances, however, we are able to vote non-U.S. proxies successfully. It is important to note that Invesco makes voting decisions for non-U.S. issuers using these Guidelines as our framework, but also takes into account the corporate-governance standards, regulatory environment and generally accepted best practices of the local market.
Exceptions to these Guidelines
Invesco retains the flexibility to accommodate company-specific situations where strictly adhering to the Guidelines would lead to a vote that the Proxy Committee deems not to be in the best interest of the funds' shareholders and other account holders. In these situations, the Proxy Committee will vote the proxy in the manner deemed to be in the best interest of the funds' shareholders and other account holders.
Resolving potential conflicts of interest
A potential conflict of interest arises when Invesco votes a proxy for an issuer with which it also maintains a material business relationship. Examples could include issuers that are distributors of Invesco's products, or issuers that employ Invesco to manage portions of their retirement plans or treasury accounts. Invesco reviews each proxy proposal to assess the extent, if any, to which there may be a material conflict between the interests of the fund shareholders or other account holders and Invesco.
Invesco takes reasonable measures to determine whether a potential conflict may exist. A potential conflict is deemed to exist only if one or more of the Proxy Committee members actually knew or should have known of the potential conflict.
If a material potential conflict is deemed to exist, Invesco may resolve the potential conflict in one of the following ways: (1) if the proposal that gives rise to the potential conflict is specifically addressed by the Guidelines, Invesco may vote the proxy in accordance with the predetermined Guidelines; (2) Invesco may engage an independent third party to determine how the proxy should be voted; or (3) Invesco may establish an ethical wall or other informational barrier between the persons involved in the potential conflict and the persons making the proxy-voting decision in order to insulate the potential conflict from the decision makers.
Because the Guidelines are pre-determined and crafted to be in the best economic interest of shareholders and other account holders, applying the Guidelines to vote client proxies should, in most instances, adequately resolve any potential conflict of interest. As an additional safeguard against potential conflicts, persons from Invesco's marketing, distribution and other customer-facing functions are precluded from becoming members of the Proxy Committee.
Personal conflicts of interest. If any member of the Proxy Committee has a personal conflict of interest with respect to a company or an issue presented for voting, that Proxy Committee member will inform the Proxy Committee of such conflict and will abstain from voting on that company or issue.
C. Recordkeeping
Records are maintained in accordance with Invesco's Recordkeeping Policy.
<R> Proxy Voting - Kennedy Capital. </R>
<R> Introduction </R>
<R>Rule 206(4)-6 and rule amendments under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, which became effective August 6, 2003, are designed to ensure that investment advisers fulfill their fiduciary obligation when voting client proxies. Disclosure requirements include: </R>
<R> (i) investment advisers that exercise proxy voting authority for clients must describe the firm's proxy policies and procedures, and upon request, provide clients with a copy of those policies and procedures; and,</R>
<R> (ii) advisers must describe how clients may obtain information on how their securities were voted.</R>
<R>Kennedy Capital Management, Inc. ("Kennedy Capital") has adopted the following policies with respect to voting proxies on behalf of its clients:</R>
<R>1. Kennedy Capital's written proxy voting policy, which may be updated and supplemented from time-to-time, will be provided to each client for which Kennedy Capital has been delegated the authority or responsibility to vote proxies;</R>
<R>2. Clients will be advised about how to obtain a copy of the proxy voting policy and information about how their securities were voted;</R>
<R>3. The proxy voting policy is consistently applied and records of votes maintained for each client; </R>
<R>4. Kennedy Capital documents the reasons for voting, including exceptions;</R>
<R>5. Kennedy Capital maintains records of such votes cast and client requests for proxy voting information for inspection by the client or governmental agencies;</R>
<R>6. Kennedy Capital monitors such voting for any potential conflicts with the interests of its clients; and</R>
<R>7. Kennedy Capital maintains systems to ensure that material conflicts will be resolved prior to voting, documenting in each case that its good faith determination was based on the clients' best interests and did not result from the conflict.</R>
<R> Conflicts of Interest </R>
<R>Kennedy Capital is an investment adviser to pension plans, public and private companies, mutual funds and individual investors, and is a sub-adviser to wrap programs as described in Kennedy Capital's Form ADV. The management fees collected from such clients are Kennedy Capital's principal source of revenue. With respect to the fees received for advisory services rendered, conflicts of interest may occur when Kennedy Capital must vote on ballot items of the public companies for which it manages the pension plan assets and, in certain cases, Kennedy Capital may have a relationship with the proponents of proxy proposals or participants in proxy contests.</R>
<R>To mitigate potential conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts, Kennedy Capital does not allow employees to sit on the board of directors of any public company without Senior Management approval. To the extent that such conflicts occur, Kennedy Capital will generally follow the recommendation of the proxy voting service to ensure that the best interests of its clients are not subordinated to Kennedy Capital's interests. Kennedy Capital may, in selected matters, consult the Proxy Committee to obtain guidance to vote proxies. Routine matters shall not constitute a material conflict with respect to this procedure.</R>
<R>The Proxy Committee has a duty to make reasonable investigation of information relating to conflicts of interest. The Proxy Committee is chaired by the Chief Executive Officer and is comprised of the Chief Operating Officer, the Director of Research, the Chief Compliance Officer, the Senior Client Service Associate and such other members as may be amended from time-to-time as required by a majority vote of its current members, with three members serving as a quorum. The Proxy Committee will determine, prior to voting, whether any of the members of the Committee have a material personal or business conflict - in which case the committee member will abstain from voting.</R>
<R> Engagement of Service Provider </R>
<R>In order to facilitate the proxy voting process, Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions, Inc. ("Broadridge") has been retained to provide access to a selection of third-party providers that are available to provide proxy vote recommendations and research. Votes are cast through the Broadridge ProxyEdge ® platform ("ProxyEdge ® "). With the assistance of Broadridge, Egan-Jones Proxy Services ("Egan-Jones") has been selected to provide vote recommendations based on its own internal guidelines. The services provided to Kennedy Capital through ProxyEdge ® include receipt of proxy ballots, vote execution based upon the recommendations of Egan-Jones, access to in-depth proxy research provided by Egan-Jones, and access to the analysis and voting recommendations of Egan-Jones, as well as reporting, auditing, working with custodian banks, and consulting assistance for the handling of proxy voting responsibilities. ProxyEdge ® also maintains proxy voting records and provides Kennedy Capital with reports that reflect the proxy voting activities of client portfolios. Kennedy Capital uses this information for appropriate monitoring of such delegated responsibilities.</R>
<R>Kennedy Capital may, under soft dollar arrangements, pay for no more than the cost allocated to research services for such uses ("mixed-use" services). The cost of that portion of the services that does not constitute "research" for the purposes of Section 28(e) will be reimbursed to the broker-dealer provider. Presently, Broadridge's services are not provided to Kennedy Capital by a broker-dealer under a soft dollar arrangement.</R>
<R>Proxies are voted through the ProxyEdge ® application in accordance with one of two proxy voting platforms offered by Kennedy Capital. It is the client's decision as to which set of guidelines will be used to vote its proxies. Not all clients delegate proxy voting authority to Kennedy Capital; however, Kennedy Capital is deemed to have voting authority in the absence of a specific delegation of authority and will vote in accordance with the General Guidelines.</R>
<R> Platforms Available </R>
<R>• General Policy which is generally voted in conformity with the Egan-Jones Proxy Voting Principles and Guidelines.</R>
<R>• Socially Responsible Investment Policy which is generally voted in conformity with the Egan-Jones Socially Responsible Investing Proxy Voting Principles and Guidelines.</R>
<R>The General Policy is the standard policy to be used for voting proxies for all clients' accounts (both ERISA and non-ERISA related) unless the client specifically selects the SRI Policy. As of January 1, 2011, Kennedy Capital was unable to offer a Catholic Voting platform. Generally, Kennedy Capital declines clients' requests to implement customized proxy voting policies, as they tend to be expensive to implement and difficult to manage on an ongoing basis. Kennedy Capital generally votes proxy ballots for its clients using a proxy voting service to help fulfill voting obligations, although some clients may choose to retain voting responsibility. Unless otherwise instructed, Kennedy Capital will undertake to vote proxies. Kennedy Capital must make proxy voting decisions solely in the best interests of its clients and will place clients' interests above its own interests.</R>
<R>Generally, Kennedy Capital follows the recommendation of Egan-Jones, which then forwards the voting recommendation to Broadridge to process. For proxies relating to issues not addressed in the guidelines, the vote will be referred back to Kennedy Capital. A client is encouraged to vote its own proxies if the client seeks to impose client-specific voting guidelines that may be inconsistent with one of the two policies offered by Kennedy Capital. Kennedy Capital does not generally advise a client on proxy voting issues when the client retains authority to handle such matters itself. Kennedy Capital may direct that proxies be voted in a manner different from that recommended by Egan-Jones. However, when Kennedy Capital's interests conflict with the interests of its clients, the recommendation of the proxy voting service will be followed. Additionally, Kennedy Capital may seek guidance from our Proxy Voting Committee to resolve material conflicts of interest.</R>
<R> Securities Lending Arrangements </R>
<R>Kennedy Capital's clients may elect to participate in a securities lending program through the client's selected custodian. Under typical securities lending arrangements, securities on loan to a borrower on a proxy record date may not be voted by the lender. Therefore, Kennedy Capital will not vote securities that are on loan as the responsibility to vote proxies will typically reside with the borrower of the shares.</R>
<R> International Constraints </R>
<R>Although it is Kennedy Capital's policy to seek to vote all proxies for the securities held in a client's account(s) for which it has proxy voting authority, in the case of non-U.S. issuers proxies are voted on a best efforts basis. Generally, research coverage of non-U.S. issuers is issued through Egan-Jones. Voting recommendations are not always provided with research; therefore, ballots for non-U.S. issuers are generally voted according to the chosen policy.</R>
<R> Custodian Considerations </R>
<R>A custodian may, in its sole discretion, determine that it will provide proxies to Broadridge for U.S. domestic companies, but not for non-U.S. issuers. Or, custodians may determine to provide proxies for non-U.S. issuers only to its selected proxy voting provider. In these instances, Broadridge generally is not able to vote proxies for non-U.S. issuers held in a client's account.</R>
<R>It is important to understand that from time-to-time custodian issues may arise which are beyond Kennedy Capital's control. Upon account inception, it is Kennedy Capital's responsibility to notify the client's custodian so that the custodian may begin to forward proxy materials directly to Broadridge. In the event a client delegates proxy voting authority to Kennedy Capital, it remains the client's obligation to instruct their custodian to forward applicable proxy materials directly to Broadridge so that their shares can be voted. Although Kennedy Capital makes its best efforts to make sure that the client's custodian has received Kennedy Capital's instructions, it is the responsibility of the client's custodian to acknowledge receipt of the instructions and to establish the account correctly in order for proxy materials to be submitted to Broadridge in a timely manner. Kennedy Capital is not able to vote shares if Broadridge does not receive proxy materials on a timely basis from the custodian.</R>
<R>It is within each custodian's discretion as to whether it will provide ballots to Broadridge for issuers whose stocks are held in each client's account. Instead, a custodian may select its own proxy voting provider and choose not to provide proxy ballots to Broadridge. In these instances, Broadridge is generally not able to vote proxies for the client's account and Kennedy Capital generally will not be able to accept voting authority for the client's account.</R>
<R>When voting ballots, it is within each custodian's discretion as to whether it will aggregate shares, held on behalf of various clients, in an omnibus account instead of submitting individual ballots for segregated accounts. In these cases, custodians must rely on internal records to differentiate the various underlying holdings. In these instances, Broadridge will generally not be able to provide Kennedy Capital with a detailed history of voting records at the individual client account level.</R>
<R>Kennedy Capital maintains written proxy voting policies and procedures as required by Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act. A copy of Kennedy Capital's complete proxy voting policy and procedures may be obtained by writing Kennedy Capital Management, Inc., 10829 Olive Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63141.</R>
Proxy Voting - Neuberger Berman.
Neuberger Berman has implemented written Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures (Proxy Voting Policy) that are designed to reasonably ensure that Neuberger Berman votes proxies prudently and in the best interest of its advisory clients for whom Neuberger Berman has voting authority. The Proxy Voting Policy also describes how Neuberger Berman addresses any conflicts that may arise between its interests and those of its clients with respect to proxy voting.
Neuberger Berman's Proxy Committee is responsible for developing, authorizing, implementing and updating the Proxy Voting Policy, overseeing the proxy voting process, and engaging and overseeing any independent third-party vendors as voting delegate to review, monitor and/or vote proxies. In order to apply the Proxy Voting Policy noted above in a timely and consistent manner, Neuberger Berman utilizes Glass, Lewis & Co. LLC (Glass Lewis) to vote proxies in accordance with Neuberger Berman's voting guidelines.
For socially responsive clients, Neuberger Berman has adopted socially responsive voting guidelines. For non-socially responsive clients, Neuberger Berman's guidelines adopt the voting recommendations of Glass Lewis. Notwithstanding recommendations made by Glass Lewis with respect to cumulative voting, the Proxy Committee has determined that it will not vote proxies in favor of resolutions or proposals calling for the institution of cumulative voting for director nominees or for resolutions or proposals allowing shareholders to call a special meeting with less than 25% of the outstanding shares. Neuberger Berman retains final authority and fiduciary responsibility for proxy voting. Neuberger Berman believes that this process is reasonably designed to address material conflicts of interest that may arise between Neuberger Berman and a client as to how proxies are voted.
In the event that an investment professional at Neuberger Berman believes that it is in the best interest of a client or clients to vote proxies in a manner inconsistent with Neuberger Berman's proxy voting guidelines or in a manner inconsistent with Glass Lewis recommendations, the Proxy Committee will review information submitted by the investment professional to determine that there is no material conflict of interest between Neuberger Berman and the client with respect to the voting of the proxy in that manner.
If the Proxy Committee determines that the voting of a proxy as recommended by the investment professional presents a material conflict of interest between Neuberger Berman and the client or clients with respect to the voting of the proxy, the Proxy Committee shall: (i) take no further action, in which case Glass Lewis shall vote such proxy in accordance with the proxy voting guidelines or as Glass Lewis recommends; (ii) disclose such conflict to the client or clients and obtain written direction from the client as to how to vote the proxy; (iii) suggest that the client or clients engage another party to determine how to vote the proxy; or (iv) engage another independent third party to determine how to vote the proxy.
Proxy Voting - Pyramis.
I. General Principles
A. Voting of shares will be conducted in a manner consistent with the best interests of clients as follows: (i) securities of a portfolio company will generally be voted in a manner consistent with the Guidelines; and (ii) voting will be done without regard to any other Pyramis or Fidelity companies' relationship, business or otherwise, with that portfolio company.
B. FMR Investment Proxy Research votes proxies on behalf of Pyramis' clients. Like other Pyramis employees, FMR Investment Proxy Research employees have a fiduciary duty to never place their own personal interest ahead of the interests of Pyramis's clients and are instructed to avoid actual and apparent conflicts of interest. In the event of a conflict of interest, FMR Investment Proxy Research employees, like other Pyramis employees, will escalate to their managers or the Ethics Office, as appropriate, in accordance with Fidelity's corporate policy on conflicts of interest. A conflict of interest arises when there are factors that may prompt one to question whether a Fidelity and/or Pyramis employee is acting solely on the best interests of Pyramis, Fidelity and their customers. Employees are expected to avoid situations that could present even the appearance of a conflict between their interests and the interests of Pyramis and its customers.
C. Except as set forth herein, Pyramis will generally vote in favor of routine management proposals.
D. Non-routine proposals will generally be voted in accordance with the Guidelines.
E. Non-routine proposals not covered by the Guidelines or involving other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review by an attorney within FMR's General Counsel's office and a member of senior management within FMR Investment Proxy Research. A significant pattern of such proposals or other special circumstances will be referred to Pyramis' Senior Compliance Officer or his designee.
F. Pyramis will vote on shareholder proposals not specifically addressed by the Guidelines based on an evaluation of a proposal's likelihood to enhance the economic returns or profitability of the portfolio company or to maximize shareholder value. Where information is not readily available to analyze the economic impact of the proposal, Pyramis will generally abstain.
G. Many Pyramis accounts invest in voting securities issued by companies that are domiciled outside the United States and are not listed on a U.S. securities exchange. Corporate governance standards, legal or regulatory requirements and disclosure practices in foreign countries can differ from those in the United States. When voting proxies relating to non-U.S. securities, Pyramis will generally evaluate proposals in the context of the Guidelines and where applicable and feasible, take into consideration differing laws, regulations and practices in the relevant foreign market in determining how to vote shares.
H. In certain non-U.S. jurisdictions, shareholders voting shares of a portfolio company may be restricted from trading the shares for a period of time around the shareholder meeting date. Because such trading restrictions can hinder portfolio management and could result in a loss of liquidity for a client, Pyramis will generally not vote proxies in circumstances where such restrictions apply. In addition, certain non-U.S. jurisdictions require voting shareholders to disclose current share ownership on a fund-by-fund basis. When such disclosure requirements apply, Pyramis will generally not vote proxies in order to safeguard fund holdings information.
I. Where a management-sponsored proposal is inconsistent with the Guidelines, Pyramis may receive a company's commitment to modify the proposal or its practice to conform to the Guidelines, and Pyramis will generally support management based on this commitment. If a company subsequently does not abide by its commitment, Pyramis will generally withhold authority for the election of directors at the next election.
II. Definitions (as used in this document)
A. <R>Anti-Takeover Provision - includes fair price amendments; classified boards; "blank check" preferred stock; Golden Parachutes; supermajority provisions; Poison Pills; restricting the right to call special meetings; provisions restricting the right of shareholders to set board size; and any other provision that eliminates or limits shareholder rights.</R>
B. Golden Parachute - Employment contracts, agreements, or policies that include an excise tax gross-up provision; single trigger for cash incentives; or may result in a lump sum payment of cash and acceleration of equity that may total more than three times annual compensation (salary and bonus) in the event of a termination following a change in control.
C. Greenmail - payment of a premium to repurchase shares from a shareholder seeking to take over a company through a proxy contest or other means.
D. Sunset Provision - a condition in a charter or plan that specifies an expiration date.
E. Permitted Bid Feature - a provision suspending the application of a Poison Pill, by shareholder referendum, in the event a potential acquirer announces a bona fide offer for all outstanding shares.
F. Poison Pill - a strategy employed by a potential take-over/target company to make its stock less attractive to an acquirer. Poison Pills are generally designed to dilute the acquirer's ownership and value in the event of a take-over.
G. <R>Large-Capitalization Company - a company included in the Russell 1000 ® Index or the Russell Global ex-U.S. Large Cap Index.</R>
H. <R>Small-Capitalization Company - a company not included in the Russell 1000 ® Index or the Russell Global ex-U.S. Large Cap Index that is not a Micro-Capitalization Company.</R>
I. Micro-Capitalization Company - a company with a market capitalization under US $300 million.
J. Evergreen Provision - a feature which provides for an automatic increase in the shares available for grant under an equity award plan on a regular basis.
III. Directors
A. Incumbent Directors
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of incumbent and nominee directors except where one or more such directors clearly appear to have failed to exercise reasonable judgment. Pyramis will also generally withhold authority for the election of all directors or directors on responsible committees if:
8. An Anti-Takeover Provision was introduced, an Anti-Takeover Provision was extended, or a new Anti-Takeover Provision was adopted upon the expiration of an existing Anti-Takeover Provision, without shareholder approval except as set forth below.
With respect to Poison Pills, however, Pyramis will consider not withholding authority on the election of directors if all of the following conditions are met when a Poison Pill is introduced, extended, or adopted:
a. The Poison Pill includes a Sunset Provision of less than five years;
b. The Poison Pill includes a Permitted Bid Feature;
c. The Poison Pill is linked to a business strategy that will result in greater value for the shareholders; and
d. Shareholder approval is required to reinstate the Poison Pill upon expiration.
Pyramis will also consider not withholding authority on the election of directors when one or more of the conditions above are not met if a board is willing to strongly consider seeking shareholder ratification of, or adding above conditions noted a. and b. to an existing Poison Pill. In such a case, if the company does not take appropriate action prior to the next annual shareholder meeting, Pyramis will withhold authority on the election of directors.
9. The company refuses, upon request by Pyramis, to amend the Poison Pill to allow Pyramis to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
10. Within the last year and without shareholder approval, a company's board of directors or compensation committee has repriced outstanding options, exchanged outstanding options for equity, or tendered cash for outstanding options.
11. <R>Executive compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as: (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether, in the case of stock awards, the restriction period was less than three years for non-performance based awards, and less than one year for performance-based awards; (iv) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restrictions; and (v) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.</R>
12. To gain Pyramis' support on a proposal, the company made a commitment to modify a proposal or practice to conform to the Guidelines and the company has failed to act on that commitment.
13. The director attended fewer than 75% of the aggregate number of meetings of the board or its committees on which the director served during the company's prior fiscal year, absent extenuating circumstances.
14. The board is not composed of a majority of independent directors.
B. Indemnification
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of charter and by-law amendments expanding the indemnification of directors and/or limiting their liability for breaches of care unless Pyramis is otherwise dissatisfied with the performance of management or the proposal is accompanied by Anti-Takeover Provisions.
C. Independent Chairperson
Pyramis will generally vote against shareholder proposals calling for or recommending the appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson. However, Pyramis will consider voting for such proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson appears likely to further the interests of shareholders and to promote effective oversight of management by the board of directors.
D. Majority Director Elections
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals calling for directors to be elected by an affirmative majority of votes cast in a board election, provided that the proposal allows for plurality voting standard in the case of contested elections (i.e., where there are more nominees than board seats). Pyramis may consider voting against such shareholder proposals where a company's board has adopted an alternative measure, such as a director resignation policy, that provides a meaningful alternative to the majority voting standard and appropriately addresses situations where an incumbent director fails to receive the support of a majority of the votes cast in an uncontested election.
IV. Compensation
A. Executive Compensation
1. Advisory votes on executive compensation
a. Pyramis will generally vote for proposals to ratify executive compensation unless such compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as, among other things, (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether, in the case of stock awards, the restriction period was less than three years for non-performance-based awards, and less than one year for performance-based awards; (iv) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restrictions; and (v) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.
b. Pyramis will generally vote against proposals to ratify Golden Parachutes.
2. Frequency of advisory vote on executive compensation
Pyramis will generally support annual advisory votes on executive compensation.
B. Equity Award Plans (including stock options, restricted stock awards, and other stock awards).
Pyramis will generally vote against equity award plans or amendments to authorize additional shares under such plans if:
1. (a) The company's average three year burn rate is greater than 1.5% for a Large-Capitalization Company, 2.5% for a Small-Capitalization Company or 3.5% for a Micro-Capitalization Company; and (b) there were no circumstances specific to the company or the plans that lead Pyramis to conclude that the burn rate is acceptable.
2. In the case of stock option plans, (a) the offering price of options is less than 100% of fair market value on the date of grant, except that the offering price may be as low as 85% of fair market value if the discount is expressly granted in lieu of salary or cash bonus; (b) the plan's terms allow repricing of underwater options; or (c) the board/committee has repriced options outstanding under the plan in the past two years without shareholder approval.
3. The plan includes an Evergreen Provision.
4. The plan provides for the acceleration of vesting of equity awards even though an actual change in control may not occur.
C. Equity Exchanges and Repricing
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of a management proposal to exchange, reprice or tender for cash, outstanding options if the proposed exchange, repricing, or tender offer is consistent with the interests of shareholders, taking into account such factors as:
1. Whether the proposal excludes senior management and directors;
2. Whether the exchange or repricing proposal is value neutral to shareholders based upon an acceptable pricing model;
3. The company's relative performance compared to other companies within the relevant industry or industries;
4. Economic and other conditions affecting the relevant industry or industries in which the company competes; and
5. Any other facts or circumstances relevant to determining whether an exchange or repricing proposal is consistent with the interests of shareholders.
D. Employee Stock Purchase Plans
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of employee stock purchase plans if the minimum stock purchase price is equal to or greater than 85% of the stock's fair market value and the plan constitutes a reasonable effort to encourage broad based participation in the company's equity. In the case of non-U.S. company stock purchase plans, Pyramis may permit a lower minimum stock purchase price equal to the prevailing "best practices" in the relevant non-U.S. market, provided that the minimum stock purchase price must be at least 75% of the stock's fair market value.
E. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of non-leveraged ESOPs. For leveraged ESOPs, Pyramis may examine the company's state of incorporation, existence of supermajority vote rules in the charter, number of shares authorized for the ESOP, and number of shares held by insiders. Pyramis may also examine where the ESOP shares are purchased and the dilution effect of the purchase. Pyramis will generally vote against leveraged ESOPs if all outstanding loans are due immediately upon change in control.
F. Bonus Plans and Tax Deductibility Proposals
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of cash and stock incentive plans that are submitted for shareholder approval in order to qualify for favorable tax treatment under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, provided that the plan includes well defined and appropriate performance criteria, and with respect to any cash component, that the maximum award per participant is clearly stated and is not unreasonable or excessive.
V. Anti-Takeover Provisions
Pyramis will generally vote against a proposal to adopt or approve the adoption of an Anti-Takeover Provision unless:
A. The Poison Pill includes the following features:
1. A Sunset Provision of no greater than five years;
2. Linked to a business strategy that is expected to result in greater value for the shareholders;
3. Requires shareholder approval to be reinstated upon expiration or if amended;
4. Contains a Permitted Bid Feature; and
5. Allows Pyramis accounts to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
B. An Anti-Greenmail proposal that does not include other Anti-Takeover Provisions; or
C. It is a fair price amendment that considers a two-year price history or less.
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of a proposal to eliminate an Anti-Takeover Provisions unless:
D. In the case of proposals to declassify a board of directors, Pyramis will generally vote against such a proposal if the issuer's Articles of Incorporation or applicable statutes include a provision whereby a majority of directors may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by written consent, or other reasonable procedures, by a majority of shareholders entitled to vote for the election of directors.
E. In the case of shareholder proposals regarding shareholders' right to call special meetings, Pyramis generally will vote against each proposal if the threshold required to call a special meeting is less than 25% of the outstanding stock.
F. In the case of proposals regarding shareholders' right to act by written consent, Pyramis will generally vote against each proposal if it does not include appropriate mechanisms for implementation including, among other things, that at least 25% of the outstanding stock request that the company establish a record date determining which shareholders are entitled to act and that consents be solicited from all shareholders.
VI. Capital Structure/Incorporation
A. Increases in Common Stock
Pyramis will generally vote against a provision to increase a company's common stock if such increase will result in a total number of authorized shares greater than three times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares, including stock options, except in the case of real estate investment trusts, where an increase that will result in a total number of authorized shares up to five times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares is generally acceptable.
B. New Classes of Shares
Pyramis will generally vote against the introduction of new classes of stock with differential voting rights.
C. Cumulative Voting Rights
Pyramis will generally vote against the introduction and in favor of the elimination of cumulative voting rights.
D. Acquisition or Business Combination Statutes
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposed amendments to a company's certificate of incorporation or by-laws that enable the company to opt out of the control shares acquisition or business combination statutes.
E. Incorporation or Reincorporation in Another State or Country
Pyramis will generally vote for management proposals calling for, or recommending that, a portfolio company reincorporate in another state or country if, on balance, the economic and corporate governance factors in the proposed jurisdiction appear reasonably likely to be better aligned with shareholder interests, taking into account the corporate laws of the current and proposed jurisdictions and any changes to the company's current and proposed governing documents. Pyramis will consider supporting such shareholder proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, remaining incorporated in the current jurisdiction appears misaligned with shareholder interests.
VII. Shares of Investment Companies
A. If applicable, when a Pyramis account invests in an underlying Fidelity Fund with public shareholders, an exchange traded fund (ETF), or non-affiliated fund, Pyramis will vote in the same proportion as all other voting shareholders of such underlying fund or class ("echo voting"). Pyramis may choose not to vote if "echo voting" is not operationally feasible.
B. Certain Pyramis accounts may invest in shares of underlying Fidelity Funds, which are held exclusively by Fidelity Funds or accounts managed by FMR or an affiliate. Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals recommended by the underlying funds' Board of Trustees.
VIII. Other
A. Voting Process
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals to adopt confidential voting and independent vote tabulation practices.
B. Regulated Industries
Voting of shares in securities of any regulated industry (e.g. U.S. banking) organization shall be conducted in a manner consistent with conditions that may be specified by the industry's regulator (e.g. the Federal Reserve Board) for a determination under applicable law (e.g. federal banking law) that no client or group of clients has acquired control of such organization.
Proxy Voting - Systematic.
<R>Clients may delegate proxy voting authority over their account to Systematic in their investment management agreement or investment guidelines, or by other written direction to Systematic . Upon such delegation of proxy voting authority, Systematic will notify both its independent proxy-voting agent ("agent") and the client's custodian that Systematic's agent will vote on behalf of Systematic for that client's account. Systematic will also provide the client's custodian with the appropriate instructions for delivery of proxy ballots for the client's account. Systematic clients may revoke Systematic's voting authority by providing written notice to Systematic.</R>
<R>As stated above, Systematic has retained an independent proxy-voting agent ("agent"), and Systematic generally follows the agent's proxy voting guidelines when voting proxies. The adoption of the agent's proxy voting guidelines provides independent guidelines for voting proxies and is designed to remove conflicts of interest that could affect the outcome of a vote. The intent of this policy is to remove any discretion that Systematic may have to interpret how to vote proxies in cases where Systematic has a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest.</R>
<R>Although under normal circumstances Systematic is not expected to exercise its voting discretion or to override the agent's recommendation, Systematic's Proxy Voting Committee will monitor any situation where Systematic believes it has a material conflict of interest, or where Systematic wishes to exercise its discretion or more closely review a particular matter. In these situations, the Proxy Voting Committee will provide the actual voting recommendation after a review of the vote(s) involved with such determination being based in the Committee's determination of what is in the best interests of Systematic's clients. Systematic uses consensus decisions when voting an issue and does not allow Portfolio Managers to vote proxies independently. Systematic's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) must approve any decision made on such vote prior to the vote being cast. In approving any such decision, the CCO will use his or her best judgment to ensure that the spirit of Systematic's proxy voting guidelines is being followed. Systematic will maintain documentation of any such voting decision.</R>
<R>The agent has policies and procedures in place to mitigate potential conflicts of interest. The agent is obligated to notify Systematic, in advance of voting any proxies, in specific situations where it may have a material conflict of interest with a company whose proxy it is responsible for voting on behalf of a Systematic client. If this situation occurs, the agent will follow its procedures regarding conflicts of interest and Systematic will follow the same procedures it does for situations where it has a material conflict of interest, as described above.</R>
<R> Voting Guidelines </R>
<R>Systematic maintains five sets of proxy voting guidelines, one based on AFL-CIO polices for Taft-Hartley Plan Sponsors, another for clients with Socially Responsible Investing guidelines, another for Public Plans, another for Catholic or other faith-based entities and the fifth being a General Policy for all other clients, covering U.S. and global proxies. Institutional clients may select which set of proxy guidelines they wish to be used to vote their account's proxies. In instances where the client does not select a voting policy, Systematic would typically apply the General Policy when voting on behalf of the client. Systematic may process certain proxies, or certain proposals within such proxies, without voting, such as by making a decision to abstain from voting or take no action on such proxies (or on certain proposals within such proxies). Examples include, without limitation, proxies issued by companies that the Firm has decided to sell, proxies issued for securities that the Firm did not select for a client portfolio (such as securities selected by the client or a previous adviser, unsupervised securities held in a client's account, money market securities or other securities selected by clients or their representatives other than Systematic), or proxies issued by foreign companies that impose burdensome or unreasonable voting, power of attorney or holding requirements such as with share blocking as further noted below.</R>
<R>Systematic also seeks to ensure that, to the extent reasonably feasible, proxies for which it receives ballots in good order and receives timely notice will be voted or otherwise processed (such as through a decision to abstain or take no action). Systematic may be unable to vote or otherwise process proxy ballots that are not received in a timely manner due to limitations of the proxy voting system, custodial limitations or other factors beyond the firm's control. Such ballots may include, without limitation, ballots for securities out on loan under securities lending programs initiated by the client or its custodian, ballots not timely forwarded by a custodian, or ballots that were not received by the agent on a timely basis.</R>
<R> Share Blocking </R>
<R>In general, unless otherwise directed by the client, Systematic will make reasonable efforts to vote client proxies in accordance with the proxy voting recommendations of the Firm's proxy voting service provider. Systematic will generally decline to vote proxies if to do so would cause a restriction to be placed on Systematic's ability to trade securities held in client accounts in "share blocking" countries. Accordingly, Systematic may abstain from votes in a share blocking country in favor of preserving its ability to trade any particular security at any time. Systematic's maintains written Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures as required by Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act.</R>
<R></R>
<R>To view a fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, visit www.fidelity.com/proxyvotingresults or visit the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.</R>
<R>For purposes of the following "Distribution Services" discussion, the term "shares" (as it relates to the fund) means the one class of shares of the fund offered through the prospectus to which this SAI relates.</R>
<R>The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. The principal business address of FDC is 100 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by Strategic Advisers.</R>
<R>The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan with respect to shares of the fund (the Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a mutual fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows shares of the fund and Strategic Advisers to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.</R>
Under the Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to Strategic Advisers is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Plan. The Plan specifically recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Plan provides that Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers or FDC), that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
<R>Prior to approving the Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Plan will benefit the fund or class, as applicable, and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Plan does not authorize payments by shares of the fund other than those made to Strategic Advisers under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Plan gives Strategic Advisers and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of shares of the fund, additional sales of shares of the fund or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.</R>
FDC or an affiliate may compensate, or upon direction make payments for certain retirement plan expenses to, intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (including affiliates of FDC). A number of factors are considered in determining whether to pay these additional amounts. Such factors may include, without limitation, the level or type of services provided by the intermediary, the level or expected level of assets or sales of shares, and other factors. In addition to such payments, FDC or an affiliate may offer other incentives such as sponsorship of educational or client seminars relating to current products and issues, payments or reimbursements for travel and related expenses associated with due diligence trips that an intermediary may undertake in order to explore possible business relationships with affiliates of FDC, and/or payments of costs and expenses associated with attendance at seminars, including travel, lodging, entertainment, and meals. Certain of the payments described above may be significant to an intermediary. As permitted by SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rules and other applicable laws and regulations, FDC or an affiliate may pay or allow other incentives or payments to intermediaries.
The fund's transfer agent or an affiliate may also make payments and reimbursements from its own resources to certain intermediaries (who may be affiliated with the transfer agent) for performing recordkeeping and other services. Please see "Transfer and Service Agent Agreements" in this SAI for more information.
Any of the payments described in this section may represent a premium over payments made by other fund families. Retirement plan sponsors may take these payments into account when deciding whether to include a fund as a plan investment option.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
<R>For purposes of the following "Transfer and Service Agent Agreements" discussion, the term "shares" (as it relates to the fund) means the one class of shares of the fund offered through the prospectus to which this SAI relates.</R>
<R>The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (FIIOC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers, which is located at 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services for shares of the fund.</R>
For providing transfer agency services, FIIOC receives an account fee and an asset-based fee with respect to assets managed by one or more sub-advisers and assets invested in non-affiliated ETFs. For retail accounts, these fees are based on fund type. For certain institutional accounts, these fees are based on size of position and fund type. For institutional retirement accounts, these fees are based on account type and fund type. The account fee is billed monthly on a pro rata basis at one-twelfth of the applicable annual rate as of the end of each calendar month. The asset-based fee is calculated and paid monthly on the basis of average daily net assets. For assets invested in underlying Fidelity funds, each underlying Fidelity fund pays its respective transfer agent (either FIIOC or an affiliate of FIIOC) fees based, in part, on the number of positions in and assets of the fund invested in such underlying Fidelity fund.
FIIOC also may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
<R></R>
<R>FIIOC or an affiliate may make payments out of its own resources to intermediaries (including affiliates of FIIOC) for recordkeeping services. Payments may also be made, upon direction, for other plan expenses. FIIOC may also pay an affiliate for providing services that otherwise would have been performed by FIIOC.</R>
<R>The fund has entered into a service agent agreement with Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers (or an agent, including an affiliate). Under the terms of the agreement, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for shares of the fund and maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records.</R>
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
The annual rates for pricing and bookkeeping services for the fund are 0.0389% of the first $500 million of average net assets, 0.0275% of average net assets between $500 million and $3.5 billion, 0.0041% of average net assets between $3.5 billion and $25 billion, and 0.0019% of average net assets in excess of $25 billion.
<R>Pricing and bookkeeping fees paid by the fund to FSC for the past two fiscal years are shown in the following table.</R>
<R></R>
<R> Fund |
2013 |
2012</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund |
$ 15,518 |
$ 2,913*</R> |
* From December 20, 2011.
<R> Trust Organization. Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund is a fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, an open-end management investment company created under an initial trust instrument dated March 8, 2006. Currently, there are 20 funds offered in the trust: Strategic Advisers Core Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.</R>
<R>The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund, except that liabilities and expenses may be allocated to a particular class. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds or classes.</R>
Shareholder Liability. The trust is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that, except to the extent otherwise provided in the Trust Instrument, shareholders shall be entitled to the same limitations of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit organized under the general corporation law of Delaware. The courts of some states, however, may decline to apply Delaware law on this point. The Trust Instrument contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust. The Trust Instrument provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Trust Instrument further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
<R>The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of each fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Trust Instrument also provides that each fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which Delaware law does not apply, no contractual limitation of liability was in effect, and a fund is unable to meet its obligations. Strategic Advisers believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is extremely remote. Claims asserted against one class of shares may subject holders of another class of shares to certain liabilities.</R>
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. As a shareholder, you are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value you own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
<R></R>
The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodians. State Street Bank and Trust Company, 1776 Heritage Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as special purpose custodians of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions.
Strategic Advisers, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Member of the Advisory Board, and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by Strategic Advisers. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of Strategic Advisers, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 125 High Street, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit, tax, and related services.
<R> </R>
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized Strategic Advisers, in consultation with FMR, to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
Other registered investment companies that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be subject to different portfolio holdings disclosure policies, and neither Strategic Advisers nor the Board exercises control over such policies or disclosure. In addition, separate account clients of Strategic Advisers and the sub-advisers have access to their portfolio holdings and are not subject to the fund's portfolio holdings disclosure policies. Some of the funds that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser and some of the separate accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser have investment objectives and strategies that are substantially similar or identical to the fund's and, therefore, potentially substantially similar, and in certain cases nearly identical, portfolio holdings as the fund.
The fund will provide a full list of holdings as of the end of the fund's fiscal quarter on www.fidelity.com 60 days after its fiscal quarter-end.
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations.
<R> The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the activities associated with managing Fidelity funds to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons Strategic Advisers believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include, but are not limited to: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics (including portfolio managers of affiliated funds of funds); contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.</R>
<R> Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, (ii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iii) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. Strategic Advisers relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.</R>
<R>At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day) and DocuLynx Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day).</R>
Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, Strategic Advisers desired to make such an arrangement, it would seek prior Board approval and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
<R> FINANCIAL STATEMENTS</R>
<R>The fund's financial statements and financial highlights for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, and report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the fund's annual report and are incorporated herein by reference. Total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table may differ from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the financial highlights because total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table include any acquired fund fees and expenses, whereas the ratios of expenses in the financial highlights do not, except to the extent any acquired fund fees and expenses relate to an entity, such as a wholly-owned subsidiary, with which a fund's financial statements are consolidated. Acquired funds include other investment companies in which the fund has invested, if and to the extent it is permitted to do so. Total annual operating expenses in the prospectus fee table and the financial highlights do not include any expenses associated with investments in certain structured or synthetic products that may rely on the exception from the definition of "investment company" provided by section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R> Strategic Advisers ® Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund </R>
Class /Ticker
F /FARMX
Class F shares of the fund are available for purchase only by mutual funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager.
Prospectus
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R>
</R>
Fund Summary |
Strategic Advisers ® Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund |
|
<R> Fund Basics |
Investment Details </R> |
|
|
Valuing Shares |
|
Shareholder Information |
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares |
|
|
Account Policies |
|
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Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions |
|
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Tax Consequences |
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Fund Services |
Fund Management |
|
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Fund Distribution |
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<R> Appendix |
Financial Highlights </R> |
|
<R> |
Additional Information about the Index </R> |
Prospectus
Fund
/Class:
Strategic Advisers
®
Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund
/F
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy, hold, or sell shares of the fund.
Shareholder fees
|
|
||||||
Redemption fee on shares held less than 90 days (as a % of amount redeemed) |
1.50% |
Annual class operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
<R> Management fee (fluctuates based on the fund's allocation among underlying funds and sub-advisers) B |
0.76% </R> |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees |
None |
<R> Other expenses A |
0.33% </R> |
<R> Acquired fund fees and expenses (fees and expenses of underlying funds) A |
0.04% </R> |
<R> Total annual operating expenses |
1.13% </R> |
<R> A Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. </R>
<R> B Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) has contractually agreed that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.15% of the fund's average daily net assets. </R>
<R></R>
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
<R> 1 year |
$ 115 </R> |
<R> 3 years |
$ 359 </R> |
<R> 5 years |
$ 622 </R> |
<R> 10 years |
$ 1,375 </R> |
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
<R>The fund will not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of affiliated funds but may incur transaction costs when buying or selling non-affiliated funds and other types of securities (including non-affiliated exchange traded funds) directly (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 66% of the average value of its portfolio.</R>
Pursuant to an exemptive order granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) is permitted, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees, to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement.
Prospectus
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
<R>The following information is intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the fund. The information illustrates the performance of the fund's shares over the past year and compares the performance of the fund's shares to the performance of a securities market index over various periods of time. The index description appears in the Additional Information about the Index section of the prospectus. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future performance.</R>
<R>Visit www.401k.com and log in for updated return information.</R>
<R>Performance history will be available for Class F after Class F has been in operation for one calendar year.</R>
<R> Year-by-Year Returns A </R>
<R> Calendar Year |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2012 </R> |
<R> |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
15.54% </R> |
<R>
</R>
<R> During the period shown in the chart: |
Returns |
Quarter ended </R> |
<R> Highest Quarter Return |
13.56% |
March 31, 2012 </R> |
<R> Lowest Quarter Return |
-5.15% |
June 30, 2012 </R> |
<R> Year-to-Date Return |
12.36% |
March 31, 2013 </R> |
<R> A The returns shown above are for Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, a class of shares of the fund that is not offered through this prospectus. Class F would have substantially similar annual returns to Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund because the classes are invested in the same portfolio of securities. Class F's returns would differ from Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund's returns to the extent that the classes do not have the same expenses. </R>
<R>After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, but do not reflect the impact of state or local taxes. Actual after-tax returns may differ depending on your individual circumstances. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your shares in a retirement account or in another tax-deferred arrangement. </R>
Prospectus
<R>
For the periods ended
|
Past 1
|
Life of
|
<R> Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund B |
|
</R> |
<R> Return Before Taxes |
15.54% |
16.18% </R> |
<R> Return After Taxes on Distributions |
14.81% |
15.45% </R> |
<R> Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
10.53% |
10.95% </R> |
<R>
Russell 2500 Index
|
17.88% |
18.42% </R> |
<R> A From December 20, 2011. </R>
<R> B The returns shown above are for Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, a class of shares of the fund that is not offered through this prospectus. Class F would have substantially similar annual returns to Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund because the classes are invested in the same portfolio of securities. Class F's returns would differ from Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund's returns to the extent that the classes do not have the same expenses. </R>
<R>Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. Advisory Research, Inc. (ARI), Fred Alger Management, Inc. (Alger Management), Invesco Advisers, Inc. (Invesco), Kennedy Capital Management, Inc. (Kennedy Capital), Neuberger Berman Management LLC (Neuberger Berman), Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis), and Systematic Financial Management, L.P. (Systematic) have been retained to serve as sub-advisers for the fund.</R>
<R>Barry Golden (lead portfolio manager) has managed the fund since April 2013.</R>
<R> James M. Langer (portfolio manager) and Matthew K. Swaim (portfolio manager) have co-managed ARI's portion of the fund's assets since December 2011.</R>
Jill Greenwald (portfolio manager) has managed Alger Management's portion of the fund's assets since December 2011.
Juliet S. Ellis (lead portfolio manager), Juan Hartsfield (portfolio manager), and Clay Manley (portfolio manager) have co-managed Invesco's portion of the fund's assets since December 2011.
<R>Donald Cobin, CFA (portfolio manager) and Christian McDonald, CFA (assistant portfolio manager) have co-managed Kennedy Capital's portion of the fund's assets since December 2012.</R>
Benjamin H. Nahum (portfolio manager) has managed Neuberger Berman's portion of the fund's assets since December 2011.
Young Chin (lead portfolio manager) has co-managed Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets since March 2012.
Thorsten Becker (co-manager), Andrew Burzumato (co-manager), Chad Colman (co-manager), Arun Daniel (co-manager), Chandler Willett (co-manager), Jody Simes (co-manager), and Vincent Rivers (co-manager) have co-managed Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets since December 2011.
Fund Summary - continued
Ronald Mushock (lead portfolio manager) and D. Kevin McCreesh (co-portfolio manager) have co-managed Systematic's portion of the fund's assets since December 2011.
Prospectus
Class F shares are not available for sale to the general public.
The fund offers Class F shares only to certain other mutual funds managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.
The price to buy one share of Class F is its net asset value per share (NAV). Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of Class F is its NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable. Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
There is no purchase minimum for Class F shares.
Distributions received from the fund are subject to federal income tax and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state or local taxes, unless invested through a tax-advantaged retirement account (in which case the distributions may be taxed later, upon withdrawal of the investment from such account).
The fund, Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Investment Objective
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
Principal Investment Strategies
The fund normally invests primarily in common stocks.
The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of small and mid cap companies and in shares of other small and mid cap funds. Although a universal definition of small to medium market capitalization companies does not exist, for purposes of this fund, small to medium market capitalization companies are generally defined as those companies with market capitalizations similar to those of companies included in the Russell 2500 Index. A company's market capitalization is based on its current market capitalization or its market capitalization at the time of the fund's investment. The size of the companies in the index changes with market conditions and the composition of the index.
The fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers in addition to securities of domestic issuers.
The fund is not constrained by any particular investment style. At any given time, the fund may tend to buy "growth" stocks or "value" stocks, or a combination of both types.
The fund implements its investment strategies by investing directly in securities through one or more sub-advisers or indirectly in securities through one or more underlying funds, which in turn invest directly in securities.
Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of underlying funds or sub-advisers at any time.
Strategic Advisers allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds and sub-advisers according to an allocation strategy designed to achieve portfolio characteristics similar to those of the Russell 2500 Index.
Strategic Advisers pursues a disciplined, benchmark-driven approach to portfolio construction, and monitors and adjusts allocations to underlying funds and sub-advisers as necessary to favor those underlying funds and sub-advisers that Strategic Advisers believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the fund's investment objective.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among underlying funds, Strategic Advisers relies on proprietary fundamental and quantitative fund research in its fund selection process. Factors considered when investing in underlying funds include fund performance, a fund manager's experience and investment style, fund company infrastructure, and fund characteristics such as expense ratio, asset size, and portfolio turnover.
<R>The fund may invest in affiliated small and mid cap funds ( i.e., Fidelity funds) and non-affiliated small and mid cap funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork ® and in non-affiliated ETFs. Underlying funds include both funds managed by FMR (an affiliated company that, together with Strategic Advisers, is part of Fidelity Investments) or an affiliate and funds managed by investment advisers other than Fidelity. Fidelity may receive service fees that typically are at an annual rate of up to 0.40% of a non-affiliated underlying fund's average daily net assets attributable to purchases through Fidelity's FundsNetwork, though such fees may be higher or lower, or may be charged as transaction and/or account fees. In addition, the fund may invest in ETFs in transactions not occurring through Fidelity's FundsNetwork.</R>
Prospectus
Strategic Advisers generally identifies small and mid cap funds by reference to a fund's name, policies, or classification by a third-party ranking or ratings organization. Whether an underlying fund is a small or mid cap fund is determined at the time of investment. Investments in funds whose names, policies or classifications change after purchase continue to be considered investments in small or mid cap funds for purposes of the 80% policy.
Strategic Advisers may actively adjust the allocation of the fund's assets at any time. For current information on fund holdings, please call 1-800-835-5095 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.401k.com. For information on the underlying funds, see the underlying funds' prospectuses. A copy of any underlying Fidelity fund's prospectus is available at www.fidelity.com or www.advisor.fidelity.com. For a copy of any other underlying fund's prospectus, visit the web site of the company that manages or sponsors that underlying fund.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers considers a variety of factors including, but not limited to, a sub-adviser's investment approach, the characteristics of a sub-adviser's typical investment portfolio, and a sub-adviser's performance patterns in different market environments.
Common types of investment approaches that a sub-adviser may use in selecting investments for a fund include, but are not limited to, quantitative analysis, fundamental analysis, or a combination of both approaches. Quantitative analysis refers to programmatic models that analyze such factors as growth potential, valuation, liquidity, and investment risk based on data inputs. Fundamental analysis involves a bottom-up assessment of a company's potential for success in light of factors including its financial condition, earnings outlook, strategy, management, industry position, and economic and market conditions.
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
The fund may also use various techniques, such as buying and selling futures contracts, to increase or decrease its exposure to changing security prices or other factors that affect security values. In addition, the fund may have indirect exposure to derivatives through its investments in underlying funds.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Description of Principal Security Types
In addition to investing in underlying funds, the fund may invest directly in the following principal security types:
Equity securities represent an ownership interest, or the right to acquire an ownership interest, in an issuer. Different types of equity securities provide different voting and dividend rights and priority in the event of the bankruptcy of the issuer. Equity securities include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, and warrants.
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on the performance of the underlying funds and securities in which it invests and on changes in market conditions and interest rates and in response to other economic, political, or financial developments. The fund's reaction to these developments will be affected by the types of underlying funds and securities in which the fund invests, the financial condition, industry and economic sector, and geographic location of an issuer, and the fund's level of investment in the securities of that underlying fund or issuer.
If Strategic Advisers' or a sub-adviser's allocation strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective. The portfolio managers' evaluations and assumptions in selecting underlying funds or individual securities may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.
When your shares are sold they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
Multiple Sub-Adviser Risk. Because each sub-adviser manages its allocated portion, if any, independently from another sub-adviser, it is possible that the sub-advisers' security selection processes may not complement one another. As a result, the fund's aggregate exposure to a particular industry or group of industries, or to a single issuer, could unintentionally be larger or smaller than intended. Because each sub-adviser directs the trading for its own portion, if any, of the fund, and does not aggregate its transactions with those of the other sub-advisers, the fund may incur higher brokerage costs than would be the case if a single sub-adviser were managing the entire fund.
Prospectus
Investing in Other Funds. Regulatory restrictions may limit the amount that one fund can invest in another, and in certain cases further limit investments to the extent a fund's shares are already held by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The fund bears all risks of investment strategies employed by the underlying funds. The fund does not control the investments of the underlying funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the fund would not engage in directly. Aggregation of underlying fund holdings may result in indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase volatility.
Stock Market Volatility. The value of equity securities fluctuates in response to issuer, political, market, and economic developments. Fluctuations can be dramatic over the short as well as long term, and different parts of the market and different types of equity securities can react differently to these developments. For example, large cap stocks can react differently from small cap stocks, "growth" stocks can react differently from "value" stocks, and stocks selected using quantitative or technical analysis can react differently than stocks selected using fundamental analysis. Issuer, political, or economic developments can affect a single issuer, issuers within an industry or economic sector or geographic region, or the market as a whole. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact the market as a whole. Terrorism and related geo-political risks have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
<R> Foreign Exposure. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; withholding or other taxes; trading, settlement, custodial, and other operational risks; and the less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets. All of these factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and potentially less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can perform differently from the U.S. market.</R>
Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers or providers in, or foreign exchange rates with, a different country or region.
Industry Exposure. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry or a group of related industries, and the securities of companies in that industry or group of industries could react similarly to these or other developments. In addition, from time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry or a group of related industries as a whole, and these companies can be sensitive to adverse economic, regulatory, or financial developments.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's value.
Investing in ETFs. ETFs may trade in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) at prices below the value of their underlying portfolios and may not be liquid. An ETF that is not actively managed cannot sell poorly performing stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in its index or other benchmark. ETFs that track an index are subject to tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to its index or other benchmark).
Quantitative Investing. The value of securities selected using quantitative analysis can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis. The factors used in quantitative analysis and the weight placed on those factors may not be predictive of a security's value. In addition, factors that affect a security's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model.
Mid Cap Investing. The value of securities of medium size, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of relatively larger issuers and can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole and other types of stocks.
Small Cap Investing. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers and can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole and other types of stocks. Smaller issuers can have more limited product lines, markets, and financial resources.
<R>In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser, if any, may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
The following policy is fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
The following policy is subject to change only upon 60 days' prior notice to shareholders:
Prospectus
The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of small and mid cap companies and in shares of other small and mid cap funds.
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
A class's NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates the class's NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing the class's NAV.
NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the SEC.
To the extent that the fund's assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some of the fund's assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) are valued at their respective NAVs. For an explanation of the circumstances under which the underlying funds will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the underlying funds' prospectuses and statements of additional information (SAIs). The fund's NAV is calculated using the values of the underlying funds in which it invests. Other assets (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations or official closing prices. Certain short-term securities are valued on the basis of amortized cost. If market quotations or official closing prices are not readily available or, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, are deemed unreliable for a security, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before the fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by Strategic Advisers in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Arbitrage opportunities may exist when trading in a portfolio security or securities is halted and does not resume before a fund calculates its NAV. These arbitrage opportunities may enable short-term traders to dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Securities trading in overseas markets present time zone arbitrage opportunities when events affecting portfolio security values occur after the close of the overseas markets but prior to the close of the U.S. market. Fair valuation of a fund's portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that fair value pricing policies will prevent dilution of a fund's NAV by short-term traders.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Although the fund has policies regarding excessive trading, these too may not be effective to prevent short-term NAV arbitrage trading, particularly in regard to omnibus accounts.
Fair value pricing is based on subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value of a security may differ materially from the value that would be realized if the security were sold.
Prospectus
CLASS F SHARES ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase or exchange, including transactions deemed to represent excessive trading, at any time.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
The Board of Trustees has adopted policies designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares. Excessive trading activity in the fund is measured by the number of roundtrip transactions in a shareholder's account and each class of a multiple class fund is treated separately. A roundtrip transaction occurs when a shareholder sells fund shares (including exchanges) within 30 days of the purchase date.
Shareholders with two or more roundtrip transactions in a single fund within a rolling 90-day period will be blocked from making additional purchases or exchange purchases of the fund for 85 days. Shareholders with four or more roundtrip transactions across all Fidelity funds within any rolling 12-month period will be blocked for at least 85 days from additional purchases or exchange purchases across all Fidelity funds. Any roundtrip within 12 months of the expiration of a multi-fund block will initiate another multi-fund block. Repeat offenders may be subject to long-term or permanent blocks on purchase or exchange purchase transactions in any account under the shareholder's control at any time. In addition to enforcing these roundtrip limitations, the fund may in its discretion restrict, reject, or cancel any purchases or exchanges that, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, may be disruptive to the management of the fund or otherwise not be in the fund's interests.
The following transactions are exempt from the fund's excessive trading policy described above: (i) transactions of $1,000 or less, (ii) systematic withdrawal and/or contribution programs, (iii) mandatory retirement distributions, and (iv) transactions initiated by a plan sponsor or sponsors of certain employee benefit plans or other related accounts. In addition, the fund's excessive trading policy does not apply to transactions initiated by the trustee or adviser to a donor-advised charitable gift fund, qualified fund of fund(s), or other strategy funds. A qualified fund of fund(s) is a mutual fund, qualified tuition program, or other strategy fund consisting of qualified plan assets that either applies the fund's excessive trading policies to shareholders at the fund of fund(s) level, or demonstrates that the fund of fund(s) has an investment strategy coupled with policies designed to control frequent trading that are reasonably likely to be effective as determined by the fund's Treasurer.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Omnibus accounts, in which shares are held in the name of an intermediary on behalf of multiple investors, are a common form of holding shares among retirement plans and financial intermediaries such as brokers, advisers, and third-party administrators. Individual trades in omnibus accounts are often not disclosed to the fund, making it difficult to determine whether a particular shareholder is engaging in excessive trading. Excessive trading in omnibus accounts is likely to go undetected by the fund and may increase costs to the fund and disrupt its portfolio management.
Under policies adopted by the Board of Trustees, intermediaries will be permitted to apply the fund's excessive trading policy (described above), or their own excessive trading policy if approved by Strategic Advisers. In these cases, the fund will typically not request or receive individual account data but will rely on the intermediary to monitor trading activity in good faith in accordance with its or the fund's policies. Reliance on intermediaries increases the risk that excessive trading may go undetected. For other intermediaries, the fund will generally monitor trading activity at the omnibus account level to attempt to identify disruptive trades. The fund may request transaction information, as frequently as daily, from any intermediary at any time, and may apply the fund's policy to transactions that exceed thresholds established by the Board of Trustees. The fund may prohibit purchases of fund shares by an intermediary or by some or all of any intermediary's clients. There is no assurance that Strategic Advisers will request data with sufficient frequency to detect or deter excessive trading in omnibus accounts effectively.
If you purchase or sell fund shares through a financial intermediary, you may wish to contact the intermediary to determine the policies applicable to your account.
For employer-sponsored retirement plans, only participant directed exchanges count toward the roundtrip limits. Employer-sponsored retirement plan participants whose activity triggers a purchase or exchange block will be permitted one trade every calendar quarter. In the event of a block, employer and participant contributions and loan repayments by the participant may still be invested in the fund.
The fund will monitor aggregate trading activity of adviser transactions to attempt to identify excessive trading in qualified wrap programs, as defined below. Excessive trading by an adviser will lead to fund blocks and the wrap program will lose its qualified status. Adviser transactions will not be matched with client-directed transactions unless the wrap program ceases to be a qualified wrap program (but all client-directed transactions will be subject to the fund's excessive trading policy). A qualified wrap program is: (i) a program whose adviser certifies that it has investment discretion over $100 million or more in client assets invested in mutual funds at the time of the certification, (ii) a program in which the adviser directs transactions in the accounts participating in the program in concert with changes in a model portfolio, and (iii) managed by an adviser who agrees to give Strategic Advisers sufficient information to permit Strategic Advisers to identify the individual accounts in the wrap program.
Prospectus
The fund reserves the right at any time to restrict purchases or exchanges or impose conditions that are more restrictive on excessive or disruptive trading than those stated in this prospectus. The fund's Treasurer is authorized to suspend the fund's policies during periods of severe market turbulence or national emergency. The fund reserves the right to modify its policies at any time without prior notice.
The fund does not knowingly accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares by investors, except to the extent permitted by the policies described above.
In addition to these policies, the fund imposes a short-term redemption fee on redemptions from the fund, which is discussed in "Selling Shares." As described in "Valuing Shares," the fund also uses fair value pricing to help reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders. There is no assurance that the fund's excessive trading policy will be effective, or will successfully detect or deter excessive or disruptive trading.
Class F shares of the fund have no exchange privilege with any other fund.
Class F shares of the fund are available for purchase only by mutual funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager.
The price to buy one share of Class F is its NAV. Class F shares are sold without a sales charge.
Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
Orders by funds of funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.
<R>Provided the fund receives an order to buy shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to buy shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.</R>
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
The price to sell one share of Class F is its NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.
If you sell your shares after holding them less than 90 days, a 1.50% short-term redemption fee may be deducted from the redemption amount. For this purpose, shares held longest will be treated as being redeemed first and shares held shortest as being redeemed last. The fees are paid to the fund, not Strategic Advisers, and are designed to help offset the brokerage commissions, market impact, and other costs associated with short-term shareholder trading.
The short-term redemption fee does not apply to: (i) redemptions of shares acquired by reinvesting dividends and distributions; (ii) rollovers, transfers, and changes of account registration within the fund, or transfers between classes of a multiple class fund (if applicable) as long as the money never leaves the fund; and (iii) redemptions in kind.
The fund also permits waivers of the short-term redemption fee for the following transactions:
Prospectus
The application of short-term redemption fees and waivers may vary among intermediaries and certain intermediaries may not apply the waivers listed above. If you purchase or sell fund shares through an intermediary, you should contact your intermediary for more information on whether the short-term redemption fee will be applied to redemptions of your shares.
The fund reserves the right to modify or eliminate the short-term redemption fee or waivers at any time. Investment advisers or their affiliates may pay short-term redemption fees on behalf of investors in managed accounts. Unitized group accounts consisting of qualified plan assets may be treated as a single account for redemption fee purposes.
Fidelity seeks to identify intermediaries that hold fund shares in omnibus accounts and will refuse their purchase orders if they do not agree to track and remit short-term redemption fees based on the transactions of underlying investors. There are no assurances that Fidelity will successfully identify all intermediaries or that the intermediaries will properly assess short-term redemption fees.
Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
Orders by funds of funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.
<R>Provided the fund receives an order to sell shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to sell shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.</R>
Redemptions may be suspended or payment dates postponed when the NYSE is closed (other than weekends or holidays), when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as permitted by the SEC.
Redemption proceeds may be paid in securities or other property rather than in cash if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, redemption requests may be suspended, restricted, canceled, or processed and the proceeds may be withheld.
Fidelity will send monthly account statements detailing fund balances and all transactions completed during the prior month.
You may be asked to provide additional information in order for Fidelity to verify your identity in accordance with requirements under anti-money laundering regulations. Accounts may be restricted and/or closed, and the monies withheld, pending verification of this information or as otherwise required under these and other federal regulations.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
The fund normally pays dividends and capital gain distributions in April and December.
Dividends and capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional Class F shares of the fund.
As with any investment, investing in the fund could have tax consequences. If not investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account, these tax consequences should be considered.
Taxes on distributions. Distributions received from the fund are subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes.
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including dividends and distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable as ordinary income, while certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of long-term capital gains, are taxable generally as capital gains. A percentage of certain distributions of dividends may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
If shares are purchased on your behalf when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.
Any taxable distributions received from the fund will normally be taxable when received.
Taxes on transactions. Redemptions may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on an investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of shares and the price received when sold.
Prospectus
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
The fund employs a multi-manager and a fund of funds investment structure. Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of sub-advisers or underlying funds.
<R> Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. The address of Strategic Advisers and its affiliates, unless otherwise indicated below, is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R>As of December 31, 2012, Strategic Advisers had approximately $320.7 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
As the manager, Strategic Advisers has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
<R> ARI, at Two Prudential Plaza, 180 N. Stetson Avenue, Suite 5500, Chicago, IL 60601, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of March 31, 2013, ARI had approximately $10.2 billion in discretionary assets under management. ARI provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Alger Management, at 360 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10010, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of March 31, 2013, Alger Management had approximately $18 billion in discretionary assets under management. Alger Management provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Invesco, at 1555 Peachtree, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30309, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, Invesco had approximately $713.8 billion in discretionary assets under management. Invesco provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Kennedy Capital, at 10829 Olive Boulevard, Suite 100, St. Louis, MO 63141, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, Kennedy Capital had approximately $4.9 billion in discretionary assets under management. Kennedy Capital provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Neuberger Berman, at 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, Neuberger Berman had approximately $210 billion in discretionary assets under management. Neuberger Berman provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Pyramis, at 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. Pyramis is an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. As of December 31, 2012, Pyramis had approximately $31.7 billion in discretionary assets under management. Pyramis provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Systematic, at 300 Frank W. Burr Boulevard, 7th Floor, Teaneck, New Jersey 07666, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of February 28, 2013, Systematic had approximately $10.9 billion in discretionary assets under management. Systematic provides investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
Prospectus
<R> Strategic Advisers </R>
<R>Barry Golden, CFA, is lead portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since April 2013. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 2003, Mr. Golden has worked as a research analyst, associate director of investments for Strategic Advisers' Charitable Gift Fund, portfolio manager, and as a team leader for Strategic Advisers' alternatives research investment team.</R>
<R> ARI </R>
<R></R>
James Langer, CFA, ARI Managing Director and portfolio manager, has co-managed ARI's portion of the fund's assets since December 2011. Mr. Langer has served as a member of ARI's investment team and research analyst since joining ARI in 1996, and as a portfolio manager since 2007.
Matthew Swaim, CFA, CPA, ARI Managing Director and portfolio manager, has co-managed ARI's portion of the fund's assets since December 2011. Mr. Swaim has served as a member of ARI's investment team and research analyst since joining ARI in 2005, and as a portfolio manager since 2009.
<R> Alger Management </R>
Jill Greenwald serves as a portfolio manager for Alger Management's portion of the fund's assets, which she has managed since December 2011. Ms. Greenwald has been employed by Alger Management since 2001 and currently serves as Executive Vice President and portfolio manager.
<R> Invesco </R>
Juliet Ellis is the lead portfolio manager of Invesco's portion of the fund's assets, which she has managed since December 2011. She has been associated with Invesco and/or its affiliates since 2004.
Juan Hartsfield is portfolio manager of Invesco's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. He has been associated with Invesco and/or its affiliates since 2004.
Clay Manley is portfolio manager of Invesco's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. He has been associated with Invesco and/or its affiliates since 2001.
<R> Kennedy Capital </R>
<R>Donald Cobin, CFA, a Vice President and Director, is the Portfolio Manager for Kennedy Capital's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2012. Mr. Cobin joined Kennedy Capital in February 2007 as an analyst and later became Portfolio Manager in November 2007.</R>
<R>Christian McDonald, CFA, is the Assistant Portfolio Manager for Kennedy Capital's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2012, and also serves as a Research Analyst at Kennedy Capital, primarily responsible for selecting and monitoring securities within the industrials (including aerospace, defense, and machinery) sector of Kennedy Capital's universe. Mr. McDonald joined Kennedy Capital in November 2005.</R>
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
Benjamin H. Nahum is portfolio manager of Neuberger Berman's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. Mr. Nahum, Managing Director, joined Neuberger Berman in 2008 when David J. Greene and Company was acquired by Neuberger Berman. Prior to the acquisition, he was an executive vice president and principal at David J. Greene and Company, LLC where he managed the Small/Mid Cap strategies since inception in 1997.
<R> Pyramis </R>
Young Chin is the lead portfolio manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since March 2012. He is Chief Investment Officer of Pyramis and team leader for the U.S. Large Cap Core, the U.S. Large Cap Core 130/30, and the U.S. Small/Mid Cap Core strategies. Mr. Chin joined Fidelity Investments in 2006 and oversees the portfolio management, research, and trading functions at Pyramis.
Thorsten Becker is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1996, Mr. Becker has worked as a research analyst and portfolio manager.
Andrew Burzumato is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 2002, Mr. Burzumato has worked as a research analyst and portfolio manager.
Chad Colman is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments in 2009, Mr. Colman was a senior analyst at RiverSource Investments (formerly American Express Financial Advisors), and was responsible for research coverage of the industrials sector and portfolio management of various long-only and long-short sector focused products. Mr. Colman was also an engineer at Boeing Co. for more than three years.
Arun Daniel is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments in 2007 as a portfolio manager, Mr. Daniel served as vice president and sector head for the consumer sector at ING Investment Management, North America from 2003 to 2007.
Chandler Willett is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. Prior to joining Pyramis in 2006 as a research analyst, Mr. Willett served as a senior analyst at Highline Capital Management from 2004 to 2006.
Jody Simes, CFA, is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1993, Mr. Simes has worked as a fixed income trader, technology sector specialist, equity research analyst, and portfolio manager.
Vincent Rivers is co-manager of Pyramis' portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. Prior to joining Pyramis in 2006 as a research analyst, Mr. Rivers worked as a portfolio analyst at Wellington Management Company, LLP from 2004 to 2006.
Prospectus
<R> Systematic </R>
Ronald Mushock serves as lead portfolio manager for Systematic's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. Mr. Mushock, CFA, has been the lead portfolio manager for all of Systematic's Small/Mid Cap Value Equity portfolios since their inception in 2002 and all of Systematic's Mid Cap Value portfolios since their inception in 2000. Mr. Mushock became a Managing Partner of Systematic in 2005.
D. Kevin McCreesh serves as co-portfolio manager for Systematic's portion of the fund's assets, which he has managed since December 2011. Mr. McCreesh, CFA, co-portfolio manager for all of Systematic's Small/Mid Cap Value portfolios, has been the Chief Investment Officer for Systematic since 2004 and has oversight responsibilities for all client portfolios. In addition, Mr. McCreesh serves as the lead portfolio manager for Systematic's Large and Small Cap Value portfolios. Mr. McCreesh joined Systematic as a portfolio manager in 1996 and is a Managing Partner of the firm.
The SAI provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by the portfolio managers.
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.
The fund pays a management fee to Strategic Advisers. The management fee is calculated and paid to Strategic Advisers every month.
The fund's management fee is calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets. Because the fund's management fee rate may fluctuate, the fund's management fee may be higher or lower in the future. The fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.15% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>Effective January 1, 2013, Strategic Advisers has voluntarily agreed to waive 0.01% of the fund's management fee. This arrangement may be discontinued by Strategic Advisers at any time.</R>
<R>For the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid a management fee of 0.73% of the fund's average net assets, after waiver and/or reimbursement.</R>
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
In return for the services of the fund's sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers will pay each of the fund's sub-advisers the fee (as described above) payable to that sub-adviser.
<R>The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract and sub-advisory agreements for the fund is available in the fund's annual report for the fiscal period ended February 29, 2012 and in the fund's annual report for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013.</R>
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, agree to reimburse a class for, or waive, management fees and other expenses above a specified limit. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid by a class if expenses fall below the specified limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Reimbursement or waiver arrangements can decrease expenses and boost performance.
Strategic Advisers has voluntarily agreed to reimburse Class F of the fund to the extent that total operating expenses of Class F (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, extraordinary expenses, and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any), as a percentage of its average net assets, exceed 1.06%. This arrangement may be discontinued by Strategic Advisers at any time.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, approximately 99.42% of the fund's total outstanding shares was held by Strategic Advisers and/or another entity or entities of which FMR LLC is the ultimate parent.</R>
The fund is composed of multiple classes of shares. All classes of the fund have a common investment objective and investment portfolio.
Class F has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) that recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of Class F shares and/or shareholder support services. Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, service-providers, and administrators, that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for Class F shares.
Affiliates of Strategic Advisers may receive service fees or distribution fees or both with respect to underlying funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork.
If payments made by Strategic Advisers to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of Class F's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
Prospectus
The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand Class F's financial history for the period of the class's operations. Certain information reflects financial results for a single class share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the class (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial highlights and financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report. A free copy of the annual report is available upon request.
Years ended February 28, |
2013 E |
Selected Per-Share Data |
|
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 11.49 |
Income from Investment Operations |
|
Net investment income (loss) D |
.01 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
.91 |
Total from investment operations |
.92 |
Distributions from net investment income |
(.04) I |
Distributions from net realized gain |
(.12 ) I |
Total distributions |
(.16 ) |
Redemption fees added to paid in capital D |
- H |
Net asset value, end of period |
$ 12.25 |
Total Return B,C |
8.11% |
Ratios to Average Net Assets F |
|
Expenses before reductions |
1.11% A |
Expenses net of fee waivers, if any |
1.06% A |
Expenses net of all reductions |
1.06% A |
Net investment income (loss) |
.38% A |
Supplemental Data |
|
Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$ 186 |
Portfolio turnover rate G |
66% |
A Annualized
B Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.
C Total returns would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reduced during the applicable periods shown.
D Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.
E For the period December 18, 2012 (commencement of sale of shares) to February 28, 2013.
F Expense ratios reflect operating expenses of the class. Expenses before reductions do not reflect amounts reimbursed by the investment adviser or reductions from brokerage service arrangements or reductions from other expense offset arrangements and do not represent the amount paid by the class during periods when reimbursements or reductions occur. Expense ratios before reductions for start-up periods may not be representative of longer-term operating periods. Expenses net of fee waivers reflect expenses after reimbursement by the investment adviser but prior to reductions from brokerage service arrangements or other expense offset arrangements. Expenses net of all reductions represent the net expenses paid by the class. Fees and expenses of the Underlying Funds are not included in the class' annualized ratios. The class indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the Underlying Funds.
G Amounts do not include the portfolio turnover activity of any Underlying Funds.
H Amount represents less than $.01 per share.
I The amounts shown reflect certain reclassifications related to book to tax differences that were made in the year shown.
Prospectus
Russell 2500 Index is a market capitalization-weighted index designed to measure the performance of the small to mid-cap segment of the U.S. equity market. It includes approximately 2,500 of the smallest securities in the Russell 3000 ® Index.
Prospectus
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account. For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account such as name, residential address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity. |
You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.
For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call Fidelity at 1-800-835-5095. In addition, existing investors may visit the web site at www.401k.com for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number, 811-21991 |
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design, and FundsNetwork are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R>1.951521.103 AMM-F-PRO-0413</R>
Strategic Advisers ® Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund
Class F (FARMX)
A Fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. Portions of the fund's annual report are incorporated herein. The annual report is supplied with this SAI.
<R>To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated April 29, 2013, or an annual report, please call Fidelity at 1-800-835-5095 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.401k.com.</R>
<R>AMM-F-PTB-0413
1.951522.103</R>
<R>
</R>
|
PAGE |
Investment Policies and Limitations |
|
Portfolio Transactions |
|
<R>Valuation |
|
<R>Buying and Selling Information |
|
<R>Distributions and Taxes |
|
<R>Trustees and Officers |
|
<R>Control of Investment Advisers |
|
<R>Management Contract |
|
<R>Proxy Voting Guidelines |
|
<R>Distribution Services |
|
<R>Transfer and Service Agent Agreements |
|
<R>Description of the Trust |
|
<R>Fund Holdings Information |
|
<R>Financial Statements |
|
<R>Appendix |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not with respect to 75% of the fund's total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except in connection with the insurance program established by the fund pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission or as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry (provided that investments in other investment companies shall not be considered an investment in any particular industry for purposes of this investment limitation).
For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities, Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) looks through to the U.S. Government securities.
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The acquisitions of loans and loan participations excluded from the fund's lending limitation discussed above are only those loans and loan participations considered securities within the meaning of the 1940 Act.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, and provided that transactions in futures contracts and options are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 10% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 10% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
To the extent that the fund acquires the shares of an underlying fund in accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, the underlying fund is not obligated to redeem its shares in an amount exceeding 1% of its shares outstanding during any period of less than 30 days. Those underlying fund shares will not be treated as illiquid securities for purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation described above to the extent that the fund is able to dispose of such securities by distributing them in kind to redeeming shareholders. (See "Securities of Other Investment Companies" on page (Click Here).)
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to lend assets other than securities to other parties, except by (a) lending money (up to 15% of the fund's net assets) to a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) assuming any unfunded commitments in connection with the acquisition of loans, loan participations, or other forms of debt instruments. (This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities, to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.)
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
<R>For the fund's limitations on futures and options transactions, see the section entitled "Futures, Options, and Swaps" on page (Click Here).< /R>
For purposes of the fund's 80% investment policy that defines a particular market capitalization by reference to the capitalization range of one or more indexes (as described in the prospectus), the capitalization range of the index(es) generally will be measured no less frequently than once per month.
Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitations, the underlying funds in which the fund may invest have adopted certain investment limitations that may be more or less restrictive than those listed above, thereby permitting the fund to engage indirectly in investment strategies that are prohibited under the investment limitations listed above. The investment limitations of each underlying fund are set forth in its registration statement.
In accordance with its investment program as set forth in the prospectus, the fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in any one underlying Fidelity fund. Although the fund does not intend to concentrate its investments in a particular industry, the fund may indirectly concentrate in a particular industry or group of industries through its investments in one or more underlying funds.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
Strategic Advisers ® Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund may have exposure to instruments, techniques, and risks either directly or indirectly through an investment in an underlying fund. An underlying fund may invest in the same or other types of instruments and its adviser may employ the same or other types of techniques. Strategic Advisers ® Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund's performance will be affected by the instruments, techniques, and risks associated with an underlying fund, in proportion to the amount of assets that the fund allocates to that underlying fund.
<R>On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "a fund" or "the fund" may relate to Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund or an underlying fund, and references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to Strategic Advisers (or its affiliates) or a sub-adviser of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, or an adviser of an underlying fund.</R>
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of short-term bond or money market funds, including (for Fidelity funds and other advisory clients only) shares of Fidelity central funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.
<R> Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Notice of Exclusion. The trust, on behalf of the Fidelity fund to which this SAI relates, has filed with the National Futures Association a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the CFTC promulgated thereunder, with respect to the fund's operation. Accordingly, neither the fund nor its adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or a CPO. However, the CFTC has adopted certain rule amendments that significantly affect the continued availability of this exclusion, and may subject advisers to funds to regulation by the CFTC. As of the date of this SAI, the adviser does not expect to register as a CPO of the fund. However, there is no certainty that a fund or its adviser will be able to rely on an exclusion in the future as the fund's investments change over time. A fund may determine not to use investment strategies that trigger additional CFTC regulation or may determine to operate subject to CFTC regulation, if applicable. If a fund or its adviser operates subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.</R>
Common Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock, although related proceedings can take time to resolve and results can be unpredictable.
Convertible Securities are bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption or conversion, the fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
Debt Securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay interest but are sold at a deep discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, and mortgage and other asset-backed securities.
<R> Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments. An ETF may seek to replicate the performance of a specified index or may be actively managed.</R>
Typically, ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks (typically, 50,000 shares) often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.
Some of the risks of investing in an ETF that tracks an index are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their intraday indicative value. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater.
Exposure to Foreign and Emerging Markets. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Foreign investments involve risks relating to local political, economic, regulatory, or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments, and may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Such actions may include expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. Additionally, governmental issuers of foreign debt securities may be unwilling to pay interest and repay principal when due and may require that the conditions for payment be renegotiated. There is no assurance that a fund's adviser will be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies and of dividends and interest paid with respect to such securities will fluctuate based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar.
It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for foreign securities will be on an exchange or in over-the-counter (OTC) markets located outside of the United States. Foreign stock markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign security trading, settlement and custodial practices (including those involving securities settlement where fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment) are often less developed than those in U.S. markets, and may result in increased investment or valuation risk or substantial delays in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of, or breach of duty by, a foreign broker-dealer, securities depository, or foreign subcustodian. In addition, the costs associated with foreign investments, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions, and custodial costs, are generally higher than with U.S. investments.
Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors than U.S. markets. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Adequate public information on foreign issuers may not be available, and it may be difficult to secure dividends and information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. OTC markets tend to be less regulated than stock exchange markets and, in certain countries, may be totally unregulated. Regulatory enforcement may be influenced by economic or political concerns, and investors may have difficulty enforcing their legal rights in foreign countries.
Some foreign securities impose restrictions on transfer within the United States or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than foreign securities of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks include foreign exchange risk as well as the political and economic risks of the underlying issuer's country.
The risks of foreign investing may be magnified for investments in emerging markets. Security prices in emerging markets can be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
Foreign Currency Transactions. A fund may conduct foreign currency transactions on a spot ( i.e., cash) or forward basis ( i.e., by entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies). Although foreign exchange dealers generally do not charge a fee for such conversions, they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the counterparty desire to resell that currency to the dealer. Forward contracts are customized transactions that require a specific amount of a currency to be delivered at a specific exchange rate on a specific date or range of dates in the future. Forward contracts are generally traded in an interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The parties to a forward contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated currency exchange.
The following discussion summarizes the principal currency management strategies involving forward contracts that could be used by a fund. A fund may also use swap agreements, indexed securities, and options and futures contracts relating to foreign currencies for the same purposes. Forward contracts not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying currency. All of these instruments and transactions are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default.
A "settlement hedge" or "transaction hedge" is designed to protect a fund against an adverse change in foreign currency values between the date a security denominated in a foreign currency is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in an underlying security transaction for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars "locks in" the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used to protect a fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected.
A fund may also use forward contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in a foreign currency. For example, if a fund owned securities denominated in pounds sterling, it could enter into a forward contract to sell pounds sterling in return for U.S. dollars to hedge against possible declines in the pound's value. Such a hedge, sometimes referred to as a "position hedge," would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. A fund could also attempt to hedge the position by selling another currency expected to perform similarly to the pound sterling. This type of hedge, sometimes referred to as a "proxy hedge," could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield, or efficiency, but generally would not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a direct hedge into U.S. dollars. Proxy hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated.
A fund may enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a "cross-hedge," will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if a fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. A fund may cross-hedge its U.S. dollar exposure in order to achieve a representative weighted mix of the major currencies in its benchmark index and/or to cover an underweight country or region exposure in its portfolio. Cross-hedges protect against losses resulting from a decline in the hedged currency, but will cause a fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases.
Successful use of currency management strategies will depend on an adviser's skill in analyzing currency values. Currency management strategies may substantially change a fund's investment exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and could result in losses to a fund if currencies do not perform as an adviser anticipates. For example, if a currency's value rose at a time when a fund had hedged its position by selling that currency in exchange for dollars, the fund would not participate in the currency's appreciation. If a fund hedges currency exposure through proxy hedges, the fund could realize currency losses from both the hedge and the security position if the two currencies do not move in tandem. Similarly, if a fund increases its exposure to a foreign currency and that currency's value declines, the fund will realize a loss. Foreign currency transactions involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that a fund's hedging strategies will be ineffective. Moreover, it is impossible to precisely forecast the market value of portfolio securities at the expiration of a foreign currency forward contract. Accordingly, a fund may be required to buy or sell additional currency on the spot market (and bear the expenses of such transaction), if an adviser's predictions regarding the movement of foreign currency or securities markets prove inaccurate.
A fund may be required to limit its hedging transactions in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options in order to maintain its classification as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Hedging transactions could result in the application of the mark-to-market provisions of the Code, which may cause an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a fund and could affect whether dividends paid by a fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. A fund will cover its exposure to foreign currency transactions with liquid assets in compliance with applicable requirements. There is no assurance that an adviser's use of currency management strategies will be advantageous to a fund or that it will employ currency management strategies at appropriate times.
Options and Futures Relating to Foreign Currencies. Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges (and have margin requirements) and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The underlying instrument of a currency option may be a foreign currency, which generally is purchased or delivered in exchange for U.S. dollars, or may be a futures contract. The purchaser of a currency call obtains the right to purchase the underlying currency, and the purchaser of a currency put obtains the right to sell the underlying currency.
The uses and risks of currency options and futures are similar to options and futures relating to securities or indexes, as discussed below. A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and may purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. Currency options may also be purchased or written in conjunction with each other or with currency futures or forward contracts. Currency futures and options values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates, but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated security from a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of a fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the fund's investments exactly over time.
Currency options traded on U.S. or other exchanges may be subject to position limits which may limit the ability of the fund to reduce foreign currency risk using such options.
Foreign Repurchase Agreements. Foreign repurchase agreements involve an agreement to purchase a foreign security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price in either U.S. dollars or foreign currency. Unlike typical U.S. repurchase agreements, foreign repurchase agreements may not be fully collateralized at all times. The value of a security purchased by a fund may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to repurchase the security. In the event of default by the counterparty, a fund may suffer a loss if the value of the security purchased is less than the agreed-upon repurchase price, or if the fund is unable to successfully assert a claim to the collateral under foreign laws. As a result, foreign repurchase agreements may involve higher credit risks than repurchase agreements in U.S. markets, as well as risks associated with currency fluctuations. In addition, as with other emerging market investments, repurchase agreements with counterparties located in emerging markets or relating to emerging markets may involve issuers or counterparties with lower credit ratings than typical U.S. repurchase agreements.
Fund's Rights as an Investor. Fidelity funds do not intend to direct or administer the day-to-day operations of any company. A fund may, however, exercise its rights as a shareholder or lender and may communicate its views on important matters of policy to a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders, and holders of a company's other securities when such matters could have a significant effect on the value of the fund's investment in the company. The activities in which a fund may engage, either individually or in conjunction with others, may include, among others, supporting or opposing proposed changes in a company's corporate structure or business activities; seeking changes in a company's directors or management; seeking changes in a company's direction or policies; seeking the sale or reorganization of the company or a portion of its assets; supporting or opposing third-party takeover efforts; supporting the filing of a bankruptcy petition; or foreclosing on collateral securing a security. This area of corporate activity is increasingly prone to litigation and it is possible that a fund could be involved in lawsuits related to such activities. Such activities will be monitored with a view to mitigating, to the extent possible, the risk of litigation against a fund and the risk of actual liability if a fund is involved in litigation. No guarantee can be made, however, that litigation against a fund will not be undertaken or liabilities incurred. The fund's proxy voting guidelines are included in this SAI.
Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. If a fund invests a significant portion of its assets in derivatives, its investment exposure could far exceed the value of its portfolio securities and its investment performance could be primarily dependent upon securities it does not own.
Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.
The limitations on the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps, and the fund's policies regarding futures contracts, options, and swaps may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts.
Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts and the price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities or baskets of securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indexes (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indexes of securities prices (including foreign indexes for funds that seek foreign exposure). Futures on indexes and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out by offsetting purchases or sales of futures contracts before then if a liquid market is available. A fund may realize a gain or loss by closing out its futures contracts.
The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the underlying instrument. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.
The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by a fund, but is instead a settlement between a fund and the FCM of the amount one would owe the other if the fund's contract expired. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is also required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.
Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement, and margin procedures that are different from those for U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may not involve a clearing mechanism or related guarantees and may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to a fund. Because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuation.
There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.
If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
Futures contracts on U.S. Government securities historically have reacted to an increase or decrease in interest rates in a manner similar to the manner in which the underlying U.S. Government securities reacted. To the extent, however, that a fund enters into such futures contracts, the value of these futures contracts will not vary in direct proportion to the value of the fund's holdings of U.S. Government securities. Thus, the anticipated spread between the price of the futures contract and the hedged security may be distorted due to differences in the nature of the markets. The spread also may be distorted by differences in initial and variation margin requirements, the liquidity of such markets and the participation of speculators in such markets.
Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, baskets of assets or securities, indexes of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). Options may be traded on an exchange or OTC. The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. Depending on the terms of the contract, upon exercise, an option may require physical delivery of the underlying instrument or may be settled through cash payments. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right (but not the obligation) to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer should mitigate the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.
Where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price to close out the put or call option on the secondary market may move more or less than the price of the related security.
There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for exchange-traded options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps (swaptions), which are generally options on interest rate swaps. An option on a swap gives a party the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, a fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes (sells) an option on a swap than it will incur when it purchases an option on a swap. When a fund purchases an option on a swap, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when a fund writes an option on a swap, upon exercise of the option the fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement. A fund that writes an option on a swap receives the premium and bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the preset rate on the underlying interest rate swap. Whether a fund's use of options on swaps will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend on the adviser's ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Options on swaps may involve risks similar to those discussed below in "Swap Agreements."
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
Swap Agreements. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term. Most swap agreements are currently traded over-the-counter. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange one or more payments based, for example, on the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, indexes, or other financial or economic interests). The gross payments to be exchanged between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness.
A fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. In order to cover its outstanding obligations to a swap counterparty, a fund would generally be required to provide margin or collateral for the benefit of that counterparty. If a counterparty to a swap transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited temporarily or permanently in exercising its right to the return of related fund assets designated as margin or collateral in an action against the counterparty.
Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that an adviser will not accurately forecast market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other economic factors in establishing swap positions for a fund. If an adviser attempts to use a swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, a fund may be exposed to the risk that the swap will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment, which could cause substantial losses for a fund. While hedging strategies involving swap instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Swaps are complex and often valued subjectively.
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Illiquid Securities cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity fund's adviser determines the liquidity of the fund's investments and, through reports from the fund's adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid securities.
Various factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments, including (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
Increasing Government Debt. The total public debt of the United States and other countries around the globe as a percent of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented.
A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt cost higher and cause a country to sell additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In the worst case, unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns.
On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States one level to "AA+" from "AAA." While Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the United States' short-term sovereign credit rating as "A-1+," there is no guarantee that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services will not decide to lower this rating in the future. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services stated that its decision was prompted by its view on the rising public debt burden and its perception of greater policymaking uncertainty. The market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government may be adversely affected by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services decisions to downgrade the long-term sovereign credit rating of the United States.
Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indexes, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.
Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indexes. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.
Indexed securities may have principal payments as well as coupon payments that depend on the performance of one or more interest rates. Their coupon rates or principal payments may change by several percentage points for every 1% interest rate change.
Mortgage-indexed securities, for example, could be structured to replicate the performance of mortgage securities and the characteristics of direct ownership.
Inflation-protected securities, for example, can be indexed to a measure of inflation, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Commodity-indexed securities, for example, can be indexed to a commodities index such as the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return SM .
Gold-indexed securities typically provide for a maturity value that depends on the price of gold, resulting in a security whose price tends to rise and fall together with gold prices.
Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Insolvency of Issuers, Counterparties, and Intermediaries. Issuers of fund portfolio securities or counterparties to fund transactions that become insolvent or declare bankruptcy can pose special investment risks. In each circumstance, risk of loss, valuation uncertainty, increased illiquidity, and other unpredictable occurrences may negatively impact an investment. Each of these risks may be amplified in foreign markets, where security trading, settlement, and custodial practices can be less developed than those in the U.S. markets, and bankruptcy laws differ from those of the U.S.
As a general matter, if the issuer of a fund portfolio security is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock have priority over the claims of common stock owners. These events can negatively impact the value of the issuer's securities and the results of related proceedings can be unpredictable.
If a counterparty to a fund transaction, such as a swap transaction, a short sale, a borrowing, or other complex transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise rights to obtain the return of related fund assets or in exercising other rights against the counterparty. In addition, insolvency and liquidation proceedings take time to resolve, which can limit or preclude a fund's ability to terminate a transaction or obtain related assets or collateral in a timely fashion. Uncertainty may also arise upon the insolvency of a securities or commodities intermediary such as a broker-dealer or futures commission merchant with which a fund has pending transactions. If an intermediary becomes insolvent, while securities positions and other holdings may be protected by U.S. or foreign laws, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these protections are available to specific trades based on the circumstances. Receiving the benefit of these protections can also take time to resolve, which may result in illiquid positions.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a Fidelity fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) or its affiliates. A Fidelity fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. A Fidelity fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
Investments by Funds of Funds or Other Large Shareholders. Certain funds and accounts that are managed by FMR or its affiliates (including funds of funds) invest in other funds and may at times have substantial investments in one or more other funds.
A fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by funds of funds, other large shareholders, or similarly managed accounts. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a fund's portfolio. In addition, when funds of funds or other investors own a substantial portion of a fund's shares, a large redemption by such an investor could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a fund of funds or other significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the fund's shares.
When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful. A high volume of redemption requests can impact a fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments.
Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. Direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve a risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a fund supply additional cash to a borrower on demand. A fund may acquire loans by buying an assignment of all or a portion of the loan from a lender or by purchasing a loan participation from a lender or other purchaser of a participation.
Lenders and purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of foreign countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.
Direct lending and investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the lender/purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary.
A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest.
Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate lenders/purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a lender/purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
For a Fidelity fund that limits the amount of total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry, the fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require a fund, in appropriate circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for these purposes. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
Because the risk of default is higher for lower-quality debt securities, research and credit analysis are an especially important part of managing securities of this type. Such analysis may focus on relative values based on factors such as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earnings prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer, in an attempt to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved, or is expected to improve in the future.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Precious Metals. Precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, at times have been subject to substantial price fluctuations over short periods of time and may be affected by unpredictable monetary and political policies such as currency devaluations or revaluations, economic and social conditions within a country, trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries. The prices of gold and other precious metals, however, are less subject to local and company-specific factors than securities of individual companies. As a result, precious metals may be more or less volatile in price than securities of companies engaged in precious metals-related businesses. Investments in precious metals can present concerns such as delivery, storage and maintenance, possible illiquidity, and the unavailability of accurate market valuations. Although precious metals can be purchased in any form, including bullion and coins, a Fidelity fund intends to purchase only those forms of precious metals that are readily marketable and that can be stored in accordance with custody regulations applicable to mutual funds. A fund may incur higher custody and transaction costs for precious metals than for securities. Also, precious metals investments do not pay income.
For a fund to qualify as a regulated investment company under current federal tax law, gains from selling precious metals may not exceed 10% of the fund's gross income for its taxable year. This tax requirement could cause a fund to hold or sell precious metals or securities when it would not otherwise do so.
Preferred Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Equity real estate investment trusts own real estate properties, while mortgage real estate investment trusts make construction, development, and long-term mortgage loans. Their value may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property of the trusts, the creditworthiness of the issuer, property taxes, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements, such as those relating to the environment. Both types of trusts are dependent upon management skill, are not diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers, self-liquidation, and the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
Reforms and Government Intervention in the Financial Markets. Economic downturns can trigger various economic, legal, budgetary, tax, and regulatory reforms across the globe. Instability in the financial markets in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn led the U.S. Government and other governments to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility, and in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Reforms are ongoing and their effects are uncertain. Federal, state, local, foreign, and other governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which a fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Reforms may also change the way in which a fund is regulated and could limit or preclude a fund's ability to achieve its investment objective or engage in certain strategies. Also, while reforms generally are intended to strengthen markets, systems, and public finances, they could affect fund expenses and the value of fund investments.
The value of a fund's holdings is also generally subject to the risk of future local, national, or global economic disturbances based on unknown weaknesses in the markets in which a fund invests. In the event of such a disturbance, the issuers of securities held by a fund may experience significant declines in the value of their assets and even cease operations, or may receive government assistance accompanied by increased restrictions on their business operations or other government intervention. In addition, it is not certain that the U.S. Government or foreign governments will intervene in response to a future market disturbance and the effect of any such future intervention cannot be predicted.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its right to liquidate assets related to a repurchase agreement with an insolvent counterparty. A Fidelity fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities Lending. Securities lending allows a fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The fund seeks to maintain the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased.
Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies (which include business development companies (BDCs)), unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. For certain investment companies, such as BDCs, these expenses may be significant. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.
The securities of closed-end funds may be leveraged. As a result, a fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. An investment in securities of closed-end funds that use leverage may expose a fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the fund's long-term returns on such securities will be diminished.
The extent to which a fund can invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws.
Short Sales. Short sales involve the market sale of a security a fund has borrowed from a prime broker with which it has a contractual relationship, with the expectation that the security will underperform either the market or the securities that the fund holds long. A fund closes a short sale by purchasing the same security at the current market price and delivering it to the prime broker.
Until a fund closes out a short position, the fund is obligated to pay the prime broker (from which it borrowed the security sold short) interest as well as any dividends that accrue during the period of the loan. While a short position is outstanding, a fund must also pledge a portion of its assets to the prime broker as collateral for the borrowed security. The collateral will be marked to market daily.
Short positions create a risk that a fund will be required to cover them by buying the security at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the fund. A short position in a security poses more risk than holding the same security long. Because a short position loses value as the security's price increases, the loss on a short sale is theoretically unlimited. The loss on a long position is limited to what a fund originally paid for the security together with any transaction costs. A fund may not always be able to borrow a security the fund seeks to sell short at a particular time or at an acceptable price. As a result, a fund may be unable to fully implement its investment strategy due to a lack of available stocks or for other reasons. It is possible that the market value of the securities a fund holds in long positions will decline at the same time that the market value of the securities the fund has sold short increases, thereby increasing the fund's potential volatility. Because a fund may be required to pay dividends, interest, premiums and other expenses in connection with a short sale, any benefit for the fund resulting from the short sale will be decreased, and the amount of any ultimate gain will be decreased or of any loss will be increased, by the amount of such expenses.
A fund may also enter into short sales against the box. Short sales "against the box" are short sales of securities that a fund owns or has the right to obtain (equivalent in kind or amount to the securities sold short). If a fund enters into a short sale against the box, it will be required to set aside securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short (or securities convertible or exchangeable into such securities) and will be required to hold such securities while the short sale is outstanding. A fund will incur transaction costs, including interest expenses, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales against the box.
Sources of Liquidity or Credit Support. Issuers may employ various forms of credit and liquidity enhancements, including letters of credit, guarantees, swaps, puts, and demand features, and insurance provided by domestic or foreign entities such as banks and other financial institutions. An adviser and its affiliates may rely on their evaluation of the credit of the issuer or the credit of the liquidity or credit enhancement provider in determining whether to purchase or hold a security supported by such enhancement. In evaluating the credit of a foreign bank or other foreign entities, factors considered may include whether adequate public information about the entity is available and whether the entity may be subject to unfavorable political or economic developments, currency controls, or other government restrictions that might affect its ability to honor its commitment. Changes in the credit quality of the issuer and/or entity providing the enhancement could affect the value of the security or a fund's share price.
Sovereign Debt Obligations are issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies, including debt of Latin American nations or other developing countries. Sovereign debt may be in the form of conventional securities or other types of debt instruments such as loans or loan participations. Sovereign debt of developing countries may involve a high degree of risk, and may be in default or present the risk of default. Governmental entities responsible for repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal and pay interest when due, and may require renegotiation or rescheduling of debt payments. In addition, prospects for repayment of principal and payment of interest may depend on political as well as economic factors. Although some sovereign debt, such as Brady Bonds, is collateralized by U.S. Government securities, repayment of principal and payment of interest is not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument ( e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
<R> Temporary Defensive Policies. </R>
<R> In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, a fund may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If a fund does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund reserves the right to invest without limitation in preferred stocks and investment-grade debt instruments for temporary, defensive purposes.
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments which entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss.
Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
To the extent that Strategic Advisers grants investment management authority over an allocated portion of the fund's assets to a sub-adviser (see the section entitled "Management Contract"), that sub-adviser is authorized to provide the services described in the respective sub-advisory agreement, and in accordance with the policies described in this section.
Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities are placed on behalf of the fund by Strategic Advisers (either directly or through its affiliates) or a sub-adviser, pursuant to authority contained in the management contract and the respective sub-advisory agreement.
Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
<R>The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in affiliated funds, but it may incur such costs when it invests in non-affiliated funds and when it invests directly in other types of securities, including ETFs.</R>
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review Strategic Advisers' and its affiliates' and each sub-adviser's performance of their respective responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
Strategic Advisers.
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Strategic Advisers, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Strategic Advisers or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.
Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.
Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Strategic Advisers or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services Strategic Advisers or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Strategic Advisers' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Strategic Advisers or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.</R>
Research Contracts. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Strategic Advisers or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) who have entered into arrangements with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
<R>Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), with whom they are under common control, provided Strategic Advisers or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade-execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.</R>
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Strategic Advisers to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
Advisory Research, Inc. (ARI).
Pursuant to the Sub-Advisory Agreement, ARI determines which securities are to be purchased and sold for a portion of the fund's assets and which broker-dealers are eligible to execute the fund's portfolio transactions. The purchases and sales of securities in the over-the-counter market will generally be executed by using a broker for the transaction. Purchases of portfolio securities for the fund also may be made directly from issuers or from underwriters. Where possible, purchase and sale transactions will be effected through dealers (including banks) that specialize in the types of securities which the fund will be holding unless better executions are available elsewhere. Dealers and underwriters usually act as principals for their own accounts. Purchases from underwriters will include a concession paid by the issuer to the underwriter and purchases from dealers will include the spread between the bid and the asked price. If the execution and price offered by more than one dealer or underwriter are comparable, the order may be allocated to a dealer or underwriter that has provided research or other services as discussed below.
In placing portfolio transactions, ARI will use its reasonable efforts to choose broker-dealers capable of providing the services necessary to obtain the most favorable price and execution available. The full range and quality of services available will be considered in making these determinations, such as the size of the order, the difficulty of execution, the operational facilities of the broker-dealer involved, the risk in positioning the block of securities, and other factors. In those instances where it is reasonably determined that more than one broker-dealer can offer the services needed to obtain the most favorable price and execution available, consideration may be given to those broker-dealers which furnish or supply research and statistical information to ARI that they may lawfully and appropriately use in their investment advisory capacities, as well as provide other services in addition to execution services. ARI considers such information, which is in addition to and not in lieu of the services required to be performed by it under its Sub-Advisory Agreement with the fund, to be useful in varying degrees, but of indeterminable value.
While it is ARI's general policy to seek to obtain the most favorable price and execution available in selecting a broker-dealer to execute portfolio transactions for the fund, weight is also given to the ability of a broker-dealer to furnish brokerage and research services as defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, to the fund or to ARI, even if the specific services are not directly useful to the fund and may be useful to ARI in advising other clients. In negotiating commissions with a broker or evaluating the spread to be paid to a dealer, the fund may therefore pay a higher commission or spread than would be the case if no weight were given to the furnishing of these supplemental services, provided that the amount of such commission or spread has been determined in good faith by ARI to be reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research services provided by such broker-dealer. The standard of reasonableness is to be measured in light of ARI's overall responsibilities to the fund.
Investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other client accounts that may be managed or advised by ARI. Nevertheless, it is possible that at times, identical securities will be acceptable for both the fund and one or more of such client accounts. In such event, the position of the fund and such client accounts in the same issuer may vary and the holding period may likewise vary. However, to the extent any of these client accounts seek to acquire the same security as the fund at the same time, the fund may not be able to acquire as large a position in such security as it desires, or it may have to pay a higher price or obtain a lower yield for such security. Similarly, the fund may not be able to obtain as high a price for, or as large an execution of, an order to sell any particular security at the same time as ARI's other client accounts.
The fund does not effect securities transactions through brokers in accordance with any formula, nor does it effect securities transactions through brokers for selling shares of the fund. However, broker-dealers who execute brokerage transactions may effect purchase of shares of the fund for their customers.
Fred Alger Management, Inc. (Alger Management).
Decisions to buy and sell securities and other financial instruments for the fund are made by Alger Management, which also is responsible for placing these transactions, subject to the overall review of the Trust's Board of Trustees. Although investment requirements for the fund are reviewed independently from those of the other accounts managed by Alger Management and those of the other funds, investments of the type the fund may make may also be made by these other accounts or funds. When the fund and one or more other funds or accounts managed by Alger Management are prepared to invest in, or desire to dispose of, the same security or other financial instrument, available investments or opportunities for sales will be allocated in a manner believed by Alger Management to be equitable to each. In some cases, this procedure may affect adversely the price paid or received by a fund or the size of the position obtained or disposed of by a fund.
<R>Transactions in equity securities are in most cases effected on U. S. stock exchanges or in over-the-counter markets and involve the payment of negotiated brokerage commissions.</R>
<R> The cost of securities purchased from underwriters includes an underwriting commission or concession.</R>
<R>To the extent consistent with applicable provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules and exemptions adopted by the SEC thereunder, as well as other regulatory requirements, Alger Management's portion of fund transactions may be executed through Fred Alger & Company, Incorporated ("Alger Inc."), a registered broker-dealer, if, in the judgment of Alger Management, the use of Alger Inc. is likely to result in price and execution at least as favorable as those of other qualified broker-dealers and if, in particular transactions, Alger Inc. charges the fund involved a rate consistent with that which other broker-dealers charge to comparable unaffiliated customers in similar transactions.</R>
In selecting brokers or dealers to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of a fund, Alger Management seeks the best overall terms available. In assessing the best overall terms available for any transaction, Alger Management will consider the factors it deems relevant, including the breadth of the market in the investment, the price of the investment, the financial condition and execution capability of the broker or dealer and the reasonableness of the commission, if any, for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. In addition, Alger Management is authorized, in selecting parties to execute a particular transaction and in evaluating the best overall terms available, to consider the brokerage and research services, as those terms are defined in section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, provided to the fund involved, the other funds and/or other accounts over which Alger Management or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. Alger Management's fees under its agreements with the funds are not reduced by reason of its receiving brokerage and research service. The Board of Trustees will periodically review the commissions paid by the funds to determine if the commissions paid over representative periods of time are reasonable in relation to the benefits inuring to the funds.
Invesco Advisers, Inc. (Invesco).
The Selection of Brokers
Invesco's primary consideration in selecting brokers or dealers to execute portfolio transactions for the fund is to obtain best execution. Invesco considers the full range and quality of a broker's services, including the value of research and/or brokerage services provided, execution capability, commission rate, and willingness to commit capital, anonymity and responsiveness. The determinative factor is not the lowest commission or spread available but whether the transaction represents the best qualitative execution for the fund. Invesco will not select brokers based upon their promotion or sale of fund shares.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Invesco) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of brokerage or other research products and services (Soft Dollar Products) they provide to Invesco or its affiliates.
Research Products and Services supplement Invesco's own research (and the research of certain of its affiliates), and may include the following types of products and services: database, analyses related to the investment process (such as forecasts and models used in the portfolio management process), quotation/trading/news systems, economic data/forecasting tools, quantitative/technical analysis, fundamental/industry analysis, and other specialized tools.
Execution Services. Invesco also uses soft dollars to acquire products from third parties that are supplied to Invesco through brokers executing the trades or other brokers who "step in" to a transaction and receive a portion of the brokerage commission for the trade. Invesco may from time to time instruct the executing broker to allocate or "step out" a portion of a transaction to another broker. The broker to which Invesco has "stepped out" would then settle and complete the designated portion of the transaction, and the executing broker would settle and complete the remaining portion of the transaction that has not been "stepped out." Each broker may receive a commission or brokerage fee with respect to that portion of the transaction that it settles and completes.
Mixed-Use Products and Services. If Invesco determines that any service or product has a mixed use (i.e., it also serves functions that do not assist the investment decision-making or trading process), Invesco will allocate the costs of such service or product accordingly in its reasonable discretion. Invesco will allocate brokerage commissions to brokers only for the portion of the service or product that Invesco determines assists it in the investment decision-making or trading process and will pay for the remaining value of the product or service in cash.
Benefit to Invesco. Outside research assistance is useful to Invesco because the brokers used by Invesco tend to provide more in-depth analysis of a broader universe of securities and other matters than Invesco's staff follows. In addition, such services provide Invesco with a diverse perspective on financial markets. Some brokers may indicate that the provision of research services is dependent upon the generation of certain specified levels of commissions and underwriting concessions by Invesco's clients. In some cases, Soft Dollar Products are available only from the broker providing them. In other cases, Soft Dollar Products may be obtainable from alternative sources in return for cash payments. Invesco believes that because broker research supplements rather than replaces Invesco's research, the receipt of such research tends to improve the quality of Invesco's investment advice.
Potential Conflicts. Invesco faces a potential conflict of interest when it uses client trades to obtain Soft Dollar Products. This conflict exists because Invesco is able to use the Soft Dollar Products to manage client accounts without paying cash for the Soft Dollar Products, which reduces Invesco's expenses to the extent that Invesco would have purchased such products had they not been provided by brokers. Section 28(e) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended permits Invesco to use Soft Dollar Products for the benefit of any account it manages. Certain Invesco-managed accounts may generate soft dollars used to purchase Soft Dollar Products that ultimately benefit other Invesco-managed accounts, effectively cross subsidizing the other Invesco-managed accounts that benefit directly from the product. Invesco may not use all of the Soft Dollar Products provided by brokers through which a fund effects securities transactions in connection with managing the fund whose trades generated the soft dollars used to purchase such products.
Invesco attempts to reduce or eliminate the potential conflicts of interest concerning the use of Soft Dollar Products by directing client trades for Soft Dollar Products only if Invesco concludes that the broker supplying the product is capable of providing best execution.
Invesco's Decision-Making Process. In choosing brokers to execute portfolio transactions for the fund, Invesco may select brokers that provide Soft Dollar Products to the funds and/or the other accounts over which Invesco and its affiliates have investment discretion. Section 28(e) provides that Invesco, under certain circumstances, lawfully may cause an account to pay a higher commission than the lowest available. Invesco must make a good faith determination that the commissions paid are "reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or Invesco's overall responsibilities with respect to the accounts as to which it exercises investment discretion." The services provided by the broker also must lawfully and appropriately assist Invesco in the performance of its investment decision-making responsibilities. Accordingly, the fund may pay a broker commissions higher than those available from another broker in recognition of the broker's provision of Soft Dollar Products to Invesco.
Allocation of Portfolio Transactions
Invesco manages numerous funds and other accounts. Some of these accounts may have investment objectives similar to the fund. Occasionally, identical securities will be appropriate for investment by one of the funds and by another fund or one or more other accounts. However, the position of each account in the same security and the length of time that each account may hold its investment in the same security may vary. Invesco will also determine the timing and amount of purchases for an account based on its cash position. If the purchase or sale of securities is consistent with the investment policies of the fund(s) and one or more other accounts, and is considered at or about the same time, Invesco will allocate transactions in such securities among the fund(s) and these accounts on a pro rata basis based on order size or in such other manner believed by Invesco to be fair and equitable. Invesco may combine transactions in accordance with applicable laws and regulations to obtain the most favorable execution. Simultaneous transactions could, however, adversely affect a fund's ability to obtain or dispose of the full amount of a security which it seeks to purchase or sell.
<R> Kennedy Capital Management, Inc. (Kennedy Capital). </R>
<R> The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers </R>
<R>In determining which broker-dealers to execute trades Kennedy Capital considers various factors which it believes are important, such as the quality of trade executions, costs of transactions, quality of client services, execution capability, commission rates and volume discounts, financial responsibility, reputation, ability to integrate with existing systems, effectiveness of systems for monitoring client investments and regulatory compliance, and responsiveness. While Kennedy Capital seeks competitive commission rates, it may not necessarily obtain the lowest possible commission rates for client transactions. Broker-dealers may offer investment research, which may be used to service other accounts managed by Kennedy Capital.</R>
<R> The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services </R>
<R>Brokers (who are not affiliates of Kennedy Capital) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Kennedy Capital.</R>
<R> Research Products and Services. Certain broker-dealers through whom Kennedy Capital executes trades may provide research, brokerage products or other services (collectively "Products and Services"). The Products and Services may be useful for all client accounts, and not all research may be useful for the account for which the particular transaction was effected. Kennedy Capital may select broker-dealers that may be paid commissions for effecting transactions for clients that exceed the amounts other broker-dealers would have charged for effecting these transactions if it determines in good faith that such amounts are reasonable in relation to the value of the Products and Services provided by those broker-dealers, viewed either in terms of a particular transaction or in the overall duty to clients.</R>
<R>Products and Services may be used by Kennedy Capital for itself and/or in servicing some or all of its clients. In addition, some Products and Services may not necessarily be used for an account even though the account's commission dollars (or other transaction charges) helped to provide for the Products and Services. A client, therefore, may not, in any particular instance, be the direct or indirect beneficiary of the Products and Services provided.</R>
<R>Products and Services may either be provided by a broker-dealer, or paid for by a broker-dealer (either by direct or reimbursement payments - in whatever form - or by commissions, mark-ups, mark-downs or credits or by any other means) to be provided by others. The availability of such Products and Services may create a conflict between the interests of the client in obtaining the lowest cost execution and the interest in obtaining such services. Products and Services may be in any form (e.g., written, oral or online) and may include (but are not limited to): research products or services; clearance; settlement; on-line pricing and financial information; access to computerized data regarding clients' accounts; performance measurement data and services; portfolio strategy advice; market, economic and financial information; statistical information; data on the pricing and availability of securities; publications; electronic market quotations; document retrieval services; analyses concerning specific securities, companies, governments or sectors; market, economic, political and financial studies and forecasts; industry and company comments; technical data, recommendations and general reports; quotation services; custody; brokerage; and computer databases.</R>
<R>In addition, several brokers through whom Kennedy Capital executes orders provide proprietary research on general economic trends or particular companies. Kennedy Capital also periodically obtains opinions from health care providers or other industry experts on industries in general as well as on specific companies or technologies, and these providers may be compensated by a broker-dealer on Kennedy Capital's behalf. In many cases, third-party research and other services are provided by means of orders executed through brokers unrelated to the provider of research or other services.</R>
<R> Execution Services. Kennedy Capital, in recommending broker-dealers to clients, need not solicit competitive bids and does not have an obligation to seek the lowest available transaction cost (e.g., commission cost). It is generally not Kennedy Capital's practice to negotiate "execution only" transaction costs (e.g., commission rates); thus, clients may be deemed to be paying for Products and Services provided by the broker-dealer which are included in the transaction charges. When Kennedy Capital determines that more than one broker-dealer can offer the brokerage and execution services needed to obtain the best available price and most favorable execution, consideration may be given to recommending those broker-dealers which also supply Products and Services that assist in fulfilling investment advisory responsibilities. Products and Services may be used by Kennedy Capital or affiliates and/or in servicing some or all of Kennedy Capital's clients.</R>
<R> Mixed-Use Products and Services. In some instances, Kennedy Capital may receive Products and Services that may be used for both research/brokerage and non-research/brokerage purposes. In such instances, Kennedy Capital will make a good faith effort to determine the relative proportion of the Products and Services used for research/brokerage purposes and the relative proportion used for non-research/brokerage purposes. The proportion of the Products and Services attributable to research/brokerage purposes will be paid through brokerage commissions generated by client transactions; the proportion attributable to non-research/brokerage purposes will be paid for or reimbursed from Kennedy Capital's own resources. The receipt of "mixed-use" Products and Services and the determination of an appropriate allocation between research/brokerage and non-research/brokerage purposes create a potential conflict of interest between Kennedy Capital and its clients.</R>
<R> Benefits to Kennedy Capital. An adviser that uses client brokerage commissions to obtain research (whether proprietary or third-party), products, or services receives a benefit because it does not have to produce or pay for the research, products, or services itself. Consequently, the adviser may have an incentive to select or recommend a broker based on its desire to receive research, products, or services rather than a desire to obtain the most favorable execution, which is in the clients' best interest. Kennedy Capital seeks to obtain overall best execution for client transactions and in the selection of broker-dealers taking into account the value of the Products and Services of the type contemplated under Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are provided by broker-dealers.</R>
<R>Kennedy Capital's expenses likely would be increased if it attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through its own efforts, or if it paid for these brokerage and research products or services with its own resources. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Kennedy Capital or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Kennedy Capital may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.</R>
<R> Kennedy Capital Decision-Making Process. In choosing brokers to execute portfolio transactions for the fund, Kennedy Capital may select brokers that provide soft dollar Products and Services to the funds and/or the other accounts over which Kennedy Capital has investment discretion. Section 28(e) provides that Kennedy Capital, under certain circumstances, lawfully may cause an account to pay a higher commission than the lowest available. Kennedy Capital must make a good faith determination that the commissions paid are reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or Kennedy Capital's overall responsibilities with respect to the accounts as to which it exercises investment discretion. The services provided by the broker also must lawfully and appropriately assist Kennedy Capital in the performance of its investment decision-making responsibilities. Accordingly, the fund may pay broker commissions higher than those available from another broker in recognition of the broker's provision of Soft Dollar Products to Kennedy Capital.</R>
<R> Research Contracts. Kennedy Capital has entered into an agreement for certain business consulting services with an independent contractor who is also a consultant for one of the broker-dealers Kennedy Capital uses for trade execution services. In addition, the same broker-dealer provides proprietary research services to Kennedy Capital and pays for the consulting fees charged by the consultant which are paid for by means of client commissions. This contractual arrangement has been made by and between the business consultant and Kennedy Capital Management, Inc., and the broker-dealer is not a party to it. This arrangement has not caused Kennedy Capital to alter its use of this broker-dealer nor has it caused Kennedy Capital to commit to or pay additional commissions for client transactions.</R>
<R> Non-U.S. Transactions </R>
<R>To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Kennedy Capital may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.</R>
<R> Trade Allocation </R>
<R>Kennedy Capital may be able to obtain better execution and negotiate more favorable brokerage commissions for its clients by "bunching" orders in the same security with the objective of purchasing a block of stock for various clients. Whenever Kennedy Capital determines that it is in the client's best interest to bunch client orders, it will attempt to execute the transactions in this manner.</R>
<R>Shares purchased in bunched transactions are generally allocated pro-rata relative to account assets among the clients for whom the stock is being purchased subject to adjustment for additional factors, including: 1) cash availability within specific accounts, 2) consideration of minimum distribution of shares bought for an account, 3) portfolio sector balancing, and 4) building the percentage of assets invested in the stock in selected accounts. Allocations may also reflect the judgment of the portfolio manager as to the specific needs of an account, such as the need for cash. Shares allocated in accordance with these procedures are priced based on the average price of the executions.</R>
<R>A portfolio manager may work a particular stock without competition from other internal orders until the stock reaches a full position for the accounts in the composite/group. If the stock is being purchased by more than one composite/group, the shares are allocated in accordance with procedures that Kennedy Capital believes to be appropriate and equitable to each account.</R>
Neuberger Berman Management LLC (Neuberger Berman).
In determining the broker through which, and the transaction cost at which securities transactions for clients are to be effected, Neuberger Berman seeks to obtain the best results for the client. Neuberger Berman takes into consideration such relevant factors as price, the broker's execution ability, reliability and financial responsibility and the ability to help effect the transaction by contributing to critical elements as timing and order size. Commission rates, being a component of purchase/sale price are also considered as a factor. Neuberger Berman does not obligate itself to seek the lowest commission cost except to the extent that it contributes to the overall goal of obtaining the best results for clients.
Transactions are reviewed on a daily basis at the trading and portfolio management level, and periodically by senior trading management. On a quarterly basis, the firm's transaction committee meets and reviews all of the firm's equity transaction using ITG's Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA) product. ITG is an independent firm whose TCA benchmarking product analyzes Neuberger's equity execution quality. The Portfolio Transactions Committee of the Neuberger Berman Mutual Funds also reviews the ITG analysis.
On an annual basis the Head Trader of Neuberger Berman's Equity Trading Desk and the CIO, Equities perform a comparative review of Neuberger Berman's commission rates against the Greenwich Associates peer review survey. Neuberger Berman utilizes this survey as a means to assess its average blended commission rate. Neuberger Berman's trading desk monitors its targeted blended rate through various internal commission reports.
Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (Pyramis).
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Pyramis or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Pyramis, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Pyramis or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Pyramis' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Pyramis or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and character of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Pyramis and/or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for lessening or avoiding market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Pyramis and/or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Pyramis and/or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Pyramis and/or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Pyramis or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker is generally the same as the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Pyramis and/or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Pyramis) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Pyramis or its affiliates.
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. Pyramis or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Pyramis' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise.</R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Pyramis or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in their investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Pyramis or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefits to Pyramis. Pyramis' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these products or services with their own resources. However, the trading desks of Pyramis and its affiliates are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services that Pyramis or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Pyramis or its affiliates or might not have an explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Pyramis or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Pyramis' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Pyramis or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Pyramis or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Pyramis' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Pyramis or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Pyramis or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Pyramis, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Pyramis or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Pyramis or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Pyramis or its affiliates.</R>
<R> Research Contracts. Pyramis or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Pyramis or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Pyramis or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Pyramis or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Pyramis or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Pyramis' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately ( e.g., with hard dollars), rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Pyramis' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.</R>
Commission Recapture
Pyramis or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Pyramis) who have entered into arrangements with Pyramis or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
Pyramis or its affiliates may be authorized to place portfolio transactions with Fidelity Capital Markets (FCM), a division of NFS, an affiliated broker-dealer of Pyramis and its affiliates, or other broker-dealers with whom they are under common control, and use CrossStream, an alternative trading system operated by NFS, if they reasonably believe the quality of the transaction is comparable to what it would be with other qualified broker-dealers. With respect to trades that are executed by Pyramis' affiliates, Pyramis and such affiliate seek to ensure that the trade execution obtained is comparable to that of unaffiliated brokers and that the continued use of such affiliate is appropriate. In addition, Pyramis or its affiliates may place trades with broker-dealers that use NFS as a clearing agent.
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Securities Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Pyramis or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers or may engage a third party to do so.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Pyramis or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Pyramis or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Pyramis to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
Systematic Financial Management, L.P. (Systematic).
Best Execution
It is Systematic's duty to seek the best overall execution of transactions for client accounts consistent with the Firm's judgment as to the business qualifications of the various broker-dealers with which Systematic may do business. In selecting broker-dealers to effect securities transactions for clients, Systematic will select broker-dealers based on its consideration of the broker's financial soundness, the broker's ability to effectively and efficiently execute, report, clear and settle the order, provide valuable research, commit capital, timely and accurately communicate with Systematic's trading desk and operations team and charge commission rates which, when combined with these services, will produce the most favorable total cost or proceeds for each transaction under the circumstances. "Best execution" is generally understood to mean the most favorable cost or net proceeds reasonably obtained under the circumstances.
Systematic's approach to seeking best execution focuses on consideration of explicit commission costs or spreads as well as on critically important factors such as minimizing market impact and price movements and achieving the Firm's overall investment goals. The Firm seeks to negotiate commission rates which, when combined with the factors used in the selection of brokers, will produce the most favorable total cost or proceeds for each transaction under the circumstances. Systematic is not obligated to choose the broker-dealer offering the lowest available commission rate if, in the Firm's reasonable judgment, there is a risk that the total cost or proceeds from the transaction may be less favorable than may be obtained elsewhere, or, if a higher commission is justified by trading provided by the broker-dealer, or if other considerations, such as those set forth above dictate utilizing a different broker-dealer. While Systematic's approach seeks to contain explicit trading costs, these considerations may not predominate in seeking to achieve the Firm's overall investment goals.
Selection Factors for Brokers
If the client engages Systematic on a fully discretionary basis, Systematic will select a broker based on a number of factors, which may include but are not limited to the following: the broker's financial soundness, the broker's ability to effectively and efficiently execute, report, clear and settle the order, provide valuable research, commit capital, timely and accurately communicate with Systematic's trading desk and operations team; research services provided in connection with soft dollar arrangements; and similar factors. Recognizing the value of these factors, Systematic may allow a brokerage commission in excess of that which another broker might have charged for effecting the same transaction.
When selecting trading venues on which to execute an order, Systematic generally considers whether it has viable options among trading venues such as different markets or trading systems. If options exist, Systematic may consider executing part or all of the trade order using an Alternative Trading System ("ATS"). These systems can, but not always, permit at least as favorable a quality of execution as may occur using conventional brokers on conventional exchanges. These systems may reduce the role of market makers and can assist buyers and sellers in dealing directly with each other, thereby increasing market anonymity. ATS's may also offer limited market impact, lower commissions, and protection of proprietary information with respect to relatively liquid securities. At times however, these systems may also present certain limitations. In certain trading circumstances, given time constraints, priority trading needs, lack of liquidity or other conditions use of such alternative trading systems may be impractical. Systematic is not required to use alternative trading systems in any particular circumstances.
Commission Rates
Systematic obtains information as to the general level of commission rates being charged by the brokerage community from time to time and periodically evaluates the overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions paid on client transactions by reference to such data.
Systematic periodically reviews the past performance of the exchange members, brokers, or dealers with whom it has been placing order to execute portfolio transactions in light of the factors discussed above. Systematic may cease to do business with certain exchange members, brokers or dealers whose performance may not have been competitive or may demand that such persons improve their performance before receiving any further orders.
Systematic monitors the commission rates paid by clients whose transactions are executed with or through brokers selected by the Firm. As appropriate and warranted, the Firm takes steps to renegotiate its commission rates where the Firm has discretion to choose the broker with which the transaction is to be executed. Systematic also uses soft dollars which may result in client's paying higher commission rates than what may be available for execution-only trades, as further described under the Soft Dollar disclosure below.
Systematic shall not be responsible for obtaining competitive bids on directed trades done on a net basis. Systematic may be unable to obtain a more favorable price based on transaction volume on transactions that cannot be aggregated with transactions of its other advisory clients. Systematic may enter certain orders after other clients' orders for the same security, with the result that market movements may work against the client.
Trade Allocation and Aggregation
Trade allocation decisions are made among client accounts to ensure fair and equitable treatment of client accounts over time. Investment decisions are generally applied to all accounts utilizing that particular strategy, taking into consideration client restrictions, instructions and individual needs. Systematic, when rebalancing individual accounts, may or may not have an opportunity to aggregate or "bunch" trades; thus there may be disparity in price or commissions among clients. When the brokerage firm has not been designated by the clients, Systematic may, but is not obligated to, aggregate or "bunch" trades of securities to be purchased or sold into block trades in order to seek the most favorable execution and lower brokerage commissions in such manner as Systematic deems equitable and fair to the clients. As a general rule, all accounts for which trades are aggregated will receive the same average execution price for that day. All allocations of block trades, including expenses incurred in the transaction, shall be made on a fair and equitable basis over time, to the extent practicable, without favoring any account or type of account or client over another over a period of time. In cases when a trade is not completed in a single "bunched" day, Systematic will allocate the traded shares on a pro-rata basis among all of the accounts in the trade block. Systematic is not obligated to aggregate trades in any circumstances.
The choice of the method of trade allocation will be based on various factors including how much of the total block was completed and the liquidity of the issue being traded.
Although Systematic generally seeks to allocate investment opportunities as fairly and equitably as possible over the long term, Systematic cannot assure the equal participation of every client in every investment opportunity or every transaction. Systematic may determine that a limited supply or demand for a particular opportunity or investment or other factors noted above may preclude the participation of some clients in a particular investment opportunity or trade.
Initial Public Offerings
Initial public offerings ("IPOs") and certain secondary offerings often present limited opportunities for client participation because not all clients are eligible to participate in every offering; the number of shares of each offering allotted to Systematic may be too small to permit meaningful participation by all clients that may be eligible to participate; and the number and nature of offerings generally may be dependent upon market or economic factors beyond the Firm's control.
IPOs typically do not qualify for the traditional value style portfolios managed by Systematic due to a lack of earnings and/or cash flows associated with a new issuance. In the event that Systematic participates in any initial public offerings and other securities with limited availability, Systematic allocates IPOs among client accounts in a fair and equitable manner over time, taking into consideration factors such as client account objectives and preference, investment restrictions, account sizes, cash availability, and current specific needs. Systematic generally seeks to ensure that over the long term, each eligible client with the same or similar investment objectives will receive an equitable opportunity to participate in such offerings, and that no eligible client will be unfairly disadvantaged, subject to limitations noted above. Secondary offerings are generally allocated to non-directed accounts based on product style and account size. Systematic's Wrap accounts and non-discretionary program (or directed accounts) are generally not eligible for IPOs.
Soft Dollars
<R>Consistent with Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended Systematic may direct certain transactions for execution to certain broker/dealers in recognition of brokerage and research services provided by those broker/dealers and/or other third-party providers. The practice of obtaining research in this manner is referred to as using "soft dollars." Systematic may facilitate its use of soft dollars through traditional soft dollar arrangements, commission sharing arrangements ("CSAs") and/or "full service" broker/dealers offering "bundled" services. The products and services provided are either proprietary (created and provided by the broker/dealer, including tangible research products, as well as, for example, access to company management or broker/dealer generated research reports) or third-party (created by the third-party, but provided by the broker/dealers), and, may include, investment research (either directly or through publications or reports) as to the value of securities, the advisability of investing in, purchasing, or selling securities, the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities, presentation of special situations and trading opportunities, advice concerning trading strategy, and analyses and reports concerning issues, industries, securities, economic factors and trends, portfolio strategy, and the performance of specific strategies. This practice of generating and using soft dollars generally causes clients to pay a broker/dealer a commission rate higher than a broker/dealer would charge for execution only services.</R>
<R>In the allocation of brokerage, Systematic may give preference to those broker/dealers that provide research products and services, either directly or indirectly, so long as Systematic believes that the selection of a particular broker/dealer is consistent with Systematic's duty to seek best execution. To the extent that Systematic is able to obtain such products and services through the use of clients' commission dollars, it reduces the need to produce the same research internally or through outside providers for hard dollars and thus provides an economic benefit to Systematic and its clients. As an example, Systematic has received research services relating to data used by the investment team for attribution analysis and risk control purposes; software that has substantial data, alpha and risk models and the ability to track news events on portfolios, and industry-specific information, which Systematic has found useful in its research process. Systematic may have an incentive to select a broker/dealer in order to receive such products and services whether or not the client receives best execution. On an ongoing basis, Systematic monitors the research and brokerage services received to ensure that the services received are reasonable in relation to the brokerage allocated.</R>
<R>Products and services which provide lawful and appropriate assistance to Systematic's investment decision-making process may be paid for with commissions generated by client accounts to the extent such products and services were used in that process. Systematic allocates the cost of such products on a basis that it deems reasonable over time according to the various uses of the product, and maintains records to document this allocation process. Systematic does not, as a matter of practice, employ step-out transactions for the purpose of securing such products and services.</R>
<R>In traditional soft dollar arrangements, trades placed by Systematic with certain broker-dealers generate soft dollars based upon the amount of commissions associated with Systematic's trades. An agreement between Systematic and the broker-dealer then obligates the broker-dealer to pay for a specific research or brokerage product or service received by Systematic.</R>
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<R>In addition to traditional soft dollar arrangements, Systematic may use CSAs, under which certain broker-dealers allocate a percentage of commissions generated by Systematic's trades with the broker-dealer to a pool of soft dollars. Systematic may use these commissions to obtain products or services provided by the broker/dealers ("proprietary research") or direct compensation from the pool to third party service providers, which may or may not be broker-dealers, pursuant to an agreement between Systematic and the broker/dealer. Through these pooled CSA structures, Systematic could conclude that if a broker dealer does not meet its requirements in terms of execution capabilities, yet provides valuable research, it could terminate any execution relationship and pay for the research through another broker/dealer. The CSAs enable Systematic to work more closely with certain key broker/dealers, and limit the broker/dealers with whom it trades, while still maintaining research relationships with broker/dealers that provide Systematic with research and research services.</R>
<R>Systematic may also receive unsolicited proprietary research from broker/dealers through which it trades. Proprietary research of this nature is generally part of a "bundle" of brokerage and research and is not separately priced. Any research received is used to service all clients to which it is applicable. Systematic executes trade orders with broker/dealers on the basis of best execution, without consideration of any unsolicited research services that it may receive. Systematic makes no attempts to link the acquisition of unsolicited research with any particular client transactions.</R>
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<R>Systematic may also receive services which, based on their use, are only partially paid for through soft dollars. Any such service is considered "mixed-use" because it is used by Systematic for both research or brokerage and non-research, non-brokerage purposes, such as for administration or marketing. In each such case, Systematic makes a good faith determination of which portion of the service should be paid for with soft dollars and which portion should be paid for with hard dollars. Systematic allocates the cost of the products on a basis which it deemed reasonable according to the various uses of the product. Only that portion of the cost of the product allocable to research services would be paid with the brokerage commissions generated by fiduciary accounts and the non-research portion will be paid in cash by Systematic. Systematic retains documentation of the soft to hard dollar allocation for mixed-use items and periodically reviews this allocation.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Systematic uses the research products/services provided by broker/dealers through its soft dollar arrangements in formulating investment advice for any and all clients' accounts, including accounts other than those that paid commissions to the broker/dealers on a particular transaction. As a result, not all research generated by a particular client's trade will benefit that particular client's account. In some instances, the other accounts benefited may include accounts for which the accounts' owners have directed their portion of brokerage commissions to go to particular broker/dealers other than those that provided the research products/services. However, research services obtained through soft dollar transactions may be used in advising all accounts, and not all such services would necessarily be used by Systematic in connection with the specific account that paid commissions to the broker/dealer providing such services. From time to time, certain clients may request that Systematic not generate soft dollar credits on trades executed for their accounts. While Systematic may accommodate such requests in its discretion, trades for these clients generally do not experience lower transaction costs. In addition, the trading process for these clients may be adversely affected in other ways, including that the client may not participate in aggregated orders with clients that have not made such a request, therefore preventing the client from receiving the price and execution benefits of the aggregated order. In addition, and as with other directed or customized brokerage arrangements, the positions of these accounts in trade ordering and trade rotation may be impacted. Systematic reserves the right to reject or limit client requests of this type, and clients may be charged a premium for such arrangements.</R>
<R></R>
<R>For additional information regarding Systematic's use of soft-dollars, as well as its brokerage practices generally, please refer to Item 12 of Systematic's Form ADV Part 2A.</R>
Commissions Paid
A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
<R>For the fiscal periods ended February 28, 2013 and February 29, 2012, the fund's portfolio turnover rates were 66% and 11%, respectively. Variations in turnover rate may be due to a fluctuating volume of shareholder purchase and redemption orders, market conditions, and/or changes in Strategic Advisers' investment outlook.</R>
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund held securities issued by one or more of its regular brokers or dealers or a parent company of its regular brokers or dealers. The following table shows the aggregate value of the securities of the regular broker or dealer or parent company held by the fund as of the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013.</R>
<R> Fund |
Regular Broker or Dealer |
Aggregate Value of
|
<R>Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund |
Stifel Financial Corp. |
$ 88,595</R> |
<R>The following table shows the total amount of brokerage commissions paid by the fund, comprising commissions paid on securities and/or futures transactions, as applicable, for the fiscal years ended February 28, 2013 and February 29, 2012. The total amount of brokerage commissions paid is stated as a dollar amount and a percentage of the fund's average net assets.</R>
<R>Fiscal Year
|
|
Dollar
|
Percentage of
|
<R> 2013 |
|
$ 47,483 |
0.12%</R> |
<R> 2012 + A |
|
$ 32,292 |
0.09%</R> |
<R> + Fiscal year ended February 29.</R>
A Fund commenced operations on December 20, 2011.
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the following brokerage commissions were paid to affiliated brokers:</R>
<R> Broker |
Affiliated With |
Commissions |
Percentage of
|
Percentage of
|
<R>Alger Inc. |
Alger Management |
$ 3,592 |
7.56% |
3.97%</R> |
<R>During the fiscal period December 20, 2011 to February 29, 2012, the following brokerage commissions were paid to affiliated brokers:</R>
<R> Broker |
Affiliated With |
Commissions</R> |
<R>Alger Inc. |
Alger Management |
$ 761</R> |
<R>Buckingham Research Group Inc. |
Systematic |
$ 9</R> |
<R>Suntrust Capital Markets Inc. |
Systematic |
$ 23</R> |
<R>The fund commenced operations on December 20, 2011 and, therefore, does not have any affiliated brokerage commissions to report for fiscal year ended February 28, 2011.</R>
<R>Brokerage commissions may vary significantly from year to year due to a variety of factors, including the types of investments selected by the sub-adviser(s), changes in transaction costs, and market conditions.</R>
<R>During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid $32,309 in brokerage commissions to firms that may have provided research or brokerage services involving approximately $34,924,784 of transactions.</R>
The class's NAV is the value of a single share. The NAV of the class is computed by adding the class's pro rata share of the value of the fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting the class's pro rata share of the fund's liabilities, subtracting the liabilities allocated to the class, and dividing the result by the number of shares of that class that are outstanding.
The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for pricing, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers has established the Strategic Advisers Fair Value Committee (Strategic Advisers Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities. The Strategic Advisers Committee may rely on information and recommendations provided by affiliates of Strategic Advisers in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, including the fair valuation of securities.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) held by the fund are valued at their respective NAVs. If an underlying fund's NAV is unavailable, shares of that underlying fund will be fair valued in good faith by the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by the fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity non-money market fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
<R>Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques.</R>
Short-term securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less for which market quotations and information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates current value.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
<R>Prices described above are obtained from pricing services that have been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available and the funds may use more than one of these services. The funds may also discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time. Strategic Advisers engages in oversight activities with respect to the fund's pricing services, which includes, among other things, testing the prices provided by pricing services prior to calculation of a fund's NAV, conducting periodic due diligence meetings, and periodically reviewing the methodologies and inputs used by these services.</R>
<R>Foreign securities and instruments are valued in their local currency following the methodologies described above. Foreign securities, instruments and currencies are translated to U.S. dollars, based on foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by a pricing service as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which uses a proprietary model to determine the exchange rate. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at an interpolated rate based on days to maturity between the closest preceding and subsequent settlement period reported by the third party pricing service.</R>
The Board of Trustees of the underlying Fidelity funds has ultimate responsibility for pricing portfolio securities and assets held by those funds, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee and the Strategic Advisers Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and ADRs, market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. This technique involves initially valuing an instrument at its cost as adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount rather than its current market value. The amortized cost value of an instrument may be higher or lower than the price a money market fund would receive if it sold the instrument.
At such intervals as they deem appropriate, the Trustees of an underlying Fidelity money market fund consider the extent to which NAV calculated using market valuations would deviate from the $1.00 per share calculated using amortized cost valuation. If the Trustees believe that a deviation from a money market fund's amortized cost per share may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Trustees have agreed to take such corrective action, if any, as they deem appropriate to eliminate or reduce, to the extent reasonably practicable, the dilution or unfair results. Such corrective action could include selling portfolio instruments prior to maturity to realize capital gains or losses or to shorten average portfolio maturity; withholding dividends; redeeming shares in kind; establishing NAV by using available market quotations; and such other measures as the Trustees may deem appropriate.
BUYING AND SELLING INFORMATION
Class F shares of the fund are available for purchase only by mutual funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager.
The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the class's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
Dividends. A portion of the fund's income may qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, but it is unlikely that all of the fund's income will qualify for the deduction. A portion of the fund's dividends, when distributed to individual shareholders, may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
Capital Gain Distributions. The fund's long-term capital gain distributions, including amounts attributable to an underlying fund's long-term capital gain distributions, are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.
Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. As a general matter, if, at the close of its fiscal year, more than 50% of the fund's total assets is invested in securities of foreign issuers, the fund may elect to pass through eligible foreign taxes paid and thereby allow shareholders to take a deduction or, if they meet certain holding period requirements with respect to fund shares, a credit on their individual tax returns. In addition, if at the close of each quarter of its fiscal year at least 50% of the fund's total assets is represented by interests in other regulated investment companies, the same rules will apply to any foreign tax credits that underlying funds pass through to the fund. The amount of foreign taxes paid by the fund will be reduced to the extent that the fund lends securities over the dividend record date. Special rules may apply to the credit for individuals who receive dividends qualifying for the long-term capital gains tax rate.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
<R>The Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and executive officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. If the interests of the fund and an underlying Fidelity fund were to diverge, a conflict of interest could arise and affect how the Trustees and Member of the Advisory Board fulfill their fiduciary duties to the affected funds. Strategic Advisers has structured the fund to avoid these potential conflicts, although there may be situations where a conflict of interest is unavoidable. In such instances, Strategic Advisers, the Trustees, and Member of the Advisory Board would take reasonable steps to minimize and, if possible, eliminate the conflict. Except for Mary C. Farrell, each of the Trustees oversees 26 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. Ms. Farrell oversees 20 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.</R>
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. The executive officers and Advisory Board Member hold office without limit in time, except that any officer and Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
<R>Each Trustee who is not an interested person of the trust and the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) is referred to herein as an Independent Trustee.</R>
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Fund's Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also engage professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates with experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. Additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, may be considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. Roger T. Servison is an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) and currently serves as Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Ralph F. Cox serves as the lead Independent Trustee and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
Fidelity funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees asset allocation funds as well as the Fidelity enhanced index funds. Other boards oversee Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds and Fidelity's equity and high income funds. The fund may invest in Fidelity funds overseen by such other Boards. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues.
The Trustees primarily operate as a full Board, but also operate in committees, to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board has charged Strategic Advisers and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through Strategic Advisers, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. Board oversight of different aspects of the fund's activities is exercised primarily through the full Board, but also through the Audit and Compliance Committee. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees."
Interested Trustees *:
<R>Correspondence intended for each Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
|
<R>Roger T. Servison (1945)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Servison is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Servison serves as President of Strategic New Business Development for Fidelity Investments and serves as a Director of Strategic Advisers. Previously, Mr. Servison oversaw Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company (2005-2006) and Strategic Advisers (2005-2007). Mr. Servison also served as President and a Director of Fidelity Brokerage Services (Japan), LLC (1994-2004). |
<R>Derek L. Young (1964)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Mr. Young is Vice President of Fidelity's Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present), President and a Director of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2011-present), President of Fidelity Global Asset Allocation (GAA) (2011-present), and Vice Chairman of Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2011-present). Previously, Mr. Young served as Chief Investment Officer of GAA (2009-2011) and as a portfolio manager. |
* Trustees have been determined to be "Interested Trustees" by virtue of, among other things, their affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with Strategic Advisers.
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees :
Correspondence intended for each Independent Trustee (that is, the Trustees other than the Interested Trustees) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
|
<R>Peter C. Aldrich (1944)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Aldrich is a Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Director of the funds of BlackRock Realty Group (2006-present). Previously, Mr. Aldrich served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010), a Managing Member of Poseidon, LLC (foreign private investment, 1998-2004), and Chairman and Managing Member of AEGIS, LLC (foreign private investment, 1997-2004). Mr. Aldrich also served as Faculty Chairman of The Research Council on Global Investment of The Conference Board (business and professional education non-profit, 1999-2004). Mr. Aldrich is a Member of the Boards of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and an Overseer of the Longy School of Music. |
<R>Amy Butte Liebowitz (1968)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011</R> Ms. Butte Liebowitz was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of TILE Financial (financial internet service, 2008-2012). Previously, Ms. Butte Liebowitz served as the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of MF Global (broker-dealer, 2006-2008), and Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange (2004-2006). Ms. Butte Liebowitz is a member of the Boards of Directors of Accion International and the New York Women's Forum, as well as an alumna of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader program. |
<R>Ralph F. Cox (1932)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Cox is President of RABAR Enterprises (management consulting for the petroleum industry). Mr. Cox is a Director of Abraxas Petroleum (exploration and production). Mr. Cox is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Business and Engineering Schools of Texas A&M University and the Engineering School of University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Mr. Cox served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010) and as an Advisory Director of CH2M Hill Companies (engineering, 1981-2011). Mr. Ralph F. Cox and Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. are not related. |
<R>Mary C. Farrell (1949)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2013</R> Ms. Farrell is a Director of the W.R. Berkley Corporation (insurance provider) and President (2009-present) and Director (2006-present) of the Howard Gilman Foundation (charitable organization). Previously, Ms. Farrell was Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at UBS Wealth Management USA and Co-Head of UBS Wealth Management Investment Strategy & Research Group (2003-2005). Ms. Farrell also served as Investment Strategist at PaineWebber (1982-2000) and UBS PaineWebber (2000-2002). Ms. Farrell also serves as Trustee on the Board of Overseers of the New York University Stern School of Business, the Board of Trustees of Yale-New Haven Hospital and is a member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II. |
<R>Karen Kaplan (1960)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Ms. Kaplan is President of Hill Holliday (advertising and specialized marketing, 2007-present). Ms. Kaplan is a Director of DSM (dba Delta Dental and DentaQuest) (2004-present), Director of Vera Bradley (2012-present), Member of the Board of Governors of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston (2010-present), Member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference for Women (2008-present), Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (2006-present), Board of Directors of Jobs for Massachusetts (2012-present), National Association of Corporate Directors Chapter (2012-present), and Board of Directors of the Post Office Square Trust (2012-present). She is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, an action oriented community of the most effective CEOs, heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, and non-governmental leaders in the world. Previously, Ms. Kaplan served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010), President of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2008-2010), Treasurer of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2002-2006), Vice Chair of the Board of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2003-2010), Director of United Way of Massachusetts Bay (2004-2006), Director of ADVO (direct mail marketing, 2003-2007), and Director of Tweeter Home Entertainment Group (2006-2007). |
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Member and Executive Officers :
<R>Correspondence intended for each executive officer and Howard E. Cox, Jr. may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupation</R> |
|
<R>Howard E. Cox, Jr. (1944)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II. Mr. Cox is a Member of the Advisory Board of Devonshire Investors (2009-present). Mr. Cox serves as an Advisory Partner of Greylock (venture capital) and a Director of Stryker Corporation (medical products and services). Previously, Mr. Cox served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010) and a Member of the Secretary of Defense's Business Board of Directors (2008-2010). Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. and Mr. Ralph F. Cox are not related. |
<R>Kenneth B. Robins (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 President and Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Robins also serves as President and Treasurer of other Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds (2008-present) and Assistant Treasurer of other Fidelity Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present). Mr. Robins is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Robins served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2005-2008) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2006-2008). |
<R>Marc Bryant (1966)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of the fund. Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Fidelity Investments. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Mr. Bryant served as a Senior Vice President and the Head of Global Retail Legal for AllianceBernstein L.P. (2006-2010), and as the General Counsel for ProFund Advisors LLC (2001-2006). |
<R>Elizabeth Paige Baumann (1968)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012 Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer of the fund. Ms. Baumann also serves as AML Officer of the Fidelity funds (2012-present) and The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2012-present), Chief AML Officer of FMR LLC (2012-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Baumann served as Vice President and Deputy Anti-Money Laundering Officer (2007-2012). |
<R>Nicholas E. Steck (1964)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the fund. Mr. Steck serves as Senior Vice President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. During the period 2002 to 2009, Mr. Steck served as a Compliance Officer of FMR, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc., FMR LLC, Fidelity Research & Analysis (U.K.) Inc., Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. |
<R>Laura M. Doherty (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Compliance Officer of the fund. Ms. Doherty also serves as Senior Vice President of the Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Doherty served as a Vice President in Fidelity's Corporate Audit department (1998-2008). |
<R>Adrien E. Deberghes (1967)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Deberghes also serves as Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) and Deputy Treasurer (2008-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Deberghes served as Senior Vice President of Mutual Fund Administration at State Street Corporation (2007-2008), Senior Director of Mutual Fund Administration at Investors Bank & Trust (2005-2007), and Director of Finance for Dunkin' Brands (2000-2005). |
<R>Stephanie J. Dorsey (1969)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Ms. Dorsey also serves as President and Treasurer (2013-present) and Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Dorsey served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2008-2013), Treasurer (2004-2008) of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds and Vice President (2004-2008) of JPMorgan Chase Bank. |
<R>Jonathan Davis (1968)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Davis is also Assistant Treasurer of certain Fidelity funds. Mr. Davis is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2003-2010). |
<R>Margaret A. Carey (1973)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 </R> Assistant Secretary of the fund. Ms. Carey also serves as Assistant Secretary of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present), Vice President, Associate General Counsel (2007-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). |
Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established two committees to supplement the work of the Board as a whole. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
<R>The Audit and Compliance Committee is composed of Ms. Butte Liebowitz (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, Mr. Ralph Cox, and Mses. Farrell and Kaplan. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The committee determines whether at least one member of the committee is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined in rules promulgated by the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The committee normally meets in conjunction with in person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee meets separately periodically with the fund's Treasurer, the fund's Chief Financial Officer, the fund's CCO, personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and the fund's outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the fund for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the fund and the fund's service providers, (ii) the financial reporting processes of the fund, (iii) the independence, objectivity and qualification of the auditors to the fund, (iv) the annual audits of the fund's financial statements, and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the fund. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations (Auditor Independence Regulations) of the SEC. In furtherance of the foregoing, the committee has adopted (and may from time to time amend or supplement) and provides oversight of policies and procedures for non-audit engagements by outside auditors of the fund. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the fund and for resolving disagreements between the fund and any outside auditor regarding the fund's financial reporting, and has sole authority to hire and fire any auditor. Auditors of the fund report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the fund and any service providers consistent with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Ethics and Independence Rule 3526, Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence. The committee will discuss with the outside auditors any such disclosed relationships and their impact on the auditor's independence and objectivity. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the Auditor Independence Regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the fund's service providers' internal controls and reviews with management, internal auditors, and outside auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of the fund's and service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the fund's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the fund's or service provider's internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will review with counsel any legal matters that may have a material impact on the fund's financial statements and any material reports or inquiries received from regulators or governmental agencies. The committee reviews at least annually a report from the outside auditor describing (i) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control review, peer review, or PCAOB examination of the auditing firm and (ii) any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm since the most recent report and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the fund's financial reporting process and will receive reports from an outside auditor relating to (i) critical accounting policies and practices used by the fund, (ii) alternative accounting treatments that the auditor has discussed with Strategic Advisers, and (iii) other material written communications between the auditor and Strategic Advisers (as determined by the auditor). The committee will discuss with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the fund. The committee will review with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC (to the extent relevant) the results of audits of the fund's financial statements. The committee will review periodically the fund's major internal controls exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. The committee also oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the fund and its service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee of the Board of Trustees or reserved to the Board itself. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the fund. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO and, if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports on significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the fund's compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1 and quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of Mr. Ralph Cox (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, and Mses. Butte Liebowitz, Farrell, and Kaplan. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the code of ethics and any supplemental policies regarding personal securities transactions applicable to the Independent Trustees. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the fund's or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the fund's expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the fund, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012 (or as of March 31, 2013 for Ms. Farrell, Trustee as of March 5, 2013).</R>
Interested Trustees |
||
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Roger T. Servison |
Derek L. Young |
Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
none |
none |
<R></R>
<R>Independent Trustees</R> |
|||||
<R>
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Peter C. Aldrich |
Mary C. Farrell |
Amy Butte Liebowitz |
Ralph F. Cox |
Karen Kaplan</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund |
none |
none |
none |
none |
none</R> |
<R>
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
over $100,000 |
none |
none |
over $100,000 |
none</R> |
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board for his or her services for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, or calendar year ended December 31, 2012, as applicable.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Compensation Table 1</R> |
||||||
<R>
AGGREGATE
|
Peter C.
|
Mary C.
|
Amy Butte
|
Ralph F.
|
Karen
|
</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund |
$ 95 |
$ 0 |
$ 95 |
$ 95 |
$ 95 |
</R> |
<R>
TOTAL COMPENSATION
|
$ 137,500 |
$ 0 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
</R> |
1 Roger T. Servison, Howard E. Cox, Jr., and Derek L. Young are interested persons and are compensated by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate (including FMR).
<R> 2 Effective March 5, 2013, Ms. Farrell serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II.</R>
<R></R>
<R> A Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, for 26 funds of two trusts.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and officers of the fund owned, in the aggregate, less than 1% of the fund's total outstanding shares.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the following owned of record and/or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding shares of a class:</R>
<R> Class Name |
Owner Name |
City |
State |
Ownership %</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund* |
FIMM LLC |
Boston |
MA |
99.63%</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund: Class F |
FIMM LLC |
Boston |
MA |
58.01%</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund: Class F |
Strategic Advisers Multi-Manager 2035 Fund |
Boston |
MA |
5.18%</R> |
<R>* The ownership information shown above is for a class of shares of the fund.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, approximately 99.42% of the fund's total outstanding shares was held of record and/or beneficially by FIMM LLC, Boston, MA.</R>
A shareholder owning of record or beneficially more than 25% of a fund's outstanding shares may be considered a controlling person. That shareholder's vote could have a more significant effect on matters presented at a shareholders' meeting than votes of other shareholders.
CONTROL OF INVESTMENT ADVISERS
<R>FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of Strategic Advisers and Pyramis. The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Abigail P. Johnson family, directly or through trusts, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.</R>
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
ARI, a registered investment adviser, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Piper Jaffray Companies (PJC), which is an international investment firm.
Alger Management, a registered investment adviser, has been in the business of providing investment advisory services since 1964. Alger Management is owned by Alger Associates, a financial services holding company. Alger Associates and, indirectly, Alger Management, are controlled by Hilary M. Alger, Nicole D. Alger and Alexandra D. Alger, who own in the aggregate in excess of 99% of the voting rights of Alger Associates.
Invesco, as successor in interest to multiple investment advisers, has been a registered investment adviser since 1976 and is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Invesco Ltd., a publicly traded company that, through its subsidiaries, engages in the business of investment management on an international basis.
<R>Kennedy Capital is an independent, employee and director-owned advisory firm registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the Act) that provides investment management services on a discretionary basis for taxable and tax-exempt institutions, investment companies, and individual clients. The directors, officers and/or employees of Kennedy Capital, who are deemed "control persons," all of whom have offices at the same address as Kennedy Capital, are: Richard Henry Sinise, Executive Vice President and Chief Portfolio Manager; Richard Ernest Oliver, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Richard Lee Todaro, Vice President and Research Analyst; Timothy Paul Hasara, Vice President and Portfolio Manager; Francis Andrew Latuda, Jr., Director, Vice President, and Chief Investment Officer; Randall Lee Kirkland, President and Chairman of the Board; Stephen Alan Mace, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; Marilyn Kay Lammert, Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer; and Donald M. Cobin, Vice President, Director, and Portfolio Manager. Kennedy Capital also provides investment sub-advisory services to investment companies, a number of wrap fee programs, and to clients of consultants and other investment advisers.</R>
Neuberger Berman, a registered investment adviser, is an indirect subsidiary of Neuberger Berman Group LLC ("Neuberger Berman Group"). The directors, officers and/or employees of Neuberger Berman, who are deemed "control persons," all of whom have offices at the same address as Neuberger Berman, are: Joseph Amato and Robert Conti.
On May 4, 2009, NBSH Acquisition, LLC ("NBSH"), an entity organized by key members of Neuberger Berman Group's senior management, acquired a majority interest in the business conducted by Neuberger Berman Group, as well as the fixed income and certain alternative asset management businesses of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ("LBHI"), LBHI's Investment Management Division (together with Neuberger Berman and Neuberger Berman Group, the "Acquired Businesses") (the "Acquisition"). Prior to that date, the predecessor in interest of Neuberger Berman Group was an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of LBHI. On September 15, 2008, LBHI filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, and on December 22, 2008, the bankruptcy court having jurisdiction over the LBHI matter approved the sale of the Acquired Businesses to NBSH (or its successor or assign).
<R>Through NBSH, portfolio managers, Neuberger Berman Group's management team, and certain of its key employees and senior professionals now indirectly own 72% of the voting equity of Neuberger Berman Group. LBHI and certain affiliates of LBHI own the remaining 28% of Neuberger Berman Group's voting equity.</R>
Pyramis is a registered investment adviser. FMR LLC is the ultimate parent company of Pyramis. Information regarding the ownership of FMR LLC is disclosed above.
<R>Systematic was founded in 1982, as a registered investment adviser with the SEC pursuant to the Advisers Act, specializing in the management of value portfolios. In 1995, a majority stake in the firm was sold to Affiliated Managers Group (AMG), a holding company and publicly traded company that invests in mid-sized asset management firms. The firm was subsequently re-registered with the SEC as Systematic Financial Management, L.P. on April 10, 1995. In 1996, AMG brought in the current senior members of the investment management team. AMG currently holds a majority interest in Systematic through AMG's wholly owned subsidiary, Titan NJ LP Holdings LLC.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers, ARI, Alger Management, Invesco, Kennedy Capital, Neuberger Berman, Pyramis, Systematic (the Investment Advisers), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and the fund have adopted codes of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that set forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establish procedures for personal investing, and restrict certain transactions. Employees subject to the codes of ethics, including the Investment Advisers' investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.</R>
The fund has entered into a management contract with Strategic Advisers, pursuant to which Strategic Advisers furnishes investment advisory and other services.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
<R>Strategic Advisers has retained ARI, Alger Management, Invesco, Kennedy Capital, Neuberger Berman, Pyramis, and Systematic to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. The sub-advisers do not sponsor the fund.</R>
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
Management and Sub-Advisory Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, Strategic Advisers acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, directs the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. Strategic Advisers is authorized, in its discretion, to allocate the fund's assets pursuant to its investment strategy. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates provide the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensate all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of Strategic Advisers, and compensate all personnel of the fund or Strategic Advisers performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
Under its respective sub-advisory agreement, and subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, each sub-adviser directs the investment of its allocated portion of the fund's assets in accordance with the fund's investment objective, policies and limitations.
Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to Strategic Advisers and the fees payable to the transfer agent and pricing and bookkeeping agent, the fund or each class thereof, as applicable, pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by those parties. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders; however, under the terms of the fund's transfer agent agreement, the transfer agent bears these costs. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.
Management Fees. For the services of Strategic Advisers under the management contract, the fund pays Strategic Advisers a monthly management fee calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets; provided, however, that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 1.15% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>Effective January 1, 2013, Strategic Advisers has voluntarily agreed to waive 0.01% of the fund's management fee. This arrangement may be discontinued by Strategic Advisers at any time.</R>
<R>The following table shows the amount of management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers for the past two fiscal years and the amount of waivers reducing management fees for the fund.</R>
<R></R>
<R> Fund |
Fiscal Years
|
Management Fees
|
Management Fees
|
Management Fees
|
<R>Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund |
2013 |
$ 306 |
$ 292,304 |
0.73%</R> |
<R> |
2012 +A |
-- |
$ 53,678 |
0.75% B</R> |
<R> + Fiscal year ended February 29.</R>
A Fund commenced operations on December 20, 2011.
B Annualized.
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of a class's operating expenses. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Expense reimbursements by Strategic Advisers will increase the class's returns, and repayment of the reimbursement by the class will decrease its returns.
Sub-Adviser - ARI. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with ARI pursuant to which ARI may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays ARI fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by ARI pursuant to a separately negotiated investment mandate (a "Strategy"). The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by ARI under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by ARI pursuant to that Strategy.
Sub-Adviser - Alger Management. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Alger Management pursuant to which Alger Management may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Alger Management fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Alger Management pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Alger Management under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Alger Management pursuant to that Strategy.
Sub-Adviser - Invesco. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Invesco pursuant to which Invesco may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Invesco fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Invesco pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Invesco under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Invesco pursuant to that Strategy.
<R> Sub-Adviser - Kennedy Capital. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Kennedy Capital pursuant to which Kennedy Capital may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Kennedy Capital fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Kennedy Capital pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Kennedy Capital under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Kennedy Capital pursuant to that Strategy.</R>
<R> Sub-Adviser - Neuberger Berman. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Neuberger Berman pursuant to which Neuberger Berman may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Neuberger Berman fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Neuberger Berman pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Neuberger Berman under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Neuberger Berman pursuant to that Strategy.</R>
<R> Sub-Adviser - Pyramis. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Pyramis pursuant to which Pyramis may provide investment advisory services for the fund.</R>
<R> Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Pyramis fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Pyramis pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Pyramis under a particular Strategy based on the following rate schedule:</R>
Small-Mid Cap: |
<R>0.50% of the first $200 million in assets;</R> |
<R>0.45% of the next $200 million in assets; and</R> |
0.40% on any amount in excess of $400 million in assets |
Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Pyramis pursuant to that Strategy.
Sub-Adviser - Systematic. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Systematic pursuant to which Systematic may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays Systematic fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by Systematic pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by Systematic under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by Systematic pursuant to that Strategy.
<R>The following table shows the amount of sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to Pyramis for the past two fiscal years.</R>
<R> + Fiscal year ended February 29.</R>
A Fund commenced operations on December 20, 2011.
B Annualized.
<R>The following table shows the aggregate amount of sub-advisory fees paid by Strategic Advisers, on behalf of the fund, to unaffiliated sub-advisers for the past two fiscal years.</R>
<R> + Fiscal year ended February 29.</R>
A Fund commenced operations on December 20, 2011.
B Annualized.
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Strategic Advisers. Barry Golden is an employee of Strategic Advisers, a subsidiary of FMR LLC and an affiliate of FMR. Strategic Advisers is the adviser to the fund.</R>
<R>Mr. Golden is the lead portfolio manager of the fund effective April 30, 2013 and receives compensation for his services. As of April 30, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Strategic Advisers or at the election of the portfolio manager. </R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of a broad range of Strategic Advisers funds and accounts, including the fund. Accounts may include model portfolios designed for asset allocation, retirement planning, or tax-sensitive goals. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s), and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with the portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and peer group. A subjective component of the bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Strategic Advisers. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of his fund is based on the fund's pre-tax investment performance measured against the Russell 2500 ® Index, and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund (based on the performance of the fund's retail class) within the Morningstar ® Small Blend Category. The portfolio manager may be compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Strategic Advisers' parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.</R>
<R></R>
<R>The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.</R>
<R>Information with respect to Mr. Golden's holdings and other accounts managed will be updated in a supplement to this SAI.</R>
<R></R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - ARI. ARI manages its allocated portion of the fund's portfolio on a team basis, with portfolio managers James M. Langer and Matthew K. Swaim.</R>
ARI's compensation structure/levels for staff and professionals are, by design, higher than industry levels. ARI believes that portfolio manager compensation should be driven primarily by the delivery of consistent and superior long-term performance for its clients. Portfolio managers are compensated with competitive salaries, annual bonuses that are based on overall job performance and retirement benefits. Bonuses are discretionary and determined by ARI's CEO. The success of ARI and the individual employees' contribution to that success is the primary determinant of incentive compensation. This compensation structure is designed to align the best interests of its clients with the management of the portfolio.
In addition, as part of ARI's merger with PJC in early 2010, PJC stock (with a vesting schedule over 5 years) was gifted to key employees as a retention bonus. Going forward, equity ownership is expected to be part of ARI's long term succession efforts to all employees.
Potential Conflicts of Interests
Actual or apparent conflicts of interest may arise when a portfolio manager has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to more than one fund or other account. More specifically, portfolio managers who manage multiple funds and/or other accounts may be presented with one or more of the following potential conflicts.
The management of multiple funds and/or other accounts may result in a portfolio manager devoting unequal time and attention to the management of the fund and/or other account. Most other accounts managed by a portfolio manager are managed using the same investment models that are used in connection with the management of the fund. ARI has adopted a policy to provide for fair and equitable treatment of all client accounts, and periodically reviews such policy.
If a portfolio manager identifies a limited investment opportunity which may be suitable for more than one fund or other account, the fund may not be able to take full advantage of that opportunity due to an allocation of filled purchase or sale orders across all eligible funds and other accounts. To deal with these situations, ARI has adopted procedures for allocating portfolio transactions across multiple accounts.
ARI determines which broker to use to execute each order, consistent with its duty to seek best execution of the transaction. However, with respect to certain other accounts (such as mutual funds for which ARI acts as advisor, other pooled investment vehicles that are not registered mutual funds, and other accounts managed for organizations and individuals), ARI may be limited by the client with respect to the selection of brokers or may be instructed to direct trades through a particular broker. In these cases, trades for the fund in a particular security may be placed separately from, rather than aggregated with, such other accounts. Having separate transactions with respect to a security may temporarily affect the market price of the security or the execution of the transaction, or both, to the possible detriment of the fund or other account(s) involved.
ARI has adopted certain compliance procedures which are designed to address these types of conflicts. However, there is no guarantee that such procedures will detect each and every situation in which a conflict arises.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Langer as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($6 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Langer was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Swaim as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($6 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R></R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Swaim was none.</R>
Portfolio Manager Compensation - Alger Management. An Alger portfolio manager's compensation generally consists of salary and an annual bonus. In addition, portfolio managers are eligible for health and retirement benefits available to all Alger employees, including a 401(k) plan sponsored by Alger. A portfolio manager's base salary is typically a function of the portfolio manager's experience (with consideration given to type, investment style and size of investment portfolios previously managed), performance of his or her job responsibilities, and financial services industry peer comparisons. Base salary is generally a fixed amount that is subject to an annual review. The annual bonus is variable from year to year, and considers various factors, including:
While the benchmarks and peer groups used in determining a portfolio manager's compensation may change from time to time, Alger Management may refer to benchmarks, such as those provided by Russell Investments and Standard & Poor's, and peer groups, such as those provided by Lipper Inc. and Morningstar Inc., that are widely-recognized by the investment industry.
Alger Management has implemented a long-term deferred compensation program ("LTDC") which gives key personnel the opportunity to have equity-like participation in the long-term growth and profitability of the firm. There is broad participation in the LTDC program amongst the investment professionals. The LTDC reinforces the portfolio managers' commitment to generating superior investment performance for the firm's clients. The awards are invested in Alger mutual funds and have a four year vesting schedule. The total award earned can increase or decrease with the firm's investment and earnings results over the four year period.
Additionally, the Alger Partner's Plan provides key investment executives with phantom equity that allows participants to pro-rata rights to growth in the firm's book value, dividend payments and participation in any significant corporate transactions (e.g. partial sale, initial public offering, merger, etc.). The firm does not have a limit on the overall percentage of the firm's value it will convey through this program. Further, participation in this program will be determined annually.
It is possible that conflicts of interest may arise in connection with the portfolio manager's management of the fund's investments on the one hand and the investments of other accounts or vehicles for which the portfolio manager is responsible on the other. For example, the portfolio manager may have conflicts of interest in allocating management time, resources and investment opportunities among the fund and the other accounts or vehicles she advises. In addition, due to differences in the investment strategies or restrictions between the fund and the other accounts or vehicles, a portfolio manager may take action with respect to another account or vehicle that differs from the action taken with respect to the fund. In some cases, another account managed by the portfolio manager may provide more revenue to the investment adviser. While these factors may create conflicts of interest for the portfolio manager in the allocation of management time, resources and investment opportunities, the portfolio manager will endeavor to exercise her discretion in a manner that she believes is equitable to all interested persons.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Ms. Greenwald as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
10 |
1 |
22</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 3,525 |
$ 16 |
$ 706</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($6 (in millions) assets managed).
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Ms. Greenwald was none.</R>
Portfolio Manager Compensation - Invesco. Invesco portfolio managers receive a base salary, an incentive bonus opportunity and an equity compensation opportunity. Portfolio manager compensation is reviewed and may be modified each year as appropriate to reflect changes in the market, as well as to adjust the factors used to determine bonuses to promote competitive fund performance. Invesco evaluates competitive market compensation by reviewing compensation survey results conducted by an independent third party of investment industry compensation. Each portfolio manager's compensation consists of the following three elements:
Base Salary. Each portfolio manager is paid a base salary. In setting the base salary, Invesco's intention is to be competitive in light of the particular portfolio manager's experience and responsibilities.
Annual Bonus. The portfolio managers are eligible, along with other employees of Invesco, to participate in a discretionary year-end bonus pool. The Compensation Committee of Invesco Ltd. reviews and approves the amount of the bonus pool available for Invesco's investment centers. The Compensation Committee considers investment performance and financial results in its review. In addition, while having no direct impact on individual bonuses, assets under management are considered when determining the starting bonus funding levels. Each portfolio manager is eligible to receive an annual cash bonus which is based on quantitative (i.e. investment performance) and non-quantitative factors (which may include, but are not limited to, individual performance, risk management and teamwork).
Each portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax investment performance of the funds/accounts managed by the portfolio manager as described in the table below.
Sub-Adviser |
Performance time period 1 |
Invesco 2 |
One-, Three- and Five-year performance against Fund peer group |
1 Rolling time periods based on calendar year-end.
<R> 2 Portfolio Managers may be granted an annual deferral award that vests on a pro-rata basis over a four year period and final payments are based on the performance of eligible Funds selected by the portfolio manager at the time the award is granted.</R>
High investment performance (against applicable peer group and/or benchmarks) would deliver compensation generally associated with top pay in the industry (determined by reference to the third-party provided compensation survey information) and poor investment performance (versus applicable peer group) would result in low bonus compared to the applicable peer group or no bonus at all. These decisions are reviewed and approved collectively by senior leadership which has responsibility for executing the compensation approach across the organization.
<R> Deferred/Long Term Compensation. Portfolio managers may be granted an annual deferral award that allows them to select receipt of shares of certain Invesco Funds with a vesting period as well as common shares and/or restricted shares of Invesco Ltd. stock from pools determined from time to time by the Compensation Committee of Invesco Ltd.'s Board of Directors. Awards of deferred/long term compensation typically vest over time, so as to create incentives to retain key talent.</R>
Portfolio managers also participate in benefit plans and programs available generally to all employees.
Potential Conflicts of Interests
Actual or apparent conflicts of interest may arise when a portfolio manager has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to more than one fund or other account. More specifically, portfolio managers who manage multiple funds and/or other accounts may be presented with one or more of the following potential conflicts:
Invesco has adopted certain compliance procedures which are designed to address these types of conflicts. However, there is no guarantee that such procedures will detect each and every situation in which a conflict arises.
Juliet Ellis, managing director, is a portfolio manager and she is lead portfolio manager of Invesco Small Cap Equity Fund, Invesco Small Cap Growth Fund and Invesco V.I. Small Cap Equity Fund. Ms. Ellis is also chief investment officer (CIO) of Invesco's Domestic Growth Investment Management Unit. Ms. Ellis joined Invesco in 2004. Prior to joining Invesco, Ms. Ellis was Managing Director of JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management. She also served as senior portfolio manager for JPMorgan's Dynamic Small Cap Growth and Small Cap Core strategies and was responsible for the management of over $2 billion in assets. Ms. Ellis began her investment career in 1981 as a financial consultant with Merrill Lynch. She joined JPMorgan in 1987 as a senior equity analyst where she also served as an assistant portfolio manager and director of equity research before being promoted to senior portfolio manager in 1993 and managing director in 2000. Ms. Ellis is a Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Indiana University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and political science. She is a CFA charterholder.
Juan Hartsfield is a portfolio manager affiliated with the management of Invesco Small Cap Equity Fund, Invesco Small Cap Growth Fund and Invesco V.I. Small Cap Equity Fund. Prior to joining Invesco in 2004, Mr. Hartsfield was a portfolio manager with JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management, where he was involved with the management of over $2 billion in various small-cap portfolios. Prior to joining JPMorgan, Mr. Hartsfield served as an associate with Booz Allen & Hamilton. Mr. Hartsfield earned a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan. He is a CFA charterholder.
Clay Manley is a portfolio manager affiliated with the management of Invesco Small Cap Growth Fund. Mr. Manley joined Invesco Ltd. (formerly Invesco PLC) in 2001 in its Corporate Associate Program, working with fund managers throughout Invesco Ltd., before joining Invesco as an equity analyst in 2002. He was promoted to his current position in 2008. Prior to joining Invesco he was an analyst with Sterne, Agee and Leach, Inc., where he specialized in analysis of the telecommunications and information technology services industries. Mr. Manley earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with cum laude honors in history and geology at Vanderbilt University, and a Master of Business Administration degree with concentrations in finance and accounting from Goizueta Business School at Emory University. He is a CFA charterholder.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Ms. Ellis as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
16 |
1 |
2</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 7,006 |
$ 661 |
$ 148</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($9 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Ms. Ellis was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Hartsfield as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
17 |
2 |
2</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 7,407 |
$ 703 |
$ 148</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($9 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Hartsfield was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Manley as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
9 |
none |
2</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 4,763 |
none |
$ 148</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($9 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Manley was none.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Kennedy Capital. Kennedy Capital's compensation structure is designed to directly tie investment professionals to the performance of client portfolios and thus to align our employees' interests with those of our clients. We believe our measures to be highly objective and significantly driven by the performance contribution attributable to each investment professional. Portfolio manager (PM) compensation begins with base salary and is typically augmented by both quarterly and annual bonuses. Quarterly investment performance bonuses are generally based upon the returns generated for client accounts relative to the Russell 2500 ® Index on a trailing one-year basis, and also relative to industry peers on a rolling three-year basis. Other forms of variable compensation, including annual bonuses, are typically based on the achievement of certain goals (such as assets under management and investment performance) as well as subjective scoring.</R>
<R>In line with the way PMs are compensated, assistant portfolio managers (APMs) at Kennedy Capital receive a combination of fixed and variable pay. APMs may continue to perform research on stocks in one or more economic sectors, and may therefore be compensated in part by tracking a "shadow" portfolio designed to emulate the performance of clients' accounts.</R>
<R> Potential Conflicts of Interests </R>
<R>Donald Cobin and Christian McDonald manage Kennedy Capital's SMID Cap Core and Small Cap Core strategies. Within the Small Cap Core strategy, Mr. Cobin and Mr. McDonald manage a number of separately managed accounts and also manage a commingled vehicle. Certain conflicts may arise as the result of an account's size, client-imposed restrictions or fee schedule. Investment opportunities are allocated fairly among clients within each strategy managed by Mr. Cobin and Mr. McDonald pursuant to Kennedy Capital's internal policies and procedures, which also extends to its brokerage practices.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Cobin as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($3 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Cobin was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. McDonald as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($3 (in millions) assets managed). </R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. McDonald was none.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Neuberger Berman. Our compensation philosophy is one that focuses on rewarding performance and incentivizing our employees. We consider a variety of factors in determining fixed and variable compensation for employees, including firm performance, individual performance, overall contribution to the team, collaboration with colleagues across the firm, effective partnering with clients to achieve goals, risk management and the overall investment performance. It is our foremost goal to create a compensation process that is fair, transparent, and competitive with the market.</R>
<R>Neuberger Berman investment professionals on portfolio management teams receive a fixed salary and are eligible for an annual bonus. The annual bonus for an individual investment professional is paid from a "bonus pool" made available to the portfolio management team with which the investment professional is associated. The amount available in the bonus pool is determined based on a number of factors including the revenue that is generated by that particular portfolio management team, less certain adjustments. Once the final size of the available bonus pool is determined, individual bonuses are determined based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the aggregate investment performance of all strategies managed by the individual, utilization of central resources, business building to further the longer term sustainable success of the investment team, effective team/people management, and overall contribution to the success of Neuberger Berman. In some cases, bonus pools may be subject to a hold-back applied to revenues. Research Analysts who are embedded within portfolio management teams participate in a similar compensation structure established for their respective teams, at the discretion of their group heads, thereby aligning them with the long-term performance of their respective teams.</R>
<R>Incentive Structure</R>
<R>As a firm, we believe that providing our employees with appropriate incentives, a positive work environment and an inclusive and collaborative culture is critical to our success in retaining employees.</R>
The terms of our long-term retention incentives are as follows:
<R>• Employee-Owned Equity. An integral part of our management buyout was the implementation of an equity ownership structure which embodies the importance of incentivizing and retaining key investment professionals. Investment professionals have received a majority of the common equity owned by all employees. Employee equity is generally subject to vesting (generally 25% vests each year at the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th anniversaries of the grant).</R>
<R></R>
<R></R>
<R>• Restrictive Covenants. Select senior professionals who have received equity grants have agreed to restrictive covenants which may include non-compete and non-solicit restrictions depending on participation.</R>
<R></R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to the other accounts managed by Mr. Nahum as of February 28, 2013:</R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
4 |
1 |
140</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 339 |
$ 2 |
$ 835</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($2 (in millions) assets managed).
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Nahum was none.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Pyramis. Young Chin is the Lead Portfolio Manager of the Pyramis Small/Mid Cap Core strategy to which a portion of the fund's assets are allocated and receives compensation for his services. As of [February 28, 2013], portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed-base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Pyramis or at the election of the portfolio manager.</R>
<R>The Lead Portfolio Manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Pyramis or its affiliates. The components of Mr. Chin's bonus are based on (i) the general management of Pyramis in his role as Chief Investment Officer, and (ii) the investment performance of Pyramis funds and accounts which eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index or peer group, if applicable. A subjective component of the Lead Portfolio Manager's bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Pyramis. The portion of the Lead Portfolio Manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of Pyramis Small/Mid Cap Core strategy is based on the pre-tax investment performance of the fund measured against the Russell 2500 Index. The Lead Portfolio Manager also is compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Pyramis's parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.</R>
Chad Colman, Andrew Burzumato, Thorsten Becker, Jody Simes, Arun Daniel, Chandler Willett and Vince Rivers are Sector Portfolio Managers that assist the Lead Portfolio Manager in managing the strategy and receive compensation for their services. As of February 29, 2012, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed-base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Pyramis or at the election of the portfolio manager.
The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Pyramis or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group, if applicable, assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of other Pyramis funds and accounts. A smaller, subjective component of the Sector Portfolio Manager's bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Pyramis. The portion of each Sector Portfolio Manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of Pyramis Small/Mid Cap Core strategy is based on the pre-tax investment performance of the fund measured against the Russell 2500 Index. An additional portion of each Sector Portfolio Manager's bonus is based on the pre-tax investment performance of the portion of the fund's assets each Sector Portfolio Manager manages measured against a customized sector benchmark. Each Sector Portfolio Manager also is compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Pyramis's parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.
A portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, a portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. A portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as a portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Pyramis or an affiliate. A portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. For example, a portfolio manager may manage other funds or accounts that engage in short sales, and could sell short a security for such other fund or account that the fund also trades or holds. Although Pyramis monitors such transactions to attempt to ensure equitable treatment of both the fund and a fund or account that engages in short sales, there can be no assurance that the price of a security held by the fund would not be impacted as a result. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Chin as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($3 (in millions) assets managed).
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Chin was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Colman as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Colman, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Colman was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Burzumato as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Burzumato, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Burzumato was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Becker as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Becker, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Becker was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Simes as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Simes, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Simes was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Daniel as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Daniel, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Daniel was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Willett as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Willett, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Willett was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Rivers as of February 28, 2013:</R>
* Includes assets invested in the relevant sector(s) managed by Mr. Rivers, Sector Portfolio Manager, which comprise a portion of the total assets of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund managed by Pyramis.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Rivers was none.</R>
<R> Portfolio Manager Compensation - Systematic. Certain Systematic employees share equity ownership with AMG as Partners, which may serve to incentivize Systematic's investment professionals to perform successfully. The compensation package for portfolio managers Ronald Mushock and D. Kevin McCreesh, both of whom are Managing Partners of Systematic, consists of a fixed base salary, and a share of the Firm's profits based on each Partner's respective individual ownership position in Systematic. Total compensation is influenced by Systematic's overall profitability, and therefore is based in part on the aggregate performance of all of Systematic's portfolios. Portfolio managers are not compensated based solely on the performance of, or the value of assets held in, any product managed by Systematic. Moreover, the Portfolio Managers are provided with a benefits package, including health insurance, and participation in a company 401(K) plan, comparable to that received by other Systematic employees.</R>
Potential Conflicts of Interests
<R>Portfolio managers of Systematic Financial Management, LP ("Systematic") oversee the investment of various types of accounts in the same strategy, such as mutual funds, pooled investment vehicles and separate accounts for individuals and institutions. The simultaneous management of these diverse accounts and specific client circumstances may create perceived conflicts of interest related to differences in the investment management fees charged and unequal time and attention devoted to certain accounts. However, Systematic recognizes its affirmative duty to treat all accounts fairly and equitably over time and maintains a series of controls in furtherance of this goal.</R>
<R>Generally, portfolio managers apply investment decisions to all accounts utilizing a particular strategy on a pro rata basis, while also accounting for varying client circumstances, including client objectives and preferences, instructions, restrictions, account size, cash availability and current specific needs. Nevertheless, during the normal course of managing assets for multiple clients of different types and asset levels, portfolio managers may encounter conflicts of interest that could, if not properly addressed, be harmful to one or more of our clients. Those of a material nature that are encountered most frequently involve, without limitation, investment security selection, employee personal securities trading, proxy voting and the allocation of investment opportunities. To mitigate these potential conflicts and ensure its clients are not negatively impacted by the adverse actions of Systematic or its employees, Systematic has implemented a series of policies and procedures that are overseen by compliance professionals and, in Systematic's view, reasonably designed to prevent and detect conflicts.</R>
<R>For example, Systematic's Code of Ethics restricts employees' personal securities trading, forbids employees from giving, soliciting or accepting inappropriate gifts and entertainment and requires employees to receive explicit approval prior to serving as a board member or officer of a public company or rendering outside investment advice. Additionally, to effectively remove conflicts of interest related to voting proxies for accounts that have delegated such authority to Systematic, Systematic has a Proxy Voting Policy that provides for an independent third-party proxy voting agent, which agent's pre-determined voting policy guidelines Systematic has adopted. Systematic's Allocation and Aggregation and Trade Error Correction policies similarly seek to reduce potential conflicts of interest by promoting the fair and equitable allocation of investment opportunities among client accounts over time and the consistent resolution of trading errors.</R>
<R>Notably, Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (NYSE: AMG), a publicly traded asset management company, holds a majority interest in Systematic through AMG's wholly-owned subsidiary, Titan NJ LP Holdings LLC. Systematic operates independently as a separate, autonomous affiliate of AMG, which has equity investments in a group of investment management firms including Systematic. The AMG Affiliates do not formulate advice for Systematic's clients and do not, in Systematic's view, present any potential conflict of interest with Systematic's clients.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Mushock as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($9 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Mushock was none.</R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. McCreesh as of February 28, 2013:</R>
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund ($9 (in millions) assets managed).</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund beneficially owned by Mr. McCreesh was none.</R>
Proxy Voting - Strategic Advisers.
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of the fund, after consultation with Strategic Advisers. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Strategic Advisers and its affiliates and by the Independent Trustees of the fund, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. The funds in the trust generally intend to vote shares of underlying funds using echo voting procedures (that is, in the same proportion as the holders of all other shares of the particular underlying fund).
B. Any proposals not covered by paragraph A above or other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate Strategic Advisers analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review and approval by the General Counsel or Compliance Officer of FMR or the General Counsel of FMR LLC.
Sub-Advisers:
Proxy voting policies and procedures are used by a sub-adviser to determine how to vote proxies relating to the securities held by its allocated portion of the fund's assets. The proxy voting policies and procedures used by the sub-advisers are described below.
ARI is a fiduciary that owes each client a duty of care with regard to all services undertaken on the client's behalf. Proxy voting is one such service for the following clients: 1) those covered under the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act ("ERISA") and 2) those non-ERISA clients over which ARI exercises such voting authority. To fulfill these duties, ARI must cast votes in a manner consistent with the best interests of its clients. In accordance with Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, ARI has adopted policies and procedures to address its proxy voting responsibilities.
I. Summary of Proxy Voting Policies. ARI has engaged Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") to provide proxy voting services for clients over which ARI exercises proxy voting authority. ARI has adopted standard proxy voting guidelines, which are applied by ISS to all ARI proxy votes, absent instruction from ARI to the contrary. ARI generally votes in accordance with its proxy voting guidelines; however, in rare circumstances ARI may opt to override the guidelines if it is decided to be the best interest of its clients. It should be noted that the below Summary of Proxy Voting Guidelines is general in nature and provided for informational purposes. Complete proxy voting policies and procedures, including complete guidelines are available upon request.
II. Summary of Proxy Voting Guidelines.
<R></R>
<R> Routine Issues. Vote FOR proposals to ratify auditors, unless an auditor has a financial interest in or association with the company, there is reason to believe that the independent auditor has rendered an opinion that is neither accurate nor indicative of the company's financial position; Poor accounting practices are identified that rise to a serious level of concern; or Fees for non-audit services are excessive.</R>
<R> Board of Directors. Voting on Director Nominees in Uncontested Elections should be determined CASE-BY-CASE based on the following four fundamental principles: Board Accountability, Board Responsiveness, Director Independence and Director Competence.</R>
<R> Proxy Access. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on proposals to enact proxy access, taking into account, among other factors: Company-specific factors and Proposal-specific factors.</R>
<R> Proxy Contests-Voting for Director Nominees in Contested Elections. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on the election of directors in contested elections.</R>
<R>CAPITAL RESTRUCTURING</R>
<R> Common Stock Authorization. Vote FOR proposals to increase the number of authorized common shares where the primary purpose of the increase is to issue shares in connection with a transaction on the same ballot that warrants support. Vote AGAINST proposals at companies with more than one class of common stock to increase the number of authorized shares of the class of common stock that has superior voting rights. Vote AGAINST proposals to increase the number of authorized common shares if a vote for a reverse stock split on the same ballot is warranted despite the fact that the authorized shares would not be reduced proportionally. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on all other proposals to increase the number of shares of common stock authorized for issuance.</R>
<R></R>
<R> Preferred Stock Authorization. Vote FOR proposals to increase the number of authorized preferred shares where the primary purpose of the increase is to issue shares in connection with a transaction on the same ballot that warrants support. Vote AGAINST proposals at companies with more than one class or series of preferred stock to increase the number of authorized shares of the class or series of preferred stock that has superior voting rights. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on all other proposals to increase the number of shares of preferred stock authorized for issuance.</R>
<R> Mergers and Acquisitions. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on mergers and acquisitions. Review and evaluate the merits and drawbacks of the proposed transaction, balancing various and sometimes countervailing factors.</R>
<R>COMPENSATION</R>
<R> Voting on Golden Parachutes in an Acquisition, Merger, Consolidation, or Proposed Sale. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on say on Golden Parachute proposals, including consideration of existing change-in-control arrangements maintained with named executive officers rather than focusing primarily on new or extended arrangements.</R>
<R> Equity-Based and Other Incentive Plans. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on equity-based compensation plans.</R>
III. Conflicts of Interest. ARI believes that the use of standard proxy voting guidelines and the use of an independent third party, such as ISS, mitigate potential conflicts of interest between ARI and its clients. In addition, any recommendations by its employees to vote against the guidelines should be brought to the attention of ARI's Chief Compliance Officer. Any resulting override shall be documented and then submitted to ISS by compliance personnel. Finally, the Advisor has adopted a Code of Ethics, advocating strictly ethical behavior and mandating that all of its business activities be conducted in the best interest of its clients.
Proxy Voting - Alger Management.
Alger Management, an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, maintains discretionary authority over client accounts, including certain Funds, and is responsible for voting proxies of all foreign and domestic securities held in such Funds. Management views the responsibility its clients have entrusted to it seriously and has adopted and implemented written policies and procedures designed to ensure that proxies are voted in the best interests of its clients.
Alger Management delegates its proxy voting authority for all foreign and domestic securities held in the Funds to Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. ("ISS"), a leading proxy voting service provider and registered investment adviser. ISS votes proxies strictly in accordance with pre-determined proxy voting guidelines in order to minimize conflicts of interest. The predetermined proxy voting guidelines, which are summarized below, address matters such as operations, board of directors, proxy contests, anti-takeover defenses, mergers and corporate restructuring, state of incorporation, capital structure, executive and director compensation, social and environmental issues and mutual fund proxies. ISS will recuse itself from voting proxies should it have a material conflict of interest with the company whose proxies are at issue. Alger Management monitors ISS's proxy voting policies and procedures on a quarterly basis to ensure that the proxies are voted in the best interests of the applicable Fund.
Alger Management maintains records of its proxy voting policies and procedures. Alger Management or ISS, on Management's behalf, maintains proxy statements received regarding securities held by the Funds; records of votes cast on behalf of each Fund; records of requests for proxy voting information; and any documents prepared that were material to making a voting decision.
The following is a summary of the pre-determined voting guidelines used by Alger Management or ISS, on Alger Management's behalf, to vote proxies of securities held by the Funds.
Operational Issues
Vote FOR proposals to ratify auditors, unless an auditor has a financial interest in the company, fees for non-audit services are excessive or there is reason to believe that the auditor's opinion is inaccurate.
Board of Directors
Votes on director nominees in uncontested elections are made on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, examining such factors as the independence of the board and key board committees, attendance at board meetings, corporate governance provisions and takeover activity.
Proxy Contests
Votes in a contested election of directors are evaluated on a CASE-BY-CASE basis considering such factors as the management's track record, qualifications of director nominees and an evaluation of what each side is offering shareholders.
Anti-Takeover Defenses
Vote FOR shareholder proposals that ask a company to submit its poison pill for shareholder ratification.
Mergers and Corporate Restructurings
Vote on a CASE-BY-CASE basis on mergers and corporate restructurings based on factors such as financial issues and terms of the offer.
State of Incorporation
Proposals for changing a company's state of incorporation are evaluated on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, giving consideration to both financial and corporate governance concerns, including the reasons for reincorporating.
Capital Structure
Vote AGAINST proposals at companies with dual-class capital structures to increase the number of authorized shares of the class of stock that has superior voting rights; Vote FOR proposals to approve increases beyond the allowable increase when a company's shares are in danger of being de-listed.
Executive and Director Compensation
Votes are determined on a CASE-BY-CASE basis analyzing the estimated dollar cost for the proposed plan.
Social and Environmental Issues
Votes are determined on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, with a focus on how the proposal will enhance the economic value of the company.
Mutual Fund Proxies
Votes to elect directors are determined on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, considering factors such as board structure and director independence and qualifications.
Proxy Voting - Invesco.
A. Policy Statement
Introduction
Our Belief
Invesco's investment professionals expect a high standard of corporate governance from the companies in our portfolios so that Invesco may fulfill its fiduciary obligation to our fund shareholders and other account holders. Well governed companies are characterized by a primary focus on the interests of shareholders, accountable boards of directors, ample transparency in financial disclosure, performance-driven cultures and appropriate consideration of all stakeholders. Invesco believes well governed companies create greater shareholder wealth over the long term than poorly governed companies, so we endeavor to vote in a manner that increases the value of our investments and fosters good governance within our portfolio companies.
In determining how to vote proxy issues, Invesco considers the probable business consequences of each issue and votes in a manner designed to protect and enhance fund shareholders' and other account holders' interests. Our voting decisions are intended to enhance each company's total shareholder value over Invesco's typical investment horizon.
Proxy voting is an integral part of Invesco's investment process. We believe that the right to vote proxies should be managed with the same care as all other elements of the investment process. The objective of Invesco's proxy-voting activity is to promote good governance and advance the economic interests of our clients. At no time will Invesco exercise its voting power to advance its own commercial interests, to pursue a social or political cause that is unrelated to our clients' economic interests, or to favor a particular client or business relationship to the detriment of others.
B. Operating Procedures and Responsible Parties
Proxy administration
The Invesco Retail Proxy Committee (the "Proxy Committee") consists of members representing Invesco's Investments, Legal and Compliance departments. Invesco's Proxy Voting Guidelines (the "Guidelines") are revised annually by the Proxy Committee. The Proxy Committee implements the Guidelines and oversees proxy voting.
The Proxy Committee has retained outside experts to assist with the analysis and voting of proxy issues. In addition to the advice offered by these experts, Invesco uses information gathered from our own research, company managements, Invesco's portfolio managers and outside shareholder groups to reach our voting decisions.
Generally speaking, Invesco's investment-research process leads us to invest in companies led by management teams we believe have the ability to conceive and execute strategies to outperform their competitors. We select companies for investment based in large part on our assessment of their management teams' ability to create shareholder wealth. Therefore, in formulating our proxy-voting decisions, Invesco gives proper consideration to the recommendations of a company's Board of Directors.
Important principles underlying the Invesco Proxy Voting Guidelines
I. Accountability
Management teams of companies are accountable to their boards of directors, and directors of publicly held companies are accountable to their shareholders. Invesco endeavors to vote the proxies of its portfolio companies in a manner that will reinforce the notion of a board's accountability to its shareholders. Consequently, Invesco votes against any actions that would impair the rights of shareholders or would reduce shareholders' influence over the board or over management.
The following are specific voting issues that illustrate how Invesco applies this principle of accountability.
II. Incentives
Invesco believes properly constructed compensation plans that include equity ownership are effective in creating incentives that induce managements and employees of our portfolio companies to create greater shareholder wealth. Invesco supports equity compensation plans that promote the proper alignment of incentives, and votes against plans that are overly dilutive to existing shareholders, plans that contain objectionable structural features, and plans that appear likely to reduce the value of an account's investment.
Following are specific voting issues that illustrate how Invesco evaluates incentive plans.
III. Capitalization
Examples of management proposals related to a company's capital structure include authorizing or issuing additional equity capital, repurchasing outstanding stock, or enacting a stock split or reverse stock split. On requests for additional capital stock, Invesco analyzes the company's stated reasons for the request. Except where the request could adversely affect the fund's ownership stake or voting rights, Invesco generally supports a board's decisions on its needs for additional capital stock. Some capitalization proposals require a case-by-case analysis within the context of Invesco's investment thesis on a company. Examples of such proposals include authorizing common or preferred stock with special voting rights, or issuing additional stock in connection with an acquisition.
IV. Mergers, Acquisitions and Other Corporate Actions
Issuers occasionally require shareholder approval to engage in certain corporate actions such as mergers, acquisitions, name changes, dissolutions, reorganizations, divestitures and reincorporations. Invesco analyzes these proposals within the context of our investment thesis on the company, and determines its vote on a case-by-case basis.
V. Anti-Takeover Measures
Practices designed to protect a company from unsolicited bids can adversely affect shareholder value and voting rights, and they create conflicts of interests among directors, management and shareholders. Except under special issuer-specific circumstances, Invesco votes to reduce or eliminate such measures. These measures include adopting or renewing "poison pills", requiring supermajority voting on certain corporate actions, classifying the election of directors instead of electing each director to an annual term, or creating separate classes of common or preferred stock with special voting rights. Invesco generally votes against management proposals to impose these types of measures, and generally votes for shareholder proposals designed to reduce such measures. Invesco supports shareholder proposals directing companies to subject their anti-takeover provisions to a shareholder vote.
VI. Shareholder Proposals on Corporate Governance
Invesco generally votes for shareholder proposals that are designed to protect shareholder rights if a company's corporate-governance standards indicate that such additional protections are warranted.
VII. Shareholder Proposals on Social Responsibility
<R>The potential costs and economic benefits of shareholder proposals seeking to amend a company's practices for social reasons are often difficult to assess. Analyzing the costs and economic benefits of these proposals is generally highly subjective and does not fit readily within our framework of voting to create greater shareholder wealth over Invesco's typical investment horizon. Therefore, Invesco generally abstains from voting on shareholder proposals deemed to be of a purely social, political or moral nature. However, there are instances when the costs and economic benefits of these proposals can be more readily assessed, in which case, Invesco votes such proposals on a case-by-case basis.</R>
VIII. Routine Business Matters
Routine business matters rarely have a potentially material effect on the economic prospects of fund holdings, so we generally support the board's discretion on these items. However, Invesco votes against proposals where there is insufficient information to make a decision about the nature of the proposal. Similarly, Invesco votes against proposals to conduct other unidentified business at shareholder meetings.
Summary
These Guidelines provide an important framework for making proxy-voting decisions, and should give fund shareholders and other account holders insight into the factors driving Invesco's decisions. The Guidelines cannot address all potential proxy issues, however. Decisions on specific issues must be made within the context of these Guidelines and within the context of the investment thesis of the funds and other accounts that own the company's stock. Where a different investment thesis is held by portfolio managers who may hold stocks in common, Invesco may vote the shares held on a fund-by-fund or account-by-account basis.
Exceptions
In certain circumstances, Invesco may refrain from voting where the economic cost of voting a company's proxy exceeds any anticipated benefits of that proxy proposal.
Share-lending programs
One reason that some portion of Invesco's position in a particular security might not be voted is the securities lending program. When securities are out on loan and earning fees for the lending fund, they are transferred into the borrower's name. Any proxies during the period of the loan are voted by the borrower. The lending fund would have to terminate the loan to vote the company's proxy, an action that is not generally in the best economic interest of fund shareholders. However, whenever Invesco determines that the benefit to shareholders or other account holders of voting a particular proxy outweighs the revenue lost by terminating the loan, we recall the securities for the purpose of voting the fund's full position.
"Share-blocking"
Another example of a situation where Invesco may be unable to vote is in countries where the exercise of voting rights requires the fund to submit to short-term trading restrictions, a practice known as "share-blocking." Invesco generally refrains from voting proxies in share-blocking countries unless the portfolio manager determines that the benefit to fund shareholders and other account holders of voting a specific proxy outweighs the fund's or other account's temporary inability to sell the security.
International constraints
An additional concern that sometimes precludes our voting non-U.S. proxies is our inability to receive proxy materials with enough time and enough information to make a voting decision. In the great majority of instances, however, we are able to vote non-U.S. proxies successfully. It is important to note that Invesco makes voting decisions for non-U.S. issuers using these Guidelines as our framework, but also takes into account the corporate-governance standards, regulatory environment and generally accepted best practices of the local market.
Exceptions to these Guidelines
Invesco retains the flexibility to accommodate company-specific situations where strictly adhering to the Guidelines would lead to a vote that the Proxy Committee deems not to be in the best interest of the funds' shareholders and other account holders. In these situations, the Proxy Committee will vote the proxy in the manner deemed to be in the best interest of the funds' shareholders and other account holders.
Resolving potential conflicts of interest
A potential conflict of interest arises when Invesco votes a proxy for an issuer with which it also maintains a material business relationship. Examples could include issuers that are distributors of Invesco's products, or issuers that employ Invesco to manage portions of their retirement plans or treasury accounts. Invesco reviews each proxy proposal to assess the extent, if any, to which there may be a material conflict between the interests of the fund shareholders or other account holders and Invesco.
Invesco takes reasonable measures to determine whether a potential conflict may exist. A potential conflict is deemed to exist only if one or more of the Proxy Committee members actually knew or should have known of the potential conflict.
If a material potential conflict is deemed to exist, Invesco may resolve the potential conflict in one of the following ways: (1) if the proposal that gives rise to the potential conflict is specifically addressed by the Guidelines, Invesco may vote the proxy in accordance with the predetermined Guidelines; (2) Invesco may engage an independent third party to determine how the proxy should be voted; or (3) Invesco may establish an ethical wall or other informational barrier between the persons involved in the potential conflict and the persons making the proxy-voting decision in order to insulate the potential conflict from the decision makers.
Because the Guidelines are pre-determined and crafted to be in the best economic interest of shareholders and other account holders, applying the Guidelines to vote client proxies should, in most instances, adequately resolve any potential conflict of interest. As an additional safeguard against potential conflicts, persons from Invesco's marketing, distribution and other customer-facing functions are precluded from becoming members of the Proxy Committee.
Personal conflicts of interest. If any member of the Proxy Committee has a personal conflict of interest with respect to a company or an issue presented for voting, that Proxy Committee member will inform the Proxy Committee of such conflict and will abstain from voting on that company or issue.
C. Recordkeeping
Records are maintained in accordance with Invesco's Recordkeeping Policy.
<R> Proxy Voting - Kennedy Capital. </R>
<R> Introduction </R>
<R>Rule 206(4)-6 and rule amendments under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, which became effective August 6, 2003, are designed to ensure that investment advisers fulfill their fiduciary obligation when voting client proxies. Disclosure requirements include: </R>
<R> (i) investment advisers that exercise proxy voting authority for clients must describe the firm's proxy policies and procedures, and upon request, provide clients with a copy of those policies and procedures; and, </R>
<R> (ii) advisers must describe how clients may obtain information on how their securities were voted.</R>
<R>Kennedy Capital Management, Inc. ("Kennedy Capital") has adopted the following policies with respect to voting proxies on behalf of its clients:</R>
<R>1. Kennedy Capital's written proxy voting policy, which may be updated and supplemented from time-to-time, will be provided to each client for which Kennedy Capital has been delegated the authority or responsibility to vote proxies;</R>
<R>2. Clients will be advised about how to obtain a copy of the proxy voting policy and information about how their securities were voted;</R>
<R>3. The proxy voting policy is consistently applied and records of votes maintained for each client; </R>
<R>4. Kennedy Capital documents the reasons for voting, including exceptions;</R>
<R>5. Kennedy Capital maintains records of such votes cast and client requests for proxy voting information for inspection by the client or governmental agencies;</R>
<R>6. Kennedy Capital monitors such voting for any potential conflicts with the interests of its clients; and</R>
<R>7. Kennedy Capital maintains systems to ensure that material conflicts will be resolved prior to voting, documenting in each case that its good faith determination was based on the clients' best interests and did not result from the conflict.</R>
<R> Conflicts of Interest </R>
<R>Kennedy Capital is an investment adviser to pension plans, public and private companies, mutual funds and individual investors, and is a sub-adviser to wrap programs as described in Kennedy Capital's Form ADV. The management fees collected from such clients are Kennedy Capital's principal source of revenue. With respect to the fees received for advisory services rendered, conflicts of interest may occur when Kennedy Capital must vote on ballot items of the public companies for which it manages the pension plan assets and, in certain cases, Kennedy Capital may have a relationship with the proponents of proxy proposals or participants in proxy contests.</R>
<R>To mitigate potential conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts, Kennedy Capital does not allow employees to sit on the board of directors of any public company without Senior Management approval. To the extent that such conflicts occur, Kennedy Capital will generally follow the recommendation of the proxy voting service to ensure that the best interests of its clients are not subordinated to Kennedy Capital's interests. Kennedy Capital may, in selected matters, consult the Proxy Committee to obtain guidance to vote proxies. Routine matters shall not constitute a material conflict with respect to this procedure.</R>
<R>The Proxy Committee has a duty to make reasonable investigation of information relating to conflicts of interest. The Proxy Committee is chaired by the Chief Executive Officer and is comprised of the Chief Operating Officer, the Director of Research, the Chief Compliance Officer, the Senior Client Service Associate and such other members as may be amended from time-to-time as required by a majority vote of its current members, with three members serving as a quorum. The Proxy Committee will determine, prior to voting, whether any of the members of the Committee have a material personal or business conflict - in which case the committee member will abstain from voting.</R>
<R> Engagement of Service Provider </R>
<R>In order to facilitate the proxy voting process, Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions, Inc. ("Broadridge") has been retained to provide access to a selection of third-party providers that are available to provide proxy vote recommendations and research. Votes are cast through the Broadridge ProxyEdge ® platform ("ProxyEdge ® "). With the assistance of Broadridge, Egan-Jones Proxy Services ("Egan-Jones") has been selected to provide vote recommendations based on its own internal guidelines. The services provided to Kennedy Capital through ProxyEdge ® include receipt of proxy ballots, vote execution based upon the recommendations of Egan-Jones, access to in-depth proxy research provided by Egan-Jones, and access to the analysis and voting recommendations of Egan-Jones, as well as reporting, auditing, working with custodian banks, and consulting assistance for the handling of proxy voting responsibilities. ProxyEdge ® also maintains proxy voting records and provides Kennedy Capital with reports that reflect the proxy voting activities of client portfolios. Kennedy Capital uses this information for appropriate monitoring of such delegated responsibilities.</R>
<R>Kennedy Capital may, under soft dollar arrangements, pay for no more than the cost allocated to research services for such uses ("mixed-use" services). The cost of that portion of the services that does not constitute "research" for the purposes of Section 28(e) will be reimbursed to the broker-dealer provider. Presently, Broadridge's services are not provided to Kennedy Capital by a broker-dealer under a soft dollar arrangement.</R>
<R>Proxies are voted through the ProxyEdge ® application in accordance with one of two proxy voting platforms offered by Kennedy Capital. It is the client's decision as to which set of guidelines will be used to vote its proxies. Not all clients delegate proxy voting authority to Kennedy Capital; however, Kennedy Capital is deemed to have voting authority in the absence of a specific delegation of authority and will vote in accordance with the General Guidelines.</R>
<R> Platforms Available </R>
<R>• General Policy which is generally voted in conformity with the Egan-Jones Proxy Voting Principles and Guidelines.</R>
<R>• Socially Responsible Investment Policy which is generally voted in conformity with the Egan-Jones Socially Responsible Investing Proxy Voting Principles and Guidelines.</R>
<R>The General Policy is the standard policy to be used for voting proxies for all clients' accounts (both ERISA and non-ERISA related) unless the client specifically selects the SRI Policy. As of January 1, 2011, Kennedy Capital was unable to offer a Catholic Voting platform. Generally, Kennedy Capital declines clients' requests to implement customized proxy voting policies, as they tend to be expensive to implement and difficult to manage on an ongoing basis. Kennedy Capital generally votes proxy ballots for its clients using a proxy voting service to help fulfill voting obligations, although some clients may choose to retain voting responsibility. Unless otherwise instructed, Kennedy Capital will undertake to vote proxies. Kennedy Capital must make proxy voting decisions solely in the best interests of its clients and will place clients' interests above its own interests.</R>
<R>Generally, Kennedy Capital follows the recommendation of Egan-Jones, which then forwards the voting recommendation to Broadridge to process. For proxies relating to issues not addressed in the guidelines, the vote will be referred back to Kennedy Capital. A client is encouraged to vote its own proxies if the client seeks to impose client-specific voting guidelines that may be inconsistent with one of the two policies offered by Kennedy Capital. Kennedy Capital does not generally advise a client on proxy voting issues when the client retains authority to handle such matters itself. Kennedy Capital may direct that proxies be voted in a manner different from that recommended by Egan-Jones. However, when Kennedy Capital's interests conflict with the interests of its clients, the recommendation of the proxy voting service will be followed. Additionally, Kennedy Capital may seek guidance from our Proxy Voting Committee to resolve material conflicts of interest.</R>
<R> Securities Lending Arrangements </R>
<R>Kennedy Capital's clients may elect to participate in a securities lending program through the client's selected custodian. Under typical securities lending arrangements, securities on loan to a borrower on a proxy record date may not be voted by the lender. Therefore, Kennedy Capital will not vote securities that are on loan as the responsibility to vote proxies will typically reside with the borrower of the shares.</R>
<R> International Constraints </R>
<R>Although it is Kennedy Capital's policy to seek to vote all proxies for the securities held in a client's account(s) for which it has proxy voting authority, in the case of non-U.S. issuers proxies are voted on a best efforts basis. Generally, research coverage of non-U.S. issuers is issued through Egan-Jones. Voting recommendations are not always provided with research; therefore, ballots for non-U.S. issuers are generally voted according to the chosen policy.</R>
<R> Custodian Considerations </R>
<R>A custodian may, in its sole discretion, determine that it will provide proxies to Broadridge for U.S. domestic companies, but not for non-U.S. issuers. Or, custodians may determine to provide proxies for non-U.S. issuers only to its selected proxy voting provider. In these instances, Broadridge generally is not able to vote proxies for non-U.S. issuers held in a client's account.</R>
<R>It is important to understand that from time-to-time custodian issues may arise which are beyond Kennedy Capital's control. Upon account inception, it is Kennedy Capital's responsibility to notify the client's custodian so that the custodian may begin to forward proxy materials directly to Broadridge. In the event a client delegates proxy voting authority to Kennedy Capital, it remains the client's obligation to instruct their custodian to forward applicable proxy materials directly to Broadridge so that their shares can be voted. Although Kennedy Capital makes its best efforts to make sure that the client's custodian has received Kennedy Capital's instructions, it is the responsibility of the client's custodian to acknowledge receipt of the instructions and to establish the account correctly in order for proxy materials to be submitted to Broadridge in a timely manner. Kennedy Capital is not able to vote shares if Broadridge does not receive proxy materials on a timely basis from the custodian.</R>
<R>It is within each custodian's discretion as to whether it will provide ballots to Broadridge for issuers whose stocks are held in each client's account. Instead, a custodian may select its own proxy voting provider and choose not to provide proxy ballots to Broadridge. In these instances, Broadridge is generally not able to vote proxies for the client's account and Kennedy Capital generally will not be able to accept voting authority for the client's account.</R>
<R>When voting ballots, it is within each custodian's discretion as to whether it will aggregate shares, held on behalf of various clients, in an omnibus account instead of submitting individual ballots for segregated accounts. In these cases, custodians must rely on internal records to differentiate the various underlying holdings. In these instances, Broadridge will generally not be able to provide Kennedy Capital with a detailed history of voting records at the individual client account level.</R>
<R>Kennedy Capital maintains written proxy voting policies and procedures as required by Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act. A copy of Kennedy Capital's complete proxy voting policy and procedures may be obtained by writing Kennedy Capital Management, Inc., 10829 Olive Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63141.</R>
Proxy Voting - Neuberger Berman.
Neuberger Berman has implemented written Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures (Proxy Voting Policy) that are designed to reasonably ensure that Neuberger Berman votes proxies prudently and in the best interest of its advisory clients for whom Neuberger Berman has voting authority. The Proxy Voting Policy also describes how Neuberger Berman addresses any conflicts that may arise between its interests and those of its clients with respect to proxy voting.
Neuberger Berman's Proxy Committee is responsible for developing, authorizing, implementing and updating the Proxy Voting Policy, overseeing the proxy voting process, and engaging and overseeing any independent third-party vendors as voting delegate to review, monitor and/or vote proxies. In order to apply the Proxy Voting Policy noted above in a timely and consistent manner, Neuberger Berman utilizes Glass, Lewis & Co. LLC (Glass Lewis) to vote proxies in accordance with Neuberger Berman's voting guidelines.
For socially responsive clients, Neuberger Berman has adopted socially responsive voting guidelines. For non-socially responsive clients, Neuberger Berman's guidelines adopt the voting recommendations of Glass Lewis. Notwithstanding recommendations made by Glass Lewis with respect to cumulative voting, the Proxy Committee has determined that it will not vote proxies in favor of resolutions or proposals calling for the institution of cumulative voting for director nominees or for resolutions or proposals allowing shareholders to call a special meeting with less than 25% of the outstanding shares. Neuberger Berman retains final authority and fiduciary responsibility for proxy voting. Neuberger Berman believes that this process is reasonably designed to address material conflicts of interest that may arise between Neuberger Berman and a client as to how proxies are voted.
In the event that an investment professional at Neuberger Berman believes that it is in the best interest of a client or clients to vote proxies in a manner inconsistent with Neuberger Berman's proxy voting guidelines or in a manner inconsistent with Glass Lewis recommendations, the Proxy Committee will review information submitted by the investment professional to determine that there is no material conflict of interest between Neuberger Berman and the client with respect to the voting of the proxy in that manner.
If the Proxy Committee determines that the voting of a proxy as recommended by the investment professional presents a material conflict of interest between Neuberger Berman and the client or clients with respect to the voting of the proxy, the Proxy Committee shall: (i) take no further action, in which case Glass Lewis shall vote such proxy in accordance with the proxy voting guidelines or as Glass Lewis recommends; (ii) disclose such conflict to the client or clients and obtain written direction from the client as to how to vote the proxy; (iii) suggest that the client or clients engage another party to determine how to vote the proxy; or (iv) engage another independent third party to determine how to vote the proxy.
Proxy Voting - Pyramis.
I. General Principles
A. Voting of shares will be conducted in a manner consistent with the best interests of clients as follows: (i) securities of a portfolio company will generally be voted in a manner consistent with the Guidelines; and (ii) voting will be done without regard to any other Pyramis or Fidelity companies' relationship, business or otherwise, with that portfolio company.
B. FMR Investment Proxy Research votes proxies on behalf of Pyramis' clients. Like other Pyramis employees, FMR Investment Proxy Research employees have a fiduciary duty to never place their own personal interest ahead of the interests of Pyramis's clients and are instructed to avoid actual and apparent conflicts of interest. In the event of a conflict of interest, FMR Investment Proxy Research employees, like other Pyramis employees, will escalate to their managers or the Ethics Office, as appropriate, in accordance with Fidelity's corporate policy on conflicts of interest. A conflict of interest arises when there are factors that may prompt one to question whether a Fidelity and/or Pyramis employee is acting solely on the best interests of Pyramis, Fidelity and their customers. Employees are expected to avoid situations that could present even the appearance of a conflict between their interests and the interests of Pyramis and its customers.
C. Except as set forth herein, Pyramis will generally vote in favor of routine management proposals.
D. Non-routine proposals will generally be voted in accordance with the Guidelines.
E. Non-routine proposals not covered by the Guidelines or involving other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review by an attorney within FMR's General Counsel's office and a member of senior management within FMR Investment Proxy Research. A significant pattern of such proposals or other special circumstances will be referred to Pyramis' Senior Compliance Officer or his designee.
F. Pyramis will vote on shareholder proposals not specifically addressed by the Guidelines based on an evaluation of a proposal's likelihood to enhance the economic returns or profitability of the portfolio company or to maximize shareholder value. Where information is not readily available to analyze the economic impact of the proposal, Pyramis will generally abstain.
G. Many Pyramis accounts invest in voting securities issued by companies that are domiciled outside the United States and are not listed on a U.S. securities exchange. Corporate governance standards, legal or regulatory requirements and disclosure practices in foreign countries can differ from those in the United States. When voting proxies relating to non-U.S. securities, Pyramis will generally evaluate proposals in the context of the Guidelines and where applicable and feasible, take into consideration differing laws, regulations and practices in the relevant foreign market in determining how to vote shares.
H. In certain non-U.S. jurisdictions, shareholders voting shares of a portfolio company may be restricted from trading the shares for a period of time around the shareholder meeting date. Because such trading restrictions can hinder portfolio management and could result in a loss of liquidity for a client, Pyramis will generally not vote proxies in circumstances where such restrictions apply. In addition, certain non-U.S. jurisdictions require voting shareholders to disclose current share ownership on a fund-by-fund basis. When such disclosure requirements apply, Pyramis will generally not vote proxies in order to safeguard fund holdings information.
I. Where a management-sponsored proposal is inconsistent with the Guidelines, Pyramis may receive a company's commitment to modify the proposal or its practice to conform to the Guidelines, and Pyramis will generally support management based on this commitment. If a company subsequently does not abide by its commitment, Pyramis will generally withhold authority for the election of directors at the next election.
II. Definitions (as used in this document)
A. <R>Anti-Takeover Provision - includes fair price amendments; classified boards; "blank check" preferred stock; Golden Parachutes; supermajority provisions; Poison Pills; restricting the right to call special meetings; provisions restricting the right of shareholders to set board size; and any other provision that eliminates or limits shareholder rights.</R>
B. Golden Parachute - Employment contracts, agreements, or policies that include an excise tax gross-up provision; single trigger for cash incentives; or may result in a lump sum payment of cash and acceleration of equity that may total more than three times annual compensation (salary and bonus) in the event of a termination following a change in control.
C. Greenmail - payment of a premium to repurchase shares from a shareholder seeking to take over a company through a proxy contest or other means.
D. Sunset Provision - a condition in a charter or plan that specifies an expiration date.
E. Permitted Bid Feature - a provision suspending the application of a Poison Pill, by shareholder referendum, in the event a potential acquirer announces a bona fide offer for all outstanding shares.
F. Poison Pill - a strategy employed by a potential take-over/target company to make its stock less attractive to an acquirer. Poison Pills are generally designed to dilute the acquirer's ownership and value in the event of a take-over.
G. <R>Large-Capitalization Company - a company included in the Russell 1000 ® Index or the Russell Global ex-U.S. Large Cap Index.</R>
H. <R>Small-Capitalization Company - a company not included in the Russell 1000 ® Index or the Russell Global ex-U.S. Large Cap Index that is not a Micro-Capitalization Company.</R>
I. Micro-Capitalization Company - a company with a market capitalization under US $300 million.
J. Evergreen Provision - a feature which provides for an automatic increase in the shares available for grant under an equity award plan on a regular basis.
III. Directors
A. Incumbent Directors
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of incumbent and nominee directors except where one or more such directors clearly appear to have failed to exercise reasonable judgment. Pyramis will also generally withhold authority for the election of all directors or directors on responsible committees if:
8. An Anti-Takeover Provision was introduced, an Anti-Takeover Provision was extended, or a new Anti-Takeover Provision was adopted upon the expiration of an existing Anti-Takeover Provision, without shareholder approval except as set forth below.
With respect to Poison Pills, however, Pyramis will consider not withholding authority on the election of directors if all of the following conditions are met when a Poison Pill is introduced, extended, or adopted:
a. The Poison Pill includes a Sunset Provision of less than five years;
b. The Poison Pill includes a Permitted Bid Feature;
c. The Poison Pill is linked to a business strategy that will result in greater value for the shareholders; and
d. Shareholder approval is required to reinstate the Poison Pill upon expiration.
Pyramis will also consider not withholding authority on the election of directors when one or more of the conditions above are not met if a board is willing to strongly consider seeking shareholder ratification of, or adding above conditions noted a. and b. to an existing Poison Pill. In such a case, if the company does not take appropriate action prior to the next annual shareholder meeting, Pyramis will withhold authority on the election of directors.
9. The company refuses, upon request by Pyramis, to amend the Poison Pill to allow Pyramis to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
10. Within the last year and without shareholder approval, a company's board of directors or compensation committee has repriced outstanding options, exchanged outstanding options for equity, or tendered cash for outstanding options.
11. <R>Executive compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as: (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether, in the case of stock awards, the restriction period was less than three years for non-performance based awards, and less than one year for performance-based awards; (iv) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restrictions; and (v) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.</R>
12. To gain Pyramis' support on a proposal, the company made a commitment to modify a proposal or practice to conform to the Guidelines and the company has failed to act on that commitment.
13. The director attended fewer than 75% of the aggregate number of meetings of the board or its committees on which the director served during the company's prior fiscal year, absent extenuating circumstances.
14. The board is not composed of a majority of independent directors.
B. Indemnification
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of charter and by-law amendments expanding the indemnification of directors and/or limiting their liability for breaches of care unless Pyramis is otherwise dissatisfied with the performance of management or the proposal is accompanied by Anti-Takeover Provisions.
C. Independent Chairperson
Pyramis will generally vote against shareholder proposals calling for or recommending the appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson. However, Pyramis will consider voting for such proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson appears likely to further the interests of shareholders and to promote effective oversight of management by the board of directors.
D. Majority Director Elections
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals calling for directors to be elected by an affirmative majority of votes cast in a board election, provided that the proposal allows for plurality voting standard in the case of contested elections (i.e., where there are more nominees than board seats). Pyramis may consider voting against such shareholder proposals where a company's board has adopted an alternative measure, such as a director resignation policy, that provides a meaningful alternative to the majority voting standard and appropriately addresses situations where an incumbent director fails to receive the support of a majority of the votes cast in an uncontested election.
IV. Compensation
A. Executive Compensation
1. Advisory votes on executive compensation
a. Pyramis will generally vote for proposals to ratify executive compensation unless such compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or otherwise problematic, taking into account such factors as, among other things, (i) whether the company has an independent compensation committee; (ii) whether the compensation committee engaged independent compensation consultants; (iii) whether, in the case of stock awards, the restriction period was less than three years for non-performance-based awards, and less than one year for performance-based awards; (iv) whether the compensation committee has lapsed or waived equity vesting restrictions; and (v) whether the company has adopted or extended a Golden Parachute without shareholder approval.
b. Pyramis will generally vote against proposals to ratify Golden Parachutes.
2. Frequency of advisory vote on executive compensation
Pyramis will generally support annual advisory votes on executive compensation.
B. Equity Award Plans (including stock options, restricted stock awards, and other stock awards).
Pyramis will generally vote against equity award plans or amendments to authorize additional shares under such plans if:
1. (a) The company's average three year burn rate is greater than 1.5% for a Large-Capitalization Company, 2.5% for a Small-Capitalization Company or 3.5% for a Micro-Capitalization Company; and (b) there were no circumstances specific to the company or the plans that lead Pyramis to conclude that the burn rate is acceptable.
2. In the case of stock option plans, (a) the offering price of options is less than 100% of fair market value on the date of grant, except that the offering price may be as low as 85% of fair market value if the discount is expressly granted in lieu of salary or cash bonus; (b) the plan's terms allow repricing of underwater options; or (c) the board/committee has repriced options outstanding under the plan in the past two years without shareholder approval.
3. The plan includes an Evergreen Provision.
4. The plan provides for the acceleration of vesting of equity awards even though an actual change in control may not occur.
C. Equity Exchanges and Repricing
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of a management proposal to exchange, reprice or tender for cash, outstanding options if the proposed exchange, repricing, or tender offer is consistent with the interests of shareholders, taking into account such factors as:
1. Whether the proposal excludes senior management and directors;
2. Whether the exchange or repricing proposal is value neutral to shareholders based upon an acceptable pricing model;
3. The company's relative performance compared to other companies within the relevant industry or industries;
4. Economic and other conditions affecting the relevant industry or industries in which the company competes; and
5. Any other facts or circumstances relevant to determining whether an exchange or repricing proposal is consistent with the interests of shareholders.
D. Employee Stock Purchase Plans
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of employee stock purchase plans if the minimum stock purchase price is equal to or greater than 85% of the stock's fair market value and the plan constitutes a reasonable effort to encourage broad based participation in the company's equity. In the case of non-U.S. company stock purchase plans, Pyramis may permit a lower minimum stock purchase price equal to the prevailing "best practices" in the relevant non-U.S. market, provided that the minimum stock purchase price must be at least 75% of the stock's fair market value.
E. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of non-leveraged ESOPs. For leveraged ESOPs, Pyramis may examine the company's state of incorporation, existence of supermajority vote rules in the charter, number of shares authorized for the ESOP, and number of shares held by insiders. Pyramis may also examine where the ESOP shares are purchased and the dilution effect of the purchase. Pyramis will generally vote against leveraged ESOPs if all outstanding loans are due immediately upon change in control.
F. Bonus Plans and Tax Deductibility Proposals
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of cash and stock incentive plans that are submitted for shareholder approval in order to qualify for favorable tax treatment under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, provided that the plan includes well defined and appropriate performance criteria, and with respect to any cash component, that the maximum award per participant is clearly stated and is not unreasonable or excessive.
V. Anti-Takeover Provisions
Pyramis will generally vote against a proposal to adopt or approve the adoption of an Anti-Takeover Provision unless:
A. The Poison Pill includes the following features:
1. A Sunset Provision of no greater than five years;
2. Linked to a business strategy that is expected to result in greater value for the shareholders;
3. Requires shareholder approval to be reinstated upon expiration or if amended;
4. Contains a Permitted Bid Feature; and
5. Allows Pyramis accounts to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities and of any class of voting securities.
B. An Anti-Greenmail proposal that does not include other Anti-Takeover Provisions; or
C. It is a fair price amendment that considers a two-year price history or less.
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of a proposal to eliminate an Anti-Takeover Provisions unless:
D. In the case of proposals to declassify a board of directors, Pyramis will generally vote against such a proposal if the issuer's Articles of Incorporation or applicable statutes include a provision whereby a majority of directors may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by written consent, or other reasonable procedures, by a majority of shareholders entitled to vote for the election of directors.
E. In the case of shareholder proposals regarding shareholders' right to call special meetings, Pyramis generally will vote against each proposal if the threshold required to call a special meeting is less than 25% of the outstanding stock.
F. In the case of proposals regarding shareholders' right to act by written consent, Pyramis will generally vote against each proposal if it does not include appropriate mechanisms for implementation including, among other things, that at least 25% of the outstanding stock request that the company establish a record date determining which shareholders are entitled to act and that consents be solicited from all shareholders.
VI. Capital Structure/Incorporation
A. Increases in Common Stock
Pyramis will generally vote against a provision to increase a company's common stock if such increase will result in a total number of authorized shares greater than three times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares, including stock options, except in the case of real estate investment trusts, where an increase that will result in a total number of authorized shares up to five times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares is generally acceptable.
B. New Classes of Shares
Pyramis will generally vote against the introduction of new classes of stock with differential voting rights.
C. Cumulative Voting Rights
Pyramis will generally vote against the introduction and in favor of the elimination of cumulative voting rights.
D. Acquisition or Business Combination Statutes
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposed amendments to a company's certificate of incorporation or by-laws that enable the company to opt out of the control shares acquisition or business combination statutes.
E. Incorporation or Reincorporation in Another State or Country
Pyramis will generally vote for management proposals calling for, or recommending that, a portfolio company reincorporate in another state or country if, on balance, the economic and corporate governance factors in the proposed jurisdiction appear reasonably likely to be better aligned with shareholder interests, taking into account the corporate laws of the current and proposed jurisdictions and any changes to the company's current and proposed governing documents. Pyramis will consider supporting such shareholder proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, remaining incorporated in the current jurisdiction appears misaligned with shareholder interests.
VII. Shares of Investment Companies
A. If applicable, when a Pyramis account invests in an underlying Fidelity Fund with public shareholders, an exchange traded fund (ETF), or non-affiliated fund, Pyramis will vote in the same proportion as all other voting shareholders of such underlying fund or class ("echo voting"). Pyramis may choose not to vote if "echo voting" is not operationally feasible.
B. Certain Pyramis accounts may invest in shares of underlying Fidelity Funds, which are held exclusively by Fidelity Funds or accounts managed by FMR or an affiliate. Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals recommended by the underlying funds' Board of Trustees.
VIII. Other
A. Voting Process
Pyramis will generally vote in favor of proposals to adopt confidential voting and independent vote tabulation practices.
B. Regulated Industries
Voting of shares in securities of any regulated industry (e.g. U.S. banking) organization shall be conducted in a manner consistent with conditions that may be specified by the industry's regulator (e.g. the Federal Reserve Board) for a determination under applicable law (e.g. federal banking law) that no client or group of clients has acquired control of such organization.
Proxy Voting - Systematic.
<R>Clients may delegate proxy voting authority over their account to Systematic in their investment management agreement or investment guidelines, or by other written direction to Systematic . Upon such delegation of proxy voting authority, Systematic will notify both its independent proxy-voting agent ("agent") and the client's custodian that Systematic's agent will vote on behalf of Systematic for that client's account. Systematic will also provide the client's custodian with the appropriate instructions for delivery of proxy ballots for the client's account. Systematic clients may revoke Systematic's voting authority by providing written notice to Systematic.</R>
<R>As stated above, Systematic has retained an independent proxy-voting agent ("agent"), and Systematic generally follows the agent's proxy voting guidelines when voting proxies. The adoption of the agent's proxy voting guidelines provides independent guidelines for voting proxies and is designed to remove conflicts of interest that could affect the outcome of a vote. The intent of this policy is to remove any discretion that Systematic may have to interpret how to vote proxies in cases where Systematic has a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest.</R>
<R>Although under normal circumstances Systematic is not expected to exercise its voting discretion or to override the agent's recommendation, Systematic's Proxy Voting Committee will monitor any situation where Systematic believes it has a material conflict of interest, or where Systematic wishes to exercise its discretion or more closely review a particular matter. In these situations, the Proxy Voting Committee will provide the actual voting recommendation after a review of the vote(s) involved with such determination being based in the Committee's determination of what is in the best interests of Systematic's clients. Systematic uses consensus decisions when voting an issue and does not allow Portfolio Managers to vote proxies independently. Systematic's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) must approve any decision made on such vote prior to the vote being cast. In approving any such decision, the CCO will use his or her best judgment to ensure that the spirit of Systematic's proxy voting guidelines is being followed. Systematic will maintain documentation of any such voting decision.</R>
<R>The agent has policies and procedures in place to mitigate potential conflicts of interest. The agent is obligated to notify Systematic, in advance of voting any proxies, in specific situations where it may have a material conflict of interest with a company whose proxy it is responsible for voting on behalf of a Systematic client. If this situation occurs, the agent will follow its procedures regarding conflicts of interest and Systematic will follow the same procedures it does for situations where it has a material conflict of interest, as described above.</R>
<R> Voting Guidelines </R>
<R>Systematic maintains five sets of proxy voting guidelines, one based on AFL-CIO polices for Taft-Hartley Plan Sponsors, another for clients with Socially Responsible Investing guidelines, another for Public Plans, another for Catholic or other faith-based entities and the fifth being a General Policy for all other clients, covering U.S. and global proxies. Institutional clients may select which set of proxy guidelines they wish to be used to vote their account's proxies. In instances where the client does not select a voting policy, Systematic would typically apply the General Policy when voting on behalf of the client. Systematic may process certain proxies, or certain proposals within such proxies, without voting, such as by making a decision to abstain from voting or take no action on such proxies (or on certain proposals within such proxies). Examples include, without limitation, proxies issued by companies that the Firm has decided to sell, proxies issued for securities that the Firm did not select for a client portfolio (such as securities selected by the client or a previous adviser, unsupervised securities held in a client's account, money market securities or other securities selected by clients or their representatives other than Systematic), or proxies issued by foreign companies that impose burdensome or unreasonable voting, power of attorney or holding requirements such as with share blocking as further noted below.</R>
<R>Systematic also seeks to ensure that, to the extent reasonably feasible, proxies for which it receives ballots in good order and receives timely notice will be voted or otherwise processed (such as through a decision to abstain or take no action). Systematic may be unable to vote or otherwise process proxy ballots that are not received in a timely manner due to limitations of the proxy voting system, custodial limitations or other factors beyond the firm's control. Such ballots may include, without limitation, ballots for securities out on loan under securities lending programs initiated by the client or its custodian, ballots not timely forwarded by a custodian, or ballots that were not received by the agent on a timely basis.</R>
<R> Share Blocking </R>
<R>In general, unless otherwise directed by the client, Systematic will make reasonable efforts to vote client proxies in accordance with the proxy voting recommendations of the Firm's proxy voting service provider. Systematic will generally decline to vote proxies if to do so would cause a restriction to be placed on Systematic's ability to trade securities held in client accounts in "share blocking" countries. Accordingly, Systematic may abstain from votes in a share blocking country in favor of preserving its ability to trade any particular security at any time. Systematic's maintains written Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures as required by Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act.</R>
<R></R>
<R>To view a fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, visit www.fidelity.com/proxyvotingresults or visit the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.</R>
The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. The principal business address of FDC is 100 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by Strategic Advisers.
The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan on behalf of Class F of the fund (the Class F Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a mutual fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Class F Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows Class F and Strategic Advisers to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.
Under the Class F Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to Strategic Advisers is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Class F Plan. The Class F Plan specifically recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of Class F shares and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Class F Plan provides that Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers or FDC), that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for Class F shares.
Prior to approving the Class F Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Class F Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Class F Plan will benefit Class F of the fund and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Class F Plan does not authorize payments by Class F of the fund other than those made to Strategic Advisers under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Class F Plan gives Strategic Advisers and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of class shares, additional sales of class shares or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Class F Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.
FDC or an affiliate may compensate, or upon direction make payments for certain retirement plan expenses to, intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (including affiliates of FDC). A number of factors are considered in determining whether to pay these additional amounts. Such factors may include, without limitation, the level or type of services provided by the intermediary, the level or expected level of assets or sales of shares, and other factors. In addition to such payments, FDC or an affiliate may offer other incentives such as sponsorship of educational or client seminars relating to current products and issues, payments or reimbursements for travel and related expenses associated with due diligence trips that an intermediary may undertake in order to explore possible business relationships with affiliates of FDC, and/or payments of costs and expenses associated with attendance at seminars, including travel, lodging, entertainment, and meals. Certain of the payments described above may be significant to an intermediary. As permitted by SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rules and other applicable laws and regulations, FDC or an affiliate may pay or allow other incentives or payments to intermediaries.
The fund's transfer agent or an affiliate may also make payments and reimbursements from its own resources to certain intermediaries (who may be affiliated with the transfer agent) for performing recordkeeping and other services. Please see "Transfer and Service Agent Agreements" in this SAI for more information.
Any of the payments described in this section may represent a premium over payments made by other fund families. Retirement plan sponsors may take these payments into account when deciding whether to include a fund as a plan investment option.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
<R>The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (FIIOC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers, which is located at 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services for Class F of the fund.</R>
FIIOC receives no fees for providing transfer agency services to Class F.
FIIOC may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
<R>The fund has entered into a service agent agreement with Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers (or an agent, including an affiliate). Under the terms of the agreement, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for Class F of the fund and maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records.</R>
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
The annual rates for pricing and bookkeeping services for the fund are 0.0389% of the first $500 million of average net assets, 0.0275% of average net assets between $500 million and $3.5 billion, 0.0041% of average net assets between $3.5 billion and $25 billion, and 0.0019% of average net assets in excess of $25 billion.
<R>Pricing and bookkeeping fees paid by the fund to FSC for the past two fiscal years are shown in the following table.</R>
<R></R>
<R> Fund |
2013 |
2012</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund |
$ 15,518 |
$ 2,913*</R> |
* From December 20, 2011.
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
<R> Trust Organization. Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund is a fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, an open-end management investment company created under an initial trust instrument dated March 8, 2006. Currently, there are 20 funds offered in the trust: Strategic Advisers Core Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.</R>
The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund, except that liabilities and expenses may be allocated to a particular class. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds or classes.
Shareholder Liability. The trust is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that, except to the extent otherwise provided in the Trust Instrument, shareholders shall be entitled to the same limitations of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit organized under the general corporation law of Delaware. The courts of some states, however, may decline to apply Delaware law on this point. The Trust Instrument contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust. The Trust Instrument provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Trust Instrument further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of each fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Trust Instrument also provides that each fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which Delaware law does not apply, no contractual limitation of liability was in effect, and a fund is unable to meet its obligations. Strategic Advisers believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is extremely remote. Claims asserted against one class of shares may subject holders of another class of shares to certain liabilities.
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. As a shareholder, you are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value you own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
<R></R>
The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodians. State Street Bank and Trust Company, 1776 Heritage Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as special purpose custodians of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions.
Strategic Advisers, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Member of the Advisory Board, and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by Strategic Advisers. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of Strategic Advisers, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 125 High Street, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit, tax, and related services.
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized Strategic Advisers, in consultation with FMR, to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
Other registered investment companies that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be subject to different portfolio holdings disclosure policies, and neither Strategic Advisers nor the Board exercises control over such policies or disclosure. In addition, separate account clients of Strategic Advisers and the sub-advisers have access to their portfolio holdings and are not subject to the fund's portfolio holdings disclosure policies. Some of the funds that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser and some of the separate accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser have investment objectives and strategies that are substantially similar or identical to the fund's and, therefore, potentially substantially similar, and in certain cases nearly identical, portfolio holdings as the fund.
The fund will provide a full list of holdings as of the end of the fund's fiscal quarter on www.fidelity.com 60 days after its fiscal quarter-end.
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations.
The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the activities associated with managing Fidelity funds to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons Strategic Advisers believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include, but are not limited to: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics (including portfolio managers of affiliated funds of funds); contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.
Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, (ii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iii) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. Strategic Advisers relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.
<R>At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day) and DocuLynx Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day).</R>
Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, Strategic Advisers desired to make such an arrangement, it would seek prior Board approval and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
<R>The fund's financial statements and financial highlights for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, and report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the fund's annual report and are incorporated herein by reference. Total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table may differ from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the financial highlights because total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table include any acquired fund fees and expenses, whereas the ratios of expenses in the financial highlights do not, except to the extent any acquired fund fees and expenses relate to an entity, such as a wholly-owned subsidiary, with which a fund's financial statements are consolidated. Acquired funds include other investment companies in which the fund has invested, if and to the extent it is permitted to do so. Total annual operating expenses in the prospectus fee table and the financial highlights do not include any expenses associated with investments in certain structured or synthetic products that may rely on the exception from the definition of "investment company" provided by section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
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<R> Strategic Advisers ® Income Opportunities Fund of Funds </R>
<R> Class /Ticker </R>
<R> Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds /FSADX </R>
<R>In this prospectus, the term "shares" (as it relates to the fund) means the class of shares offered through this prospectus.</R>
Prospectus
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
Fund Summary |
Strategic Advisers ® Income Opportunities Fund of Funds |
|
Fund Basics |
Investment Details |
|
|
Valuing Shares |
|
<R> Shareholder Information |
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares </R> |
|
<R> |
Exchanging Shares </R> |
|
<R> |
311 |
Features and Policies </R> |
<R> |
Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions </R> |
|
<R> |
Tax Consequences </R> |
|
<R> Fund Services |
Fund Management </R> |
|
<R> |
Fund Distribution </R> |
|
<R> Appendix |
Financial Highlights </R> |
Prospectus
<R>
Fund
/Class:
Strategic
Advisers
®
Income Opportunities Fund of Funds
/Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of
Funds</R>
The fund seeks a high level of current income. The fund may also seek capital appreciation.
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy, hold, or sell shares of the fund.
<R></R>
<R>
Shareholder fees
|
</R> |
<R> Redemption fee on shares held less than 90 days (as a % of amount redeemed) |
1.00% </R> |
<R>
Annual class operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
</R>
<R> Management fee B |
0.30% </R> |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees |
None |
<R> Other expenses |
9.82% </R> |
<R> Acquired fund fees and expenses (fees and expenses of underlying funds) |
0.71% </R> |
<R> Total annual operating expenses A |
10.83% </R> |
<R> Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement B |
10.02% </R> |
<R> Total annual operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement A |
0.81% </R> |
<R> A Differs from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the Financial Highlights section of the prospectus because of acquired fund fees and expenses. As a result, the total annual operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement in the fee table exceed the contractual expense limitations of the class. </R>
<R> B Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) has contractually agreed that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.80% of the fund's average daily net assets. Strategic Advisers has also contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets. In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to reimburse the class to the extent that total operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, extraordinary expenses, sub-advisory fees, and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any), as a percentage of its average net assets, exceed 0.10%. These arrangements will remain in effect through April 30, 2014. Strategic Advisers may not terminate these arrangements without the approval of the Board of Trustees. </R>
<R></R>
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
<R> 1 year |
$ 83 </R> |
<R> 3 years |
$ 2,067 </R> |
<R> 5 years |
$ 3,987 </R> |
<R> 10 years |
$ 7,889 </R> |
<R>The fund will not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of affiliated funds but may incur transaction costs when buying or selling non-affiliated funds and other types of securities (including non-affiliated exchange traded funds) directly (or "turns over" its portfolio). If the fund were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs and could result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example and would affect the fund's performance. For the period from June 19, 2012 to February 28, 2013, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 27% (annualized) of the average value of its portfolio.</R>
Prospectus
An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
Performance history will be available for the fund after the fund has been in operation for one calendar year.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) is the fund's manager.</R>
Gregory Pappas (portfolio manager) has managed the fund since June 2012.
Shares of the fund generally are available only to: (i) employer-sponsored retirement plans (including profit sharing, 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), and similar plans) for which an affiliate of Strategic Advisers provides recordkeeping services; and (ii) Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund accounts held by individuals who currently own shares of the fund originally held in an employer sponsored retirement plan. You may buy or sell shares in various ways:
The price to buy one share of the fund is its net asset value per share (NAV). Your shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after your investment is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable. Your shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
There is no purchase minimum for fund shares.
Distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state or local taxes, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account (in which case you may be taxed later, upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).
The fund, Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Investment Objective
The fund seeks a high level of current income. The fund may also seek capital appreciation.
Principal Investment Strategies
The fund normally invests primarily in income-producing debt securities, preferred stocks, and convertible securities, with an emphasis on lower-quality debt securities. The fund may also invest in non-income producing securities, including defaulted securities and common stocks. The fund may invest in companies whose financial condition is troubled or uncertain and that may be involved in bankruptcy proceedings, reorganizations or financial restructurings.
The fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers in addition to securities of domestic issuers.
The fund implements its investment strategies by investing indirectly in securities through one or more underlying funds, which in turn invest directly in securities.
Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of underlying funds at any time.
Strategic Advisers allocates assets among underlying funds according to an allocation strategy designed to achieve portfolio characteristics similar to those of The BofA Merrill Lynch SM US High Yield Constrained Index.
Strategic Advisers pursues a disciplined, benchmark-driven approach to portfolio construction and monitors and adjusts allocations to underlying funds as necessary to favor those underlying funds that Strategic Advisers believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the fund's investment objective.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among underlying funds, Strategic Advisers relies on proprietary fundamental and quantitative fund research in its fund selection process. Factors considered when investing in underlying funds include fund performance, a fund manager's experience and investment style, fund company infrastructure, and fund characteristics such as expense ratio, asset size, and portfolio turnover.
The fund may invest in affiliated high yield funds ( i.e., Fidelity funds) and non-affiliated high yield funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork ® and in non-affiliated ETFs. Underlying funds include both funds managed by FMR (an affiliated company that, together with Strategic Advisers, is part of Fidelity Investments) or an affiliate and funds managed by investment advisers other than Fidelity. Fidelity may receive service fees that typically are at an annual rate of up to 0.40% of a non-affiliated underlying fund's average daily net assets attributable to purchases through Fidelity's FundsNetwork, though such fees may be higher or lower, or may be charged as transaction and/or account fees. In addition, the fund may invest in ETFs in transactions not occurring through Fidelity's FundsNetwork.
Strategic Advisers generally identifies high yield funds by reference to a fund's name, policies, or classification by a third-party ranking or ratings organization.
Prospectus
Strategic Advisers may actively adjust the allocation of the fund's assets at any time. For current information on fund holdings, please call 1-800-835-5095 (plan accounts) or 1-800-544-3455 (all other accounts) or visit the web site at www.401k.com (plan accounts) or www.fidelity.com (all other accounts). For information on the underlying funds, see the underlying funds' prospectuses. A copy of any underlying Fidelity fund's prospectus is available at www.fidelity.com or www.advisor.fidelity.com. For a copy of any other underlying fund's prospectus, visit the web site of the company that manages or sponsors that underlying fund.
In addition, the fund may have indirect exposure to derivatives through its investments in underlying funds.
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on the performance of the underlying funds in which it invests. The ability of the fund to meet its investment objective is directly related to its allocation among underlying funds and the ability of those funds to meet their investment objectives.
If Strategic Advisers' allocation strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective. The portfolio manager's evaluations and assumptions in selecting underlying funds may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.
When your shares are sold they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
Investing in Other Funds. Regulatory restrictions may limit the amount that one fund can invest in another, and in certain cases further limit investments to the extent a fund's shares are already held by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The fund bears all risks of investment strategies employed by the underlying funds. The fund does not control the investments of the underlying funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the fund would not engage in directly. Aggregation of underlying fund holdings may result in indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase volatility.
Stock Market Volatility. The value of equity securities fluctuates in response to issuer, political, market, and economic developments. Fluctuations can be dramatic over the short as well as long term, and different parts of the market and different types of equity securities can react differently to these developments. For example, large cap stocks can react differently from small cap stocks, "growth" stocks can react differently from "value" stocks, and stocks selected using quantitative or technical analysis can react differently than stocks selected using fundamental analysis. Issuer, political, or economic developments can affect a single issuer, issuers within an industry or economic sector or geographic region, or the market as a whole. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact the market as a whole. Terrorism and related geo-political risks have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Floating Rate Loan Trading. The value of the collateral securing a floating rate loan can decline, be insufficient to meet the obligations of the borrower, or be difficult to liquidate. As a result, a floating rate loan may not be fully collateralized and can decline significantly in value. Floating rate loans generally are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale. The liquidity of floating rate loans, including the volume and frequency of secondary market trading in such loans, varies significantly over time and among individual floating rate loans. For example, if the credit quality of a floating rate loan unexpectedly declines significantly, secondary market trading in that floating rate loan can also decline for a period of time. During periods of infrequent trading, valuing a floating rate loan can be more difficult, and buying and selling a floating rate loan at an acceptable price can be more difficult and delayed. Difficulty in selling a floating rate loan can result in a loss.
Interest Rate Changes. Debt securities have varying levels of sensitivity to changes in interest rates. In general, the price of a debt security can fall when interest rates rise and can rise when interest rates fall. Securities with longer maturities and mortgage securities can be more sensitive to interest rate changes. In other words, the longer the maturity of a security, the greater the impact a change in interest rates could have on the security's price. In addition, short-term and long-term interest rates do not necessarily move in the same amount or the same direction. Short-term securities tend to react to changes in short-term interest rates, and long-term securities tend to react to changes in long-term interest rates. Inflation-protected debt securities may react differently from other types of debt securities and tend to react to changes in "real" interest rates. Real interest rates represent nominal (stated) interest rates reduced by the expected impact of inflation. In general, the price of an inflation-protected debt security can fall when real interest rates rise, and can rise when real interest rates fall. Interest payments on inflation-protected debt securities can be unpredictable and will vary as the principal and/or interest is adjusted for inflation.
<R> Foreign Exposure. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; withholding or other taxes; trading, settlement, custodial, and other operational risks; and the less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets. All of these factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and potentially less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can perform differently from the U.S. market.</R>
Prospectus
<R></R>
<R>Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers or providers in, or foreign exchange rates with, a different country or region.</R>
Industry Exposure. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry or a group of related industries, and the securities of companies in that industry or group of industries could react similarly to these or other developments. In addition, from time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry or a group of related industries as a whole, and these companies can be sensitive to adverse economic, regulatory, or financial developments.
Prepayment. Many types of debt securities, including mortgage securities, inflation-protected debt securities, and floating rate loans, are subject to prepayment risk. Prepayment risk occurs when the issuer of a security can repay principal prior to the security's maturity. Securities subject to prepayment can offer less potential for gains during a declining interest rate environment and similar or greater potential for loss in a rising interest rate environment. In addition, the potential impact of prepayment features on the price of a debt security can be difficult to predict and result in greater volatility.
Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's credit quality or value. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers. Lower-quality debt securities (those of less than investment-grade quality, also referred to as high yield debt securities) and certain types of other securities tend to be particularly sensitive to these changes.
Lower-quality debt securities and certain types of other securities involve greater risk of default or price changes due to changes in the credit quality of the issuer. The value of lower-quality debt securities and certain types of other securities often fluctuates in response to company, political, or economic developments and can decline significantly over short as well as long periods of time or during periods of general or regional economic difficulty. Lower-quality debt securities can be thinly traded or have restrictions on resale, making them difficult to sell at an acceptable price, and often are considered to be speculative. The default rate for lower-quality debt securities is likely to be higher during economic recessions or periods of high interest rates.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Investing in ETFs. ETFs may trade in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) at prices below the value of their underlying portfolios and may not be liquid. An ETF that is not actively managed cannot sell poorly performing stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in its index or other benchmark. ETFs that track an index are subject to tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to its index or other benchmark).
<R>In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser, if any, may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
The following policies are fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:
The fund seeks a high level of current income. The fund may also seek capital appreciation.
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
<R>The fund's NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates the fund's NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing the fund's NAV. Fidelity calculates net asset value separately for each class of shares of a multiple class fund.</R>
<R>NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).</R>
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) are valued at their respective NAVs. Securities issued by ETFs are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations or official closing prices. For an explanation of the circumstances under which the underlying funds will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the underlying funds' prospectuses and statements of additional information (SAIs). The fund's NAV is calculated using the values of the underlying funds in which it invests.
To the extent that underlying fund assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some underlying fund assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Prospectus
THE FUND IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO CERTAIN EMPLOYER-SPONSORED RETIREMENT PLANS AND FIDELITY BROKERAGE OR MUTUAL FUND ACCOUNTS. PLEASE SEE "FUND SUMMARY - PURCHASE AND SALE OF SHARES" ABOVE FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS.
Fidelity Investments was established in 1946 to manage one of America's first mutual funds. Today, Fidelity is one of the world's largest providers of financial services.
In addition to its mutual fund business, the company operates one of America's leading brokerage firms, Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC. Fidelity is also a leader in providing tax-advantaged retirement plans for individuals investing on their own or through their employer.
Subject to the purchase and sale requirements stated in this prospectus, you may buy or sell shares of a fund through a Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity mutual fund account. If you buy or sell shares of a fund (other than by exchange) through a Fidelity brokerage account, your transactions generally involve your Fidelity brokerage core (a settlement vehicle included as part of your Fidelity brokerage account).
If you do not currently have a Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity mutual fund account and would like to invest in a fund, you may need to complete an application. For more information about a Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity mutual fund account, please visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com, call 1-800-FIDELITY, or visit a Fidelity Investor Center (call 1-800-544-9797 for the center nearest you).
<R>You may also buy or sell shares of the fund through a retirement account (such as an IRA or an account funded through salary deductions) or an investment professional. Retirement specialists are available at 1-800-544-4774 to answer your questions about Fidelity retirement products. If you buy or sell shares of a fund through a retirement account or an investment professional, the procedures for buying, selling, and exchanging shares of the fund and the account features, policies, and fees may differ from those discussed in this prospectus. Fees in addition to those discussed in this prospectus may also apply. For example, you may be charged a transaction fee if you buy or sell shares of the fund through a non-Fidelity broker or other investment professional.</R>
You should include the following information with any order to buy, sell, or exchange shares:
Certain methods of contacting Fidelity, such as by telephone or electronically, may be unavailable or delayed (for example, during periods of unusual market activity). In addition, the level and type of service available may be restricted based on criteria established by Fidelity.
Prospectus
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase or exchange, including transactions deemed to represent excessive trading, at any time.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
<R>The Board of Trustees has adopted policies designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares. Excessive trading activity in the fund is measured by the number of roundtrip transactions in a shareholder's account and each class of a multiple class fund is treated separately. A roundtrip transaction occurs when a shareholder sells fund shares (including exchanges) within 30 days of the purchase date.</R>
Shareholders with two or more roundtrip transactions in a single fund within a rolling 90-day period will be blocked from making additional purchases or exchange purchases of the fund for 85 days. Shareholders with four or more roundtrip transactions across all Fidelity funds within any rolling 12-month period will be blocked for at least 85 days from additional purchases or exchange purchases across all Fidelity funds. Any roundtrip within 12 months of the expiration of a multi-fund block will initiate another multi-fund block. Repeat offenders may be subject to long-term or permanent blocks on purchase or exchange purchase transactions in any account under the shareholder's control at any time. In addition to enforcing these roundtrip limitations, the fund may in its discretion restrict, reject, or cancel any purchases or exchanges that, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, may be disruptive to the management of the fund or otherwise not be in the fund's interests.
The following transactions are exempt from the fund's excessive trading policy described above: (i) transactions of $1,000 or less, (ii) systematic withdrawal and/or contribution programs, (iii) mandatory retirement distributions, and (iv) transactions initiated by a plan sponsor or sponsors of certain employee benefit plans or other related accounts. In addition, the fund's excessive trading policy does not apply to transactions initiated by the trustee or adviser to a donor-advised charitable gift fund, qualified fund of fund(s), or other strategy funds. A qualified fund of fund(s) is a mutual fund, qualified tuition program, or other strategy fund consisting of qualified plan assets that either applies the fund's excessive trading policies to shareholders at the fund of fund(s) level, or demonstrates that the fund of fund(s) has an investment strategy coupled with policies designed to control frequent trading that are reasonably likely to be effective as determined by the fund's Treasurer.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Omnibus accounts, in which shares are held in the name of an intermediary on behalf of multiple investors, are a common form of holding shares among retirement plans and financial intermediaries such as brokers, advisers, and third-party administrators. Individual trades in omnibus accounts are often not disclosed to the fund, making it difficult to determine whether a particular shareholder is engaging in excessive trading. Excessive trading in omnibus accounts is likely to go undetected by the fund and may increase costs to the fund and disrupt its portfolio management.
Under policies adopted by the Board of Trustees, intermediaries will be permitted to apply the fund's excessive trading policy (described above), or their own excessive trading policy if approved by Strategic Advisers. In these cases, the fund will typically not request or receive individual account data but will rely on the intermediary to monitor trading activity in good faith in accordance with its or the fund's policies. Reliance on intermediaries increases the risk that excessive trading may go undetected. For other intermediaries, the fund will generally monitor trading activity at the omnibus account level to attempt to identify disruptive trades. The fund may request transaction information, as frequently as daily, from any intermediary at any time, and may apply the fund's policy to transactions that exceed thresholds established by the Board of Trustees. The fund may prohibit purchases of fund shares by an intermediary or by some or all of any intermediary's clients. There is no assurance that Strategic Advisers will request data with sufficient frequency to detect or deter excessive trading in omnibus accounts effectively.
If you purchase or sell fund shares through a financial intermediary, you may wish to contact the intermediary to determine the policies applicable to your account.
For employer-sponsored retirement plans, only participant directed exchanges count toward the roundtrip limits. Employer-sponsored retirement plan participants whose activity triggers a purchase or exchange block will be permitted one trade every calendar quarter. In the event of a block, employer and participant contributions and loan repayments by the participant may still be invested in the fund.
The fund will monitor aggregate trading activity of adviser transactions to attempt to identify excessive trading in qualified wrap programs, as defined below. Excessive trading by an adviser will lead to fund blocks and the wrap program will lose its qualified status. Adviser transactions will not be matched with client-directed transactions unless the wrap program ceases to be a qualified wrap program (but all client-directed transactions will be subject to the fund's excessive trading policy). A qualified wrap program is: (i) a program whose adviser certifies that it has investment discretion over $100 million or more in client assets invested in mutual funds at the time of the certification, (ii) a program in which the adviser directs transactions in the accounts participating in the program in concert with changes in a model portfolio, and (iii) managed by an adviser who agrees to give Strategic Advisers sufficient information to permit Strategic Advisers to identify the individual accounts in the wrap program.
Prospectus
The fund reserves the right at any time to restrict purchases or exchanges or impose conditions that are more restrictive on excessive or disruptive trading than those stated in this prospectus. The fund's Treasurer is authorized to suspend the fund's policies during periods of severe market turbulence or national emergency. The fund reserves the right to modify its policies at any time without prior notice.
The fund does not knowingly accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares by investors, except to the extent permitted by the policies described above.
In addition to these policies, the fund imposes a short-term redemption fee on redemptions from the fund, which is discussed in "Selling Shares." As described in "Valuing Shares," the fund also uses fair value pricing to help reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders. There is no assurance that the fund's excessive trading policy will be effective, or will successfully detect or deter excessive or disruptive trading.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its NAV. The fund's shares are sold without a sales charge.
Your shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after your investment is received in proper form.
The fund has authorized certain intermediaries to accept orders to buy shares on its behalf. When authorized intermediaries receive an order in proper form, the order is considered as being placed with the fund, and shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after the order is received by the authorized intermediary. Orders by funds of funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.
<R>Provided the fund receives an order to buy shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to buy shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.</R>
There is no minimum balance or purchase minimum for investments through Portfolio Advisory Services, a mutual fund or a qualified tuition program for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager, certain Fidelity retirement accounts funded through salary deduction, or fund positions opened with the proceeds of distributions from such retirement accounts or from a Fidelity systematic withdrawal service. In addition, the fund may waive or lower purchase minimums in other circumstances.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
If your payment is not received and collected, your purchase may be canceled and you could be liable for any losses or fees the fund or Fidelity has incurred.
Certain financial institutions that have entered into sales agreements with FDC may enter confirmed purchase orders on behalf of customers by phone, with payment to follow no later than the time when fund shares are priced on the following business day. If payment is not received by that time, the order will be canceled and the financial institution could be held liable for resulting fees or losses.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.
If you sell your shares after holding them less than 90 days, a 1.00% short-term redemption fee may be deducted from the redemption amount. For this purpose, shares held longest will be treated as being redeemed first and shares held shortest as being redeemed last. The fees are paid to the fund, not Strategic Advisers, and are designed to help offset the brokerage commissions, market impact, and other costs associated with short-term shareholder trading.
<R>The short-term redemption fee does not apply to: (i) redemptions of shares acquired by reinvesting dividends and distributions; (ii) rollovers, transfers, and changes of account registration within the fund, or transfers between classes of a multiple class fund (if applicable) as long as the money never leaves the fund; and (iii) redemptions in kind.</R>
The fund also permits waivers of the short-term redemption fee for the following transactions:
Prospectus
The application of short-term redemption fees and waivers may vary among intermediaries and certain intermediaries may not apply the waivers listed above. If you purchase or sell fund shares through an intermediary, you should contact your intermediary for more information on whether the short-term redemption fee will be applied to redemptions of your shares.
The fund reserves the right to modify or eliminate the short-term redemption fee or waivers at any time. Investment advisers or their affiliates may pay short-term redemption fees on behalf of investors in managed accounts. Unitized group accounts consisting of qualified plan assets may be treated as a single account for redemption fee purposes.
Fidelity seeks to identify intermediaries that hold fund shares in omnibus accounts and will refuse their purchase orders if they do not agree to track and remit short-term redemption fees based on the transactions of underlying investors. There are no assurances that Fidelity will successfully identify all intermediaries or that the intermediaries will properly assess short-term redemption fees.
Your shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
The fund has authorized certain intermediaries to accept orders to sell shares on its behalf. When authorized intermediaries receive an order in proper form, the order is considered as being placed with the fund, and shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after the order is received by the authorized intermediary, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable. Orders by funds of funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.
<R>Provided the fund receives an order to sell shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to sell shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.</R>
A signature guarantee is designed to protect you and Fidelity from fraud. Fidelity may require that your request be made in writing and include a signature guarantee in certain circumstances, such as:
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
You should be able to obtain a signature guarantee from a bank, broker (including Fidelity Investor Centers), dealer, credit union (if authorized under state law), securities exchange or association, clearing agency, or savings association. A notary public cannot provide a signature guarantee.
When you place an order to sell shares, note the following:
An exchange involves the redemption of all or a portion of the shares of one fund and the purchase of shares of another fund.
If you hold your shares of the fund through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, your shares of the fund may be exchanged into shares of any class of a Fidelity fund available through your plan. If you hold your shares of the fund through a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, your shares of the fund may be exchanged into shares of other Fidelity funds.
However, you should note the following policies and restrictions governing exchanges:
Prospectus
The fund may terminate or modify exchange privileges in the future.
Other funds may have different exchange restrictions and minimums, and may impose redemption fees of up to 2.00% of the amount exchanged. Check each fund's prospectus for details.
The following features may be available to buy and sell shares of the fund or to move money to and from your account, if you are investing through a Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity mutual fund account. Please visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com or call 1-800-544-6666 for more information.
<R> Electronic Funds Transfer: electronic money movement through the Automated Clearing House </R> • To transfer money between a bank account and a Fidelity brokerage account or Fidelity mutual fund account. • You can use electronic funds transfer to: - Make periodic (automatic) purchases of Fidelity fund shares or payments to your Fidelity brokerage account. - Make periodic (automatic) redemptions of Fidelity fund shares or withdrawals from your Fidelity brokerage account. |
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<R> Wire: electronic money movement through the Federal Reserve wire system </R> • To transfer money between a bank account and a Fidelity brokerage account or Fidelity mutual fund account. |
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Automatic Transactions: periodic (automatic) transactions • To directly deposit all or a portion of your compensation from your employer (or the U.S. Government, in the case of Social Security) into a Fidelity brokerage account or Fidelity mutual fund account. • To make contributions from a Fidelity mutual fund account to a Fidelity mutual fund IRA. • To sell shares of a Fidelity money market fund and simultaneously to buy shares of another Fidelity fund in a Fidelity mutual fund account. |
Prospectus
The following policies apply to you as a shareholder.
Statements that Fidelity sends to you include the following:
<R></R>
Electronic copies of most financial reports and prospectuses are available at Fidelity's web site. To participate in Fidelity's electronic delivery program, call Fidelity or visit Fidelity's web site for more information.
You may initiate many transactions by telephone or electronically. Fidelity will not be responsible for any loss, cost, expense, or other liability resulting from unauthorized transactions if it follows reasonable security procedures designed to verify the identity of the investor. Fidelity will request personalized security codes or other information, and may also record calls. For transactions conducted through the Internet, Fidelity recommends the use of an Internet browser with 128-bit encryption. You should verify the accuracy of your confirmation statements upon receipt and notify Fidelity immediately of any discrepancies in your account activity. If you do not want the ability to sell and exchange by telephone, call Fidelity for instructions. Additional documentation may be required from corporations, associations, and certain fiduciaries.
You may also be asked to provide additional information in order for Fidelity to verify your identity in accordance with requirements under anti-money laundering regulations. Accounts may be restricted and/or closed, and the monies withheld, pending verification of this information or as otherwise required under these and other federal regulations.
If you hold your shares of the fund in a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, Fidelity may deduct a small balance maintenance fee of $12.00 from a fund balance with a value of less than $2,000 in shares. It is expected that fund balances will be valued after November 1 but prior to December 31 of each calendar year. Fund positions opened after September 30 will not be subject to the fee for that calendar year. The fee, which is payable to Fidelity, is designed to offset in part the relatively higher costs of servicing smaller fund positions. This fee will not be deducted from fund positions opened after January 1 of that calendar year if those positions use certain regular investment plans.
If your fund balance falls below $2,000 worth of shares ($500 for fund balances in Fidelity Simplified Employee Pension-IRA and Keogh accounts, and Non-Fidelity Prototype Retirement accounts) for any reason, including solely due to declines in NAV, and you do not increase your balance, Fidelity may sell all of your shares and send the proceeds to you after providing you with at least 30 days' notice to reestablish the minimum balance. Your shares will be sold at the NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable, on the day Fidelity closes your fund position. Certain fund positions are not subject to these balance requirements and will not be closed for failure to maintain a minimum balance.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Fidelity may charge a fee for certain services, such as providing historical account documents.
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
The fund normally declares dividends daily and pays them monthly. The fund normally pays capital gain distributions in April and December.
If you hold your shares of the fund through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, all dividends and capital gains distributions paid will be automatically reinvested. If you hold your shares of the fund in a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, when you open an account, specify on your application how you want to receive your distributions. The following distribution options are available for shares of the fund:
1. Reinvestment Option. Your dividends and capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional shares of the fund. If you do not indicate a choice on your application, you will be assigned this option.
2. Income-Earned Option. Your capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional shares of the fund. Your dividends will be paid in cash.
3. Cash Option. Your dividends and capital gain distributions will be paid in cash.
4. Directed Dividends ® Option. Your dividends will be automatically invested in shares of another identically registered Fidelity fund. Your capital gain distributions will be automatically invested in shares of another identically registered Fidelity fund, automatically reinvested in additional shares of the fund, or paid in cash.
If the distribution option you prefer is not listed on your account application, or if you want to change your current distribution option, visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com or call 1-800-544-6666 for more information.
If you elect to receive distributions paid in cash by check and the U.S. Postal Service does not deliver your checks, your distribution option may be converted to the Reinvestment Option. You will not receive interest on amounts represented by uncashed distribution checks.
If your dividend check(s) remains uncashed for more than six months, your check(s) may be invested in additional shares of the fund at the NAV next calculated on the day of the investment.
Prospectus
As with any investment, your investment in the fund could have tax consequences for you. If you are not investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account, you should consider these tax consequences.
Taxes on distributions. If you hold your shares of the fund through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, distributions by the fund to tax-advantaged retirement plan accounts are not taxable currently. If you hold your shares of the fund in a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, distributions you receive from the fund are subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes.
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including dividends and distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable to you as ordinary income, while certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of long-term capital gains, are taxable to you generally as capital gains. A percentage of certain distributions of dividends may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
If you buy shares when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.
Any taxable distributions you receive from the fund will normally be taxable to you when you receive them, regardless of your distribution option. If you elect to receive distributions in cash or to invest distributions automatically in shares of another Fidelity fund, you will receive certain December distributions in January, but those distributions will be taxable as if you received them on December 31.
Taxes on transactions. If you hold your shares of the fund through an employer-sponsored retirement plan, exchanges within a tax-advantaged retirement plan account will not result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. Please consult your tax advisor regarding the tax treatment of distributions from a tax-advantaged retirement plan account. If you hold your shares of the fund in a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, your redemptions, including exchanges, may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on your investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of your shares and the price you receive when you sell them.
Prospectus
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
<R> Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. The address of Strategic Advisers and its affiliates, unless otherwise indicated below, is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R>As of December 31, 2012, Strategic Advisers had approximately $320.7 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
As the manager, Strategic Advisers has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
<R>The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers currently employs a fund of funds investment structure for the fund. As a result, no portion of the fund's assets has been allocated to a sub-adviser. However, Strategic Advisers may allocate assets to one or more sub-advisers in the future, pursuant to the terms of the Exemptive Order described above.</R>
Gregory Pappas is portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since June 2012. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1990, Mr. Pappas has worked as a senior fund analyst, fixed income strategist, and portfolio manager.
The SAI provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by the portfolio manager.
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.
Prospectus
The fund pays a management fee to Strategic Advisers. The management fee is calculated and paid to Strategic Advisers every month.
The fund's management fee is calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers, if any, based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets. The fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.80% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets through April 30, 2014.</R>
In the event Strategic Advisers retains one or more sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers will pay each of the fund's sub-advisers the fee (as described above) payable to that sub-adviser.
<R>The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract for the fund is available in the fund's semi-annual report for the fiscal period ended August 31, 2012.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, agree to reimburse a class for, or waive, management fees and other expenses above a specified limit. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid by a class if expenses fall below the specified limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.</R>
Reimbursement or waiver arrangements can decrease expenses and boost performance.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, approximately 53.47% of the fund's total outstanding shares was held by Strategic Advisers and/or another entity or entities of which FMR LLC is the ultimate parent.</R>
<R>The fund is composed of multiple classes of shares. All classes of the fund have a common investment objective and investment portfolio.</R>
FDC distributes the fund's shares.
<R>Intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), may receive from Strategic Advisers, FMR, FDC, and/or their affiliates compensation for providing recordkeeping and administrative services, as well as other retirement plan expenses, and compensation for services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund. These payments are described in more detail in this section and in the SAI.</R>
The fund has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) with respect to its shares that recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, service-providers, and administrators, that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
Affiliates of Strategic Advisers may receive service fees or distribution fees or both with respect to underlying funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork.
<R>If payments made by Strategic Advisers to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of a class's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.</R>
From time to time, FDC may offer special promotional programs to investors who purchase shares of Fidelity funds. For example, FDC may offer merchandise, discounts, vouchers, or similar items to investors who purchase shares of certain Fidelity funds during certain periods. To determine if you qualify for any such programs, contact Fidelity or visit our web site at www.fidelity.com.
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
Prospectus
<R>The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the financial history of the fund's shares for the period of operations. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of the fund. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in shares of the fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial highlights and financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report. A free copy of the annual report is available upon request.</R>
<R> Period ended February 28, |
2013 E </R> |
<R> Selected Per-Share Data |
</R> |
<R> Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 10.00 </R> |
<R> Income from Investment Operations |
</R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) D |
.436 </R> |
<R> Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
.615 </R> |
<R> Total from investment operations |
1.051 </R> |
<R> Distributions from net investment income |
(.431) </R> |
<R> Distributions from net realized gain |
(.020 ) </R> |
<R> Total distributions |
(.451 ) </R> |
<R> Redemption fees added to paid in capital D |
- H </R> |
<R> Net asset value, end of period |
$ 10.60 </R> |
<R> Total Return B, C |
10.69% </R> |
<R> Ratios to Average Net Assets F |
</R> |
<R> Expenses before reductions |
10.12% A </R> |
<R> Expenses net of fee waivers, if any |
.10% A </R> |
<R> Expenses net of all reductions |
.10% A </R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) |
6.03% A </R> |
<R> Supplemental Data |
</R> |
<R> Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$ 1,042 </R> |
<R> Portfolio turnover rate G |
27% A </R> |
<R> A Annualized </R>
<R> B Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized. </R>
<R> C Total returns would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reduced during the applicable periods shown. </R>
<R> D Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period. </R>
<R> E For the period June 19, 2012 (commencement of operations) to February 28, 2013. </R>
<R> F Expense ratios reflect operating expenses of the class. Expenses before reductions do not reflect amounts reimbursed by the investment adviser or reductions from expense offset arrangements and do not represent the amount paid by the class during periods when reimbursements or reductions occur. Expense ratios before reductions for start-up periods may not be representative of longer-term operating periods. Expenses net of fee waivers reflect expenses after reimbursement by the investment adviser but prior to reductions from expense offset arrangements. Expenses net of all reductions represent the net expenses paid by the class. Fees and expenses of the Underlying Funds are not included in the class' annualized ratios. The class indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the Underlying Funds. </R>
<R> G Amount does not include the portfolio activity of any Underlying Funds. </R>
<R> H Amount represents less than $.001 per share. </R>
Prospectus
Notes
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account. For individual investors opening an account: When you open an account, you will be asked for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow Fidelity to identify you. You may also be asked to provide documents that may help to establish your identity, such as your driver's license. For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account such as name, residential address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity. |
<R>You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.</R>
For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call 1-800-835-5095 (plan accounts) or 1-800-544-3455 (all other accounts). In addition, you may visit the web site at www.401k.com (plan accounts) or www.fidelity.com (all other accounts) for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number, 811-21991 |
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design, FundsNetwork, FAST, and Directed Dividends are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R>1.941250.102 ODF-PRO-0413</R>
Strategic Advisers ® Income Opportunities Fund of Funds (FSADX)
<R> A Class of shares of Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds </R>
A Fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R>This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. Portions of the fund's annual report are incorporated herein. The annual report is supplied with this SAI.</R>
<R>To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated April 29, 2013, or an annual report, please call Fidelity at 1-800-835-5095 (plan accounts) or 1-800-544-3455 (all other accounts) or visit the web site at www.401k.com (plan accounts) or www.fidelity.com (all other accounts).</R>
<R>ODF-PTB-0413
1.941251.102</R>
<R></R>
<R>
</R>
|
PAGE |
Investment Policies and Limitations |
|
<R>Portfolio Transactions |
|
<R>Valuation |
|
<R>Buying, Selling, and Exchanging Information |
349 </R> |
<R>Distributions and Taxes |
349 </R> |
<R>Trustees and Officers |
350 </R> |
<R>Control of Investment Adviser |
356 </R> |
<R>Management Contract |
357 </R> |
<R>Proxy Voting Guidelines |
359 </R> |
<R>Distribution Services |
359 </R> |
<R>Transfer and Service Agent Agreements |
360 </R> |
<R>Description of the Trust |
360 </R> |
<R>Fund Holdings Information |
361 </R> |
<R>Financial Statements |
362 </R> |
<R>Appendix |
363 </R> |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not with respect to 75% of the fund's total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except in connection with the insurance program established by the fund pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission or as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry (provided that investments in other investment companies shall not be considered an investment in any particular industry for purposes of this investment limitation).
<R>For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities, Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) looks through to the U.S. Government securities.</R>
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The acquisitions of loans and loan participations excluded from the fund's lending limitation discussed above are only those loans and loan participations considered securities within the meaning of the 1940 Act.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, and provided that transactions in futures contracts, options, and swaps are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 10% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 10% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
<R>To the extent that the fund acquires the shares of an underlying fund in accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, the underlying fund is not obligated to redeem its shares in an amount exceeding 1% of its shares outstanding during any period of less than 30 days. Those underlying fund shares will not be treated as illiquid securities for purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation described above to the extent that the fund is able to dispose of such securities by distributing them in kind to redeeming shareholders. (See "Securities of Other Investment Companies" on page 340 .)</R>
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to lend assets other than securities to other parties, except by (a) lending money (up to 15% of the fund's net assets) to a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) assuming any unfunded commitments in connection with the acquisition of loans, loan participations, or other forms of debt instruments. (This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities, to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.)
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
<R>For the fund's limitations on futures and options transactions, see the section entitled "Futures, Options, and Swaps" on page 335 .</R>
Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitations, the underlying funds in which the fund may invest have adopted certain investment limitations that may be more or less restrictive than those listed above, thereby permitting the fund to engage indirectly in investment strategies that are prohibited under the investment limitations listed above. The investment limitations of each underlying fund are set forth in its registration statement.
In accordance with its investment program as set forth in the prospectus, the fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in any one underlying Fidelity fund. Although the fund does not intend to concentrate its investments in a particular industry, the fund may indirectly concentrate in a particular industry or group of industries through its investments in one or more underlying funds.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
Strategic Advisers ® Income Opportunities Fund of Funds may have exposure to instruments, techniques, and risks either directly or indirectly through an investment in an underlying fund. An underlying fund may invest in the same or other types of instruments and its adviser may employ the same or other types of techniques. Strategic Advisers ® Income Opportunities Fund of Funds' performance will be affected by the instruments, techniques, and risks associated with an underlying fund, in proportion to the amount of assets that the fund allocates to that underlying fund.
<R>On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "a fund" or "the fund" may relate to Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds or an underlying fund, and references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to Strategic Advisers (or its affiliates) or an adviser of an underlying fund.</R>
Asset-Backed Securities represent interests in pools of mortgages, loans, receivables, or other assets. Payment of interest and repayment of principal may be largely dependent upon the cash flows generated by the assets backing the securities and, in certain cases, supported by letters of credit, surety bonds, or other credit enhancements. Asset-backed security values may also be affected by other factors including changes in interest rates, the availability of information concerning the pool and its structure, the creditworthiness of the servicing agent for the pool, the originator of the loans or receivables, or the entities providing the credit enhancement. In addition, these securities may be subject to prepayment risk.
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of short-term bond or money market funds, including (for Fidelity funds and other advisory clients only) shares of Fidelity central funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.
<R> Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Notice of Exclusion. The trust, on behalf of the Fidelity fund to which this SAI relates, has filed with the National Futures Association a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the CFTC promulgated thereunder, with respect to the fund's operation. Accordingly, neither the fund nor its adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or a CPO. However, the CFTC has adopted certain rule amendments that significantly affect the continued availability of this exclusion, and may subject advisers to funds to regulation by the CFTC. As of the date of this SAI, the adviser does not expect to register as a CPO of the fund. However, there is no certainty that a fund or its adviser will be able to rely on an exclusion in the future as the fund's investments change over time. A fund may determine not to use investment strategies that trigger additional CFTC regulation or may determine to operate subject to CFTC regulation, if applicable. If a fund or its adviser operates subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.</R>
Common Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock, although related proceedings can take time to resolve and results can be unpredictable.
Convertible Securities are bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption or conversion, the fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
Debt Securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay interest but are sold at a deep discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, and mortgage and other asset-backed securities.
Dollar-Weighted Average Maturity is derived by multiplying the value of each investment by the time remaining to its maturity, adding these calculations, and then dividing the total by the value of a fund's portfolio. An obligation's maturity is typically determined on a stated final maturity basis, although there are some exceptions to this rule.
Under certain circumstances, a fund may invest in nominally long-term securities that have maturity shortening features of shorter-term securities, and the maturities of these securities may be deemed to be earlier than their ultimate maturity dates by virtue of an existing demand feature or an adjustable interest rate. Under other circumstances, if it is probable that the issuer of an instrument will take advantage of a maturity-shortening device, such as a call, refunding, or redemption provision, the date on which the instrument will probably be called, refunded, or redeemed may be considered to be its maturity date. The maturities of mortgage securities, including collateralized mortgage obligations, and some asset-backed securities are determined on a weighted average life basis, which is the average time for principal to be repaid. For a mortgage security, this average time is calculated by estimating the timing of principal payments, including unscheduled prepayments, during the life of the mortgage. The weighted average life of these securities is likely to be substantially shorter than their stated final maturity.
<R> Duration is a measure of a bond's price sensitivity to a change in its yield. For example, if a bond has a 5-year duration and its yield rises 1%, the bond's value is likely to fall about 5%. Similarly, if a bond fund has a 5-year average duration and the yield on each of the bonds held by the fund rises 1%, the fund's value is likely to fall about 5%. For funds with exposure to foreign markets, there are many reasons why all of the bond holdings do not experience the same yield changes. These reasons include: the bonds are spread off of different yield curves around the world and these yield curves do not move in tandem; the shapes of these yield curves change; and sector and issuer yield spreads change. Other factors can influence a bond fund's performance and share price. Accordingly, a bond fund's actual performance will likely differ from the example.</R>
<R> Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments. An ETF may seek to replicate the performance of a specified index or may be actively managed.</R>
Typically, ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks (typically, 50,000 shares) often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.
Some of the risks of investing in an ETF that tracks an index are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
<R> ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their intraday indicative value. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater.</R>
Exposure to Foreign and Emerging Markets. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Foreign investments involve risks relating to local political, economic, regulatory, or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments, and may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Such actions may include expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. Additionally, governmental issuers of foreign debt securities may be unwilling to pay interest and repay principal when due and may require that the conditions for payment be renegotiated. There is no assurance that a fund's adviser will be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies and of dividends and interest paid with respect to such securities will fluctuate based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar.
It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for foreign securities will be on an exchange or in over-the-counter (OTC) markets located outside of the United States. Foreign stock markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign security trading, settlement and custodial practices (including those involving securities settlement where fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment) are often less developed than those in U.S. markets, and may result in increased investment or valuation risk or substantial delays in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of, or breach of duty by, a foreign broker-dealer, securities depository, or foreign subcustodian. In addition, the costs associated with foreign investments, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions, and custodial costs, are generally higher than with U.S. investments.
Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors than U.S. markets. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Adequate public information on foreign issuers may not be available, and it may be difficult to secure dividends and information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. OTC markets tend to be less regulated than stock exchange markets and, in certain countries, may be totally unregulated. Regulatory enforcement may be influenced by economic or political concerns, and investors may have difficulty enforcing their legal rights in foreign countries.
Some foreign securities impose restrictions on transfer within the United States or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than foreign securities of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks include foreign exchange risk as well as the political and economic risks of the underlying issuer's country.
The risks of foreign investing may be magnified for investments in emerging markets. Security prices in emerging markets can be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
Floating Rate Loans and Other Debt Securities. Floating rate loans consist generally of obligations of companies or other entities (collectively, "borrowers") incurred for the purpose of reorganizing the assets and liabilities of a borrower (recapitalization); acquiring another company (acquisition); taking over control of a company (leveraged buyout); temporary financing (bridge loan); or refinancings, internal growth, or other general business purposes. Floating rate loans are often obligations of borrowers who are highly leveraged.
Floating rate loans may be structured to include both term loans, which are generally fully funded at the time of the making of the loan, and revolving credit facilities, which would require additional investments upon the borrower's demand. A revolving credit facility may require a purchaser to increase its investment in a floating rate loan at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
Floating rate loans may be acquired by direct investment as a lender, as a participation interest (which represents a fractional interest in a floating rate loan) issued by a lender or other financial institution, or as an assignment of the portion of a floating rate loan previously attributable to a different lender.
A floating rate loan offered as part of the original lending syndicate typically is purchased at par value. As part of the original lending syndicate, a purchaser generally earns a yield equal to the stated interest rate. In addition, members of the original syndicate typically are paid a commitment fee. In secondary market trading, floating rate loans may be purchased or sold above, at, or below par, which can result in a yield that is below, equal to, or above the stated interest rate, respectively. At certain times when reduced opportunities exist for investing in new syndicated floating rate loans, floating rate loans may be available only through the secondary market. There can be no assurance that an adequate supply of floating rate loans will be available for purchase.
Historically, floating rate loans have not been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or any state securities commission or listed on any securities exchange. As a result, the amount of public information available about a specific floating rate loan historically has been less extensive than if the floating rate loan were registered or exchange-traded.
Purchasers of floating rate loans and other forms of debt securities depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the security may be adversely affected. Floating rate loans and other debt securities that are fully secured provide more protections than unsecured securities in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Some floating rate loans and other debt securities are not rated by any nationally recognized statistical rating organization. In connection with the restructuring of a floating rate loan or other debt security outside of bankruptcy court in a negotiated work-out or in the context of bankruptcy proceedings, equity securities or junior debt securities may be received in exchange for all or a portion of an interest in the security.
Floating rate debt securities include other forms of indebtedness of borrowers such as notes and bonds, securities with fixed rate interest payments in conjunction with a right to receive floating rate interest payments, and shares of other investment companies. These instruments are generally subject to the same risks as floating rate loans but are often more widely issued and traded.
Foreign Currency Transactions. A fund may conduct foreign currency transactions on a spot ( i.e., cash) or forward basis ( i.e., by entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies). Although foreign exchange dealers generally do not charge a fee for such conversions, they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the counterparty desire to resell that currency to the dealer. Forward contracts are customized transactions that require a specific amount of a currency to be delivered at a specific exchange rate on a specific date or range of dates in the future. Forward contracts are generally traded in an interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The parties to a forward contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated currency exchange.
The following discussion summarizes the principal currency management strategies involving forward contracts that could be used by a fund. A fund may also use swap agreements, indexed securities, and options and futures contracts relating to foreign currencies for the same purposes. Forward contracts not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying currency. All of these instruments and transactions are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default.
<R>A "settlement hedge" or "transaction hedge" is designed to protect a fund against an adverse change in foreign currency values between the date a security denominated in a foreign currency is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in an underlying security transaction for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars "locks in" the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used to protect a fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected.</R>
<R>A fund may also use forward contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in a foreign currency. For example, if a fund owned securities denominated in pounds sterling, it could enter into a forward contract to sell pounds sterling in return for U.S. dollars to hedge against possible declines in the pound's value. Such a hedge, sometimes referred to as a "position hedge," would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. A fund could also attempt to hedge the position by selling another currency expected to perform similarly to the pound sterling. This type of hedge, sometimes referred to as a "proxy hedge," could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield, or efficiency, but generally would not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a direct hedge into U.S. dollars. Proxy hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated.</R>
A fund may enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a "cross-hedge," will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if a fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. A fund may cross-hedge its U.S. dollar exposure in order to achieve a representative weighted mix of the major currencies in its benchmark index and/or to cover an underweight country or region exposure in its portfolio. Cross-hedges protect against losses resulting from a decline in the hedged currency, but will cause a fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases.
<R>Successful use of currency management strategies will depend on an adviser's skill in analyzing currency values. Currency management strategies may substantially change a fund's investment exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and could result in losses to a fund if currencies do not perform as an adviser anticipates. For example, if a currency's value rose at a time when a fund had hedged its position by selling that currency in exchange for dollars, the fund would not participate in the currency's appreciation. If a fund hedges currency exposure through proxy hedges, the fund could realize currency losses from both the hedge and the security position if the two currencies do not move in tandem. Similarly, if a fund increases its exposure to a foreign currency and that currency's value declines, the fund will realize a loss. Foreign currency transactions involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that a fund's hedging strategies will be ineffective. Moreover, it is impossible to precisely forecast the market value of portfolio securities at the expiration of a foreign currency forward contract. Accordingly, a fund may be required to buy or sell additional currency on the spot market (and bear the expenses of such transaction), if an adviser's predictions regarding the movement of foreign currency or securities markets prove inaccurate.</R>
<R>A fund may be required to limit its hedging transactions in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options in order to maintain its classification as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Hedging transactions could result in the application of the mark-to-market provisions of the Code, which may cause an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a fund and could affect whether dividends paid by a fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. A fund will cover its exposure to foreign currency transactions with liquid assets in compliance with applicable requirements. There is no assurance that an adviser's use of currency management strategies will be advantageous to a fund or that it will employ currency management strategies at appropriate times.</R>
Options and Futures Relating to Foreign Currencies. Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges (and have margin requirements) and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The underlying instrument of a currency option may be a foreign currency, which generally is purchased or delivered in exchange for U.S. dollars, or may be a futures contract. The purchaser of a currency call obtains the right to purchase the underlying currency, and the purchaser of a currency put obtains the right to sell the underlying currency.
<R>The uses and risks of currency options and futures are similar to options and futures relating to securities or indexes, as discussed below. A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and may purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. Currency options may also be purchased or written in conjunction with each other or with currency futures or forward contracts. Currency futures and options values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates, but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated security from a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of a fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the fund's investments exactly over time.</R>
<R>Currency options traded on U.S. or other exchanges may be subject to position limits which may limit the ability of the fund to reduce foreign currency risk using such options.</R>
Foreign Repurchase Agreements. Foreign repurchase agreements involve an agreement to purchase a foreign security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price in either U.S. dollars or foreign currency. Unlike typical U.S. repurchase agreements, foreign repurchase agreements may not be fully collateralized at all times. The value of a security purchased by a fund may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to repurchase the security. In the event of default by the counterparty, a fund may suffer a loss if the value of the security purchased is less than the agreed-upon repurchase price, or if the fund is unable to successfully assert a claim to the collateral under foreign laws. As a result, foreign repurchase agreements may involve higher credit risks than repurchase agreements in U.S. markets, as well as risks associated with currency fluctuations. In addition, as with other emerging market investments, repurchase agreements with counterparties located in emerging markets or relating to emerging markets may involve issuers or counterparties with lower credit ratings than typical U.S. repurchase agreements.
Fund's Rights as an Investor. Fidelity funds do not intend to direct or administer the day-to-day operations of any company. A fund may, however, exercise its rights as a shareholder or lender and may communicate its views on important matters of policy to a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders, and holders of a company's other securities when such matters could have a significant effect on the value of the fund's investment in the company. The activities in which a fund may engage, either individually or in conjunction with others, may include, among others, supporting or opposing proposed changes in a company's corporate structure or business activities; seeking changes in a company's directors or management; seeking changes in a company's direction or policies; seeking the sale or reorganization of the company or a portion of its assets; supporting or opposing third-party takeover efforts; supporting the filing of a bankruptcy petition; or foreclosing on collateral securing a security. This area of corporate activity is increasingly prone to litigation and it is possible that a fund could be involved in lawsuits related to such activities. Such activities will be monitored with a view to mitigating, to the extent possible, the risk of litigation against a fund and the risk of actual liability if a fund is involved in litigation. No guarantee can be made, however, that litigation against a fund will not be undertaken or liabilities incurred. The fund's proxy voting guidelines are included in this SAI.
<R> Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. If a fund invests a significant portion of its assets in derivatives, its investment exposure could far exceed the value of its portfolio securities and its investment performance could be primarily dependent upon securities it does not own.</R>
Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.
The limitations on the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps, and the fund's policies regarding futures contracts, options, and swaps may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts.
<R> Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts and the price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities or baskets of securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indexes (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indexes of securities prices (including foreign indexes for funds that seek foreign exposure). Futures on indexes and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out by offsetting purchases or sales of futures contracts before then if a liquid market is available. A fund may realize a gain or loss by closing out its futures contracts.</R>
<R>The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the underlying instrument. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.</R>
<R>The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by a fund, but is instead a settlement between a fund and the FCM of the amount one would owe the other if the fund's contract expired. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is also required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.</R>
<R>Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement, and margin procedures that are different from those for U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may not involve a clearing mechanism or related guarantees and may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to a fund. Because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuation.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.</R>
<R>If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
<R>Futures contracts on U.S. Government securities historically have reacted to an increase or decrease in interest rates in a manner similar to the manner in which the underlying U.S. Government securities reacted. To the extent, however, that a fund enters into such futures contracts, the value of these futures contracts will not vary in direct proportion to the value of the fund's holdings of U.S. Government securities. Thus, the anticipated spread between the price of the futures contract and the hedged security may be distorted due to differences in the nature of the markets. The spread also may be distorted by differences in initial and variation margin requirements, the liquidity of such markets and the participation of speculators in such markets.</R>
<R> Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, baskets of assets or securities, indexes of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). Options may be traded on an exchange or OTC. The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. Depending on the terms of the contract, upon exercise, an option may require physical delivery of the underlying instrument or may be settled through cash payments. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.</R>
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
<R>The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right (but not the obligation) to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.</R>
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
<R>Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer should mitigate the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.</R>
<R>Where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price to close out the put or call option on the secondary market may move more or less than the price of the related security.</R>
<R>There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for exchange-traded options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.</R>
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
<R>A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps (swaptions), which are generally options on interest rate swaps. An option on a swap gives a party the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, a fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes (sells) an option on a swap than it will incur when it purchases an option on a swap. When a fund purchases an option on a swap, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when a fund writes an option on a swap, upon exercise of the option the fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement. A fund that writes an option on a swap receives the premium and bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the preset rate on the underlying interest rate swap. Whether a fund's use of options on swaps will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend on the adviser's ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Options on swaps may involve risks similar to those discussed below in "Swap Agreements."</R>
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
<R> Swap Agreements. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term. Most swap agreements are currently traded over-the-counter. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange one or more payments based, for example, on the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, indexes, or other financial or economic interests). The gross payments to be exchanged between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.</R>
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness.
<R>A fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. In order to cover its outstanding obligations to a swap counterparty, a fund would generally be required to provide margin or collateral for the benefit of that counterparty. If a counterparty to a swap transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited temporarily or permanently in exercising its right to the return of related fund assets designated as margin or collateral in an action against the counterparty.</R>
<R>Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that an adviser will not accurately forecast market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other economic factors in establishing swap positions for a fund. If an adviser attempts to use a swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, a fund may be exposed to the risk that the swap will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment, which could cause substantial losses for a fund. While hedging strategies involving swap instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Swaps are complex and often valued subjectively.</R>
Illiquid Securities cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity fund's adviser determines the liquidity of the fund's investments and, through reports from the fund's adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid securities.
Various factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments, including (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
Increasing Government Debt. The total public debt of the United States and other countries around the globe as a percent of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented.
A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt cost higher and cause a country to sell additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In the worst case, unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns.
On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States one level to "AA+" from "AAA." While Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the United States' short-term sovereign credit rating as "A-1+," there is no guarantee that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services will not decide to lower this rating in the future. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services stated that its decision was prompted by its view on the rising public debt burden and its perception of greater policymaking uncertainty. The market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government may be adversely affected by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services decisions to downgrade the long-term sovereign credit rating of the United States.
<R> Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indexes, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.</R>
<R>Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indexes. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.</R>
Indexed securities may have principal payments as well as coupon payments that depend on the performance of one or more interest rates. Their coupon rates or principal payments may change by several percentage points for every 1% interest rate change.
Mortgage-indexed securities, for example, could be structured to replicate the performance of mortgage securities and the characteristics of direct ownership.
Inflation-protected securities, for example, can be indexed to a measure of inflation, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
<R>Commodity-indexed securities, for example, can be indexed to a commodities index such as the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return SM .</R>
Gold-indexed securities typically provide for a maturity value that depends on the price of gold, resulting in a security whose price tends to rise and fall together with gold prices.
Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Insolvency of Issuers, Counterparties, and Intermediaries. Issuers of fund portfolio securities or counterparties to fund transactions that become insolvent or declare bankruptcy can pose special investment risks. In each circumstance, risk of loss, valuation uncertainty, increased illiquidity, and other unpredictable occurrences may negatively impact an investment. Each of these risks may be amplified in foreign markets, where security trading, settlement, and custodial practices can be less developed than those in the U.S. markets, and bankruptcy laws differ from those of the U.S.
As a general matter, if the issuer of a fund portfolio security is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock have priority over the claims of common stock owners. These events can negatively impact the value of the issuer's securities and the results of related proceedings can be unpredictable.
If a counterparty to a fund transaction, such as a swap transaction, a short sale, a borrowing, or other complex transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise rights to obtain the return of related fund assets or in exercising other rights against the counterparty. In addition, insolvency and liquidation proceedings take time to resolve, which can limit or preclude a fund's ability to terminate a transaction or obtain related assets or collateral in a timely fashion. Uncertainty may also arise upon the insolvency of a securities or commodities intermediary such as a broker-dealer or futures commission merchant with which a fund has pending transactions. If an intermediary becomes insolvent, while securities positions and other holdings may be protected by U.S. or foreign laws, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these protections are available to specific trades based on the circumstances. Receiving the benefit of these protections can also take time to resolve, which may result in illiquid positions.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the SEC, a Fidelity fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) or its affiliates. A Fidelity fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. A Fidelity fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
<R> Investments by Funds of Funds or Other Large Shareholders. Certain funds and accounts that are managed by FMR or its affiliates (including funds of funds) invest in other funds and may at times have substantial investments in one or more other funds.</R>
<R> A fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by funds of funds, other large shareholders, or similarly managed accounts. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a fund's portfolio. In addition, when funds of funds or other investors own a substantial portion of a fund's shares, a large redemption by such an investor could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a fund of funds or other significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the fund's shares.</R>
<R>When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful. A high volume of redemption requests can impact a fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments.</R>
Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. Direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve a risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a fund supply additional cash to a borrower on demand. A fund may acquire loans by buying an assignment of all or a portion of the loan from a lender or by purchasing a loan participation from a lender or other purchaser of a participation.
Lenders and purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of foreign countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.
Direct lending and investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the lender/purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary.
A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest.
Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate lenders/purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a lender/purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
For a Fidelity fund that limits the amount of total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry, the fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require a fund, in appropriate circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for these purposes. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
Because the risk of default is higher for lower-quality debt securities, research and credit analysis are an especially important part of managing securities of this type. Such analysis may focus on relative values based on factors such as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earnings prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer, in an attempt to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved, or is expected to improve in the future.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Mortgage Securities are issued by government and non-government entities such as banks, mortgage lenders, or other institutions. A mortgage security is an obligation of the issuer backed by a mortgage or pool of mortgages or a direct interest in an underlying pool of mortgages. Some mortgage securities, such as collateralized mortgage obligations (or "CMOs"), make payments of both principal and interest at a range of specified intervals; others make semiannual interest payments at a predetermined rate and repay principal at maturity (like a typical bond). Mortgage securities are based on different types of mortgages, including those on commercial real estate or residential properties. Stripped mortgage securities are created when the interest and principal components of a mortgage security are separated and sold as individual securities. In the case of a stripped mortgage security, the holder of the "principal-only" security (PO) receives the principal payments made by the underlying mortgage, while the holder of the "interest-only" security (IO) receives interest payments from the same underlying mortgage.
Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs are pass-through securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, respectively. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which guarantee payment of interest and repayment of principal on Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs, respectively, are federally chartered corporations supervised by the U.S. Government that act as governmental instrumentalities under authority granted by Congress. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are authorized to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to meet their obligations. Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.
The value of mortgage securities may change due to shifts in the market's perception of issuers and changes in interest rates. In addition, regulatory or tax changes may adversely affect the mortgage securities market as a whole. Non-government mortgage securities may offer higher yields than those issued by government entities, but also may be subject to greater price changes than government issues. Mortgage securities are subject to prepayment risk, which is the risk that early principal payments made on the underlying mortgages, usually in response to a reduction in interest rates, will result in the return of principal to the investor, causing it to be invested subsequently at a lower current interest rate. Alternatively, in a rising interest rate environment, mortgage security values may be adversely affected when prepayments on underlying mortgages do not occur as anticipated, resulting in the extension of the security's effective maturity and the related increase in interest rate sensitivity of a longer-term instrument. The prices of stripped mortgage securities tend to be more volatile in response to changes in interest rates than those of non-stripped mortgage securities.
A fund may seek to earn additional income by using a trading strategy (commonly known as "mortgage dollar rolls" or "reverse mortgage dollar rolls") that involves selling (or buying) mortgage securities, realizing a gain or loss, and simultaneously agreeing to purchase (or sell) mortgage securities on a later date at a set price. During the period between the sale and repurchase in a mortgage dollar roll transaction, a fund will not be entitled to receive interest and principal payments on the securities sold but will invest the proceeds of the sale in other securities that are permissible investments for the fund. During the period between the purchase and subsequent sale in a reverse mortgage dollar roll transaction, a fund is entitled to interest and principal payments on the securities purchased. Losses may arise due to changes in the value of the securities or if the counterparty does not perform under the terms of the agreement. If the counterparty files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, a fund's right to repurchase or sell securities may be limited. This trading strategy may increase interest rate exposure and result in an increased portfolio turnover rate which increases costs and may increase taxable gains.
Precious Metals. Precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, at times have been subject to substantial price fluctuations over short periods of time and may be affected by unpredictable monetary and political policies such as currency devaluations or revaluations, economic and social conditions within a country, trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries. The prices of gold and other precious metals, however, are less subject to local and company-specific factors than securities of individual companies. As a result, precious metals may be more or less volatile in price than securities of companies engaged in precious metals-related businesses. Investments in precious metals can present concerns such as delivery, storage and maintenance, possible illiquidity, and the unavailability of accurate market valuations. Although precious metals can be purchased in any form, including bullion and coins, a Fidelity fund intends to purchase only those forms of precious metals that are readily marketable and that can be stored in accordance with custody regulations applicable to mutual funds. A fund may incur higher custody and transaction costs for precious metals than for securities. Also, precious metals investments do not pay income.
For a fund to qualify as a regulated investment company under current federal tax law, gains from selling precious metals may not exceed 10% of the fund's gross income for its taxable year. This tax requirement could cause a fund to hold or sell precious metals or securities when it would not otherwise do so.
Preferred Securities represent an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Real estate investment trusts issue debt securities to fund the purchase and/or development of commercial properties. The value of these debt securities may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property owned by the trusts, the creditworthiness of the trusts, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements. Real estate investment trusts are dependent upon management skill and the cash flow generated by the properties owned by the trusts. Real estate investment trusts are at the risk of the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
<R> Reforms and Government Intervention in the Financial Markets. Economic downturns can trigger various economic, legal, budgetary, tax, and regulatory reforms across the globe. Instability in the financial markets in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn led the U.S. Government and other governments to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility, and in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Reforms are ongoing and their effects are uncertain. Federal, state, local, foreign, and other governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which a fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Reforms may also change the way in which a fund is regulated and could limit or preclude a fund's ability to achieve its investment objective or engage in certain strategies. Also, while reforms generally are intended to strengthen markets, systems, and public finances, they could affect fund expenses and the value of fund investments.</R>
The value of a fund's holdings is also generally subject to the risk of future local, national, or global economic disturbances based on unknown weaknesses in the markets in which a fund invests. In the event of such a disturbance, the issuers of securities held by a fund may experience significant declines in the value of their assets and even cease operations, or may receive government assistance accompanied by increased restrictions on their business operations or other government intervention. In addition, it is not certain that the U.S. Government or foreign governments will intervene in response to a future market disturbance and the effect of any such future intervention cannot be predicted.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its right to liquidate assets related to a repurchase agreement with an insolvent counterparty. A Fidelity fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities Lending. Securities lending allows a fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The fund seeks to maintain the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased.
Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies (which include business development companies (BDCs)), unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. For certain investment companies, such as BDCs, these expenses may be significant. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.
The securities of closed-end funds may be leveraged. As a result, a fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. An investment in securities of closed-end funds that use leverage may expose a fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the fund's long-term returns on such securities will be diminished.
The extent to which a fund can invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws.
Short Sales. Short sales involve the market sale of a security a fund has borrowed from a prime broker with which it has a contractual relationship, with the expectation that the security will underperform either the market or the securities that the fund holds long. A fund closes a short sale by purchasing the same security at the current market price and delivering it to the prime broker.
Until a fund closes out a short position, the fund is obligated to pay the prime broker (from which it borrowed the security sold short) interest as well as any dividends that accrue during the period of the loan. While a short position is outstanding, a fund must also pledge a portion of its assets to the prime broker as collateral for the borrowed security. The collateral will be marked to market daily.
Short positions create a risk that a fund will be required to cover them by buying the security at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the fund. A short position in a security poses more risk than holding the same security long. Because a short position loses value as the security's price increases, the loss on a short sale is theoretically unlimited. The loss on a long position is limited to what a fund originally paid for the security together with any transaction costs. A fund may not always be able to borrow a security the fund seeks to sell short at a particular time or at an acceptable price. As a result, a fund may be unable to fully implement its investment strategy due to a lack of available stocks or for other reasons. It is possible that the market value of the securities a fund holds in long positions will decline at the same time that the market value of the securities the fund has sold short increases, thereby increasing the fund's potential volatility. Because a fund may be required to pay dividends, interest, premiums and other expenses in connection with a short sale, any benefit for the fund resulting from the short sale will be decreased, and the amount of any ultimate gain will be decreased or of any loss will be increased, by the amount of such expenses.
A fund may also enter into short sales against the box. Short sales "against the box" are short sales of securities that a fund owns or has the right to obtain (equivalent in kind or amount to the securities sold short). If a fund enters into a short sale against the box, it will be required to set aside securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short (or securities convertible or exchangeable into such securities) and will be required to hold such securities while the short sale is outstanding. A fund will incur transaction costs, including interest expenses, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales against the box.
Sources of Liquidity or Credit Support. Issuers may employ various forms of credit and liquidity enhancements, including letters of credit, guarantees, swaps, puts, and demand features, and insurance provided by domestic or foreign entities such as banks and other financial institutions. An adviser and its affiliates may rely on their evaluation of the credit of the issuer or the credit of the liquidity or credit enhancement provider in determining whether to purchase or hold a security supported by such enhancement. In evaluating the credit of a foreign bank or other foreign entities, factors considered may include whether adequate public information about the entity is available and whether the entity may be subject to unfavorable political or economic developments, currency controls, or other government restrictions that might affect its ability to honor its commitment. Changes in the credit quality of the issuer and/or entity providing the enhancement could affect the value of the security or a fund's share price.
Sovereign Debt Obligations are issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies, including debt of Latin American nations or other developing countries. Sovereign debt may be in the form of conventional securities or other types of debt instruments such as loans or loan participations. Sovereign debt of developing countries may involve a high degree of risk, and may be in default or present the risk of default. Governmental entities responsible for repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal and pay interest when due, and may require renegotiation or rescheduling of debt payments. In addition, prospects for repayment of principal and payment of interest may depend on political as well as economic factors. Although some sovereign debt, such as Brady Bonds, is collateralized by U.S. Government securities, repayment of principal and payment of interest is not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
Stripped Securities are the separate income or principal components of a debt security. The risks associated with stripped securities are similar to those of other debt securities, although stripped securities may be more volatile, and the value of certain types of stripped securities may move in the same direction as interest rates. U.S. Treasury securities that have been stripped by a Federal Reserve Bank are obligations issued by the U.S. Treasury.
Privately stripped government securities are created when a dealer deposits a U.S. Treasury security or other U.S. Government security with a custodian for safekeeping. The custodian issues separate receipts for the coupon payments and the principal payment, which the dealer then sells.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument ( e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
<R> Temporary Defensive Policies. </R>
<R> In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, a fund may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If a fund does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds reserves the right to invest without limitation in investment-grade securities for temporary, defensive purposes.
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Variable and Floating Rate Securities provide for periodic adjustments in the interest rate paid on the security. Variable rate securities provide for a specified periodic adjustment in the interest rate, while floating rate securities have interest rates that change whenever there is a change in a designated benchmark rate or the issuer's credit quality, sometimes subject to a cap or floor on such rate. Some variable or floating rate securities are structured with put features that permit holders to demand payment of the unpaid principal balance plus accrued interest from the issuers or certain financial intermediaries. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of a variable or floating rate security, a fund's adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments which entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss.
Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
When-Issued and Forward Purchase or Sale Transactions involve a commitment to purchase or sell specific securities at a predetermined price or yield in which payment and delivery take place after the customary settlement period for that type of security. Typically, no interest accrues to the purchaser until the security is delivered.
When purchasing securities pursuant to one of these transactions, the purchaser assumes the rights and risks of ownership, including the risks of price and yield fluctuations and the risk that the security will not be issued as anticipated. Because payment for the securities is not required until the delivery date, these risks are in addition to the risks associated with a fund's investments. If a fund remains substantially fully invested at a time when a purchase is outstanding, the purchases may result in a form of leverage. When a fund has sold a security pursuant to one of these transactions, the fund does not participate in further gains or losses with respect to the security. If the other party to a delayed-delivery transaction fails to deliver or pay for the securities, a fund could miss a favorable price or yield opportunity or suffer a loss.
A fund may renegotiate a when-issued or forward transaction and may sell the underlying securities before delivery, which may result in capital gains or losses for the fund.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities (normally, shares of underlying funds) are placed on behalf of the fund by Strategic Advisers, (either itself or through its affiliates), pursuant to authority contained in the management contract.
Strategic Advisers may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
<R>The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in underlying Fidelity funds, but it may incur such costs if it invests directly in other types of securities.</R>
<R>The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in affiliated funds, but it may incur such costs when it invests in non-affiliated funds and if it invests directly in other types of securities, such as ETFs.</R>
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review Strategic Advisers' and its affiliates' performance of their respective responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Strategic Advisers, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Strategic Advisers or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.
<R> Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.</R>
<R> Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).</R>
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Strategic Advisers or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services Strategic Advisers or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Strategic Advisers' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Strategic Advisers or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.</R>
Research Contracts. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Strategic Advisers or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) who have entered into arrangements with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
<R>Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), with whom they are under common control, provided Strategic Advisers or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade-execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.</R>
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Strategic Advisers to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
Commissions Paid
A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
<R>For the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 27% (annualized). Variations in turnover rate may be due to a fluctuating volume of shareholder purchase and redemption orders, market conditions, and/or changes in Strategic Advisers' investment outlook.</R>
<R>For the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid no brokerage commissions.</R>
<R>During the fiscal period June 19, 2012 to February 28, 2013, the fund paid no brokerage commissions to firms for providing research or brokerage services.</R>
<R>The class's NAV is the value of a single share. The NAV of the class is computed by adding the class's pro rata share of the value of the fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting the class's pro rata share of the fund's liabilities, subtracting the liabilities allocated to the class, and dividing the result by the number of shares of that class that are outstanding.</R>
The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for pricing, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers has established the Strategic Advisers Fair Value Committee (Strategic Advisers Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities. The Strategic Advisers Committee may rely on information and recommendations provided by affiliates of Strategic Advisers in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, including the fair valuation of securities.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) held by the fund are valued at their respective NAVs. If an underlying fund's NAV is unavailable, shares of that underlying fund will be fair valued in good faith by the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by the fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity non-money market fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
<R>Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques.</R>
Short-term securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less for which market quotations and information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates current value.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
<R>Prices described above are obtained from pricing services that have been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available and the funds may use more than one of these services. The funds may also discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time. Strategic Advisers engages in oversight activities with respect to the fund's pricing services, which includes, among other things, testing the prices provided by pricing services prior to calculation of a fund's NAV, conducting periodic due diligence meetings, and periodically reviewing the methodologies and inputs used by these services.</R>
<R>Foreign securities and instruments are valued in their local currency following the methodologies described above. Foreign securities, instruments and currencies are translated to U.S. dollars, based on foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by a pricing service as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which uses a proprietary model to determine the exchange rate. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at an interpolated rate based on days to maturity between the closest preceding and subsequent settlement period reported by the third party pricing service.</R>
The Board of Trustees of the underlying Fidelity funds has ultimate responsibility for pricing portfolio securities and assets held by those funds, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee and the Strategic Advisers Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and ADRs, market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. This technique involves initially valuing an instrument at its cost as adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount rather than its current market value. The amortized cost value of an instrument may be higher or lower than the price a money market fund would receive if it sold the instrument.
At such intervals as they deem appropriate, the Trustees of an underlying Fidelity money market fund consider the extent to which NAV calculated using market valuations would deviate from the $1.00 per share calculated using amortized cost valuation. If the Trustees believe that a deviation from a money market fund's amortized cost per share may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Trustees have agreed to take such corrective action, if any, as they deem appropriate to eliminate or reduce, to the extent reasonably practicable, the dilution or unfair results. Such corrective action could include selling portfolio instruments prior to maturity to realize capital gains or losses or to shorten average portfolio maturity; withholding dividends; redeeming shares in kind; establishing NAV by using available market quotations; and such other measures as the Trustees may deem appropriate.
<R> BUYING, SELLING, AND EXCHANGING INFORMATION</R>
<R>The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the class's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.</R>
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
Dividends. Distributions by the fund to tax-advantaged retirement plan accounts are not taxable currently. For all other accounts, a portion of the fund's income may qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, but it is unlikely that all of the fund's income will qualify for the deduction. A portion of the fund's dividends, when distributed to individual shareholders, may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
Capital Gain Distributions. Unless your shares of the fund are held in a tax-advantaged retirement plan, the fund's long-term capital gain distributions, including amounts attributable to an underlying fund's long-term capital gain distributions, are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.
Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. As a general matter, if, at the close of its fiscal year, more than 50% of the fund's total assets is invested in securities of foreign issuers, the fund may elect to pass through eligible foreign taxes paid and thereby allow shareholders to take a deduction or, if they meet certain holding period requirements with respect to fund shares, a credit on their individual tax returns. In addition, if at the close of each quarter of its fiscal year at least 50% of the fund's total assets is represented by interests in other regulated investment companies, the same rules will apply to any foreign tax credits that underlying funds pass through to the fund. The amount of foreign taxes paid by the fund will be reduced to the extent that the fund lends securities over the dividend record date. Special rules may apply to the credit for individuals who receive dividends qualifying for the long-term capital gains tax rate.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
<R>The Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and executive officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. If the interests of the fund and an underlying Fidelity fund were to diverge, a conflict of interest could arise and affect how the Trustees and Member of the Advisory Board fulfill their fiduciary duties to the affected funds. Strategic Advisers has structured the fund to avoid these potential conflicts, although there may be situations where a conflict of interest is unavoidable. In such instances, Strategic Advisers, the Trustees, and Member of the Advisory Board would take reasonable steps to minimize and, if possible, eliminate the conflict. Except for Mary C. Farrell, each of the Trustees oversees 26 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. Ms. Farrell oversees 20 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.</R>
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. The executive officers and Advisory Board Member hold office without limit in time, except that any officer and Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
<R>Each Trustee who is not an interested person of the trust and the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) is referred to herein as an Independent Trustee.</R>
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Fund's Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also engage professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates with experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. Additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, may be considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. Roger T. Servison is an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) and currently serves as Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Ralph F. Cox serves as the lead Independent Trustee and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
Fidelity funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees asset allocation funds as well as the Fidelity enhanced index funds. Other boards oversee Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds and Fidelity's equity and high income funds. The fund may invest in Fidelity funds overseen by such other Boards. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues.
The Trustees primarily operate as a full Board, but also operate in committees, to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board has charged Strategic Advisers and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through Strategic Advisers, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. Board oversight of different aspects of the fund's activities is exercised primarily through the full Board, but also through the Audit and Compliance Committee. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees."
Interested Trustees *:
<R>Correspondence intended for each Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
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<R>Roger T. Servison (1945)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Servison is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Servison serves as President of Strategic New Business Development for Fidelity Investments and serves as a Director of Strategic Advisers. Previously, Mr. Servison oversaw Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company (2005-2006) and Strategic Advisers (2005-2007). Mr. Servison also served as President and a Director of Fidelity Brokerage Services (Japan), LLC (1994-2004). |
<R>Derek L. Young (1964)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Mr. Young is Vice President of Fidelity's Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present), President and a Director of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2011-present), President of Fidelity Global Asset Allocation (GAA) (2011-present), and Vice Chairman of Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2011-present). Previously, Mr. Young served as Chief Investment Officer of GAA (2009-2011) and as a portfolio manager. |
* Trustees have been determined to be "Interested Trustees" by virtue of, among other things, their affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with Strategic Advisers.
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees :
Correspondence intended for each Independent Trustee (that is, the Trustees other than the Interested Trustees) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
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<R>Peter C. Aldrich (1944)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Aldrich is a Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Director of the funds of BlackRock Realty Group (2006-present). Previously, Mr. Aldrich served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010), a Managing Member of Poseidon, LLC (foreign private investment, 1998-2004), and Chairman and Managing Member of AEGIS, LLC (foreign private investment, 1997-2004). Mr. Aldrich also served as Faculty Chairman of The Research Council on Global Investment of The Conference Board (business and professional education non-profit, 1999-2004). Mr. Aldrich is a Member of the Boards of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and an Overseer of the Longy School of Music. |
<R>Amy Butte Liebowitz (1968)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011</R> Ms. Butte Liebowitz was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of TILE Financial (financial internet service, 2008-2012). Previously, Ms. Butte Liebowitz served as the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of MF Global (broker-dealer, 2006-2008), and Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange (2004-2006). Ms. Butte Liebowitz is a member of the Boards of Directors of Accion International and the New York Women's Forum, as well as an alumna of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader program. |
<R>Ralph F. Cox (1932)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Cox is President of RABAR Enterprises (management consulting for the petroleum industry). Mr. Cox is a Director of Abraxas Petroleum (exploration and production). Mr. Cox is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Business and Engineering Schools of Texas A&M University and the Engineering School of University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Mr. Cox served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010) and as an Advisory Director of CH2M Hill Companies (engineering, 1981-2011). Mr. Ralph F. Cox and Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. are not related. |
<R>Mary C. Farrell (1949)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2013</R> Ms. Farrell is a Director of the W.R. Berkley Corporation (insurance provider) and President (2009-present) and Director (2006-present) of the Howard Gilman Foundation (charitable organization). Previously, Ms. Farrell was Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at UBS Wealth Management USA and Co-Head of UBS Wealth Management Investment Strategy & Research Group (2003-2005). Ms. Farrell also served as Investment Strategist at PaineWebber (1982-2000) and UBS PaineWebber (2000-2002). Ms. Farrell also serves as Trustee on the Board of Overseers of the New York University Stern School of Business, the Board of Trustees of Yale-New Haven Hospital and is a member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II. |
<R>Karen Kaplan (1960)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Ms. Kaplan is President of Hill Holliday (advertising and specialized marketing, 2007-present). Ms. Kaplan is a Director of DSM (dba Delta Dental and DentaQuest) (2004-present), Director of Vera Bradley (2012-present), Member of the Board of Governors of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston (2010-present), Member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference for Women (2008-present), Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (2006-present), Board of Directors of Jobs for Massachusetts (2012-present), National Association of Corporate Directors Chapter (2012-present), and Board of Directors of the Post Office Square Trust (2012-present). She is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, an action oriented community of the most effective CEOs, heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, and non-governmental leaders in the world. Previously, Ms. Kaplan served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010), President of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2008-2010), Treasurer of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2002-2006), Vice Chair of the Board of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2003-2010), Director of United Way of Massachusetts Bay (2004-2006), Director of ADVO (direct mail marketing, 2003-2007), and Director of Tweeter Home Entertainment Group (2006-2007). |
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Member and Executive Officers :
<R>Correspondence intended for each executive officer and Howard E. Cox, Jr. may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupation</R> |
|
<R>Howard E. Cox, Jr. (1944)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II. Mr. Cox is a Member of the Advisory Board of Devonshire Investors (2009-present). Mr. Cox serves as an Advisory Partner of Greylock (venture capital) and a Director of Stryker Corporation (medical products and services). Previously, Mr. Cox served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010) and a Member of the Secretary of Defense's Business Board of Directors (2008-2010). Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. and Mr. Ralph F. Cox are not related. |
<R>Kenneth B. Robins (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 President and Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Robins also serves as President and Treasurer of other Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds (2008-present) and Assistant Treasurer of other Fidelity Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present). Mr. Robins is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Robins served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2005-2008) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2006-2008). |
<R>Marc Bryant (1966)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of the fund. Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Fidelity Investments. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Mr. Bryant served as a Senior Vice President and the Head of Global Retail Legal for AllianceBernstein L.P. (2006-2010), and as the General Counsel for ProFund Advisors LLC (2001-2006). |
<R>Elizabeth Paige Baumann (1968)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012 Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer of the fund. Ms. Baumann also serves as AML Officer of the Fidelity funds (2012-present) and The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2012-present), Chief AML Officer of FMR LLC (2012-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Baumann served as Vice President and Deputy Anti-Money Laundering Officer (2007-2012). |
<R>Nicholas E. Steck (1964)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the fund. Mr. Steck serves as Senior Vice President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. During the period 2002 to 2009, Mr. Steck served as a Compliance Officer of FMR, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc., FMR LLC, Fidelity Research & Analysis (U.K.) Inc., Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. |
<R>Laura M. Doherty (1969)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Compliance Officer of the fund. Ms. Doherty also serves as Senior Vice President of the Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Doherty served as a Vice President in Fidelity's Corporate Audit department (1998-2008). |
<R>Adrien E. Deberghes (1967)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Deberghes also serves as Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) and Deputy Treasurer (2008-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Deberghes served as Senior Vice President of Mutual Fund Administration at State Street Corporation (2007-2008), Senior Director of Mutual Fund Administration at Investors Bank & Trust (2005-2007), and Director of Finance for Dunkin' Brands (2000-2005). |
<R>Stephanie J. Dorsey (1969)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Ms. Dorsey also serves as President and Treasurer (2013-present) and Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Dorsey served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2008-2013), Treasurer (2004-2008) of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds and Vice President (2004-2008) of JPMorgan Chase Bank. |
<R>Jonathan Davis (1968)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Davis is also Assistant Treasurer of certain Fidelity funds. Mr. Davis is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2003-2010). |
<R>Margaret A. Carey (1973)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 </R> Assistant Secretary of the fund. Ms. Carey also serves as Assistant Secretary of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present), Vice President, Associate General Counsel (2007-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). |
Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established two committees to supplement the work of the Board as a whole. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
<R>The Audit and Compliance Committee is composed of Ms. Butte Liebowitz (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, Mr. Ralph Cox, and Mses. Farrell and Kaplan. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The committee determines whether at least one member of the committee is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined in rules promulgated by the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The committee normally meets in conjunction with in person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee meets separately periodically with the fund's Treasurer, the fund's Chief Financial Officer, the fund's CCO, personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and the fund's outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the fund for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the fund and the fund's service providers, (ii) the financial reporting processes of the fund, (iii) the independence, objectivity and qualification of the auditors to the fund, (iv) the annual audits of the fund's financial statements, and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the fund. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations (Auditor Independence Regulations) of the SEC. In furtherance of the foregoing, the committee has adopted (and may from time to time amend or supplement) and provides oversight of policies and procedures for non-audit engagements by outside auditors of the fund. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the fund and for resolving disagreements between the fund and any outside auditor regarding the fund's financial reporting, and has sole authority to hire and fire any auditor. Auditors of the fund report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the fund and any service providers consistent with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Ethics and Independence Rule 3526, Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence. The committee will discuss with the outside auditors any such disclosed relationships and their impact on the auditor's independence and objectivity. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the Auditor Independence Regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the fund's service providers' internal controls and reviews with management, internal auditors, and outside auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of the fund's and service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the fund's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the fund's or service provider's internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will review with counsel any legal matters that may have a material impact on the fund's financial statements and any material reports or inquiries received from regulators or governmental agencies. The committee reviews at least annually a report from the outside auditor describing (i) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control review, peer review, or PCAOB examination of the auditing firm and (ii) any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm since the most recent report and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the fund's financial reporting process and will receive reports from an outside auditor relating to (i) critical accounting policies and practices used by the fund, (ii) alternative accounting treatments that the auditor has discussed with Strategic Advisers, and (iii) other material written communications between the auditor and Strategic Advisers (as determined by the auditor). The committee will discuss with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the fund. The committee will review with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC (to the extent relevant) the results of audits of the fund's financial statements. The committee will review periodically the fund's major internal controls exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. The committee also oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the fund and its service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee of the Board of Trustees or reserved to the Board itself. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the fund. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO and, if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports on significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the fund's compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1 and quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of Mr. Ralph Cox (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, and Mses. Butte Liebowitz, Farrell, and Kaplan. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the code of ethics and any supplemental policies regarding personal securities transactions applicable to the Independent Trustees. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the fund's or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the fund's expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the fund, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012 (or as of March 31, 2013 for Ms. Farrell, Trustee as of March 5, 2013).</R>
Interested Trustees |
||
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Roger T. Servison |
Derek L. Young |
Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
none |
none |
<R></R>
<R>Independent Trustees</R> |
|||||
<R>
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Peter C. Aldrich |
Mary C. Farrell |
Amy Butte Liebowitz |
Ralph F. Cox |
Karen Kaplan</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds |
none |
none |
none |
none |
none</R> |
<R>
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
over $100,000 |
none |
none |
over $100,000 |
none</R> |
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board for his or her services for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, or calendar year ended December 31, 2012, as applicable.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Compensation Table 1</R> |
||||||
<R>
AGGREGATE
|
Peter C.
|
Mary C.
|
Amy
|
Ralph F.
|
Karen
|
</R> |
<R> Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds+ |
$ 2 |
$ 0 |
$ 2 |
$ 2 |
$ 2 |
</R> |
<R>
TOTAL COMPENSATION
|
$ 137,500 |
$ 0 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
</R> |
1 Roger T. Servison, Howard E. Cox, Jr., and Derek L. Young are interested persons and are compensated by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate (including FMR).
<R> 2 Effective March 5, 2013, Ms. Farrell serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II.</R>
+ Estimated for the fund's first full year.
<R> A Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, for 26 funds of two trusts.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and officers of the fund owned, in the aggregate, less than 1% of the fund's total outstanding shares.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the following owned of record and/or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding shares of a class:</R>
<R>* The ownership information shown above is for a class of shares of the fund.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, approximately 53.47% of the fund's total outstanding shares was held of record and/or beneficially by FIMM LLC, Boston, MA.</R>
<R>A shareholder owning of record or beneficially more than 25% of a fund's outstanding shares may be considered a controlling person. That shareholder's vote could have a more significant effect on matters presented at a shareholders' meeting than votes of other shareholders.</R>
<R>FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of Strategic Advisers. The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Abigail P. Johnson family, directly or through trusts, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.</R>
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
<R>Strategic Advisers (the Investment Adviser), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and the fund have adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that sets forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establishes procedures for personal investing, and restricts certain transactions. Employees subject to the code of ethics, including Fidelity investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.</R>
The fund has entered into a management contract with Strategic Advisers, pursuant to which Strategic Advisers furnishes investment advisory and other services.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Strategic Advisers has not currently retained any sub-advisers to manage a portion of the fund's assets.
Management and Sub-Advisory Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, Strategic Advisers acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, directs the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. Strategic Advisers is authorized, in its discretion, to allocate the fund's assets pursuant to its investment strategy. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates provide the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensate all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of Strategic Advisers, and compensate all personnel of the fund or Strategic Advisers performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
<R> Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to Strategic Advisers and the fees payable to the transfer agent and pricing and bookkeeping agent, the fund or each class thereof, as applicable, pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by those parties. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders; however, under the terms of the fund's transfer agent agreement, the transfer agent bears these costs. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.</R>
Management Fees. For the services of Strategic Advisers under the management contract, the fund pays Strategic Advisers a monthly management fee calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers, if any, based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets; provided, however, that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.80% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.30% of the average daily net assets of the fund until April 30, 2014. The fee waiver by Strategic Advisers will increase the class's returns.</R>
<R>The following table shows the amount of management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers for the past fiscal year and the amount of waivers reducing management fees for the fund.</R>
<R> Fund |
Fiscal Year
|
Amount of
|
Management Fees
|
<R>Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds |
2013 A |
$ 1,468 |
$ 0</R> |
<R> A Fund commenced operations on June 19, 2012.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of a class's operating expenses. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.</R>
<R>Expense reimbursements by Strategic Advisers will increase the class's returns, and repayment of the reimbursement by the class will decrease its returns.</R>
Gregory Pappas is an employee of Strategic Advisers, a subsidiary of FMR LLC and an affiliate of FMR. Strategic Advisers is the adviser to the fund.
<R>Mr. Pappas is the portfolio manager of the fund and receives compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Strategic Advisers or at the election of the portfolio manager.</R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of a broad range of Strategic Advisers funds and accounts, including the fund. Accounts may include model portfolios designed for asset allocation, retirement planning, or tax-sensitive goals. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s), and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with the portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and peer group. A subjective component of the bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Strategic Advisers. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of his fund is based on the fund's pre-tax investment performance measured against The BofA Merrill Lynch SM US High Yield Constrained Index, and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund (based on the performance of the fund's retail class) within the Morningstar ® High Yield Bond Category. The portfolio manager may be compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Strategic Advisers' parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.</R>
<R></R>
<R>The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics. </R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Pappas as of February 28, 2013: </R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
5 |
180 |
none</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 21,931 |
$ 42,166 |
none</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds ($1 (in millions) assets managed). The amount of assets managed of the fund reflects trades and other assets as of the close of the business day prior to the fund's fiscal year-end.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds beneficially owned by Mr. Pappas was none.</R>
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of the fund, after consultation with Strategic Advisers. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Strategic Advisers and its affiliates and by the Independent Trustees of the fund, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. The funds in the trust generally intend to vote shares of underlying funds using echo voting procedures (that is, in the same proportion as the holders of all other shares of the particular underlying fund).
B. Any proposals not covered by paragraph A above or other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate Strategic Advisers analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review and approval by the General Counsel or Compliance Officer of FMR or the General Counsel of FMR LLC.
<R>To view a fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, visit www.fidelity.com/proxyvotingresults or visit the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.</R>
<R>For purposes of the following "Distribution Services" discussion, the term "shares" (as it relates to the fund) means the one class of shares of the fund offered through the prospectus to which this SAI relates.</R>
The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. The principal business address of FDC is 100 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by Strategic Advisers.
<R>The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan with respect to shares of the fund (the Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a mutual fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows shares of the fund and Strategic Advisers to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.</R>
Under the Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to Strategic Advisers is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Plan. The Plan specifically recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Plan provides that Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers or FDC), that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
<R>Prior to approving the Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Plan will benefit the fund or class, as applicable, and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Plan does not authorize payments by shares of the fund other than those made to Strategic Advisers under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Plan gives Strategic Advisers and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of shares of the fund, additional sales of shares of the fund or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.</R>
FDC or an affiliate may compensate, or upon direction make payments for certain retirement plan expenses to, intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (including affiliates of FDC). A number of factors are considered in determining whether to pay these additional amounts. Such factors may include, without limitation, the level or type of services provided by the intermediary, the level or expected level of assets or sales of shares, and other factors. In addition to such payments, FDC or an affiliate may offer other incentives such as sponsorship of educational or client seminars relating to current products and issues, payments or reimbursements for travel and related expenses associated with due diligence trips that an intermediary may undertake in order to explore possible business relationships with affiliates of FDC, and/or payments of costs and expenses associated with attendance at seminars, including travel, lodging, entertainment, and meals. Certain of the payments described above may be significant to an intermediary. As permitted by SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rules and other applicable laws and regulations, FDC or an affiliate may pay or allow other incentives or payments to intermediaries.
The fund's transfer agent or an affiliate may also make payments and reimbursements from its own resources to certain intermediaries (who may be affiliated with the transfer agent) for performing recordkeeping and other services. Please see "Transfer and Service Agent Agreements" in this SAI for more information.
Any of the payments described in this section may represent a premium over payments made by other fund families. Retirement plan sponsors may take these payments into account when deciding whether to include a fund as a plan investment option.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
<R>For purposes of the following "Transfer and Service Agent Agreements" discussion, the term "shares" (as it relates to the fund) means the one class of shares of the fund offered through the prospectus to which this SAI relates.</R>
<R>The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (FIIOC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers, which is located at 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services for shares of the fund.</R>
For providing transfer agency services, FIIOC receives an account fee and an asset-based fee with respect to assets managed by one or more sub-advisers and assets invested in non-affiliated ETFs. For retail accounts, these fees are based on fund type. For certain institutional accounts, these fees are based on size of position and fund type. For institutional retirement accounts, these fees are based on account type and fund type. The account fee is billed monthly on a pro rata basis at one-twelfth of the applicable annual rate as of the end of each calendar month. The asset-based fee is calculated and paid monthly on the basis of average daily net assets. For assets invested in underlying Fidelity funds, each underlying Fidelity fund pays its respective transfer agent (either FIIOC or an affiliate of FIIOC) fees based, in part, on the number of positions in and assets of the fund invested in such underlying Fidelity fund.
FIIOC also may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
FIIOC or an affiliate may make payments out of its own resources to intermediaries (including affiliates of FIIOC) for recordkeeping services. Payments may also be made, upon direction, for other plan expenses. FIIOC may also pay an affiliate for providing services that otherwise would have been performed by FIIOC.
<R>The fund has entered into a service agent agreement with Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers (or an agent, including an affiliate). Under the terms of the agreement, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for shares of the fund and maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records.</R>
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
The annual rates for pricing and bookkeeping services for the fund are 0.0104% of the first $500 million of average net assets, 0.0062% of average net assets between $500 million and $3.5 billion, 0.0041% of average net assets between $3.5 billion and $25 billion, and 0.0019% of average net assets in excess of $25 billion, plus a 20% surcharge.
<R>Pricing and bookkeeping fees paid by the fund to FSC for the past fiscal year are shown in the following table.</R>
<R> Fund |
2013</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds |
$ 61*</R> |
<R>* From June 19, 2012.</R>
<R> Trust Organization. Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds is a fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, an open-end management investment company created under an initial trust instrument dated March 8, 2006. Currently, there are 20 funds offered in the trust: Strategic Advisers Core Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.</R>
<R>The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund, except that liabilities and expenses may be allocated to a particular class. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds or classes.</R>
Shareholder Liability. The trust is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that, except to the extent otherwise provided in the Trust Instrument, shareholders shall be entitled to the same limitations of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit organized under the general corporation law of Delaware. The courts of some states, however, may decline to apply Delaware law on this point. The Trust Instrument contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust. The Trust Instrument provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Trust Instrument further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
<R>The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of each fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Trust Instrument also provides that each fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which Delaware law does not apply, no contractual limitation of liability was in effect, and a fund is unable to meet its obligations. Strategic Advisers believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is extremely remote. Claims asserted against one class of shares may subject holders of another class of shares to certain liabilities.</R>
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. As a shareholder, you are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value you own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
<R></R>
The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodians. State Street Bank and Trust Company, 1776 Heritage Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as special purpose custodians of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions.
Strategic Advisers, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Member of the Advisory Board, and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by Strategic Advisers. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of Strategic Advisers, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 125 High Street, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit, tax, and related services.
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized Strategic Advisers, in consultation with FMR, to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
Other registered investment companies that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers may be subject to different portfolio holdings disclosure policies, and neither Strategic Advisers nor the Board exercises control over such policies or disclosure. In addition, separate account clients of Strategic Advisers have access to their portfolio holdings and are not subject to the fund's portfolio holdings disclosure policies. Some of the funds that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers and some of the separate accounts managed by Strategic Advisers have investment objectives and strategies that are substantially similar or identical to the fund's and, therefore, potentially substantially similar, and in certain cases nearly identical, portfolio holdings as the fund.
The fund will provide a full list of holdings monthly on www.fidelity.com 30 days after the month-end (excluding high income security holdings, which generally will be presented collectively monthly and included in a list of full holdings 60 days after its fiscal quarter-end).
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations.
<R> The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the activities associated with managing Fidelity funds to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons Strategic Advisers believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include, but are not limited to: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics (including portfolio managers of affiliated funds of funds); contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.</R>
Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, (ii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iii) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. Strategic Advisers relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.
<R>At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day) and DocuLynx Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day).</R>
Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, Strategic Advisers desired to make such an arrangement, it would seek prior Board approval and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
<R>The fund's financial statements and financial highlights for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013, and report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the fund's annual report and are incorporated herein by reference. Total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table may differ from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the financial highlights because total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table include any acquired fund fees and expenses, whereas the ratios of expenses in the financial highlights do not, except to the extent any acquired fund fees and expenses relate to an entity, such as a wholly-owned subsidiary, with which a fund's financial statements are consolidated. Acquired funds include other investment companies in which the fund has invested, if and to the extent it is permitted to do so. Total annual operating expenses in the prospectus fee table and the financial highlights do not include any expenses associated with investments in certain structured or synthetic products that may rely on the exception from the definition of "investment company" provided by section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
Strategic Advisers ® Income Opportunities Fund of Funds
Class /Ticker
<R> F /FLTSX </R>
Class F shares of the fund are available for purchase only by mutual funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager.
Prospectus
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R>
</R>
Fund Summary |
Strategic Advisers ® Income Opportunities Fund of Funds |
|
Fund Basics |
Investment Details |
|
|
Valuing Shares |
|
Shareholder Information |
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares |
|
|
Account Policies |
|
|
Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions |
|
<R> |
Tax Consequences </R> |
|
Fund Services |
Fund Management |
|
|
Fund Distribution |
|
<R> Appendix |
Financial Highlights </R> |
Prospectus
<R>
Fund
/Class:
Strategic
Advisers
®
Income Opportunities Fund of Funds
/F</R>
The fund seeks a high level of current income. The fund may also seek capital appreciation.
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy, hold, or sell shares of the fund.
Shareholder fees
|
|
||||||
Redemption fee on shares held less than 90 days (as a % of amount redeemed) |
1.00% |
Annual class operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
<R> Management fee B |
0.30% </R> |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees |
None |
<R> Other expenses A |
9.74% </R> |
<R> Acquired fund fees and expenses (fees and expenses of underlying funds) A |
0.71% </R> |
<R> Total annual operating expenses |
10.75% </R> |
<R> Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement B |
0.30% </R> |
<R> Total annual operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement |
10.45% </R> |
<R></R>
<R> A Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. </R>
<R> B Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) has contractually agreed that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.80% of the fund's average daily net assets. Strategic Advisers has also contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets. This arrangement will remain in effect through April 30, 2014. Strategic Advisers may not terminate this arrangement without the approval of the Board of Trustees. </R>
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
<R> 1 year |
$ 1,017 </R> |
<R> 3 years |
$ 2,930 </R> |
<R> 5 years |
$ 4,635 </R> |
<R> 10 years |
$ 8,108 </R> |
<R>The fund will not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of affiliated funds but may incur transaction costs when buying or selling non-affiliated funds and other types of securities (including non-affiliated exchange traded funds) directly (or "turns over" its portfolio). If the fund were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs and could result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example and would affect the fund's performance. For the period from June 19, 2012 to February 28, 2013, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 27% (annualized) of the average value of its portfolio.</R>
Prospectus
An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
Performance history will be available for the fund after the fund has been in operation for one calendar year.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) is the fund's manager.</R>
Gregory Pappas (portfolio manager) has managed the fund since June 2012.
Prospectus
Fund Summary - continued
Class F shares are not available for sale to the general public.
The fund offers Class F shares only to certain other mutual funds managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.
The price to buy one share of Class F is its net asset value per share (NAV). Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of Class F is its NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable. Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
There is no purchase minimum for Class F shares.
Distributions received from the fund are subject to federal income tax and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state or local taxes, unless invested through a tax-advantaged retirement account (in which case the distributions may be taxed later, upon withdrawal of the investment from such account).
The fund, Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers, FMR, or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Prospectus
Investment Objective
The fund seeks a high level of current income. The fund may also seek capital appreciation.
Principal Investment Strategies
The fund normally invests primarily in income-producing debt securities, preferred stocks, and convertible securities, with an emphasis on lower-quality debt securities. The fund may also invest in non-income producing securities, including defaulted securities and common stocks. The fund may invest in companies whose financial condition is troubled or uncertain and that may be involved in bankruptcy proceedings, reorganizations or financial restructurings.
The fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers in addition to securities of domestic issuers.
The fund implements its investment strategies by investing indirectly in securities through one or more underlying funds, which in turn invest directly in securities.
Strategic Advisers may allocate the fund's assets among any number of underlying funds at any time.
Strategic Advisers allocates assets among underlying funds according to an allocation strategy designed to achieve portfolio characteristics similar to those of The BofA Merrill Lynch SM US High Yield Constrained Index.
Strategic Advisers pursues a disciplined, benchmark-driven approach to portfolio construction and monitors and adjusts allocations to underlying funds as necessary to favor those underlying funds that Strategic Advisers believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the fund's investment objective.
When determining how to allocate the fund's assets among underlying funds, Strategic Advisers relies on proprietary fundamental and quantitative fund research in its fund selection process. Factors considered when investing in underlying funds include fund performance, a fund manager's experience and investment style, fund company infrastructure, and fund characteristics such as expense ratio, asset size, and portfolio turnover.
<R>The fund may invest in affiliated high yield funds ( i.e., Fidelity funds) and non-affiliated high yield funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork ® and in non-affiliated ETFs. Underlying funds include both funds managed by FMR (an affiliated company that, together with Strategic Advisers, is part of Fidelity Investments) or an affiliate and funds managed by investment advisers other than Fidelity. Fidelity may receive service fees that typically are at an annual rate of up to 0.40% of a non-affiliated underlying fund's average daily net assets attributable to purchases through Fidelity's FundsNetwork, though such fees may be higher or lower, or may be charged as transaction and/or account fees. In addition, the fund may invest in ETFs in transactions not occurring through Fidelity's FundsNetwork.</R>
Strategic Advisers generally identifies high yield funds by reference to a fund's name, policies, or classification by a third-party ranking or ratings organization.
Prospectus
Strategic Advisers may actively adjust the allocation of the fund's assets at any time. For current information on fund holdings, please call 1-800-835-5095 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.401k.com. For information on the underlying funds, see the underlying funds' prospectuses. A copy of any underlying Fidelity fund's prospectus is available at www.fidelity.com or www.advisor.fidelity.com. For a copy of any other underlying fund's prospectus, visit the web site of the company that manages or sponsors that underlying fund.
In addition, the fund may have indirect exposure to derivatives through its investments in underlying funds.
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on the performance of the underlying funds in which it invests. The ability of the fund to meet its investment objective is directly related to its allocation among underlying funds and the ability of those funds to meet their investment objectives.
If Strategic Advisers' allocation strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective. The portfolio manager's evaluations and assumptions in selecting underlying funds may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.
When your shares are sold they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
Investing in Other Funds. Regulatory restrictions may limit the amount that one fund can invest in another, and in certain cases further limit investments to the extent a fund's shares are already held by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The fund bears all risks of investment strategies employed by the underlying funds. The fund does not control the investments of the underlying funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the fund would not engage in directly. Aggregation of underlying fund holdings may result in indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase volatility.
Stock Market Volatility. The value of equity securities fluctuates in response to issuer, political, market, and economic developments. Fluctuations can be dramatic over the short as well as long term, and different parts of the market and different types of equity securities can react differently to these developments. For example, large cap stocks can react differently from small cap stocks, "growth" stocks can react differently from "value" stocks, and stocks selected using quantitative or technical analysis can react differently than stocks selected using fundamental analysis. Issuer, political, or economic developments can affect a single issuer, issuers within an industry or economic sector or geographic region, or the market as a whole. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact the market as a whole. Terrorism and related geo-political risks have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
Floating Rate Loan Trading. The value of the collateral securing a floating rate loan can decline, be insufficient to meet the obligations of the borrower, or be difficult to liquidate. As a result, a floating rate loan may not be fully collateralized and can decline significantly in value. Floating rate loans generally are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale. The liquidity of floating rate loans, including the volume and frequency of secondary market trading in such loans, varies significantly over time and among individual floating rate loans. For example, if the credit quality of a floating rate loan unexpectedly declines significantly, secondary market trading in that floating rate loan can also decline for a period of time. During periods of infrequent trading, valuing a floating rate loan can be more difficult, and buying and selling a floating rate loan at an acceptable price can be more difficult and delayed. Difficulty in selling a floating rate loan can result in a loss.
Interest Rate Changes. Debt securities have varying levels of sensitivity to changes in interest rates. In general, the price of a debt security can fall when interest rates rise and can rise when interest rates fall. Securities with longer maturities and mortgage securities can be more sensitive to interest rate changes. In other words, the longer the maturity of a security, the greater the impact a change in interest rates could have on the security's price. In addition, short-term and long-term interest rates do not necessarily move in the same amount or the same direction. Short-term securities tend to react to changes in short-term interest rates, and long-term securities tend to react to changes in long-term interest rates. Inflation-protected debt securities may react differently from other types of debt securities and tend to react to changes in "real" interest rates. Real interest rates represent nominal (stated) interest rates reduced by the expected impact of inflation. In general, the price of an inflation-protected debt security can fall when real interest rates rise, and can rise when real interest rates fall. Interest payments on inflation-protected debt securities can be unpredictable and will vary as the principal and/or interest is adjusted for inflation.
<R> Foreign Exposure. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; withholding or other taxes; trading, settlement, custodial, and other operational risks; and the less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets. All of these factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and potentially less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can perform differently from the U.S. market.</R>
Prospectus
Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers or providers in, or foreign exchange rates with, a different country or region.
Industry Exposure. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry or a group of related industries, and the securities of companies in that industry or group of industries could react similarly to these or other developments. In addition, from time to time, a small number of companies may represent a large portion of a single industry or a group of related industries as a whole, and these companies can be sensitive to adverse economic, regulatory, or financial developments.
Prepayment. Many types of debt securities, including mortgage securities, inflation-protected debt securities, and floating rate loans, are subject to prepayment risk. Prepayment risk occurs when the issuer of a security can repay principal prior to the security's maturity. Securities subject to prepayment can offer less potential for gains during a declining interest rate environment and similar or greater potential for loss in a rising interest rate environment. In addition, the potential impact of prepayment features on the price of a debt security can be difficult to predict and result in greater volatility.
Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's credit quality or value. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers. Lower-quality debt securities (those of less than investment-grade quality, also referred to as high yield debt securities) and certain types of other securities tend to be particularly sensitive to these changes.
Lower-quality debt securities and certain types of other securities involve greater risk of default or price changes due to changes in the credit quality of the issuer. The value of lower-quality debt securities and certain types of other securities often fluctuates in response to company, political, or economic developments and can decline significantly over short as well as long periods of time or during periods of general or regional economic difficulty. Lower-quality debt securities can be thinly traded or have restrictions on resale, making them difficult to sell at an acceptable price, and often are considered to be speculative. The default rate for lower-quality debt securities is likely to be higher during economic recessions or periods of high interest rates.
Investing in ETFs. ETFs may trade in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) at prices below the value of their underlying portfolios and may not be liquid. An ETF that is not actively managed cannot sell poorly performing stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in its index or other benchmark. ETFs that track an index are subject to tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to its index or other benchmark).
Prospectus
Fund Basics - continued
<R>In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser, if any, may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
The following policies are fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:
The fund seeks a high level of current income. The fund may also seek capital appreciation.
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
A class's NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates the class's NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing the class's NAV.
<R>NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).</R>
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) are valued at their respective NAVs. Securities issued by ETFs are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations or official closing prices. For an explanation of the circumstances under which the underlying funds will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the underlying funds' prospectuses and statements of additional information (SAIs). The fund's NAV is calculated using the values of the underlying funds in which it invests.
To the extent that underlying fund assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some underlying fund assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Prospectus
CLASS F SHARES ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase or exchange, including transactions deemed to represent excessive trading, at any time.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
The Board of Trustees has adopted policies designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares. Excessive trading activity in the fund is measured by the number of roundtrip transactions in a shareholder's account and each class of a multiple class fund is treated separately. A roundtrip transaction occurs when a shareholder sells fund shares (including exchanges) within 30 days of the purchase date.
Shareholders with two or more roundtrip transactions in a single fund within a rolling 90-day period will be blocked from making additional purchases or exchange purchases of the fund for 85 days. Shareholders with four or more roundtrip transactions across all Fidelity funds within any rolling 12-month period will be blocked for at least 85 days from additional purchases or exchange purchases across all Fidelity funds. Any roundtrip within 12 months of the expiration of a multi-fund block will initiate another multi-fund block. Repeat offenders may be subject to long-term or permanent blocks on purchase or exchange purchase transactions in any account under the shareholder's control at any time. In addition to enforcing these roundtrip limitations, the fund may in its discretion restrict, reject, or cancel any purchases or exchanges that, in Strategic Advisers' opinion, may be disruptive to the management of the fund or otherwise not be in the fund's interests.
The following transactions are exempt from the fund's excessive trading policy described above: (i) transactions of $1,000 or less, (ii) systematic withdrawal and/or contribution programs, (iii) mandatory retirement distributions, and (iv) transactions initiated by a plan sponsor or sponsors of certain employee benefit plans or other related accounts. In addition, the fund's excessive trading policy does not apply to transactions initiated by the trustee or adviser to a donor-advised charitable gift fund, qualified fund of fund(s), or other strategy funds. A qualified fund of fund(s) is a mutual fund, qualified tuition program, or other strategy fund consisting of qualified plan assets that either applies the fund's excessive trading policies to shareholders at the fund of fund(s) level, or demonstrates that the fund of fund(s) has an investment strategy coupled with policies designed to control frequent trading that are reasonably likely to be effective as determined by the fund's Treasurer.
Prospectus
Omnibus accounts, in which shares are held in the name of an intermediary on behalf of multiple investors, are a common form of holding shares among retirement plans and financial intermediaries such as brokers, advisers, and third-party administrators. Individual trades in omnibus accounts are often not disclosed to the fund, making it difficult to determine whether a particular shareholder is engaging in excessive trading. Excessive trading in omnibus accounts is likely to go undetected by the fund and may increase costs to the fund and disrupt its portfolio management.
Under policies adopted by the Board of Trustees, intermediaries will be permitted to apply the fund's excessive trading policy (described above), or their own excessive trading policy if approved by Strategic Advisers. In these cases, the fund will typically not request or receive individual account data but will rely on the intermediary to monitor trading activity in good faith in accordance with its or the fund's policies. Reliance on intermediaries increases the risk that excessive trading may go undetected. For other intermediaries, the fund will generally monitor trading activity at the omnibus account level to attempt to identify disruptive trades. The fund may request transaction information, as frequently as daily, from any intermediary at any time, and may apply the fund's policy to transactions that exceed thresholds established by the Board of Trustees. The fund may prohibit purchases of fund shares by an intermediary or by some or all of any intermediary's clients. There is no assurance that Strategic Advisers will request data with sufficient frequency to detect or deter excessive trading in omnibus accounts effectively.
If you purchase or sell fund shares through a financial intermediary, you may wish to contact the intermediary to determine the policies applicable to your account.
For employer-sponsored retirement plans, only participant directed exchanges count toward the roundtrip limits. Employer-sponsored retirement plan participants whose activity triggers a purchase or exchange block will be permitted one trade every calendar quarter. In the event of a block, employer and participant contributions and loan repayments by the participant may still be invested in the fund.
The fund will monitor aggregate trading activity of adviser transactions to attempt to identify excessive trading in qualified wrap programs, as defined below. Excessive trading by an adviser will lead to fund blocks and the wrap program will lose its qualified status. Adviser transactions will not be matched with client-directed transactions unless the wrap program ceases to be a qualified wrap program (but all client-directed transactions will be subject to the fund's excessive trading policy). A qualified wrap program is: (i) a program whose adviser certifies that it has investment discretion over $100 million or more in client assets invested in mutual funds at the time of the certification, (ii) a program in which the adviser directs transactions in the accounts participating in the program in concert with changes in a model portfolio, and (iii) managed by an adviser who agrees to give Strategic Advisers sufficient information to permit Strategic Advisers to identify the individual accounts in the wrap program.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
The fund reserves the right at any time to restrict purchases or exchanges or impose conditions that are more restrictive on excessive or disruptive trading than those stated in this prospectus. The fund's Treasurer is authorized to suspend the fund's policies during periods of severe market turbulence or national emergency. The fund reserves the right to modify its policies at any time without prior notice.
The fund does not knowingly accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares by investors, except to the extent permitted by the policies described above.
In addition to these policies, the fund imposes a short-term redemption fee on redemptions from the fund, which is discussed in "Selling Shares." As described in "Valuing Shares," the fund also uses fair value pricing to help reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders. There is no assurance that the fund's excessive trading policy will be effective, or will successfully detect or deter excessive or disruptive trading.
Class F shares of the fund have no exchange privilege with any other fund.
Class F shares of the fund are available for purchase only by mutual funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager.
The price to buy one share of Class F is its NAV. Class F shares are sold without a sales charge.
Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
<R>Orders by funds of funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.</R>
<R> Provided the fund receives an order to buy shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to buy shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.</R>
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
Prospectus
The price to sell one share of Class F is its NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.
If you sell your shares after holding them less than 90 days, a 1.00% short-term redemption fee may be deducted from the redemption amount. For this purpose, shares held longest will be treated as being redeemed first and shares held shortest as being redeemed last. The fees are paid to the fund, not Strategic Advisers, and are designed to help offset the brokerage commissions, market impact, and other costs associated with short-term shareholder trading.
The short-term redemption fee does not apply to: (i) redemptions of shares acquired by reinvesting dividends and distributions; (ii) rollovers, transfers, and changes of account registration within the fund, or transfers between classes of a multiple class fund (if applicable) as long as the money never leaves the fund; and (iii) redemptions in kind.
The fund also permits waivers of the short-term redemption fee for the following transactions:
The application of short-term redemption fees and waivers may vary among intermediaries and certain intermediaries may not apply the waivers listed above. If you purchase or sell fund shares through an intermediary, you should contact your intermediary for more information on whether the short-term redemption fee will be applied to redemptions of your shares.
The fund reserves the right to modify or eliminate the short-term redemption fee or waivers at any time. Investment advisers or their affiliates may pay short-term redemption fees on behalf of investors in managed accounts. Unitized group accounts consisting of qualified plan assets may be treated as a single account for redemption fee purposes.
Fidelity seeks to identify intermediaries that hold fund shares in omnibus accounts and will refuse their purchase orders if they do not agree to track and remit short-term redemption fees based on the transactions of underlying investors. There are no assurances that Fidelity will successfully identify all intermediaries or that the intermediaries will properly assess short-term redemption fees.
Prospectus
Shareholder Information - continued
Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
<R>Orders by funds of funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager will be treated as received by the fund at the same time that the corresponding orders are received in proper form by the funds of funds.</R>
<R> Provided the fund receives an order to sell shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to sell shares of an underlying Fidelity fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV, minus the short-term redemption fee, if applicable.</R>
Redemptions may be suspended or payment dates postponed when the NYSE is closed (other than weekends or holidays), when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as permitted by the SEC.
Redemption proceeds may be paid in securities or other property rather than in cash if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund.
Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, redemption requests may be suspended, restricted, canceled, or processed and the proceeds may be withheld.
Fidelity will send monthly account statements detailing fund balances and all transactions completed during the prior month.
You may be asked to provide additional information in order for Fidelity to verify your identity in accordance with requirements under anti-money laundering regulations. Accounts may be restricted and/or closed, and the monies withheld, pending verification of this information or as otherwise required under these and other federal regulations.
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
The fund normally declares dividends daily and pays them monthly. The fund normally pays capital gain distributions in April and December.
Shares generally begin to earn dividends on the first business day following the day of purchase.
Shares generally earn dividends until, but not including, the next business day following the day of redemption.
Prospectus
Dividends and capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional Class F shares of the fund.
As with any investment, investing in the fund could have tax consequences. If not investing through a tax-advantaged retirement account, these tax consequences should be considered.
Taxes on distributions. Distributions received from the fund are subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes.
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including dividends and distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable as ordinary income, while certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of long-term capital gains, are taxable generally as capital gains. A percentage of certain distributions of dividends may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
If shares are purchased on your behalf when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.
Any taxable distributions received from the fund will normally be taxable when received.
Taxes on transactions. Redemptions may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on an investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of shares and the price received when sold.
Prospectus
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
<R> Strategic Advisers is the fund's manager. The address of Strategic Advisers and its affiliates, unless otherwise indicated below, is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R>As of December 31, 2012, Strategic Advisers had approximately $320.7 billion in discretionary assets under management.</R>
As the manager, Strategic Advisers has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
<R>Strategic Advisers currently employs a fund of funds investment structure for the fund. As a result, no portion of the fund's assets has been allocated to a sub-adviser. However, Strategic Advisers may allocate assets to one or more sub-advisers in the future, pursuant to the terms of the Exemptive Order described above.</R>
Gregory Pappas is portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since June 2012. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1990, Mr. Pappas has worked as a senior fund analyst, fixed income strategist, and portfolio manager.
The SAI provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by the portfolio manager.
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity fund.
Prospectus
Fund Services - continued
The fund pays a management fee to Strategic Advisers. The management fee is calculated and paid to Strategic Advisers every month.
The fund's management fee is calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers, if any, based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets. The fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.80% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets through April 30, 2014.</R>
In the event Strategic Advisers retains one or more sub-advisers, Strategic Advisers will pay each of the fund's sub-advisers the fee (as described above) payable to that sub-adviser.
The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract for the fund is available in the fund's semi-annual report for the fiscal period ended August 31, 2012.
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, agree to reimburse a class for, or waive, management fees and other expenses above a specified limit. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid by a class if expenses fall below the specified limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Reimbursement or waiver arrangements can decrease expenses and boost performance.
Strategic Advisers has voluntarily agreed to reimburse Class F of the fund to the extent that total operating expenses of Class F (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, extraordinary expenses, sub-advisory fees, and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any), as a percentage of its average net assets, exceed 0.10%. This arrangement may be discontinued by Strategic Advisers at any time.
<R>As of February 28, 2013, approximately 53.47% of the fund's total outstanding shares was held by Strategic Advisers and/or another entity or entities of which FMR LLC is the ultimate parent.</R>
The fund is composed of multiple classes of shares. All classes of the fund have a common investment objective and investment portfolio.
Class F has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) that recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of Class F shares and/or shareholder support services. Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, service-providers, and administrators, that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for Class F shares.
Prospectus
Affiliates of Strategic Advisers may receive service fees or distribution fees or both with respect to underlying funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork.
If payments made by Strategic Advisers to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of Class F's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
Prospectus
<R>The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand Class F's financial history for the period of the class's operations. Certain information reflects financial results for a single class share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the class (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial highlights and financial statements, is included in the fund's annual report. A free copy of the annual report is available upon request.</R>
<R> Period ended February 28, |
2013 E </R> |
<R> Selected Per-Share Data |
</R> |
<R> Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 10.52 </R> |
<R> Income from Investment Operations |
</R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) D |
.125 </R> |
<R> Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
.096 </R> |
<R> Total from investment operations |
.221 </R> |
<R> Distributions from net investment income |
(.121) </R> |
<R> Distributions from net realized gain |
(.020 ) </R> |
<R> Total distributions |
(.141 ) </R> |
<R> Redemption fees added to paid in capital D |
- H </R> |
<R> Net asset value, end of period |
$ 10.60 </R> |
<R> Total Return B, C |
2.11% </R> |
<R> Ratios to Average Net Assets F |
</R> |
<R> Expenses before reductions |
7.40% A </R> |
<R> Expenses net of fee waivers, if any |
.10% A </R> |
<R> Expenses net of all reductions |
.10% A </R> |
<R> Net investment income (loss) |
5.99% A </R> |
<R> Supplemental Data |
</R> |
<R> Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$ 184 </R> |
<R> Portfolio turnover rate G |
27% A </R> |
<R> A Annualized </R>
<R> B Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized. </R>
<R> C Total returns would have been lower if certain expenses had not been reduced during the applicable periods shown. </R>
<R> D Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period. </R>
<R> E For the period December 18, 2012 (commencement of sale of shares) to February 28, 2013. </R>
<R> F Expense ratios reflect operating expenses of the class. Expenses before reductions do not reflect amounts reimbursed by the investment adviser or reductions from expense offset arrangements and do not represent the amount paid by the class during periods when reimbursements or reductions occur. Expense ratios before reductions for start-up periods may not be representative of longer-term operating periods. Expenses net of fee waivers reflect expenses after reimbursement by the investment adviser but prior to reductions from expense offset arrangements. Expenses net of all reductions represent the net expenses paid by the class. Fees and expenses of the Underlying Funds are not included in the class' annualized ratios. The class indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the Underlying Funds. </R>
<R> G Amount does not include the portfolio activity of any Underlying Funds. </R>
Prospectus
<R> H Amount represents less than $.001 per share. </R>
Prospectus
Notes
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account. For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN) and may be requested to provide information on persons with authority or control over the account such as name, residential address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity. |
<R>You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.</R>
For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call Fidelity at 1-800-835-5095. In addition, existing investors may visit the web site at www.401k.com for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number, 811-21991 |
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
<R>Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design, and FundsNetwork are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
<R>1.951501.102 ODF-F-PRO-0413</R>
Strategic Advisers ® Income Opportunities Fund of Funds
Class F (FLTSX)
A Fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
<R> April 29, 2013 </R>
<R>This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. Portions of the fund's annual report are incorporated herein. The annual report is supplied with this SAI.</R>
<R>To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated April 29, 2013, or an annual report, please call Fidelity at 1-800-835-5095 or visit Fidelity's web site at www.401k.com.</R>
<R>ODF-F-PTB-0413
1.951502.102</R>
<R>
</R>
|
PAGE |
Investment Policies and Limitations |
|
Portfolio Transactions |
|
Valuation |
|
Buying and Selling Information |
|
<R>Distributions and Taxes |
|
Trustees and Officers |
|
<R>Control of Investment Adviser |
|
Management Contract |
|
Proxy Voting Guidelines |
|
<R>Distribution Services |
|
<R>Transfer and Service Agent Agreements |
|
<R>Description of the Trust |
|
<R>Fund Holdings Information |
|
<R>Financial Statements |
|
<R>Appendix |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not with respect to 75% of the fund's total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except in connection with the insurance program established by the fund pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission or as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry (provided that investments in other investment companies shall not be considered an investment in any particular industry for purposes of this investment limitation).
For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities, Strategic Advisers, Inc. (Strategic Advisers) looks through to the U.S. Government securities.
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The acquisitions of loans and loan participations excluded from the fund's lending limitation discussed above are only those loans and loan participations considered securities within the meaning of the 1940 Act.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, and provided that transactions in futures contracts, options, and swaps are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 10% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 10% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
To the extent that the fund acquires the shares of an underlying fund in accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, the underlying fund is not obligated to redeem its shares in an amount exceeding 1% of its shares outstanding during any period of less than 30 days. Those underlying fund shares will not be treated as illiquid securities for purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation described above to the extent that the fund is able to dispose of such securities by distributing them in kind to redeeming shareholders. (See "Securities of Other Investment Companies" on page (Click Here).)
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to lend assets other than securities to other parties, except by (a) lending money (up to 15% of the fund's net assets) to a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) assuming any unfunded commitments in connection with the acquisition of loans, loan participations, or other forms of debt instruments. (This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities, to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.)
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
<R>For the fund's limitations on futures and options transactions, see the section entitled "Futures, Options, and Swaps" on page (Click Here).< /R>
Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitations, the underlying funds in which the fund may invest have adopted certain investment limitations that may be more or less restrictive than those listed above, thereby permitting the fund to engage indirectly in investment strategies that are prohibited under the investment limitations listed above. The investment limitations of each underlying fund are set forth in its registration statement.
In accordance with its investment program as set forth in the prospectus, the fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in any one underlying Fidelity fund. Although the fund does not intend to concentrate its investments in a particular industry, the fund may indirectly concentrate in a particular industry or group of industries through its investments in one or more underlying funds.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
Strategic Advisers ® Income Opportunities Fund of Funds may have exposure to instruments, techniques, and risks either directly or indirectly through an investment in an underlying fund. An underlying fund may invest in the same or other types of instruments and its adviser may employ the same or other types of techniques. Strategic Advisers ® Income Opportunities Fund of Funds' performance will be affected by the instruments, techniques, and risks associated with an underlying fund, in proportion to the amount of assets that the fund allocates to that underlying fund.
<R>On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "a fund" or "the fund" may relate to Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds or an underlying fund, and references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to Strategic Advisers (or its affiliates) or an adviser of an underlying fund.</R>
Asset-Backed Securities represent interests in pools of mortgages, loans, receivables, or other assets. Payment of interest and repayment of principal may be largely dependent upon the cash flows generated by the assets backing the securities and, in certain cases, supported by letters of credit, surety bonds, or other credit enhancements. Asset-backed security values may also be affected by other factors including changes in interest rates, the availability of information concerning the pool and its structure, the creditworthiness of the servicing agent for the pool, the originator of the loans or receivables, or the entities providing the credit enhancement. In addition, these securities may be subject to prepayment risk.
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of short-term bond or money market funds, including (for Fidelity funds and other advisory clients only) shares of Fidelity central funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.
<R> Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Notice of Exclusion. The trust, on behalf of the Fidelity fund to which this SAI relates, has filed with the National Futures Association a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the CFTC promulgated thereunder, with respect to the fund's operation. Accordingly, neither the fund nor its adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or a CPO. However, the CFTC has adopted certain rule amendments that significantly affect the continued availability of this exclusion, and may subject advisers to funds to regulation by the CFTC. As of the date of this SAI, the adviser does not expect to register as a CPO of the fund. However, there is no certainty that a fund or its adviser will be able to rely on an exclusion in the future as the fund's investments change over time. A fund may determine not to use investment strategies that trigger additional CFTC regulation or may determine to operate subject to CFTC regulation, if applicable. If a fund or its adviser operates subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.</R>
Common Stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock, although related proceedings can take time to resolve and results can be unpredictable.
Convertible Securities are bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption or conversion, the fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
Debt Securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay interest but are sold at a deep discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, and mortgage and other asset-backed securities.
Dollar-Weighted Average Maturity is derived by multiplying the value of each investment by the time remaining to its maturity, adding these calculations, and then dividing the total by the value of a fund's portfolio. An obligation's maturity is typically determined on a stated final maturity basis, although there are some exceptions to this rule.
Under certain circumstances, a fund may invest in nominally long-term securities that have maturity shortening features of shorter-term securities, and the maturities of these securities may be deemed to be earlier than their ultimate maturity dates by virtue of an existing demand feature or an adjustable interest rate. Under other circumstances, if it is probable that the issuer of an instrument will take advantage of a maturity-shortening device, such as a call, refunding, or redemption provision, the date on which the instrument will probably be called, refunded, or redeemed may be considered to be its maturity date. The maturities of mortgage securities, including collateralized mortgage obligations, and some asset-backed securities are determined on a weighted average life basis, which is the average time for principal to be repaid. For a mortgage security, this average time is calculated by estimating the timing of principal payments, including unscheduled prepayments, during the life of the mortgage. The weighted average life of these securities is likely to be substantially shorter than their stated final maturity.
<R> Duration is a measure of a bond's price sensitivity to a change in its yield. For example, if a bond has a 5-year duration and its yield rises 1%, the bond's value is likely to fall about 5%. Similarly, if a bond fund has a 5-year average duration and the yield on each of the bonds held by the fund rises 1%, the fund's value is likely to fall about 5%. For funds with exposure to foreign markets, there are many reasons why all of the bond holdings do not experience the same yield changes. These reasons include: the bonds are spread off of different yield curves around the world and these yield curves do not move in tandem; the shapes of these yield curves change; and sector and issuer yield spreads change. Other factors can influence a bond fund's performance and share price. Accordingly, a bond fund's actual performance will likely differ from the example.</R>
<R> Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments. An ETF may seek to replicate the performance of a specified index or may be actively managed.</R>
Typically, ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks (typically, 50,000 shares) often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market ( e.g., on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.
Some of the risks of investing in an ETF that tracks an index are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their intraday indicative value. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater.
Exposure to Foreign and Emerging Markets. Foreign securities, foreign currencies, and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Foreign investments involve risks relating to local political, economic, regulatory, or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments, and may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Such actions may include expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. Additionally, governmental issuers of foreign debt securities may be unwilling to pay interest and repay principal when due and may require that the conditions for payment be renegotiated. There is no assurance that a fund's adviser will be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies and of dividends and interest paid with respect to such securities will fluctuate based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar.
It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for foreign securities will be on an exchange or in over-the-counter (OTC) markets located outside of the United States. Foreign stock markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the United States, and securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign security trading, settlement and custodial practices (including those involving securities settlement where fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment) are often less developed than those in U.S. markets, and may result in increased investment or valuation risk or substantial delays in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of, or breach of duty by, a foreign broker-dealer, securities depository, or foreign subcustodian. In addition, the costs associated with foreign investments, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions, and custodial costs, are generally higher than with U.S. investments.
Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors than U.S. markets. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Adequate public information on foreign issuers may not be available, and it may be difficult to secure dividends and information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. OTC markets tend to be less regulated than stock exchange markets and, in certain countries, may be totally unregulated. Regulatory enforcement may be influenced by economic or political concerns, and investors may have difficulty enforcing their legal rights in foreign countries.
Some foreign securities impose restrictions on transfer within the United States or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than foreign securities of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks include foreign exchange risk as well as the political and economic risks of the underlying issuer's country.
The risks of foreign investing may be magnified for investments in emerging markets. Security prices in emerging markets can be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
Floating Rate Loans and Other Debt Securities. Floating rate loans consist generally of obligations of companies or other entities (collectively, "borrowers") incurred for the purpose of reorganizing the assets and liabilities of a borrower (recapitalization); acquiring another company (acquisition); taking over control of a company (leveraged buyout); temporary financing (bridge loan); or refinancings, internal growth, or other general business purposes. Floating rate loans are often obligations of borrowers who are highly leveraged.
Floating rate loans may be structured to include both term loans, which are generally fully funded at the time of the making of the loan, and revolving credit facilities, which would require additional investments upon the borrower's demand. A revolving credit facility may require a purchaser to increase its investment in a floating rate loan at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
Floating rate loans may be acquired by direct investment as a lender, as a participation interest (which represents a fractional interest in a floating rate loan) issued by a lender or other financial institution, or as an assignment of the portion of a floating rate loan previously attributable to a different lender.
A floating rate loan offered as part of the original lending syndicate typically is purchased at par value. As part of the original lending syndicate, a purchaser generally earns a yield equal to the stated interest rate. In addition, members of the original syndicate typically are paid a commitment fee. In secondary market trading, floating rate loans may be purchased or sold above, at, or below par, which can result in a yield that is below, equal to, or above the stated interest rate, respectively. At certain times when reduced opportunities exist for investing in new syndicated floating rate loans, floating rate loans may be available only through the secondary market. There can be no assurance that an adequate supply of floating rate loans will be available for purchase.
Historically, floating rate loans have not been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or any state securities commission or listed on any securities exchange. As a result, the amount of public information available about a specific floating rate loan historically has been less extensive than if the floating rate loan were registered or exchange-traded.
Purchasers of floating rate loans and other forms of debt securities depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the security may be adversely affected. Floating rate loans and other debt securities that are fully secured provide more protections than unsecured securities in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Some floating rate loans and other debt securities are not rated by any nationally recognized statistical rating organization. In connection with the restructuring of a floating rate loan or other debt security outside of bankruptcy court in a negotiated work-out or in the context of bankruptcy proceedings, equity securities or junior debt securities may be received in exchange for all or a portion of an interest in the security.
Floating rate debt securities include other forms of indebtedness of borrowers such as notes and bonds, securities with fixed rate interest payments in conjunction with a right to receive floating rate interest payments, and shares of other investment companies. These instruments are generally subject to the same risks as floating rate loans but are often more widely issued and traded.
Foreign Currency Transactions. A fund may conduct foreign currency transactions on a spot ( i.e., cash) or forward basis ( i.e., by entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies). Although foreign exchange dealers generally do not charge a fee for such conversions, they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the counterparty desire to resell that currency to the dealer. Forward contracts are customized transactions that require a specific amount of a currency to be delivered at a specific exchange rate on a specific date or range of dates in the future. Forward contracts are generally traded in an interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The parties to a forward contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated currency exchange.
The following discussion summarizes the principal currency management strategies involving forward contracts that could be used by a fund. A fund may also use swap agreements, indexed securities, and options and futures contracts relating to foreign currencies for the same purposes. Forward contracts not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying currency. All of these instruments and transactions are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default.
A "settlement hedge" or "transaction hedge" is designed to protect a fund against an adverse change in foreign currency values between the date a security denominated in a foreign currency is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. Entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in an underlying security transaction for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars "locks in" the U.S. dollar price of the security. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used to protect a fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected.
A fund may also use forward contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in a foreign currency. For example, if a fund owned securities denominated in pounds sterling, it could enter into a forward contract to sell pounds sterling in return for U.S. dollars to hedge against possible declines in the pound's value. Such a hedge, sometimes referred to as a "position hedge," would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. A fund could also attempt to hedge the position by selling another currency expected to perform similarly to the pound sterling. This type of hedge, sometimes referred to as a "proxy hedge," could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield, or efficiency, but generally would not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a direct hedge into U.S. dollars. Proxy hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated.
A fund may enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a "cross-hedge," will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if a fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. A fund may cross-hedge its U.S. dollar exposure in order to achieve a representative weighted mix of the major currencies in its benchmark index and/or to cover an underweight country or region exposure in its portfolio. Cross-hedges protect against losses resulting from a decline in the hedged currency, but will cause a fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases.
Successful use of currency management strategies will depend on an adviser's skill in analyzing currency values. Currency management strategies may substantially change a fund's investment exposure to changes in currency exchange rates and could result in losses to a fund if currencies do not perform as an adviser anticipates. For example, if a currency's value rose at a time when a fund had hedged its position by selling that currency in exchange for dollars, the fund would not participate in the currency's appreciation. If a fund hedges currency exposure through proxy hedges, the fund could realize currency losses from both the hedge and the security position if the two currencies do not move in tandem. Similarly, if a fund increases its exposure to a foreign currency and that currency's value declines, the fund will realize a loss. Foreign currency transactions involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that a fund's hedging strategies will be ineffective. Moreover, it is impossible to precisely forecast the market value of portfolio securities at the expiration of a foreign currency forward contract. Accordingly, a fund may be required to buy or sell additional currency on the spot market (and bear the expenses of such transaction), if an adviser's predictions regarding the movement of foreign currency or securities markets prove inaccurate.
A fund may be required to limit its hedging transactions in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options in order to maintain its classification as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Hedging transactions could result in the application of the mark-to-market provisions of the Code, which may cause an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a fund and could affect whether dividends paid by a fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. A fund will cover its exposure to foreign currency transactions with liquid assets in compliance with applicable requirements. There is no assurance that an adviser's use of currency management strategies will be advantageous to a fund or that it will employ currency management strategies at appropriate times.
Options and Futures Relating to Foreign Currencies. Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges (and have margin requirements) and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. The underlying instrument of a currency option may be a foreign currency, which generally is purchased or delivered in exchange for U.S. dollars, or may be a futures contract. The purchaser of a currency call obtains the right to purchase the underlying currency, and the purchaser of a currency put obtains the right to sell the underlying currency.
The uses and risks of currency options and futures are similar to options and futures relating to securities or indexes, as discussed below. A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and may purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. Currency options may also be purchased or written in conjunction with each other or with currency futures or forward contracts. Currency futures and options values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates, but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated security from a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of a fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the fund's investments exactly over time.
Currency options traded on U.S. or other exchanges may be subject to position limits which may limit the ability of the fund to reduce foreign currency risk using such options.
Foreign Repurchase Agreements. Foreign repurchase agreements involve an agreement to purchase a foreign security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price in either U.S. dollars or foreign currency. Unlike typical U.S. repurchase agreements, foreign repurchase agreements may not be fully collateralized at all times. The value of a security purchased by a fund may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to repurchase the security. In the event of default by the counterparty, a fund may suffer a loss if the value of the security purchased is less than the agreed-upon repurchase price, or if the fund is unable to successfully assert a claim to the collateral under foreign laws. As a result, foreign repurchase agreements may involve higher credit risks than repurchase agreements in U.S. markets, as well as risks associated with currency fluctuations. In addition, as with other emerging market investments, repurchase agreements with counterparties located in emerging markets or relating to emerging markets may involve issuers or counterparties with lower credit ratings than typical U.S. repurchase agreements.
Fund's Rights as an Investor. Fidelity funds do not intend to direct or administer the day-to-day operations of any company. A fund may, however, exercise its rights as a shareholder or lender and may communicate its views on important matters of policy to a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders, and holders of a company's other securities when such matters could have a significant effect on the value of the fund's investment in the company. The activities in which a fund may engage, either individually or in conjunction with others, may include, among others, supporting or opposing proposed changes in a company's corporate structure or business activities; seeking changes in a company's directors or management; seeking changes in a company's direction or policies; seeking the sale or reorganization of the company or a portion of its assets; supporting or opposing third-party takeover efforts; supporting the filing of a bankruptcy petition; or foreclosing on collateral securing a security. This area of corporate activity is increasingly prone to litigation and it is possible that a fund could be involved in lawsuits related to such activities. Such activities will be monitored with a view to mitigating, to the extent possible, the risk of litigation against a fund and the risk of actual liability if a fund is involved in litigation. No guarantee can be made, however, that litigation against a fund will not be undertaken or liabilities incurred. The fund's proxy voting guidelines are included in this SAI.
Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. If a fund invests a significant portion of its assets in derivatives, its investment exposure could far exceed the value of its portfolio securities and its investment performance could be primarily dependent upon securities it does not own.
Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.
The limitations on the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps, and the fund's policies regarding futures contracts, options, and swaps may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts.
Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts and the price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities or baskets of securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indexes (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indexes of securities prices (including foreign indexes for funds that seek foreign exposure). Futures on indexes and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out by offsetting purchases or sales of futures contracts before then if a liquid market is available. A fund may realize a gain or loss by closing out its futures contracts.
The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the underlying instrument. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.
The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (FCM), when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by a fund, but is instead a settlement between a fund and the FCM of the amount one would owe the other if the fund's contract expired. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is also required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.
Although futures exchanges generally operate similarly in the United States and abroad, foreign futures exchanges may follow trading, settlement, and margin procedures that are different from those for U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts traded outside the United States may not involve a clearing mechanism or related guarantees and may involve greater risk of loss than U.S.-traded contracts, including potentially greater risk of losses due to insolvency of a futures broker, exchange member, or other party that may owe initial or variation margin to a fund. Because initial and variation margin payments may be measured in foreign currency, a futures contract traded outside the United States may also involve the risk of foreign currency fluctuation.
There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.
If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
Futures contracts on U.S. Government securities historically have reacted to an increase or decrease in interest rates in a manner similar to the manner in which the underlying U.S. Government securities reacted. To the extent, however, that a fund enters into such futures contracts, the value of these futures contracts will not vary in direct proportion to the value of the fund's holdings of U.S. Government securities. Thus, the anticipated spread between the price of the futures contract and the hedged security may be distorted due to differences in the nature of the markets. The spread also may be distorted by differences in initial and variation margin requirements, the liquidity of such markets and the participation of speculators in such markets.
Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, baskets of assets or securities, indexes of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). Options may be traded on an exchange or OTC. The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. Depending on the terms of the contract, upon exercise, an option may require physical delivery of the underlying instrument or may be settled through cash payments. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right (but not the obligation) to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer should mitigate the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.
Where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price to close out the put or call option on the secondary market may move more or less than the price of the related security.
There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for exchange-traded options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps (swaptions), which are generally options on interest rate swaps. An option on a swap gives a party the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, a fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes (sells) an option on a swap than it will incur when it purchases an option on a swap. When a fund purchases an option on a swap, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when a fund writes an option on a swap, upon exercise of the option the fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement. A fund that writes an option on a swap receives the premium and bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the preset rate on the underlying interest rate swap. Whether a fund's use of options on swaps will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend on the adviser's ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Options on swaps may involve risks similar to those discussed below in "Swap Agreements."
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
Swap Agreements. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term. Most swap agreements are currently traded over-the-counter. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange one or more payments based, for example, on the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, indexes, or other financial or economic interests). The gross payments to be exchanged between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness.
A fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. In order to cover its outstanding obligations to a swap counterparty, a fund would generally be required to provide margin or collateral for the benefit of that counterparty. If a counterparty to a swap transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited temporarily or permanently in exercising its right to the return of related fund assets designated as margin or collateral in an action against the counterparty.
Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that an adviser will not accurately forecast market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other economic factors in establishing swap positions for a fund. If an adviser attempts to use a swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, a fund may be exposed to the risk that the swap will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment, which could cause substantial losses for a fund. While hedging strategies involving swap instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Swaps are complex and often valued subjectively.
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Illiquid Securities cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity fund's adviser determines the liquidity of the fund's investments and, through reports from the fund's adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid securities.
Various factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments, including (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
Increasing Government Debt. The total public debt of the United States and other countries around the globe as a percent of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented.
A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt cost higher and cause a country to sell additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In the worst case, unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns.
On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States one level to "AA+" from "AAA." While Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the United States' short-term sovereign credit rating as "A-1+," there is no guarantee that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services will not decide to lower this rating in the future. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services stated that its decision was prompted by its view on the rising public debt burden and its perception of greater policymaking uncertainty. The market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government may be adversely affected by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services decisions to downgrade the long-term sovereign credit rating of the United States.
Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indexes, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.
Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indexes. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.
Indexed securities may have principal payments as well as coupon payments that depend on the performance of one or more interest rates. Their coupon rates or principal payments may change by several percentage points for every 1% interest rate change.
Mortgage-indexed securities, for example, could be structured to replicate the performance of mortgage securities and the characteristics of direct ownership.
Inflation-protected securities, for example, can be indexed to a measure of inflation, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Commodity-indexed securities, for example, can be indexed to a commodities index such as the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return SM .
Gold-indexed securities typically provide for a maturity value that depends on the price of gold, resulting in a security whose price tends to rise and fall together with gold prices.
Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Insolvency of Issuers, Counterparties, and Intermediaries. Issuers of fund portfolio securities or counterparties to fund transactions that become insolvent or declare bankruptcy can pose special investment risks. In each circumstance, risk of loss, valuation uncertainty, increased illiquidity, and other unpredictable occurrences may negatively impact an investment. Each of these risks may be amplified in foreign markets, where security trading, settlement, and custodial practices can be less developed than those in the U.S. markets, and bankruptcy laws differ from those of the U.S.
As a general matter, if the issuer of a fund portfolio security is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock have priority over the claims of common stock owners. These events can negatively impact the value of the issuer's securities and the results of related proceedings can be unpredictable.
If a counterparty to a fund transaction, such as a swap transaction, a short sale, a borrowing, or other complex transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise rights to obtain the return of related fund assets or in exercising other rights against the counterparty. In addition, insolvency and liquidation proceedings take time to resolve, which can limit or preclude a fund's ability to terminate a transaction or obtain related assets or collateral in a timely fashion. Uncertainty may also arise upon the insolvency of a securities or commodities intermediary such as a broker-dealer or futures commission merchant with which a fund has pending transactions. If an intermediary becomes insolvent, while securities positions and other holdings may be protected by U.S. or foreign laws, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these protections are available to specific trades based on the circumstances. Receiving the benefit of these protections can also take time to resolve, which may result in illiquid positions.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the SEC, a Fidelity fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) or its affiliates. A Fidelity fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. A Fidelity fund will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from an investment in repurchase agreements. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
Investments by Funds of Funds or Other Large Shareholders. Certain funds and accounts that are managed by FMR or its affiliates (including funds of funds) invest in other funds and may at times have substantial investments in one or more other funds.
A fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by funds of funds, other large shareholders, or similarly managed accounts. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a fund's portfolio. In addition, when funds of funds or other investors own a substantial portion of a fund's shares, a large redemption by such an investor could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a fund of funds or other significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the fund's shares.
When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful. A high volume of redemption requests can impact a fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments.
Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. Direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve a risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a fund supply additional cash to a borrower on demand. A fund may acquire loans by buying an assignment of all or a portion of the loan from a lender or by purchasing a loan participation from a lender or other purchaser of a participation.
Lenders and purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of foreign countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.
Direct lending and investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the lender/purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary.
A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest.
Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate lenders/purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a lender/purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.
For a Fidelity fund that limits the amount of total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry, the fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require a fund, in appropriate circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for these purposes. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
Because the risk of default is higher for lower-quality debt securities, research and credit analysis are an especially important part of managing securities of this type. Such analysis may focus on relative values based on factors such as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earnings prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer, in an attempt to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved, or is expected to improve in the future.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Mortgage Securities are issued by government and non-government entities such as banks, mortgage lenders, or other institutions. A mortgage security is an obligation of the issuer backed by a mortgage or pool of mortgages or a direct interest in an underlying pool of mortgages. Some mortgage securities, such as collateralized mortgage obligations (or "CMOs"), make payments of both principal and interest at a range of specified intervals; others make semiannual interest payments at a predetermined rate and repay principal at maturity (like a typical bond). Mortgage securities are based on different types of mortgages, including those on commercial real estate or residential properties. Stripped mortgage securities are created when the interest and principal components of a mortgage security are separated and sold as individual securities. In the case of a stripped mortgage security, the holder of the "principal-only" security (PO) receives the principal payments made by the underlying mortgage, while the holder of the "interest-only" security (IO) receives interest payments from the same underlying mortgage.
Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs are pass-through securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, respectively. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which guarantee payment of interest and repayment of principal on Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs, respectively, are federally chartered corporations supervised by the U.S. Government that act as governmental instrumentalities under authority granted by Congress. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are authorized to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to meet their obligations. Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.
The value of mortgage securities may change due to shifts in the market's perception of issuers and changes in interest rates. In addition, regulatory or tax changes may adversely affect the mortgage securities market as a whole. Non-government mortgage securities may offer higher yields than those issued by government entities, but also may be subject to greater price changes than government issues. Mortgage securities are subject to prepayment risk, which is the risk that early principal payments made on the underlying mortgages, usually in response to a reduction in interest rates, will result in the return of principal to the investor, causing it to be invested subsequently at a lower current interest rate. Alternatively, in a rising interest rate environment, mortgage security values may be adversely affected when prepayments on underlying mortgages do not occur as anticipated, resulting in the extension of the security's effective maturity and the related increase in interest rate sensitivity of a longer-term instrument. The prices of stripped mortgage securities tend to be more volatile in response to changes in interest rates than those of non-stripped mortgage securities.
A fund may seek to earn additional income by using a trading strategy (commonly known as "mortgage dollar rolls" or "reverse mortgage dollar rolls") that involves selling (or buying) mortgage securities, realizing a gain or loss, and simultaneously agreeing to purchase (or sell) mortgage securities on a later date at a set price. During the period between the sale and repurchase in a mortgage dollar roll transaction, a fund will not be entitled to receive interest and principal payments on the securities sold but will invest the proceeds of the sale in other securities that are permissible investments for the fund. During the period between the purchase and subsequent sale in a reverse mortgage dollar roll transaction, a fund is entitled to interest and principal payments on the securities purchased. Losses may arise due to changes in the value of the securities or if the counterparty does not perform under the terms of the agreement. If the counterparty files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, a fund's right to repurchase or sell securities may be limited. This trading strategy may increase interest rate exposure and result in an increased portfolio turnover rate which increases costs and may increase taxable gains.
Precious Metals. Precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, at times have been subject to substantial price fluctuations over short periods of time and may be affected by unpredictable monetary and political policies such as currency devaluations or revaluations, economic and social conditions within a country, trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries. The prices of gold and other precious metals, however, are less subject to local and company-specific factors than securities of individual companies. As a result, precious metals may be more or less volatile in price than securities of companies engaged in precious metals-related businesses. Investments in precious metals can present concerns such as delivery, storage and maintenance, possible illiquidity, and the unavailability of accurate market valuations. Although precious metals can be purchased in any form, including bullion and coins, a Fidelity fund intends to purchase only those forms of precious metals that are readily marketable and that can be stored in accordance with custody regulations applicable to mutual funds. A fund may incur higher custody and transaction costs for precious metals than for securities. Also, precious metals investments do not pay income.
For a fund to qualify as a regulated investment company under current federal tax law, gains from selling precious metals may not exceed 10% of the fund's gross income for its taxable year. This tax requirement could cause a fund to hold or sell precious metals or securities when it would not otherwise do so.
Preferred Securities represent an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Real estate investment trusts issue debt securities to fund the purchase and/or development of commercial properties. The value of these debt securities may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property owned by the trusts, the creditworthiness of the trusts, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements. Real estate investment trusts are dependent upon management skill and the cash flow generated by the properties owned by the trusts. Real estate investment trusts are at the risk of the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
Reforms and Government Intervention in the Financial Markets. Economic downturns can trigger various economic, legal, budgetary, tax, and regulatory reforms across the globe. Instability in the financial markets in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn led the U.S. Government and other governments to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility, and in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Reforms are ongoing and their effects are uncertain. Federal, state, local, foreign, and other governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which a fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Reforms may also change the way in which a fund is regulated and could limit or preclude a fund's ability to achieve its investment objective or engage in certain strategies. Also, while reforms generally are intended to strengthen markets, systems, and public finances, they could affect fund expenses and the value of fund investments.
The value of a fund's holdings is also generally subject to the risk of future local, national, or global economic disturbances based on unknown weaknesses in the markets in which a fund invests. In the event of such a disturbance, the issuers of securities held by a fund may experience significant declines in the value of their assets and even cease operations, or may receive government assistance accompanied by increased restrictions on their business operations or other government intervention. In addition, it is not certain that the U.S. Government or foreign governments will intervene in response to a future market disturbance and the effect of any such future intervention cannot be predicted.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its right to liquidate assets related to a repurchase agreement with an insolvent counterparty. A Fidelity fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities Lending. Securities lending allows a fund to retain ownership of the securities loaned and, at the same time, earn additional income. The borrower provides the fund with collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. The fund seeks to maintain the ability to obtain the right to vote or consent on proxy proposals involving material events affecting securities loaned. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased.
Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies (which include business development companies (BDCs)), unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. For certain investment companies, such as BDCs, these expenses may be significant. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.
The securities of closed-end funds may be leveraged. As a result, a fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. An investment in securities of closed-end funds that use leverage may expose a fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the fund's long-term returns on such securities will be diminished.
The extent to which a fund can invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws.
Short Sales. Short sales involve the market sale of a security a fund has borrowed from a prime broker with which it has a contractual relationship, with the expectation that the security will underperform either the market or the securities that the fund holds long. A fund closes a short sale by purchasing the same security at the current market price and delivering it to the prime broker.
Until a fund closes out a short position, the fund is obligated to pay the prime broker (from which it borrowed the security sold short) interest as well as any dividends that accrue during the period of the loan. While a short position is outstanding, a fund must also pledge a portion of its assets to the prime broker as collateral for the borrowed security. The collateral will be marked to market daily.
Short positions create a risk that a fund will be required to cover them by buying the security at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the fund. A short position in a security poses more risk than holding the same security long. Because a short position loses value as the security's price increases, the loss on a short sale is theoretically unlimited. The loss on a long position is limited to what a fund originally paid for the security together with any transaction costs. A fund may not always be able to borrow a security the fund seeks to sell short at a particular time or at an acceptable price. As a result, a fund may be unable to fully implement its investment strategy due to a lack of available stocks or for other reasons. It is possible that the market value of the securities a fund holds in long positions will decline at the same time that the market value of the securities the fund has sold short increases, thereby increasing the fund's potential volatility. Because a fund may be required to pay dividends, interest, premiums and other expenses in connection with a short sale, any benefit for the fund resulting from the short sale will be decreased, and the amount of any ultimate gain will be decreased or of any loss will be increased, by the amount of such expenses.
A fund may also enter into short sales against the box. Short sales "against the box" are short sales of securities that a fund owns or has the right to obtain (equivalent in kind or amount to the securities sold short). If a fund enters into a short sale against the box, it will be required to set aside securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short (or securities convertible or exchangeable into such securities) and will be required to hold such securities while the short sale is outstanding. A fund will incur transaction costs, including interest expenses, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales against the box.
Sources of Liquidity or Credit Support. Issuers may employ various forms of credit and liquidity enhancements, including letters of credit, guarantees, swaps, puts, and demand features, and insurance provided by domestic or foreign entities such as banks and other financial institutions. An adviser and its affiliates may rely on their evaluation of the credit of the issuer or the credit of the liquidity or credit enhancement provider in determining whether to purchase or hold a security supported by such enhancement. In evaluating the credit of a foreign bank or other foreign entities, factors considered may include whether adequate public information about the entity is available and whether the entity may be subject to unfavorable political or economic developments, currency controls, or other government restrictions that might affect its ability to honor its commitment. Changes in the credit quality of the issuer and/or entity providing the enhancement could affect the value of the security or a fund's share price.
Sovereign Debt Obligations are issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies, including debt of Latin American nations or other developing countries. Sovereign debt may be in the form of conventional securities or other types of debt instruments such as loans or loan participations. Sovereign debt of developing countries may involve a high degree of risk, and may be in default or present the risk of default. Governmental entities responsible for repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal and pay interest when due, and may require renegotiation or rescheduling of debt payments. In addition, prospects for repayment of principal and payment of interest may depend on political as well as economic factors. Although some sovereign debt, such as Brady Bonds, is collateralized by U.S. Government securities, repayment of principal and payment of interest is not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
Stripped Securities are the separate income or principal components of a debt security. The risks associated with stripped securities are similar to those of other debt securities, although stripped securities may be more volatile, and the value of certain types of stripped securities may move in the same direction as interest rates. U.S. Treasury securities that have been stripped by a Federal Reserve Bank are obligations issued by the U.S. Treasury.
Privately stripped government securities are created when a dealer deposits a U.S. Treasury security or other U.S. Government security with a custodian for safekeeping. The custodian issues separate receipts for the coupon payments and the principal payment, which the dealer then sells.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument ( e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
<R> Temporary Defensive Policies. </R>
<R> In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, a fund may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If a fund does so, different factors could affect the fund's performance and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</R>
Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds reserves the right to invest without limitation in investment-grade securities for temporary, defensive purposes.
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Variable and Floating Rate Securities provide for periodic adjustments in the interest rate paid on the security. Variable rate securities provide for a specified periodic adjustment in the interest rate, while floating rate securities have interest rates that change whenever there is a change in a designated benchmark rate or the issuer's credit quality, sometimes subject to a cap or floor on such rate. Some variable or floating rate securities are structured with put features that permit holders to demand payment of the unpaid principal balance plus accrued interest from the issuers or certain financial intermediaries. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of a variable or floating rate security, a fund's adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments which entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss.
Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
When-Issued and Forward Purchase or Sale Transactions involve a commitment to purchase or sell specific securities at a predetermined price or yield in which payment and delivery take place after the customary settlement period for that type of security. Typically, no interest accrues to the purchaser until the security is delivered.
When purchasing securities pursuant to one of these transactions, the purchaser assumes the rights and risks of ownership, including the risks of price and yield fluctuations and the risk that the security will not be issued as anticipated. Because payment for the securities is not required until the delivery date, these risks are in addition to the risks associated with a fund's investments. If a fund remains substantially fully invested at a time when a purchase is outstanding, the purchases may result in a form of leverage. When a fund has sold a security pursuant to one of these transactions, the fund does not participate in further gains or losses with respect to the security. If the other party to a delayed-delivery transaction fails to deliver or pay for the securities, a fund could miss a favorable price or yield opportunity or suffer a loss.
A fund may renegotiate a when-issued or forward transaction and may sell the underlying securities before delivery, which may result in capital gains or losses for the fund.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities (normally, shares of underlying funds) are placed on behalf of the fund by Strategic Advisers, (either itself or through its affiliates), pursuant to authority contained in the management contract.
Strategic Advisers may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
<R>The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in underlying Fidelity funds, but it may incur such costs if it invests directly in other types of securities.</R>
<R>The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in affiliated funds, but it may incur such costs when it invests in non-affiliated funds and if it invests directly in other types of securities, such as ETFs.</R>
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review Strategic Advisers' and its affiliates' performance of their respective responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Strategic Advisers, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest available commission rate available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Strategic Advisers or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of an FCM is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the FCM. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.
Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.
Execution Services. In addition, brokerage and research products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law, those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Strategic Advisers or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services Strategic Advisers or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
<R> Strategic Advisers' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Strategic Advisers or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.</R>
Research Contracts. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Strategic Advisers or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately, rather than bundled with fund commissions, is wholly voluntary on Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) who have entered into arrangements with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates under which the broker, using a predetermined methodology, rebates a portion of the compensation paid by a fund to offset that fund's expenses. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
<R>Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), with whom they are under common control, provided Strategic Advisers or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade-execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS as a clearing agent.</R>
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
<R>When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Strategic Advisers to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.</R>
Commissions Paid
A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
<R>For the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 27% (annualized). Variations in turnover rate may be due to a fluctuating volume of shareholder purchase and redemption orders, market conditions, and/or changes in Strategic Advisers' investment outlook.</R>
<R>For the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013, the fund paid no brokerage commissions.</R>
<R>During the fiscal period June 19, 2012 to February 28, 2013, the fund paid no brokerage commissions to firms for providing research or brokerage services.</R>
The class's NAV is the value of a single share. The NAV of the class is computed by adding the class's pro rata share of the value of the fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting the class's pro rata share of the fund's liabilities, subtracting the liabilities allocated to the class, and dividing the result by the number of shares of that class that are outstanding.
The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for pricing, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers has established the Strategic Advisers Fair Value Committee (Strategic Advisers Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities. The Strategic Advisers Committee may rely on information and recommendations provided by affiliates of Strategic Advisers in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, including the fair valuation of securities.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) held by the fund are valued at their respective NAVs. If an underlying fund's NAV is unavailable, shares of that underlying fund will be fair valued in good faith by the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by the fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity non-money market fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
<R>Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques.</R>
Short-term securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less for which market quotations and information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available are valued at amortized cost, which approximates current value.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
<R>Prices described above are obtained from pricing services that have been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available and the funds may use more than one of these services. The funds may also discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time. Strategic Advisers engages in oversight activities with respect to the fund's pricing services, which includes, among other things, testing the prices provided by pricing services prior to calculation of a fund's NAV, conducting periodic due diligence meetings, and periodically reviewing the methodologies and inputs used by these services.</R>
<R>Foreign securities and instruments are valued in their local currency following the methodologies described above. Foreign securities, instruments and currencies are translated to U.S. dollars, based on foreign currency exchange rate quotations supplied by a pricing service as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which uses a proprietary model to determine the exchange rate. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at an interpolated rate based on days to maturity between the closest preceding and subsequent settlement period reported by the third party pricing service.</R>
The Board of Trustees of the underlying Fidelity funds has ultimate responsibility for pricing portfolio securities and assets held by those funds, but has delegated day-to-day valuation oversight responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these oversight responsibilities.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Strategic Advisers Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee and the Strategic Advisers Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and ADRs, market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. This technique involves initially valuing an instrument at its cost as adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount rather than its current market value. The amortized cost value of an instrument may be higher or lower than the price a money market fund would receive if it sold the instrument.
At such intervals as they deem appropriate, the Trustees of an underlying Fidelity money market fund consider the extent to which NAV calculated using market valuations would deviate from the $1.00 per share calculated using amortized cost valuation. If the Trustees believe that a deviation from a money market fund's amortized cost per share may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Trustees have agreed to take such corrective action, if any, as they deem appropriate to eliminate or reduce, to the extent reasonably practicable, the dilution or unfair results. Such corrective action could include selling portfolio instruments prior to maturity to realize capital gains or losses or to shorten average portfolio maturity; withholding dividends; redeeming shares in kind; establishing NAV by using available market quotations; and such other measures as the Trustees may deem appropriate.
BUYING AND SELLING INFORMATION
Class F shares of the fund are available for purchase only by mutual funds for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment manager.
The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the class's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
Dividends. A portion of the fund's income may qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, but it is unlikely that all of the fund's income will qualify for the deduction. A portion of the fund's dividends, when distributed to individual shareholders, may qualify for taxation at long-term capital gains rates (provided certain holding period requirements are met).
Capital Gain Distributions. The fund's long-term capital gain distributions, including amounts attributable to an underlying fund's long-term capital gain distributions, are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold.
Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. As a general matter, if, at the close of its fiscal year, more than 50% of the fund's total assets is invested in securities of foreign issuers, the fund may elect to pass through eligible foreign taxes paid and thereby allow shareholders to take a deduction or, if they meet certain holding period requirements with respect to fund shares, a credit on their individual tax returns. In addition, if at the close of each quarter of its fiscal year at least 50% of the fund's total assets is represented by interests in other regulated investment companies, the same rules will apply to any foreign tax credits that underlying funds pass through to the fund. The amount of foreign taxes paid by the fund will be reduced to the extent that the fund lends securities over the dividend record date. Special rules may apply to the credit for individuals who receive dividends qualifying for the long-term capital gains tax rate.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
<R>The Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and executive officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. If the interests of the fund and an underlying Fidelity fund were to diverge, a conflict of interest could arise and affect how the Trustees and Member of the Advisory Board fulfill their fiduciary duties to the affected funds. Strategic Advisers has structured the fund to avoid these potential conflicts, although there may be situations where a conflict of interest is unavoidable. In such instances, Strategic Advisers, the Trustees, and Member of the Advisory Board would take reasonable steps to minimize and, if possible, eliminate the conflict. Except for Mary C. Farrell, each of the Trustees oversees 26 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. Ms. Farrell oversees 20 funds advised by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate.</R>
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. The executive officers and Advisory Board Member hold office without limit in time, except that any officer and Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
<R>Each Trustee who is not an interested person of the trust and the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) is referred to herein as an Independent Trustee.</R>
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Fund's Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also engage professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates with experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. Additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, may be considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. Roger T. Servison is an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) and currently serves as Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Ralph F. Cox serves as the lead Independent Trustee and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
Fidelity funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees asset allocation funds as well as the Fidelity enhanced index funds. Other boards oversee Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds and Fidelity's equity and high income funds. The fund may invest in Fidelity funds overseen by such other Boards. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues.
The Trustees primarily operate as a full Board, but also operate in committees, to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board has charged Strategic Advisers and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through Strategic Advisers, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. Board oversight of different aspects of the fund's activities is exercised primarily through the full Board, but also through the Audit and Compliance Committee. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees."
Interested Trustees *:
<R>Correspondence intended for each Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
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<R>Roger T. Servison (1945)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Servison is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Servison serves as President of Strategic New Business Development for Fidelity Investments and serves as a Director of Strategic Advisers. Previously, Mr. Servison oversaw Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company (2005-2006) and Strategic Advisers (2005-2007). Mr. Servison also served as President and a Director of Fidelity Brokerage Services (Japan), LLC (1994-2004). |
<R>Derek L. Young (1964)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Mr. Young is Vice President of Fidelity's Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present), President and a Director of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2011-present), President of Fidelity Global Asset Allocation (GAA) (2011-present), and Vice Chairman of Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2011-present). Previously, Mr. Young served as Chief Investment Officer of GAA (2009-2011) and as a portfolio manager. |
* Trustees have been determined to be "Interested Trustees" by virtue of, among other things, their affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with Strategic Advisers.
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees :
Correspondence intended for each Independent Trustee (that is, the Trustees other than the Interested Trustees) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience +</R> |
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<R>Peter C. Aldrich (1944)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Mr. Aldrich is a Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Director of the funds of BlackRock Realty Group (2006-present). Previously, Mr. Aldrich served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010), a Managing Member of Poseidon, LLC (foreign private investment, 1998-2004), and Chairman and Managing Member of AEGIS, LLC (foreign private investment, 1997-2004). Mr. Aldrich also served as Faculty Chairman of The Research Council on Global Investment of The Conference Board (business and professional education non-profit, 1999-2004). Mr. Aldrich is a Member of the Boards of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and an Overseer of the Longy School of Music. |
<R>Amy Butte Liebowitz (1968)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2011</R> Ms. Butte Liebowitz was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of TILE Financial (financial internet service, 2008-2012). Previously, Ms. Butte Liebowitz served as the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of MF Global (broker-dealer, 2006-2008), and Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange (2004-2006). Ms. Butte Liebowitz is a member of the Boards of Directors of Accion International and the New York Women's Forum, as well as an alumna of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader program. |
<R>Ralph F. Cox (1932)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2006 Mr. Cox is President of RABAR Enterprises (management consulting for the petroleum industry). Mr. Cox is a Director of Abraxas Petroleum (exploration and production). Mr. Cox is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Business and Engineering Schools of Texas A&M University and the Engineering School of University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Mr. Cox served as a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010) and as an Advisory Director of CH2M Hill Companies (engineering, 1981-2011). Mr. Ralph F. Cox and Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. are not related. |
<R>Mary C. Farrell (1949)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2013</R> Ms. Farrell is a Director of the W.R. Berkley Corporation (insurance provider) and President (2009-present) and Director (2006-present) of the Howard Gilman Foundation (charitable organization). Previously, Ms. Farrell was Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at UBS Wealth Management USA and Co-Head of UBS Wealth Management Investment Strategy & Research Group (2003-2005). Ms. Farrell also served as Investment Strategist at PaineWebber (1982-2000) and UBS PaineWebber (2000-2002). Ms. Farrell also serves as Trustee on the Board of Overseers of the New York University Stern School of Business, the Board of Trustees of Yale-New Haven Hospital and is a member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II. |
<R>Karen Kaplan (1960)</R> |
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<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006</R> Ms. Kaplan is President of Hill Holliday (advertising and specialized marketing, 2007-present). Ms. Kaplan is a Director of DSM (dba Delta Dental and DentaQuest) (2004-present), Director of Vera Bradley (2012-present), Member of the Board of Governors of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston (2010-present), Member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference for Women (2008-present), Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (2006-present), Board of Directors of Jobs for Massachusetts (2012-present), National Association of Corporate Directors Chapter (2012-present), and Board of Directors of the Post Office Square Trust (2012-present). She is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, an action oriented community of the most effective CEOs, heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, and non-governmental leaders in the world. Previously, Ms. Kaplan served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010), President of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2008-2010), Treasurer of the Massachusetts Women's Forum (2002-2006), Vice Chair of the Board of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2003-2010), Director of United Way of Massachusetts Bay (2004-2006), Director of ADVO (direct mail marketing, 2003-2007), and Director of Tweeter Home Entertainment Group (2006-2007). |
+ The information above includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Member and Executive Officers :
<R>Correspondence intended for each executive officer and Howard E. Cox, Jr. may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.</R>
<R> Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupation</R> |
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<R>Howard E. Cox, Jr. (1944)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II. Mr. Cox is a Member of the Advisory Board of Devonshire Investors (2009-present). Mr. Cox serves as an Advisory Partner of Greylock (venture capital) and a Director of Stryker Corporation (medical products and services). Previously, Mr. Cox served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010) and a Member of the Secretary of Defense's Business Board of Directors (2008-2010). Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. and Mr. Ralph F. Cox are not related. |
<R>Kenneth B. Robins (1969)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 President and Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Robins also serves as President and Treasurer of other Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds (2008-present) and Assistant Treasurer of other Fidelity Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds (2009-present). Mr. Robins is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Robins served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2005-2008) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2006-2008). |
<R>Marc Bryant (1966)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of the fund. Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Fidelity Investments. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Mr. Bryant served as a Senior Vice President and the Head of Global Retail Legal for AllianceBernstein L.P. (2006-2010), and as the General Counsel for ProFund Advisors LLC (2001-2006). |
<R>Elizabeth Paige Baumann (1968)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2012 Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer of the fund. Ms. Baumann also serves as AML Officer of the Fidelity funds (2012-present) and The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2012-present), Chief AML Officer of FMR LLC (2012-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Baumann served as Vice President and Deputy Anti-Money Laundering Officer (2007-2012). |
<R>Nicholas E. Steck (1964)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the fund. Mr. Steck serves as Senior Vice President of Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services (2008-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. During the period 2002 to 2009, Mr. Steck served as a Compliance Officer of FMR, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc., FMR LLC, Fidelity Research & Analysis (U.K.) Inc., Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. |
<R>Laura M. Doherty (1969)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 Chief Compliance Officer of the fund. Ms. Doherty also serves as Senior Vice President of the Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Doherty served as a Vice President in Fidelity's Corporate Audit department (1998-2008). |
<R>Adrien E. Deberghes (1967)</R> |
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Year of Election or Appointment: 2011 Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Deberghes also serves as Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) and Deputy Treasurer (2008-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Deberghes served as Senior Vice President of Mutual Fund Administration at State Street Corporation (2007-2008), Senior Director of Mutual Fund Administration at Investors Bank & Trust (2005-2007), and Director of Finance for Dunkin' Brands (2000-2005). |
<R>Stephanie J. Dorsey (1969)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2012</R> Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Ms. Dorsey also serves as President and Treasurer (2013-present) and Assistant Treasurer (2010-present) of other Fidelity funds and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Ms. Dorsey served as Deputy Treasurer of the Fidelity funds (2008-2013), Treasurer (2004-2008) of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds and Vice President (2004-2008) of JPMorgan Chase Bank. |
<R>Jonathan Davis (1968)</R> |
|
|
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010 Assistant Treasurer of the fund. Mr. Davis is also Assistant Treasurer of certain Fidelity funds. Mr. Davis is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (2003-2010). |
<R>Margaret A. Carey (1973)</R> |
|
<R> |
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009 </R> Assistant Secretary of the fund. Ms. Carey also serves as Assistant Secretary of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash and Term Portfolios (2008-present), Vice President, Associate General Counsel (2007-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). |
Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established two committees to supplement the work of the Board as a whole. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
<R>The Audit and Compliance Committee is composed of Ms. Butte Liebowitz (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, Mr. Ralph Cox, and Mses. Farrell and Kaplan. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The committee determines whether at least one member of the committee is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined in rules promulgated by the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The committee normally meets in conjunction with in person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair. The committee meets separately periodically with the fund's Treasurer, the fund's Chief Financial Officer, the fund's CCO, personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and the fund's outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the fund for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the fund and the fund's service providers, (ii) the financial reporting processes of the fund, (iii) the independence, objectivity and qualification of the auditors to the fund, (iv) the annual audits of the fund's financial statements, and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the fund. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations (Auditor Independence Regulations) of the SEC. In furtherance of the foregoing, the committee has adopted (and may from time to time amend or supplement) and provides oversight of policies and procedures for non-audit engagements by outside auditors of the fund. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the fund and for resolving disagreements between the fund and any outside auditor regarding the fund's financial reporting, and has sole authority to hire and fire any auditor. Auditors of the fund report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the fund and any service providers consistent with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Ethics and Independence Rule 3526, Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence. The committee will discuss with the outside auditors any such disclosed relationships and their impact on the auditor's independence and objectivity. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the Auditor Independence Regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the fund's service providers' internal controls and reviews with management, internal auditors, and outside auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of the fund's and service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the fund's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the fund's or service provider's internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will review with counsel any legal matters that may have a material impact on the fund's financial statements and any material reports or inquiries received from regulators or governmental agencies. The committee reviews at least annually a report from the outside auditor describing (i) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control review, peer review, or PCAOB examination of the auditing firm and (ii) any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm since the most recent report and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the fund's financial reporting process and will receive reports from an outside auditor relating to (i) critical accounting policies and practices used by the fund, (ii) alternative accounting treatments that the auditor has discussed with Strategic Advisers, and (iii) other material written communications between the auditor and Strategic Advisers (as determined by the auditor). The committee will discuss with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the fund. The committee will review with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC (to the extent relevant) the results of audits of the fund's financial statements. The committee will review periodically the fund's major internal controls exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. The committee also oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the fund and its service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee of the Board of Trustees or reserved to the Board itself. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the fund. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO and, if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports on significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the fund's compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1 and quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of Mr. Ralph Cox (Chair), Mr. Aldrich, and Mses. Butte Liebowitz, Farrell, and Kaplan. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the code of ethics and any supplemental policies regarding personal securities transactions applicable to the Independent Trustees. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the fund's or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the fund's expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the fund, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the committee held four meetings.</R>
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012 (or as of March 31, 2013 for Ms. Farrell, Trustee as of March 5, 2013).</R>
Interested Trustees |
||
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Roger T. Servison |
Derek L. Young |
Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds |
none |
none |
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
none |
none |
<R></R>
<R>Independent Trustees</R> |
|||||
<R>
DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
Peter C. Aldrich |
Mary C. Farrell |
Amy Butte Liebowitz |
Ralph F. Cox |
Karen Kaplan</R> |
<R>
Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities
|
none |
none |
none |
none |
none</R> |
<R>
AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF
|
over $100,000 |
none |
none |
over $100,000 |
none</R> |
<R>The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board for his or her services for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, or calendar year ended December 31, 2012, as applicable.</R>
<R></R>
<R>Compensation Table 1</R> |
||||||
<R>
AGGREGATE
|
Peter C.
|
Mary C.
|
Amy Butte
|
Ralph F.
|
Karen
|
</R> |
<R>
Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities
|
$ 2 |
$ 0 |
$ 2 |
$ 2 |
$ 2 |
</R> |
<R>
TOTAL COMPENSATION
|
$ 137,500 |
$ 0 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
$ 137,500 |
</R> |
1 Roger T. Servison, Howard E. Cox, Jr., and Derek L. Young are interested persons and are compensated by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate (including FMR).
<R> 2 Effective March 5, 2013, Ms. Farrell serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II.</R>
+ Estimated for the fund's first full year.
<R> A Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, for 26 funds of two trusts.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the Trustees, Member of the Advisory Board, and officers of the fund owned, in the aggregate, less than 1% of the fund's total outstanding shares.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the following owned of record and/or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding shares of a class:</R>
<R>* The ownership information shown above is for a class of shares of the fund.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, approximately 53.47% of the fund's total outstanding shares was held of record and/or beneficially by FIMM LLC, Boston, MA.</R>
A shareholder owning of record or beneficially more than 25% of a fund's outstanding shares may be considered a controlling person. That shareholder's vote could have a more significant effect on matters presented at a shareholders' meeting than votes of other shareholders.
<R>FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of Strategic Advisers. The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Abigail P. Johnson family, directly or through trusts, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.</R>
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
Strategic Advisers (the Investment Adviser), Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC), and the fund have adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that sets forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establishes procedures for personal investing, and restricts certain transactions. Employees subject to the code of ethics, including Fidelity investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.
The fund has entered into a management contract with Strategic Advisers, pursuant to which Strategic Advisers furnishes investment advisory and other services.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Strategic Advisers has not currently retained any sub-advisers to manage a portion of the fund's assets.
Management and Sub-Advisory Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, Strategic Advisers acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, directs the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. Strategic Advisers is authorized, in its discretion, to allocate the fund's assets pursuant to its investment strategy. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates provide the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensate all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of Strategic Advisers, and compensate all personnel of the fund or Strategic Advisers performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to Strategic Advisers and the fees payable to the transfer agent and pricing and bookkeeping agent, the fund or each class thereof, as applicable, pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by those parties. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders; however, under the terms of the fund's transfer agent agreement, the transfer agent bears these costs. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.
Management Fees. For the services of Strategic Advisers under the management contract, the fund pays Strategic Advisers a monthly management fee calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.30% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers, if any, based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets; provided, however, that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.80% of the fund's average daily net assets.
<R>In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.30% of the average daily net assets of the fund until April 30, 2014. The fee waiver by Strategic Advisers will increase the class's returns.</R>
<R>The following table shows the amount of management fees paid by the fund to Strategic Advisers for the past fiscal year and the amount of waivers reducing management fees for the fund.</R>
<R> Fund |
Fiscal Year
|
Amount of
|
Management Fees
|
<R>Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds |
2013 A |
$ 1,468 |
$ 0</R> |
<R> A Fund commenced operations on June 19, 2012.</R>
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of a class's operating expenses. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Expense reimbursements by Strategic Advisers will increase the class's returns, and repayment of the reimbursement by the class will decrease its returns.
Gregory Pappas is an employee of Strategic Advisers, a subsidiary of FMR LLC and an affiliate of FMR. Strategic Advisers is the adviser to the fund.
<R>Mr. Pappas is the portfolio manager of the fund and receives compensation for his services. As of February 28, 2013, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of the portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Strategic Advisers or at the election of the portfolio manager.</R>
<R>The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and within a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of a broad range of Strategic Advisers funds and accounts, including the fund. Accounts may include model portfolios designed for asset allocation, retirement planning, or tax-sensitive goals. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to his tenure on those fund(s) and account(s), and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over his tenure. Each component is calculated separately over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with the portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and peer group. A subjective component of the bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Strategic Advisers. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of his fund is based on the fund's pre-tax investment performance measured against The BofA Merrill Lynch SM US High Yield Constrained Index, and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund (based on the performance of the fund's retail class) within the Morningstar ® High Yield Bond Category. The portfolio manager may be compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Strategic Advisers' parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.</R>
<R></R>
<R>The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate his time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics. </R>
<R>The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Pappas as of February 28, 2013: </R>
|
Registered
|
Other Pooled
|
Other
|
<R>Number of Accounts Managed |
5 |
180 |
none</R> |
Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees |
none |
none |
none |
<R>Assets Managed (in millions) |
$ 21,931 |
$ 42,166 |
none</R> |
Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) |
none |
none |
none |
<R>* Includes Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds ($1 (in millions) assets managed). The amount of assets managed of the fund reflects trades and other assets as of the close of the business day prior to the fund's fiscal year-end.</R>
<R>As of February 28, 2013, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds beneficially owned by Mr. Pappas was none.</R>
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of the fund, after consultation with Strategic Advisers. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Strategic Advisers and its affiliates and by the Independent Trustees of the fund, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. The funds in the trust generally intend to vote shares of underlying funds using echo voting procedures (that is, in the same proportion as the holders of all other shares of the particular underlying fund).
B. Any proposals not covered by paragraph A above or other special circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with input from the appropriate Strategic Advisers analyst or portfolio manager, as applicable, subject to review and approval by the General Counsel or Compliance Officer of FMR or the General Counsel of FMR LLC.
<R>To view a fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, visit www.fidelity.com/proxyvotingresults or visit the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.</R>
The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. The principal business address of FDC is 100 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by Strategic Advisers.
The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan on behalf of Class F of the fund (the Class F Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a mutual fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Class F Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows Class F and Strategic Advisers to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.
Under the Class F Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to Strategic Advisers is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Class F Plan. The Class F Plan specifically recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of Class F shares and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Class F Plan provides that Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (who may be affiliated with Strategic Advisers or FDC), that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for Class F shares.
Prior to approving the Class F Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Class F Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Class F Plan will benefit Class F of the fund and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Class F Plan does not authorize payments by Class F of the fund other than those made to Strategic Advisers under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Class F Plan gives Strategic Advisers and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of class shares, additional sales of class shares or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Class F Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.
FDC or an affiliate may compensate, or upon direction make payments for certain retirement plan expenses to, intermediaries, including retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and service-providers (including affiliates of FDC). A number of factors are considered in determining whether to pay these additional amounts. Such factors may include, without limitation, the level or type of services provided by the intermediary, the level or expected level of assets or sales of shares, and other factors. In addition to such payments, FDC or an affiliate may offer other incentives such as sponsorship of educational or client seminars relating to current products and issues, payments or reimbursements for travel and related expenses associated with due diligence trips that an intermediary may undertake in order to explore possible business relationships with affiliates of FDC, and/or payments of costs and expenses associated with attendance at seminars, including travel, lodging, entertainment, and meals. Certain of the payments described above may be significant to an intermediary. As permitted by SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rules and other applicable laws and regulations, FDC or an affiliate may pay or allow other incentives or payments to intermediaries.
The fund's transfer agent or an affiliate may also make payments and reimbursements from its own resources to certain intermediaries (who may be affiliated with the transfer agent) for performing recordkeeping and other services. Please see "Transfer and Service Agent Agreements" in this SAI for more information.
Any of the payments described in this section may represent a premium over payments made by other fund families. Retirement plan sponsors may take these payments into account when deciding whether to include a fund as a plan investment option.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
<R>The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. (FIIOC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers, which is located at 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services for Class F of the fund.</R>
FIIOC receives no fees for providing transfer agency services to Class F.
FIIOC may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
<R>The fund has entered into a service agent agreement with Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers (or an agent, including an affiliate). Under the terms of the agreement, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for Class F of the fund and maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records.</R>
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
The annual rates for pricing and bookkeeping services for the fund are 0.0104% of the first $500 million of average net assets, 0.0062% of average net assets between $500 million and $3.5 billion, 0.0041% of average net assets between $3.5 billion and $25 billion, and 0.0019% of average net assets in excess of $25 billion, plus a 20% surcharge.
<R>Pricing and bookkeeping fees paid by the fund to FSC for the past fiscal year are shown in the following table.</R>
<R> Fund |
2013</R> |
<R>Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds |
$ 61*</R> |
<R>* From June 19, 2012.</R>
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
<R> Trust Organization. Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds is a fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, an open-end management investment company created under an initial trust instrument dated March 8, 2006. Currently, there are 20 funds offered in the trust: Strategic Advisers Core Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.</R>
The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund, except that liabilities and expenses may be allocated to a particular class. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds or classes.
Shareholder Liability. The trust is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that, except to the extent otherwise provided in the Trust Instrument, shareholders shall be entitled to the same limitations of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit organized under the general corporation law of Delaware. The courts of some states, however, may decline to apply Delaware law on this point. The Trust Instrument contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust. The Trust Instrument provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Trust Instrument further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of each fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Trust Instrument also provides that each fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which Delaware law does not apply, no contractual limitation of liability was in effect, and a fund is unable to meet its obligations. Strategic Advisers believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is extremely remote. Claims asserted against one class of shares may subject holders of another class of shares to certain liabilities.
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. As a shareholder, you are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value you own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
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The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodians. State Street Bank and Trust Company, 1776 Heritage Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as special purpose custodians of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions.
Strategic Advisers, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Member of the Advisory Board, and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by Strategic Advisers. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of Strategic Advisers, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 125 High Street, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit, tax, and related services.
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized Strategic Advisers, in consultation with FMR, to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
Other registered investment companies that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers may be subject to different portfolio holdings disclosure policies, and neither Strategic Advisers nor the Board exercises control over such policies or disclosure. In addition, separate account clients of Strategic Advisers have access to their portfolio holdings and are not subject to the fund's portfolio holdings disclosure policies. Some of the funds that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers and some of the separate accounts managed by Strategic Advisers have investment objectives and strategies that are substantially similar or identical to the fund's and, therefore, potentially substantially similar, and in certain cases nearly identical, portfolio holdings as the fund.
The fund will provide a full list of holdings monthly on www.fidelity.com 30 days after the month-end (excluding high income security holdings, which generally will be presented collectively monthly and included in a list of full holdings 60 days after its fiscal quarter-end).
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations.
The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the activities associated with managing Fidelity funds to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons Strategic Advisers believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include, but are not limited to: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics (including portfolio managers of affiliated funds of funds); contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.
Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, (ii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iii) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. Strategic Advisers relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.
<R>At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day) and DocuLynx Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day).</R>
Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, Strategic Advisers desired to make such an arrangement, it would seek prior Board approval and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
<R>The fund's financial statements and financial highlights for the fiscal period ended February 28, 2013, and report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the fund's annual report and are incorporated herein by reference. Total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table may differ from the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the financial highlights because total annual operating expenses as shown in the prospectus fee table include any acquired fund fees and expenses, whereas the ratios of expenses in the financial highlights do not, except to the extent any acquired fund fees and expenses relate to an entity, such as a wholly-owned subsidiary, with which a fund's financial statements are consolidated. Acquired funds include other investment companies in which the fund has invested, if and to the extent it is permitted to do so. Total annual operating expenses in the prospectus fee table and the financial highlights do not include any expenses associated with investments in certain structured or synthetic products that may rely on the exception from the definition of "investment company" provided by section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.</R>
<R>Strategic Advisers and Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.</R>
The third-party marks appearing above are the marks of their respective owners.
Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
Post-Effective Amendment No. 35 ('33 Act)
Amendment No. 38 ('40 Act)
PART C. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 28. Exhibits
(a) Trust Instrument, dated March 8, 2006, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (a) of the Initial Registration Statement on N-1A.
(b) Bylaws of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, as amended and dated June 4, 2009, are incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (b) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 3.
(c) Not applicable.
(d) (1) Management Contract, dated December 3, 2009, between Fidelity Strategic Advisers Core Fund (currently known as Strategic Advisers Core Fund) and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(1) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 4.
(2) Management Contract, dated March 5, 2010, between Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(3) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(3) Management Contract, dated June 7, 2012, between Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(3) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 30 & 33.
(4) Management Contract, dated September 8, 2011, between Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(3) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(5) Management Contract, dated September 8, 2010, between Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(4) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 20 & 23.
(6) Management Contract, dated March 1, 2012, between Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(6) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 23 & 26.
(7) Management Contract, dated March 5, 2010, between Strategic Advisers Growth Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(2) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 7.
(8) Management Contract, dated September 8, 2011, between Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(6) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(9) Management Contract, dated March 5, 2010, between Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(4) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(10) Management Contract, dated June 7, 2012, between Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(10) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 30 & 33.
(11) Management Contract, dated March 5, 2010, between Strategic Advisers International Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(5) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(12) Management Contract, dated March 5, 2010, between Strategic Advisers International II Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(6) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(13) Management Contract, dated March 1, 2012, between Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(13) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 23 & 26.
(14) Management Contract, dated December 1, 2011, between Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(10) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 20 & 23.
(15) Management Contract, dated March 5, 2010, between Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(7) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(16) Management Contract, dated December 1, 2011, between Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(12) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 20 & 23.
(17) Management Contract, dated March 5, 2010, between Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(8) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(18) Management Contract, dated March 5, 2010, between Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(9) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(19) Management Contract, dated March 5, 2010, between Strategic Advisers Value Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(10) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(20) Management Contract, dated September 8, 2011, between Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(15) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(21) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 12, 2013, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and AllianceBernstein L.P. on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Fund, is to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(22) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and First Eagle Investment Management, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(33) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(23) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Lazard Asset Management LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(39) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(24) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 1, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and OppenheimerFunds, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(50) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 26 & 29.
(25) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2010, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC, on behalf of Fidelity Strategic Advisers Core Fund (currently known as Strategic Advisers Core Fund), is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(14) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 11 & 14.
(26) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated January 27, 2012, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(25) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 30 & 33.
(27) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated October 1, 2012, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(26) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 33 & 36.
(28) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. and FMR Co., Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(34) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 11 & 14.
(29) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. and Strategic Advisers, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(23) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 11 & 14.
(30) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, and amended and restated on December 1, 2010 between Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. and Strategic Advisers, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(14) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 12 & 15.
(31) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, and amended and restated on December 1, 2010 and June 7, 2012 between Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. and Strategic Advisers, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, is filed herein as Exhibit (d)(31).
(32) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between FMR Co., Inc. and Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(33) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(33) Schedule A, dated March 5, 2010, to the Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between FMR Co., Inc. and Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(34) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(34) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. and Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(22) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(35) Schedule A, dated March 5, 2010, to the Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. and Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(23) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(36) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between FMR Co., Inc. and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(35) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(37) Schedule A, dated March 5, 2010, to the Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between FMR Co., Inc. and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(36) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(38) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(24) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(39) Schedule A, dated March 5, 2010, to the Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(25) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(40) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between FMR Co., Inc. and Fidelity Management & Research (U.K.) Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(37) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(41) Schedule A, dated March 5, 2010, to the Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between FMR Co., Inc. and Fidelity Management & Research (U.K.) Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(38) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(42) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. and Fidelity Management & Research (U.K.) Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(26) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(43) Schedule A, dated March 5, 2010, to the Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. and Fidelity Management & Research (U.K.) Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(27) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(44) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 12, 2013, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Prudential Investment Management, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, is to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(45) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 12, 2013, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Prudential Investment Management, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, is to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(46) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated June 7, 2012, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(44) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 30 & 33.
(47) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 12, 2013, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and AllianceBernstein L.P. on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, is to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(48) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and First Eagle Investment Management, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(34) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(49) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Lazard Asset Management LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(40) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(50) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 1, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and OppenheimerFunds, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(51) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 26 & 29.
(51) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(45) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(52) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated October 1, 2012, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(48) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 33 & 36.
(53) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 6, 2012, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Acadian Asset Management LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(49) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 33 & 36.
(54) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2010, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(46) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 11 & 14.
(55) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 6, 2012, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Acadian Asset Management LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(51) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 33 & 36.
(56) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 1, 2012, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(51) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 30 & 33.
(57) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 6, 2012, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and ClariVest Asset Management LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, is filed herein as Exhibit (d)(57).
(58) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 1, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Morgan Stanley Investment Management, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(46) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 26 & 29.
(59) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2010, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(17) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 11 & 14.
(60) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(60) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(61) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Winslow Capital Management, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(63) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(62) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 6, 2012 between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and ClariVest Asset Management LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, is filed herein as Exhibit (d)(62).
(63) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 1, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Morgan Stanley Investment Management, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(47) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 26 & 29.
(64) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(48) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(65) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(61) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(66) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Winslow Capital Management, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(64) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(67) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 6, 2012, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Causeway Capital Management LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers International Fund, is filed herein as Exhibit (d)(67).
(68) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 1, 2012, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Massachusetts Financial Services Company, on behalf of Strategic Advisers International Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(64) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 33 & 36.
(69) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2010, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers International Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(20) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 11 & 14.
(70) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 1, 2012, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and William Blair & Company, L.L.C., on behalf of Strategic Advisers International Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(66) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 33 & 36.
(71) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2010, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers International II Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(21) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 11 & 14.
(72) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 6, 2012, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Causeway Capital Management LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, is filed herein as Exhibit (d)(72).
(73) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 1, 2012, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Massachusetts Financial Services Company, on behalf of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(65) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 28 & 31.
(74) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 1, 2012, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(69) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 30 & 33.
(75) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated March 1, 2012, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and William Blair & Company, L.L.C., on behalf of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(74) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 26 & 29.
(76) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 1, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(71) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 30 & 33.
(77) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 6, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, is filed herein as Exhibit (d)(77).
(78) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 1, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Advisory Research, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(73) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 33 & 36.
(79) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 1, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Fred Alger Management, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(74) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 33 & 36.
(80) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 1, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Invesco Advisers, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, is filed herein as Exhibit (d)(80).
(81) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 6, 2012, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Kennedy Capital Management, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, is filed herein as Exhibit (d)(81).
(82) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 1, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Neuberger Berman Management LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(76) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 33 & 36.
(83) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2010, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(22) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 11 & 14.
(84) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 1, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Systematic Financial Management, L.P., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(78) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 33 & 36.
(85) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 1, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Advisory Research, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(23) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 22 & 25.
(86) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 1, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Fred Alger Management, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(39) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 22 & 25.
(87) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 1, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Invesco Advisers, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(39) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 23 & 26.
(88) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 6, 2012, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Kennedy Capital Management, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, is filed herein as Exhibit (d)(88).
(89) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 1, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Neuberger Berman Management LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(51) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 22 & 25.
(90) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 1, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(82) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 30 & 33.
(91) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 1, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Systematic Financial Management, L.P., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(67) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 22 & 25.
(92) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 17, 2012, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Aristotle Capital Management, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Value Fund, is filed herein as Exhibit (d)(92).
(93) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Value Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(22) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(94) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Cohen & Steers Capital Management, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Value Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(27) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(95) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and LSV Asset Management, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Value Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(41) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(96) Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2010, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Value Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(45) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 11 & 14.
(97) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 17, 2012, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Aristotle Capital Management, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund, is filed herein as Exhibit (d)(97).
(98) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(23) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(99) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Cohen & Steers Capital Management, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(28) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(100) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and LSV Asset Management, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(42) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(101) Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 8, 2011, between Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(54) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(e) (1) General Distribution Agreement, dated December 3, 2009, between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Distributors Corporation, on behalf of Fidelity Strategic Advisers Core Fund (currently known as Strategic Advisers Core Fund), is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(1) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 4.
(2) General Distribution Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Distributors Corporation, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(3) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(3) General Distribution Agreement, dated June 7, 2012, between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Distributors Corporation, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(3) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 30 & 33.
(4) General Distribution Agreement, dated September 8, 2011, between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Distributors Corporation, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(3) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 20 & 23.
(5) General Distribution Agreement, dated September 8, 2010, between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Distributors Corporation on behalf of Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(11) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 11 & 14.
(6) General Distribution Agreement, dated March 1, 2012, between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Distributors Corporation, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(6) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 23 & 26.
(7) General Distribution Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Distributors Corporation, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(2) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 7.
(8) General Distribution Agreement, dated September 8, 2011, between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Distributors Corporation, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(6) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 20 & 23.
(9) General Distribution Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Distributors Corporation, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(4) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(10) General Distribution Agreement, dated June 7, 2012, between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Distributors Corporation, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(10) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 30 & 33.
(11) General Distribution Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Distributors Corporation, on behalf of Strategic Advisers International Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(5) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(12) General Distribution Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Distributors Corporation, on behalf of Strategic Advisers International II Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(6) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(13) General Distribution Agreement, dated March 1, 2012, between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Distributors Corporation, on behalf of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(13) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 23 & 26.
(14) General Distribution Agreement, dated December 1, 2011, between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Distributors Corporation, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(12) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 22 & 25.
(15) General Distribution Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Distributors Corporation, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(7) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(16) General Distribution Agreement, dated December 1, 2011, between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Distributors Corporation, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(14) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 22 & 25.
(17) General Distribution Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Distributors Corporation, on behalf of Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(8) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(18) General Distribution Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Distributors Corporation, on behalf of Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(9) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(19) General Distribution Agreement, dated March 5, 2010, between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Distributors Corporation, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Value Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(10) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(20) General Distribution Agreement, dated September 8, 2011, between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II and Fidelity Distributors Corporation, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(16) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 20 & 23.
(f) None.
(g) (1) Custodian Agreement and Appendix C, D, and E, dated April 12, 2007, between Mellon Bank, N.A. (currently known as The Bank of New York Mellon) and Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of Fidelity Strategic Advisers Core Fund (currently known as Strategic Advisers Core Fund), Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, and Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund are incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (g)(1) of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II's (File No. 333-139428) Post-Effective Amendment No. 3.
(2) Appendix A, dated November 9, 2011, to the Custodian Agreement, dated April 12, 2007, between The Bank of New York Mellon (formerly known as Mellon Bank, N.A.) and Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of Fidelity Strategic Advisers Core Fund (currently known as Strategic Advisers Core Fund), Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, and Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (g)(2) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 20 & 23.
(3) Appendix B, dated January 31, 2012, to the Custodian Agreement, dated April 12, 2007, between Mellon Bank, N.A. (currently known as The Bank of New York Mellon) and Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of Fidelity Strategic Advisers Core Fund (currently known as Strategic Advisers Core Fund), Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, and Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, is filed herein as Exhibit (g)(3).
(4) Custodian Agreement and Appendix C, D, and E, dated April 12, 2007, between State Street Bank & Trust Company and Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (g) of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II's (File No. 333-139428) Post-Effective Amendment No. 1.
(5) Appendix A, dated December 31, 2012 to the Custodian Agreement, dated April 12, 2007, between State Street Bank & Trust Company and Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund is filed herein as Exhibit (g)(5).
(6) Appendix B, dated October 20, 2010, to the Custodian Agreement, dated April 12, 2007, between State Street Bank & Trust Company and Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (g)(7) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 14 & 17.
(h) (1) Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated October 1, 2012, between Strategic Advisers Core Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is filed herein as Exhibit (h)(1).
(2) Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated October 1, 2012, between Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is filed herein as Exhibit (h)(2).
(3) Amended and Restated Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated April 15, 2013, between Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is filed herein as Exhibit (h)(3).
(4) Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated October 1, 2012 between Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is filed herein as Exhibit (h)(4).
(5) Amended and Restated Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated April 15, 2013, between Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is filed herein as Exhibit (h)(5).
(6) Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated October 1, 2012, between Strategic Advisers Growth Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is filed herein as Exhibit (h)(6).
(7) Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated October 1, 2012, between Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is filed herein as Exhibit (h)(7).
(8) Amended and Restated Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated April 15, 2013, between Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is filed herein as Exhibit (h)(8).
(9) Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated October 1, 2012, between Strategic Advisers International Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is filed herein as Exhibit (h)(9).
(10) Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated October 1, 2012, between Strategic Advisers International II Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is filed herein as Exhibit (h)(10).
(11) Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated December 1, 2011, between Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(8) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 20 & 23.
(12) Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated October 1, 2012, between Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is filed herein as Exhibit (h)(12).
(13) Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated October 1, 2012, between Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is filed herein as Exhibit (h)(13).
(14) Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated October 1, 2012, between Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is filed herein as Exhibit (h)(14).
(15) Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated October 1, 2012, between Strategic Advisers Value Fund and Strategic Advisers, Inc. is filed herein as Exhibit (h)(15).
(i) Legal Opinion of Dechert LLP for Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, and Strategic Adviser Value Multi-Manager Fund, dated April 23, 2013, is filed herein as Exhibit (i).
(j) (1) Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, and Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, dated April 23, 2013, is filed herein as Exhibit (j)(1).
(j) (2) Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, dated April 25, 2013, is filed herein as Exhibit (j)(2).
(k) Not applicable.
(l) Not applicable.
(m) (1) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Fidelity Strategic Advisers Core Fund (currently known as Strategic Advisers Core Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(1) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 4.
(2) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(3) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(3) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(3) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 30 & 33.
(4) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund: Class F is filed herein as Exhibit (m)(4).
(5) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(2) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(6) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund: Class F is filed herein as Exhibit (m)(6).
(7) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(11) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 11 & 14.
(8) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(6) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 23 & 26.
(9) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds: Class F is filed herein as Exhibit (m)(9).
(10) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Growth Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(2) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 6.
(11) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(6) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(12) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund: Class F is filed herein as Exhibit (m)(12).
(13) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(4) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(14) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(10) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 30 & 33.
(15) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds: Class F is filed herein as Exhibit (m)(15).
(16) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers International Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(5) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(17) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers International II Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(6) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(18) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(13) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 23 & 26.
(19) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund: Class F is filed herein as Exhibit (m)(19).
(20) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(10) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 20 & 23.
(21) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(7) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(22) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(12) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 20 & 23.
(23) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund: Class F is filed herein as Exhibit (m)(23).
(24) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(8) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(25) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(9) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(26) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Value Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(10) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 8.
(27) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(15) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 18 & 21.
(28) Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund: Class F is filed herein as Exhibit (m)(28).
(n) (1) Multiple Class of Shares Plan pursuant to Rule 18f-3 for Strategic Advisers Workplace Investing Funds, dated December 6, 2012, on behalf of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (n)(1) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 33 & 36.
(n) (2) Schedule I, dated December 6, 2012, to the Multiple Class of Shares Plan pursuant to Rule 18f-3 for Strategic Advisers Workplace Investing Funds, dated December 6, 2012, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (n)(2) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 33 & 36.
(p) (1) The 2012 Code of Ethics, adopted by each fund and Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc., FMR Co., Inc., Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc., Fidelity Management & Research (U.K.) Inc., and Fidelity Distributors Corporation pursuant to Rule 17j-1 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p) of Fidelity Trend Fund's (File No. 002-15063) Post-Effective Amendment No. 127.
(2) Code of Ethics, adopted by Acadian Asset Management LLC pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund and Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, is to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(3) Code of Ethics, dated April 23, 2009, adopted by Fred Alger Management, Inc. pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund and Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(4) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 12 & 15.
(4) Code of Ethics, dated February 1, 2005 and revised September 30, 2012, adopted by Advisory Research, Inc. pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund and Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, is to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(5) Code of Ethics, dated September 6, 2012, adopted by Aristotle Capital Management LLC pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers Value Fund and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund, is to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(6) Code of Ethics, dated August 2009, adopted by William Blair & Company, LLC pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers International Fund and Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(5) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 12 & 15.
(7) Code of Ethics, dated March 2011, adopted by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers Value Fund and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(5) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 14 & 17.
(8) Code of Ethics, dated August 10, 2010, adopted by Causeway Capital Management LLC pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers International Fund and Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(7) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 12 & 15.
(9) Code of Ethics, dated April 2012, adopted by ClariVest Asset Management LLC pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers Growth Fund and Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, is filed herein Exhibit (p)(9).
(10) Code of Ethics, dated September 2012, adopted by Cohen & Steers, Inc. pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers Value Fund and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund, is to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(11) Code of Ethics adopted by First Eagle Investment Management, LLC pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Fund and Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, is filed herein as Exhibit (p)(11).
(12) Code of Ethics, dated January 1, 2011, adopted by Invesco Advisers, Inc. pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund and Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(12) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 14 & 17.
(13) Code of Ethics, dated November 2000, Amended November 16, 2012 adopted by Kennedy Capital Management, Inc. pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund and Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, is to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(14) Code of Ethics, adopted by Lazard Asset Management LLC pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Fund and Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(11) of Post-Effective Nos. 30 & 33.
(15) Code of Ethics, dated September 25, 2012, adopted by LSV Asset Management pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers Value Fund and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund, is to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(16) Code of Ethics, dated March 27, 2012, adopted by MFS Investment Management pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers International Fund and Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(13) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 30 & 33.
(17) Code of Ethics, dated June 29, 2012, adopted by Morgan Stanley Investment Management pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers Growth Fund and Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, is filed herein as Exhibit (p)(17).
(18) Code of Ethics, dated September, 2011, adopted by Neuberger Berman Management, LLC pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund and Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(16) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 22 & 25.
(19) Code of Ethics, dated May 25, 2012 adopted by OppenheimerFunds, Inc. pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Fund and Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, is filed herein as Exhibit (p)(19).
(20) Code of Ethics adopted by Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Growth Fund, Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(4) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 4.
(21) Code of Ethics, dated January 2012, adopted by Systematic Financial Management, L.P. pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund and Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(18) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 30 & 33.
(22) Code of Ethics, dated May 31, 2012, adopted by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund, and Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund is filed herein as Exhibit (p)(22).
(23) Code of Ethics, dated May 2011, adopted by Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers Growth Fund and Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(19) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 20 & 23.
(24) Code of Ethics, dated February 2005, adopted by Winslow Capital Management pursuant to Rule 17j-1 on behalf of Strategic Advisers Growth Fund and Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(8) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 7.
Item 29. Trusts Controlled by or Under Common Control with this Trust
The Board of Trustees of the trust is not the same as the board of the other Fidelity funds, each of which has Fidelity Management & Research Company, or an affiliate, as its adviser. The officers of the Trust are elected separately but are substantially similar to those of the other Fidelity funds. The Trust takes the position that it is not under common control with the other Fidelity funds because the power residing in the respective boards and officers arises as the result of an official position with the respective trusts.
Item 30. Indemnification
Pursuant to Del. Code Ann. title 12 § 3817, a Delaware statutory trust may provide in its governing instrument for the indemnification of its officers and trustees from and against any and all claims and demands whatsoever. Article X, Section 10.02 of the Trust Instrument sets forth the reasonable and fair means for determining whether indemnification shall be provided to any past or present Trustee or officer. It states that the Trust shall indemnify any present or past trustee or officer to the fullest extent permitted by law against liability, and all expenses reasonably incurred by him or her in connection with any claim, action, suit or proceeding in which he or she is involved by virtue of his or her service as a trustee or officer and against any amount incurred in settlement thereof. Indemnification will not be provided to a person adjudged by a court or other adjudicatory body to be liable to the Trust or its shareholders by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of his or her duties (collectively, "disabling conduct"), or not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that his or her action was in the best interest of the Trust. In the event of a settlement, no indemnification may be provided unless there has been a determination, as specified in the Trust Instrument, that the officer or trustee did not engage in disabling conduct.
Pursuant to Section 11 of the Distribution Agreement, the Trust agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Distributor and each of its directors and officers and each person, if any, who controls the Distributor within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act against any loss, liability, claim, damages or expense (including the reasonable cost of investigating or defending any alleged loss, liability, claim, damages, or expense and reasonable counsel fees incurred in connection therewith) arising by reason of any person acquiring any shares, based upon the ground that the registration statement, Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information, shareholder reports or other information filed or made public by the Trust (as from time to time amended) included an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated or necessary in order to make the statements not misleading under the 1933 Act, or any other statute or the common law. However, the Trust does not agree to indemnify the Distributor or hold it harmless to the extent that the statement or omission was made in reliance upon, and in conformity with, information furnished to the Trust by or on behalf of the Distributor. In no case is the indemnity of the Trust in favor of the Distributor or any person indemnified to be deemed to protect the Distributor or any person against any liability to the Issuer or its security holders to which the Distributor or such person would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under this Agreement.
Pursuant to the agreement by which Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc. ("FIIOC") is appointed transfer agent, the Registrant agrees to indemnify and hold FIIOC harmless against any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses (including reasonable counsel fees and expenses) resulting from:
(1) any claim, demand, action or suit brought by any person other than the Registrant, including by a shareholder, which names FIIOC and/or the Registrant as a party and is not based on and does not result from FIIOC's willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence or reckless disregard of duties, and arises out of or in connection with FIIOC's performance under the Transfer Agency Agreement; or
(2) any claim, demand, action or suit (except to the extent contributed to by FIIOC's willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence or reckless disregard of duties) which results from the negligence of the Registrant, or from FIIOC's acting upon any instruction(s) reasonably believed by it to have been executed or communicated by any person duly authorized by the Registrant, or as a result of FIIOC's acting in reliance upon advice reasonably believed by FIIOC to have been given by counsel for the Registrant, or as a result of FIIOC's acting in reliance upon any instrument or stock certificate reasonably believed by it to have been genuine and signed, countersigned or executed by the proper person.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling the Registrant, the Registrant has been informed that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is therefore unenforceable.
Item 31. Business and Other Connections of Investment Advisers
(1) STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
Strategic Advisers, Inc. serves as investment adviser to the funds and provides investment supervisory services to individuals, banks, thrifts, pension and profit sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, and other business organizations, and provides a variety of publications on investment and personal finance. The directors and officers of Strategic Advisers have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
(2) FMR CO., INC. (FMRC)
FMRC provides investment advisory services to Fidelity Management & Research Company. The directors and officers of the Sub-Adviser have held the following positions of a substantial nature during the past two fiscal years.
(3) FIDELITY MANAGEMENT & RESEARCH (HONG KONG) LIMITED (FMR H.K.)
FMR H.K. provides investment advisory services to Fidelity Management & Research Company. The directors and officers of the Sub-Adviser have held the following positions of a substantial nature during the past two fiscal years.
(4) FIDELITY MANAGEMENT & RESEARCH (JAPAN) INC. (FMR JAPAN)
FMR Japan provides investment advisory services to Fidelity Management & Research Company. The directors and officers of the Sub-Adviser have held the following positions of a substantial nature during the past two fiscal years.
(5) FIDELITY MANAGEMENT & RESEARCH (U.K.) INC. (FMR U.K.)
FMR U.K. provides investment advisory services to Fidelity Management & Research Company and Fidelity Management Trust Company. The directors and officers of the Sub-Adviser have held the following positions of a substantial nature during the past two fiscal years.
(6) FIDELITY INVESTMENTS MONEY MANAGEMENT, INC. (FIMM)
FIMM provides investment advisory services to Fidelity Management & Research Company. The directors and officers of the Sub-Adviser have held the following positions of a substantial nature during the past two fiscal years.
Jacques P. Perold |
President of FMR; President and Director of FIMM. |
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Robert P. Brown |
Director and Managing Director of Research of FMR U.K.; Executive Vice President of FIMM. |
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James C. Curvey |
Director of FMR, FMRC, FIMM, and FRAC; Director and Vice Chairman of FMR LLC; Chairman of the Board of Trustees of certain Trusts (2011); Trustee of funds advised by FMR. |
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John Hebble |
Executive Vice President of FIMM (2013). |
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William E. Dailey |
Treasurer of FMR, FMRC, FMR H.K., and FIMM (2012); Director and Treasurer of FMR Japan and FMR U.K. (2012). |
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Ronald P. O'Hanley |
Director of FMRC, FIMM, and FRAC. |
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Scott C. Goebel |
Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel of FMR and FMRC; Secretary of FIMM and FRAC; Assistant Secretary of FMR Japan and FMR U.K.; Chief Legal Officer of Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited (FMR H.K.). |
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Joseph A. Hanlon |
Compliance Officer of FMR, FMRC, FMR U.K., FRAC, FIMM, FMR H.K., and Strategic Advisers, Inc. Previously served as Compliance Officer of FMR Japan (2013). |
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John J. Remondi |
Director of FMR, FMRC, FRAC, and FIMM; Director and Executive Vice President of FMR LLC. |
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Steven F. Schiffman |
Treasurer of Strategic Advisers, Inc., FDC, and FMR LLC. Assistant Treasurer of FMRC (2011), FMR Japan (2011), FMR U.K. (2011), FRAC (2011), and FIMM (2011). |
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Peter D. Stahl |
Assistant Secretary of FMR, FMRC, FMR Japan, FMR U.K., FRAC, FIMM, FDC, FMR LLC, and Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2011). Previously served as Secretary of Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2011). |
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Linda J. Wondrack |
Chief Compliance Officer of FMR (2012), FMRC (2012), FMR H.K. (2012), FMR U.K. (2012), FIMM (2012), FMR Japan (2012), Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (2012) and Strategic Advisers, Inc. (2012). |
(7) PYRAMIS GLOBAL ADVISORS, LLC
The directors and officers of Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
(8) ACADIAN ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC
The directors and officers of Acadian Asset Management, LLC have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
Laurent De Greef |
Member of Board of Managers |
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John Chisholm |
Executive Vice President, Chief Investment Officer, Member of Board of Managers |
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Churchill Franklin |
Executive Vice President, Chief Executive Officer, Member of Board of Managers |
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Ronald Frashure |
President, Chairman, Member of Board of Managers |
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Mark Minichiello |
Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Treasurer, Secretary, Member of Board of Managers |
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Brendan Bradley |
Senior Vice President, Director, Managed Volatility Strategies, Member of Board of Managers |
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Ross Dowd |
Executive Vice President, Head of Client Service, Member of Board of Managers |
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Hunter Smith |
Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer, Member of Board of Managers |
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Linda Gibson (OMAM) |
Member of Board of Managers |
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Matthew Berger (OMAM) |
Member of Board of Managers |
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Christopher Hadley (OMAM) |
Member of Board of Managers |
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Aidan Riordan (OMAM) |
Member of Board of Managers |
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Stephen Belgrad (OMAM) |
Member of Board of Managers |
(9) ADVISORY RESEARCH, INC. (ARI)
The directors and officers of ARI have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
Brien Michael O'Brien |
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman |
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Christopher Dyson Crawshaw |
Secretary and President |
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Susan L. Steiner |
Chief Compliance Officer |
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Heather L. Calby |
Chief Financial Officer |
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Thomas Gregory Smith |
Board Member |
(10) ARISTOTLE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
The directors and officers of Aristotle Capital, LLC have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
Howard Gleicher, CFA |
CEO & Chief Investment Officer, member of Board of Managers |
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Richard S. Hollander, CFA |
Chairman, member of Board of Managers |
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Richard Schweitzer, CFA |
Chief Financial Officer & Chief Compliance Officer |
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Steve Borowski |
President |
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Victor F. Hawley, CFA |
Senior Research Analyst |
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James R. Henderson, CFA |
Managing Director |
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Geoffrey S. Stewart, CFA |
International Lead Strategist, Senior Research Analyst |
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Sean Thorpe |
International Lead Strategist, Senior Research Analyst |
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Mark Yancey |
Managing Director, Director of Client Service and Marketing |
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Nancy Scarlett |
Managing Director, Director of Operations |
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Randy Yi |
Senior Vice President, Director of Trading |
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William A. Cram, CFA |
Senior Research Analyst |
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Dennis Sugino |
Managing Director |
(11) BRANDYWINE GLOBAL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LLC
The directors and officers of Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
Mark Paul Glassman |
Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer |
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Christopher D. Marzullo |
Senior Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer |
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David Fenno Hoffman |
Executive Vice President |
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Peter H. Nachtwey |
Non-Employee Manager |
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Ronald R. Dewhurst |
Non-Employee Manager |
(12) CAUSEWAY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC. (Causeway)
The directors and officers of Causeway have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
Gracie V. Fermelia |
Chief Operating Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, and Elected Manager |
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Sarah H. Ketterer |
Chief Executive Officer, Portfolio Manager, and Elected Manager |
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Harry W. Hartford |
President, Portfolio Manager, and Elected Manager |
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Mark Cone |
Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer |
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Turner Swan |
General Counsel, Secretary |
(13) CLARIVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC
The directors and officers of Clarivest Asset Management LLC have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
(14) COHEN & STEERS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, INC.
The directors and officers of Cohen & Steers Capital Management, Inc. have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
(15) FIRST EAGLE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, LLC
The directors and officers of First Eagle Investment Management, LLC have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
(16) FRED ALGER MANAGEMENT, INC. (Alger Management)
The directors and officers of Alger Management have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
Daniel Cayley Chung, CFA |
Executive Vice President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer. Previously served as Director and Chairman (2011). |
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Hal Liebes |
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Previously served as Director (2011). |
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Barry J. Mullen |
Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer |
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Robert Louis Kincel |
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
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Michael DiMeglio |
Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer |
(17) INVESCO ADVISERS, INC. (Invesco)
The directors and officers of Invesco have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
(18) KENNEDY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, INC.
The directors and officers of Kennedy Capital Management, Inc. have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
(19) LAZARD ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC
The directors and officers of Lazard Asset Management LLC have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
Gerald Bruce Mazzari |
Chief Operating Officer |
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Kenneth Marc Jacobs |
Director |
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Alexander Franz Stern |
Director |
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Nathan Abraham Paul |
General Counsel |
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Ashish Bhutani |
Director and Chief Executive Officer |
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Brian David Simon |
Chief Compliance Officer |
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Charles Carroll |
Deputy Chairman |
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Andrew Lacey |
Deputy Chairman |
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John Reinsberg |
Deputy Chairman |
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Robert P. DeConcini |
Chairman USA |
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Gabrielle Boyle |
Senior Managing Director |
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Andreas Huebner |
Senior Managing Director |
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Robert Prugue |
Senior Managing Director |
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Bill Smith |
Senior Managing Director |
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Jennifer Abate |
Managing Director |
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Michael Bennett |
Managing Director |
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Maureen Beshar |
Managing Director |
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Christopher Blake |
Managing Director |
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Nicholas Bratt |
Managing Director |
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Charles Burgdorf |
Managing Director |
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Irene Cheng |
Managing Director |
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Henry Choon |
Managing Director |
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David Cleary |
Managing Director |
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Kenneth Colton |
Managing Director |
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Robert Connin |
Managing Director |
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Alex Custis |
Managing Director |
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Kun Deng |
Managing Director |
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James Donald |
Managing Director |
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Anthony Dote, Jr. |
Managing Director |
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Yury Dubrovsky |
Managing Director |
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Michael Fry |
Managing Director |
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Kris Haber |
Managing Director |
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William Holzer |
Managing Director |
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Peter Hunsberger |
Managing Director |
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Matthias Kruse |
Managing Director |
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John Lee |
Managing Director |
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Mark Little |
Managing Director |
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Carmine Lizza |
Managing Director |
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Gerald B. Mazzari |
Managing Director |
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Andrew Norris |
Managing Director |
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Nathan Paul |
Managing Director |
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Brian Pessin |
Managing Director |
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Michael Powers |
Managing Director |
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Sean Reynolds |
Managing Director |
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Susan Roberts |
Managing Director |
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Robert Rowland |
Managing Director |
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Nina Saglimbeni |
Managing Director |
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James Schachtel |
Managing Director |
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Ulrich Schweiger |
Managing Director |
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Durrin Sokol |
Managing Director |
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Jeremy Taylor |
Managing Director |
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Ronald Temple |
Managing Director |
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Richard Tutino |
Managing Director |
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Merida Welles |
Managing Director |
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Markus van de Weyer |
Managing Director |
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Charles Wilson |
Managing Director |
(20) LSV ASSET MANAGEMENT
The directors and officers of LSV Asset Management have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
Tremaine Atkinson |
Chief Operating Officer; Chief Compliance Officer |
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Josef Lakonishok |
Chief Executive Officer; Chief Investment Officer |
(21) MASSACHUSETTS FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPANY (MFS)
The directors and officers of MFS have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
Robert J. Manning |
Director, Chief Executive Officer; Chairman of the Board of Directors |
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Robin A. Stelmach |
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer |
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Mark N. Polebaum |
Executive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel |
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Amrit Kanwal |
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
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Michael W. Roberge |
Director, President, Chief Investment Officer and Director of Global Research |
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Carol W. Geremia |
Executive Vice President |
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James A. Jessee |
Executive Vice President |
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Timothy M. Fagan |
Chief Compliance Officer and Senior Vice President |
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David A. Antonelli |
Vice Chairman |
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Thomas A. Bogart |
Director |
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Colm J. Freyne |
Director (2012) |
(22) MORGAN STANLEY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC (MSIM)
The directors and officers of MSIM have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
Gregory J. Fleming |
Managing Director and President |
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Edmond Moriarty |
Managing Director and Director |
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Christopher O'Dell |
Managing Director and Secretary |
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Mary Ann Picciotto |
Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer |
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Jeffrey Gelfand |
Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer |
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Karen Cassidy |
Executive Director and Treasurer |
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James Janover |
Managing Director and Director |
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Gina Gallagher |
Executive Director and Anti-Money Laundering Officer |
(23) NEUBERGER BERMAN MANAGEMENT LLC (Neuberger Berman)
The directors and officers of Neuberger Berman have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
Joseph Amato |
Chief Executive Officer and President NB Holdings LLC; Sole Member of Registrant and Chief Investment Officer - Equities |
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Robert Conti |
President and Chief Executive Officer |
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James J. Dempsey |
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer |
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Maxine L. Gerson |
Managing Director and General Counsel |
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Bradley Tank |
Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer - Fixed Income |
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Chamaine Williams |
Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer and Director of Compliance I/A |
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Brad E. Cetron |
Managing Director, Chief Compliance Officer, Director of Compliance B/D |
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James R. Ainsworth |
Managing Director and Branch Office Manager, Texas |
(24) OPPENHEIMERFUNDS, INC (OppenheimerFunds)
The directors and officers of OppenheimerFunds have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
William F. Glavin, Jr. |
Chief Executive Officer. Previously served as Chairman, President and Director |
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Arthur Steinmetz |
Executive Vice Preident and Chief Investment Officer (2012) |
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Geoffrey Craddock |
Executive Vice President, Risk Management and Asset Allocation |
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Darren Walsh |
President, Oppenheimer Funds Services. Previously served as Executive Vice President (2012). |
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Philipp Hensler |
Chairman and CEO OFDI, Head of Distribution; Executive Vice President |
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Roger W. Crandall |
Director |
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Marty Willis |
Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer |
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Ari Gabinet |
Executive Vice President , Legal |
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David Pfeffer |
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Previously served as Treasurer and Director |
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Craig P. Dinsell |
Executive Vice President, Human Resources |
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Mark Vandehey |
Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer |
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Kate Ives |
Senior Vice President, Internal Audit |
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Michael Rollings |
Director |
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Elizabeth Ward |
Director |
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(25) SYSTEMATIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, L.P. (Systematic)
The directors and officers of Systematic have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
Ronald Matthew Mushock |
Portfolio Manager and Limited Partner |
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Karen Elizabeth Kohler |
Chief Operating Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, and Limited Partner |
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Eoin Middaugh |
Limited Partner and Portfolio Manager |
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D. Kevin McCreesh |
Chief Investment Officer, Portfolio Manager, and Limited Partner |
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Kenneth Burgess |
Limited Partner and Portfolio Manager |
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Gregory Balcom Wood |
Limited Partner and Head Trader |
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Roger Chang |
Vice President, Trader |
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Scott Garrett |
Vice President |
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Ron Luraschi |
Senior Vice President |
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Jim Wallerius |
Senior Vice President |
(26) T. ROWE PRICE ASSOCIATES, INC.
The directors and officers of T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
(27) WADDELL & REED INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT COMPANY
The directors and officers of Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
Officers |
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Henry J. Herrmann |
President, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and Director |
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Daniel C. Schulte |
Senior Vice President and General Counsel |
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Kristen A. Richards |
Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer, and Associate General Counsel |
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Daniel P. Connealy |
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Director |
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John E. Sundeen, Jr. |
Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, and Director |
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Lawrence J. Cipolla |
Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer |
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Michael L. Avery |
Executive Vice President and Director |
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Thomas W. Butch |
Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer |
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Wendy J. Hills |
Senior Vice President, Secretary, and Associate General Counsel |
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Philip J. Sanders |
Senior Vice President, Chief Investment Officer and Director |
(28) WILLIAM BLAIR & COMPANY, LLC (William Blair)
The directors and officers of William Blair have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
Edgar David Coolidge III |
Vice Chairman |
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Richard Kiphart |
Executive Committee Member |
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John Ettleson |
President, Chief Executive Officer, and Executive Committee Member |
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Michelle Seitz |
Head of Investment Management, Executive Committee Member |
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John Walter Zindel |
Chief Financial Officer |
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George Greig |
Executive Committee Member |
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Arthur Simon |
General Counsel and Executive Committee Member |
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John Moore |
Executive Committee Member |
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Brent Gledhill |
Executive Committee Member |
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Thomas Pace |
Director of Operations |
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Walter Randall |
Chief Compliance Officer, Investment Adviser |
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Richard Smirl |
Chief Operating Officer, Investment Adviser |
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Kenneth Wagner |
Chief Compliance Officer, Broker-Dealer |
(29) WINSLOW CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
The directors and officers of Winslow Capital Management have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
Principal business addresses of the investment adviser, sub-advisers and affiliates.
Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR)
245 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210
FMR Co., Inc. (FMRC)
245 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210
Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited (FMR H.K.)
Floor 19, 41 Connaught Road Central
Hong Kong
Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Inc. (FMR Japan)
245 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210
Fidelity Management & Research (U.K.) Inc. (FMR U.K.)
245 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210
Fidelity Research & Analysis Company (FRAC)
245 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210
Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. (FIMM)
245 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210
FIL Investment Advisors (FIA)
Pembroke Hall
42 Crow Lane
Pembroke HM19, Bermuda
FIL Investment Advisors (UK) Limited (FIA(UK))
Oakhill House,
130 Tonbridge Road,
Hildenborough, TN11 9DZ, United Kingdom
FIL Investments (Japan) Limited (FIJ)
Shiroyama Trust Tower
4-3-1, Toranomon, Minato-ku,
Tokyo 105-6019, Japan
Strategic Advisers, Inc.
245 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210
FMR LLC
245 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210
Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC)
100 Salem Street
Smithfield, RI 02917
Acadian Asset Managment LLC
260 Franklin Street
Boston, MA 02110
Advisory Research Inc. (ARI)
Two Prudential Plaza, 180 N. Stetson Avenue, Suite 5500
Chicago, IL 60601
Aristotle Capital Management, LLC
11100 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 1700,
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC
2929 Arch Street, 8th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Causeway Capital Management, Inc. (Causeway)
11111 Santa Monica Boulevard, 15th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90025
ClariVest Asset Management LLC
11452 El Camino Real Suite 250
San Diego, CA 92130
Cohen & Steers, Inc.
280 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
First Eagle Investment Management, LLC
1345 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10105
Fred Alger Management, Inc. (Alger Management)
360 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10010
Invesco Advisers Inc. (Invesco)
1555 Peachtree, N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30309
Kennedy Capital Management, Inc.
10829 Olive Boulevard, Suite 100
St. Louis, MO 63141
Lazard Asset Management, LLC
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
LSV Asset Management
1 North Wacker Drive, Suite 4000
Chicago, IL 60606
Massachusetts Financial Services, Inc. (MFS)
500 Boylston Street
Boston, Massachusetts, 02116
Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Inc. (MSIM)
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY, 10036
Neuberger Berman Management LLC
605 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10158
OppenheimerFunds, Inc.
Two World Financial Center
225 Liberty Street, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10281
Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC
900 Salem Street
Smithfield, RI 02917
Systematic Financial Management, L.P. (Systematic)
300 Frank W. Burr Blvd., 7th Floor
Teaneck, NJ 07666
T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.
100 East Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company
6300 Lamar Avenue
P.O. Box 29217
Overland Park, KS 66201
William Blair & Company, LLC
222 W. Adams St.
Chicago, IL 60606
Winslow Capital Management
4720 IDS Tower
80 South Eighth Street
Minneapolis, MN 55402
Item 32. Principal Underwriters
(a) Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC) acts as distributor for all funds advised by FMR or an affiliate.
(b) |
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Name and Principal |
Positions and Offices |
Positions and Offices |
Business Address* |
with Underwriter |
with Fund |
Anthony Castella |
Controller |
None |
Scott Couto |
President (2011) and Director (2011) |
None |
Natalie Kavanaugh |
Chief Legal Officer |
None |
Harris Komishane |
Chief Financial Officer (2011) |
None |
William F. Loehning |
Executive Vice President |
None |
Charles M. Morgan |
Assistant Treasurer (2011) |
None |
Steven Schiffman |
Treasurer |
None |
Richard Siegelman |
Chief Compliance Officer (2011) |
None |
Peter D. Stahl |
Assistant Secretary |
None |
Susan Sturdy |
Secretary |
None |
* 100 Salem Street, Smithfield, RI
(c) Not applicable.
Item 33. Location of Accounts and Records
All accounts, books, and other documents required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder are maintained by Strategic Advisers, Inc. and Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc., 245 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02210, or the funds' respective custodians, The Bank of New York Mellon, 1 Wall Street, New York, NY, and State Street Bank & Trust Company, 1776 Heritage Drive, Quincy, MA. JPMorgan Chase Bank, headquartered in New York, also may serve as a special purpose custodian of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions. The Bank of New York Mellon, headquartered in New York, also may serve as a special purpose custodian of certain assets Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers Value Fund, and Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund in connection with repurchase agreement transactions.
Item 34. Management Services
Not applicable.
Item 35. Undertakings
Not applicable.
)">
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for the effectiveness of this Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 485(b) under the Securities Act of 1933 and has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment No. 35 & 38 to the Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Boston, and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on the 29th day of April 2013.
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Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II |
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By |
/s/Kenneth B. Robins |
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Kenneth B. Robins, President |
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Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
(Signature) |
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(Title) |
(Date) |
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/s/Kenneth B. Robins |
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President and Treasurer |
April 29, 2013 |
Kenneth B. Robins |
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(Principal Executive Officer) |
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/s/Nicholas E. Steck |
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Chief Financial Officer |
April 29, 2013 |
Nicholas E. Steck |
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(Principal Financial Officer) |
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/s/Peter C. Aldrich |
* |
Trustee |
April 29, 2013 |
Peter C. Aldrich |
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/s/Amy Butte Liebowitz |
* |
Trustee |
April 29, 2013 |
Amy Butte Liebowitz |
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/s/Ralph F. Cox |
* |
Trustee |
April 29, 2013 |
Ralph F. Cox |
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/s/Mary C. Farrell |
* |
Trustee |
April 29, 2013 |
Mary C. Farrell |
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/s/Karen Kaplan |
* |
Trustee |
April 29, 2013 |
Karen Kaplan |
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/s/Roger T. Servison |
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Trustee |
April 29, 2013 |
Roger T. Servison |
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/s/Derek Young |
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Trustee |
April 29, 2013 |
Derek Young |
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* |
By: |
/s/Joseph R. Fleming |
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Joseph R. Fleming, attorney in fact |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
We, the undersigned Trustees of Fidelity Commonwealth Trust II and Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II (the "Trusts"), pursuant to the authority granted to the Trusts' Board of Trustees in Section 4.01(l) of Article IV of the Trusts' Trust Instruments dated September 25, 2006 and March 8, 2006, respectively, hereby constitute and appoint Thomas C. Bogle, Kathryn Cohen, Joseph R. Fleming, and Megan C. Johnson, each of them singly, our true and lawful attorneys-in-fact, with full power of substitution, and with full power to each of them, to sign for us and in our names in the appropriate capacities, all Registration Statements of the Trusts on Form N-1A, or any successors thereto, any and all subsequent Amendments, Pre-Effective Amendments, or Post-Effective Amendments to said Registration Statements or any successors thereto, and any supplements or other instruments in connection therewith, and generally to do all such things in our names and on our behalf in connection therewith as said attorneys-in-fact deem necessary or appropriate, to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, and all related requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission. We hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorneys-in-fact or their substitutes may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof. This power of attorney is effective for all documents filed on or after December 1, 2011.
WITNESS our hands on this first day of December, 2011.
/s/Peter C. Aldrich |
/s/Amy Butte Liebowitz |
Peter C. Aldrich
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Amy Butte Liebowitz |
/s/Ralph F. Cox |
/s/Karen Kaplan |
Ralph F. Cox
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Karen Kaplan |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
I, the undersigned Trustee of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II (the "Trust"), pursuant to the authority granted to the Trust's Board of Trustees in Section 4.01(l) of Article IV of the Trust's Trust Instrument dated March 8, 2006, hereby constitute and appoint Thomas C. Bogle, Kathryn Cohen, Joseph R. Fleming, and Megan C. Johnson, each of them singly, my true and lawful attorneys-in-fact, with full power of substitution, and with full power to each of them, to sign for me and in my name in the appropriate capacities, all Registration Statements of the Trust on Form N-1A, or any successors thereto, any and all subsequent Amendments, Pre-Effective Amendments, or Post-Effective Amendments to said Registration Statements or any successors thereto, and any supplements or other instruments in connection therewith, and generally to do all such things in my name and behalf in connection therewith as said attorneys-in-fact deem necessary or appropriate, to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, and all related requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission. I hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorneys-in-fact or their substitutes may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof. This power of attorney is effective for all documents filed on or after April 1, 2013.
WITNESS my hand on this 1 st day of April, 2013.
/s/Mary C. Farrell |
Mary C. Farrell |
Exhibit (j)(1)
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference into the Prospectuses and Statements of Additional Information in Post-Effective Amendment No. 35 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II: Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund and Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of our reports dated April 18, 2013; Strategic Advisers International Fund and Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund of our reports dated April 19, 2013; Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds and Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund of our reports dated April 22, 2013; Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund and Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund of our reports dated April 23, 2013 on the financial statements and financial highlights included in the February 28, 2013 Annual Reports to Shareholders, which is also incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement.
We further consent to the reference to our Firm under the heading "Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm" in the Statements of Additional Information.
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/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
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Boston, Massachusetts
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Exhibit (j)(2)
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference into the Prospectuses and Statements of Additional Information in Post-Effective Amendment No. 35 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II: Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds of our reports dated April 25, 2013 on the financial statements and financial highlights included in the February 28, 2013 Annual Reports to Shareholders, which is also incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement.
We further consent to the reference to our Firm under the heading "Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm" in the Statements of Additional Information.
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/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
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Boston, Massachusetts
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Exhibit (d)(31)
AMENDED AND RESTATED SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENT
between
FIDELITY INVESTMENTS MONEY MANAGEMENT, INC.
and
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
AGREEMENT made this 5 th day of March, 2010, and amended and restated on December 1, 2010 and June 7, 2012, by and between Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc., a New Hampshire corporation with principal offices at 1 Spartan Way, Merrimack, New Hampshire (hereinafter called the "Sub-Adviser") and Strategic Advisers, Inc., a Massachusetts corporation with principal offices at 82 Devonshire Street, Boston, Massachusetts (hereinafter called the "Adviser").
WHEREAS the Adviser has entered into a Management Contract with Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, a Delaware statutory trust which may issue one or more series of shares of beneficial interest (hereinafter called the "Fund"), on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund (hereinafter called the "Portfolio"), pursuant to which the Adviser is to act as investment manager and adviser to the Portfolio, and
WHEREAS the Sub-Adviser was formed for the purpose of providing investment management of money market and fixed-income mutual funds, both taxable and tax-exempt, advising generally with respect to money market and fixed-income instruments, and managing or providing advice with respect to cash management.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the mutual promises hereinafter set forth, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser agree as follows:
1. (a) The Sub-Adviser shall, subject to the supervision of the Adviser, direct the investments of all or such portion of the Portfolio's assets as the Adviser shall designate in accordance with the investment objective, policies and limitations as provided in the Portfolio's Prospectus or other governing instruments, as amended from time to time, the Investment Company Act of 1940 and rules thereunder, as amended from time to time (the "1940 Act"), and such other limitations as the Portfolio may impose by notice in writing to the Adviser or Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser shall also furnish for the use of the Portfolio office space and all necessary office facilities, equipment and personnel for servicing the investments of the Portfolio; and shall pay the salaries and fees of all personnel of the Sub-Adviser performing services for the Portfolio relating to research, statistical and investment activities. The Sub-Adviser is authorized, in its discretion and without prior consultation with the Portfolio or the Adviser, to buy, sell, lend and otherwise trade in any stocks, bonds and other securities and investment instruments on behalf of the Portfolio. The investment policies and all other actions of
the Portfolio are and shall at all times be subject to the control and direction of the Fund's Board of Trustees.
(b) The Sub-Adviser shall also furnish such reports, evaluations, information or analyses to the Fund and the Adviser as the Fund's Board of Trustees or the Adviser may request from time to time or as the Sub-Adviser may deem to be desirable. The Sub-Adviser shall make recommendations to the Fund's Board of Trustees with respect to Portfolio policies, and shall carry out such policies as are adopted by the Trustees. The Sub-Adviser shall, subject to review by the Board of Trustees, furnish such other services as the Sub-Adviser shall from time to time determine to be necessary or useful to perform its obligations under this Agreement and which are not otherwise furnished by the Adviser.
(c) The Sub-Adviser shall place all orders for the purchase and sale of portfolio securities for the Portfolio's account with brokers or dealers selected by the Sub-Adviser, which may include brokers or dealers affiliated with the Adviser or Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser shall use its best efforts to seek to execute portfolio transactions at prices which are advantageous to the Portfolio and at commission rates which are reasonable in relation to the benefits received. In selecting brokers or dealers qualified to execute a particular transaction, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) to the Portfolio and/or the other accounts over which the Sub-Adviser, Adviser or their affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Sub-Adviser is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for the Portfolio which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Sub-Adviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Sub-Adviser and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Trustees of the Fund shall periodically review the commissions paid by the Portfolio to determine if the commissions paid over representative periods of time were reasonable in relation to the benefits to the Portfolio.
(d) The Sub-Adviser shall vote (or arrange for the voting by its affiliates) all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the portion of the assets of the Portfolio allocated to the Sub-Adviser may be invested in accordance with the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting policies and procedures as approved by the Board of Trustees and in a manner that complies with applicable law; maintain records of all proxies voted on behalf of the Portfolio; and provide information to the Fund, the Adviser or their designated agent in a manner that is sufficiently complete and timely to ensure the Fund's compliance with its filing obligations under Rule 30b1-4 of the 1940 Act.
2. As compensation for the services to be furnished by the Sub-Adviser hereunder, the Adviser agrees to pay the Sub-Adviser in accordance with the terms set forth in Schedule A attached hereto in respect of that portion of the Portfolio's assets managed by the Sub-Adviser. Such fee shall not be reduced to reflect expense reimbursements or fee waivers by the Adviser, if any, in effect from time to time.
3. It is understood that Trustees, officers, and shareholders of the Fund are or may be or become interested in the Adviser or the Sub-Adviser as directors, officers or otherwise and that directors, officers and stockholders of the Adviser or the Sub-Adviser are or may be or become similarly interested in the Fund, and that the Adviser or the Sub-Adviser may be or become interested in the Fund as a shareholder or otherwise.
4. It is understood that the Portfolio will pay all its expenses other than those expressly stated to be payable by the Sub-Adviser hereunder or by the Adviser under the Management Contract with the Portfolio.
5. The Services of the Sub-Adviser to the Adviser are not to be deemed to be exclusive, the Sub-Adviser being free to render services to others and engage in other activities, provided, however, that such other services and activities do not, during the term of this Agreement, interfere, in a material manner, with the Sub-Adviser's ability to meet all of its obligations with respect to rendering investment advice hereunder. The Sub-Adviser shall for all purposes be an independent contractor and not an agent or employee of the Adviser or the Fund.
6. In the absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of obligations or duties hereunder on the part of the Sub-Adviser, the Sub-Adviser shall not be subject to liability to the Advisor, the Fund or to any shareholder of the Portfolio for any act or omission in the course of, or connected with, rendering services hereunder or for any losses that may be sustained in the purchase, holding or sale of any security.
7. (a) Subject to prior termination as provided in sub-paragraph (d) of this paragraph 7, this Agreement shall continue in force until September 30, 2011, and indefinitely thereafter, but only so long as the continuance after such period shall be specifically approved at least annually by vote of the Fund's Board of Trustees or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Portfolio.
(b) This Agreement may be modified by mutual consent subject to the provisions of Section 15 of the 1940 Act, as modified by or interpreted by any applicable order or orders of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") or any rules or regulations adopted by, or interpretive releases or no-action letters of, the Commission or its staff.
(c) In addition to the requirements of sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of this paragraph 7, the terms of any continuance or modification of the Agreement must have been approved by the vote of a majority of those Trustees of the Fund who are not parties to such Agreement or interested persons of any such party, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.
(d) Either the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser or the Portfolio may, at any time on sixty (60) days' prior written notice to the other parties, terminate this Agreement, without payment of any penalty, by action of its Board of Trustees or Directors, or by vote of a majority of its outstanding voting securities. This Agreement shall terminate automatically upon the termination of the Management Contract between the Fund, on behalf of the Portfolio, and the Adviser. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment.
8. The Sub-Adviser is hereby expressly put on notice of the limitation of shareholder liability as set forth in the Trust Instrument or other organizational document of the Fund and agrees that any obligations of the Fund or the Portfolio arising in connection with this Agreement shall be limited in all cases to the Portfolio and its assets, and the Sub-Adviser shall not seek satisfaction of any such obligation from the shareholders or any shareholder of the Portfolio. Nor shall the Sub-Adviser seek satisfaction of any such obligation from the Trustees or any individual Trustee.
9. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH, THE LAWS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, WITHOUT GIVING EFFECT TO THE CHOICE OF LAWS PROVISIONS THEREOF.
The terms "registered investment company," "vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities," "assignment," and "interested persons," when used herein, shall have the respective meanings specified in the Investment Company Act of 1940 as now in effect or as hereafter amended, and subject to such orders or no-action letters as may be granted by the Commission or its Staff.
Remainder of page intentionally left blank.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties hereto have caused this instrument to be signed in their behalf by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized, and their respective seals to be hereunto affixed, all as of the date written above.
FIDELITY INVESTMENTS MONEY MANAGEMENT, INC.
BY: /s/Steven F. Schiffman
Steven F. Schiffman
Assistant Treasurer
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
BY: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Suzanne Brennan
Chief Operating Officer
Schedule A
Pursuant to Section 2 of the Sub-Advisory Agreement (hereinafter the "Agreement") made the 5 th day of March, 2010, and amended and restated on December 1, 2010 and June 7, 2012, by and between Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. (hereinafter the "Sub-Adviser") and Strategic Advisers, Inc. (hereinafter the "Adviser"), the Sub-Adviser shall be compensated for the services it performs on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund (hereinafter the "Portfolio") as follows:
1. For purposes of calculating the fee to be paid to the Sub-Adviser under this Agreement, "Portfolio Assets" shall mean the portion of the net assets of the Portfolio managed by the Sub-Adviser pursuant to one of the following investment strategies as agreed to by the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser in separately negotiated investment mandates: Core Investment Grade and Core Plus (each a "Strategy").
"Aggregated Assets" for a particular Strategy shall mean the assets of all registered investment companies managed by the Adviser that are managed by the Sub-Adviser or another Fidelity affiliate pursuant to that Strategy, including Portfolio Assets.
2. The Adviser will pay the Sub-Adviser a monthly fee based on the average daily Portfolio Assets (computed in the manner set forth in the Trust's Trust Instrument) determined as of the close of business on each business day throughout the calendar month. Such fee shall not be reduced to reflect expense reimbursements or fee waivers by the Adviser, if any, in effect from time to time. The Sub-Adviser's fee rate shall be determined on a cumulative basis pursuant to the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed pursuant to a specific Strategy based on the following rate schedules:
Core Investment Grade Rate
0.275% (27.5 basis points) of the first $100 million in assets
0.20% (20 basis points) of the next $400 million in assets
0.12% (12 basis points) on any amount in excess of $500 million in assets
Core Plus Rate
0.32% (32 basis points) on all assets
The Sub-Adviser agrees to look exclusively to the Adviser, and not to any assets of the Trust or Portfolio, for the payment of the Sub-Adviser's fees arising under this Paragraph 2.
Exhibit (d)(57)
INVESTMENT SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENT
AMONG
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.,
CLARIVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC
AND
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
AGREEMENT, made this 6th day of December, 2012, among Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II ("Trust"), a Delaware statutory trust, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Growth Fund (the "Fund"), Strategic Advisers, Inc. ("Adviser"), a Massachusetts corporation, and ClariVest Asset Management LLC ("Sub-Adviser"), a Delaware limited liability company.
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as an open-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("1940 Act");
WHEREAS, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser are each registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended ("Advisers Act");
WHEREAS, the Trust has retained the Adviser to render investment advisory services to the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, pursuant to a Management Contract dated March 5, 2010, as may be amended from time to time ("Advisory Agreement");
WHEREAS, the Advisory Agreement authorizes the Adviser to delegate to one or more other investment advisers any or all of the Adviser's duties and obligations under the Advisory Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the Trust and the Adviser wish to retain the Sub-Adviser to render certain investment advisory services to the Fund with respect to the portion of the Fund's assets allocated to the Sub-Adviser, as determined from time to time by the Adviser, and the Sub-Adviser is willing to render such services.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed among the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser and the Trust as follows:
1. Appointment
The Trust and the Adviser hereby appoint the Sub-Adviser to act as investment sub-adviser to the Fund with respect to the portion of the Fund's assets allocated, from time to time, by the Adviser to the Sub-Adviser (the "Portfolio"), for the periods and on the terms set forth herein. The Sub-Adviser accepts the appointment and agrees to furnish the services set forth herein for the compensation provided in Section 7 of this Agreement.
2. Services and Duties of Investment Sub-Adviser
Subject to the general supervision and oversight of the Adviser and the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the "Board"), the Sub-Adviser will:
(a) provide a program of continuous investment management for the Portfolio in accordance with the Fund's investment objective and policies as stated in the Fund's prospectus and statement of additional information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on Form N-1A, as amended and supplemented from time to time (the "Registration Statement"), and such other limitations as the Trust, the Fund, the Board or the Adviser may impose with respect to the Portfolio by notice to the Sub-Adviser;
(b) invest and reinvest the assets of the Portfolio by selecting the securities, instruments, repurchase agreements, financial futures contracts, options and other investments and techniques that the Fund may purchase, sell, enter into or use in respect of the Portfolio;
(c) oversee the placement of purchase and sale orders on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio;
(d) employ portfolio managers to make investment decisions and securities analysts to provide research services to the Fund in respect of the Portfolio;
(e) subject to the understanding set forth in Section 10(a)(1) of this Agreement, vote all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested in accordance with the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting policies and procedures and in a manner that complies with applicable law; maintain records of all proxies voted on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio; and provide information to the Trust, the Adviser or their designated agent in a manner that is sufficiently complete and timely to ensure the Trust's compliance with its filing obligations under Rule 30b1-4 of the 1940 Act;
(f) maintain books and records with respect to the Fund's securities transactions in respect of the Portfolio, in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations; and
(g) to the extent reasonably requested by the Adviser or officers of the Fund, cooperate with and provide reasonable assistance to the Adviser and the Trust's other service providers by (1) keeping them fully informed as to such matters that they may reasonably deem necessary with respect to the performance of their obligations to the Fund, (2) providing prompt responses to reasonable requests for information or assistance, and (3) establishing appropriate processes to promote the efficient exchange of information.
In providing those services, the Sub-Adviser will provide the Adviser and the Fund with an ongoing and continuous investment program in respect of the Portfolio. In addition, the Sub-Adviser will furnish the Adviser and/or the Fund with statistical information as the Adviser and/or the Fund may reasonably request with respect to the securities or other investments in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested.
The Sub-Adviser further agrees that, in performing its duties hereunder, it will:
(h) comply in all material respects with the applicable sections of (1) the 1940 Act and the Advisers Act and all rules and regulations thereunder and any other applicable federal and state laws and regulations, (2) the rules and regulations of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, (3) the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Code"), (4) the investment objectives, strategies, policies, limitations and restrictions of the Fund as described in the Registration Statement, (5) the Trust's Trust Instrument and By-Laws or other organizational documents of the Trust and (6) any written instructions of the Adviser or the Board;
(i) manage the assets of the Portfolio in a manner that the Fund will comply with the following requirements of the Code and regulations issued thereunder: section 851(b)(2) and section 851(b)(3) (and, if applicable, section 817(h)); provided, however, that with respect to the 10% voting securities test contained in section 851(b)(3)(A)(ii), the Sub-Adviser will comply with such requirements as the Trust, the Fund or its Adviser shall furnish to the Sub-Adviser from time to time;
(j) keep the Adviser and/or the Board informed of developments materially affecting the Fund's portfolio;
(k) make available to the Board, the Adviser, the Trust's Chief Compliance Officer ("CCO") and the Trust's administrator, promptly upon their request, such copies of its records with respect to the Fund as may be required to assist in their compliance with applicable laws and regulations. As reasonably requested by the Board or the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser will complete periodic or special questionnaires and furnish to the Board and/or the Adviser such periodic and special reports regarding the Fund and the Sub-Adviser including, but not limited to, reports concerning transactions and performance of the Portfolio, quarterly and annual compliance reports and certifications, quarterly tax compliance worksheets, reports regarding compliance with the Trust's procedures pursuant to Rules 17e-1, 17a-7, 10f-3 and 12d3-1 under the 1940 Act (as applicable), fundamental investment restrictions, procedures for opening brokerage accounts and commodity trading accounts, liquidity determinations for securities or other instruments held by the Portfolio such as, among others, securities purchased pursuant to Rule 144A and 4(2) commercial paper, compliance with the Sub-Adviser's Code of Ethics, and such other procedures or requirements that the Adviser may reasonably request from time to time;
(l) make available to the Board and the Adviser at reasonable times its portfolio managers and other appropriate personnel as mutually agreed by the Adviser and Sub-Adviser, either in person or, at the mutual convenience of the Board, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser, by telephone, in order to review the investment policies, performance and other matters relating to the management of the Fund;
(m) review draft reports to shareholders, registration statements or portions thereof that relate to the Portfolio or the Sub-Adviser and other documents provided to the Sub-Adviser, provide comments on such drafts on a timely basis, and provide certifications or sub-certifications on a timely basis as to the accuracy of the information contained in such reports or other documents;
(n) use no material, non-public information concerning portfolio companies that may be in its possession or the possession of any of its affiliates, nor will the Sub-Adviser seek to obtain any such information, in providing investment advice or investment management services to the Fund;
(o) promptly notify the Trust, the Adviser and the Board in the event that the Sub-Adviser or any of its affiliates becomes aware that the Sub-Adviser: (i) is subject to a statutory disqualification that prevents the Sub-Adviser from serving as investment adviser pursuant to this Agreement; (ii) fails to be registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act or under the laws of any jurisdiction in which the Sub-Adviser is required to be registered as an investment adviser in order to perform its obligations under this Agreement; (iii) is the subject of an administrative proceeding or enforcement action by the SEC or other regulatory authority; or (iv) is served or otherwise receives notice of any action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation, at law or in equity, before or by any court, public board or body, or governmental authority, involving the affairs of the Trust or the Adviser or their affiliates; or is involved in any pending litigation or administrative proceeding brought against the Sub-Adviser or any of its management persons (as defined in Rule 206(4)-4 under the Advisers Act). The Sub-Adviser further agrees to notify the Trust and the Adviser promptly of any material fact known to the Sub-Adviser respecting or relating to the Sub-Adviser that is not contained in the Trust's Registration Statement, as amended and supplemented from time to time, regarding the Fund, or any amendment or supplement thereto, but that is required to be disclosed therein, and of any statement contained therein that becomes untrue in any material respect. The Sub-Adviser will promptly notify the Trust, the Adviser and the Board if its chief executive officer or any member of the portfolio management team named in the Registration Statement for the Fund changes, or if there is an actual change in control or management of the Sub-Adviser within the meaning of Rules 2a-6 and 202(a)(1)-1 under the 1940 Act and Advisers Act, respectively;
(p) not disclose information regarding Portfolio or Fund characteristics, trading history, portfolio holdings, performance information or any other related information to any third-party, except in compliance with the Trust's policies on disclosure of portfolio holdings;
(q) provide the Adviser, the Trust or the Board with such information and assurances (including certifications and sub-certifications) as the Adviser, the Trust or the Board may reasonably request from time to time in order to assist the Adviser, the Trust or the Board in complying with applicable laws, rules and regulations, including requirements in connection with the preparation and/or filing of the Fund's Form N-CSRs and Form N-Qs;
(r) provide assistance to the Adviser, custodian or recordkeeping agent for the Trust in determining or confirming, consistent with the procedures and policies stated in the Registration Statement, the value of any portfolio securities or other assets of the Fund for which the Adviser, custodian or recordkeeping agent seeks assistance from the Sub-Adviser or identifies for review by the Sub-Adviser. This assistance includes (but is not limited to): (i) designating and providing access to one or more employees of the Sub-Adviser who are knowledgeable about the security/issuer, its financial condition, trading and/or other relevant factors for valuation, which employees shall be available for consultation when the Board's Valuation Committee convenes; (ii) assisting the Adviser or the custodian in obtaining bids and offers or quotes from broker/dealers or market-makers with respect to securities held by the Fund, upon the reasonable request of the Adviser or custodian; (iii) upon the request of the Adviser or the custodian, confirming pricing and providing recommendations for fair valuations; and (iv) maintaining adequate records and written backup information with respect to the securities valuation assistance provided hereunder, and providing such information to the Adviser or the Trust upon request, with such records being deemed Fund records;
(s) not consult with any other investment sub-adviser of the Trust (if any), or with the sub-adviser to any other investment company (or separate series thereof) managed by the Adviser concerning the Fund's transactions in securities or other assets, except for purposes of complying with the conditions of Rule 12d3-1(a) and (b) under the 1940 Act, and, to the extent that multiple sub-advisers may be engaged to provide services to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall be responsible for providing investment advisory services only with respect to the Portfolio allocated to the Sub-Adviser by the Adviser; and
(t) provide the Trust and the Adviser with a copy of its Form ADV as most recently filed with the SEC, notify the Adviser on a quarterly basis of any amendments to the Sub-Adviser's Form ADV and furnish a copy of such amendments to the Trust and the Adviser; and provide the Trust and the Adviser with a copy of its Form ADV Part II as updated from time to time.
3. Brokerage
The Sub-Adviser may place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund directly with the issuers of the securities, or with brokers or dealers selected by the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser may, in respect of the Portfolio, open and maintain brokerage accounts of all types on behalf of and in the name of the Fund. The Sub-Adviser may enter into standard customer agreements with brokers and direct payments of cash, cash equivalents and securities and other property into such brokerage accounts as the Sub-Adviser deems desirable or appropriate. In selecting brokers or dealers to execute transactions on behalf of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser will use its best efforts to seek the best overall terms available. In assessing the best overall terms available for the Fund transaction, the Sub-Adviser will consider all factors it deems relevant, including, but not limited to, the breadth of the market in the security, the price of the security, the financial condition and execution capability of the broker or dealer and the reasonableness of the commission, if any, for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. In selecting broker-dealers to execute a particular transaction, and in evaluating the best overall terms available, the Sub-Adviser is authorized to consider the brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "1934 Act")) provided to the Fund and/or other accounts over which the Sub-Adviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The parties hereto acknowledge that it is desirable for the Trust that the Sub-Adviser have access to supplemental investment and market research and security and economic analysis provided by broker-dealers who may execute brokerage transactions at a higher cost to the Fund than may result when allocating brokerage to other brokers on the basis of seeking the most favorable price and efficient execution. Therefore, the Sub-Adviser may cause the Fund to pay a broker-dealer that furnishes brokerage and research services a higher commission than that which might be charged by another broker-dealer for effecting the same transaction, provided that the Sub-Adviser determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker-dealer, viewed in terms of either the particular transaction or the overall responsibilities of the Sub-Adviser to the Fund in compliance with Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act. It is understood that the services provided by such brokers may be useful to the Sub-Adviser in connection with the Sub-Adviser's services to other clients. In accordance with Section 11(a) of the 1934 Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder and subject to any other applicable laws and regulations, the Sub-Adviser and its affiliates are authorized to effect portfolio transactions for the Fund and to retain brokerage commissions on such transactions. The Sub-Adviser may, but shall not be obligated to, aggregate or bunch orders for the purchase or sale of securities for the Fund with orders for its other clients where: (i) such aggregation or bunching of orders is not inconsistent with the Fund's investment objectives, policies and procedures, (ii) the allocation of the securities so purchased or sold, as well as the allocation of expenses incurred in any such transaction, shall be made by the Sub-Adviser in a manner that complies with the trade allocation policies and procedures approved by the Board and is fair and equitable in the judgment of the Sub-Adviser and is consistent with the Sub-Adviser's fiduciary obligations to the Fund and each of its other clients.
4. Books, Records and Regulatory Filings
(a) The Sub-Adviser agrees to maintain and to preserve for the applicable periods any such records as are required to be maintained by the Sub-Adviser with respect to the Fund by the 1940 Act and rules adopted thereunder, and by any other applicable laws, rules and regulations. The Sub-Adviser further agrees that all records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund and it will promptly surrender any of such records upon request; provided, however, that the Sub-Adviser may retain copies of such records for the applicable periods they are required by law to be retained, and thereafter shall destroy such records.
(b) The Sub-Adviser agrees that it shall furnish to regulatory authorities having the requisite authority any information or reports in connection with its services hereunder that may be requested in order to determine whether the operations of the Fund are being conducted in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations.
(c) The Sub-Adviser shall make all filings with the SEC required of it pursuant to Section 13 of the 1934 Act with respect to its duties as are set forth herein. The Sub-Adviser also shall make all required filings on Schedule 13D or 13G and Form 13F (as well as other filings triggered by ownership in securities under other applicable laws, rules and regulations) in respect of the Portfolio as may be required of the Fund due to the activities of the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser shall be the sole filer of Form 13F with respect to the Portfolio of the Fund.
5. Class Action Filings
The Sub-Adviser is not responsible for making any class action filings on behalf of the Trust.
6. Standard of Care, Limitation of Liability and Indemnification
(a) The Sub-Adviser shall exercise its best judgment in rendering the services under this Agreement. The Sub-Adviser shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust, the Adviser or the Fund, or affiliated persons of the Adviser or the Fund (collectively, the "Adviser Indemnitees") in connection with the matters to which this Agreement relates except a loss resulting from the Sub-Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties, under this Agreement; provided, however , that nothing herein shall be deemed to protect or purport to protect the Sub-Adviser against any liability to the Adviser Indemnitees for, and the Sub-Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Adviser Indemnitees from, any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which any of the Adviser Indemnitees may become subject arising out of or resulting from (i) the Sub-Adviser causing the Fund to be in violation of any applicable federal or state law, rule or regulation or any investment policy or restriction set forth in the Fund's current Registration Statement or the most current written guidelines, policies or instruction provided in writing by the Board or the Adviser, (ii) the Sub-Adviser causing the Fund to fail to satisfy the requirements set forth in Section 2(i) hereof, (iii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Sub-Adviser or the Portfolio managed by the Sub-Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact known to the Sub-Adviser that was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Adviser or the Trust by the Sub-Adviser for use therein, or (iv) a breach of this Agreement by the Sub-Adviser. In addition, the Sub-Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Trust and the Fund from any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which either the Trust or the Fund may become subject directly arising out of or resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty by the Sub-Adviser under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act with respect to the receipt of compensation for its services under this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing contained in this Agreement shall constitute a waiver or limitation of rights that the Trust or the Fund may have under federal or state securities laws.
(b) The Sub-Adviser is hereby expressly put on notice of the limitation of shareholder liability as set forth in the Trust Instrument or other organizational document of the Trust and agrees that any obligations of the Trust or the Fund arising in connection with this Agreement shall be limited in all cases to the Fund and its assets, and the Sub-Adviser shall not seek satisfaction of any such obligation from any other fund of the Trust or the shareholders or any individual shareholder of the Fund. Nor shall the Sub-Adviser seek satisfaction of any such obligation from the trustees of the Trust (each, a "Trustee" and, together, the "Trustees") or any individual Trustee or any officers.
(c) As used in this Section 6, the term "Sub-Adviser" shall include any officers, directors, employees, independent contractors or other affiliates of the Sub-Adviser performing services with respect to the Fund.
(d) The Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Sub-Adviser from and against any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which the Sub-Adviser may become subject directly arising out of or resulting from, the Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties under this Agreement, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under this Agreement.
7. Compensation
The Sub-Adviser shall be compensated for the services rendered pursuant to this Agreement in accordance with the terms set forth on Schedule A attached hereto.
8. Expenses
The Sub-Adviser will bear all expenses in connection with the performance of its services under this Agreement, excluding those costs of the Fund associated with brokerage activities. The Sub-Adviser shall bear all expenses and costs of the Trust (including reasonable attorney's fees), if any, arising out of a termination or possible termination of this Agreement as a result of an assignment caused by a change of control or management of the Sub-Adviser, including the preparation and mailing of an information statement to shareholders pursuant to a "manager-of-managers" exemptive order from the SEC, or the preparation, mailing, solicitation and other costs associated with the use of a proxy statement relating to a shareholder vote in respect of a new sub-advisory agreement. The foregoing obligations of the Sub-Adviser shall apply in any circumstance in which the Adviser, in consultation with internal or outside counsel to the Trust, deems that an actual or possible assignment of this Agreement has or may occur, and determines that an information statement should be used, or a vote of shareholders should be obtained, as the case may be.
9. Services to Other Companies or Accounts
The investment advisory services of the Sub-Adviser to the Fund under this Agreement are not to be deemed exclusive, and the Sub-Adviser shall be free to render similar services to other investment companies and clients (whether or not their investment objective and policies are similar those of the Fund) and to engage in other activities, provided that such other services and activities do not interfere with or impair the Sub-Adviser's ability to fulfill its duties and obligations under this Agreement. If the Sub-Adviser provides any advice to its clients concerning investment in the shares of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall act solely for such clients in that regard and not in any way on behalf of the Adviser, the Trust or the Fund.
10. Compliance Matters
(a) The Sub-Adviser understands and agrees that it is a "service provider" to the Trust as contemplated by Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act. As such, the Sub-Adviser agrees to cooperate fully with the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers, including the Trust's CCO, with respect to (i) any and all compliance-related matters, and (ii) the Trust's efforts to assure that each of its service providers adopts and maintains policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to prevent violation of the "federal securities laws" (as that term is defined by Rule 38a-1) by the Trust, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser. In this regard, the Sub-Adviser shall:
(1) submit to the Board for its consideration and approval, prior to the effective date of this Agreement, the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, it being understood that the Sub-Adviser's obligation under Section 2(e) of this Agreement to vote all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested shall be subject to the fulfillment of the condition that the Board approve the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting polices and procedures;
(2) submit annually (and at such other times as the Trust may reasonably request) to the Trust's CCO and the Adviser for consideration by the Board, a report discussing the adequacy and effectiveness of the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, and fully describing any material amendments to such compliance program since the most recent such report;
(3) provide periodic reports and certifications concerning the Sub-Adviser's compliance program and special reports in the event of material compliance matters;
(4) provide the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers with reasonable access to information regarding the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, which access shall include on-site visits with the Sub-Adviser as may be reasonably requested from time to time;
(5) permit the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers to maintain an active working relationship with the Sub-Adviser's compliance personnel by, among other things, providing the Adviser and the Trust's CCO and other officers with a specified individual within the Sub-Adviser's organization to discuss and address compliance-related matters;
(6) provide the Adviser and its chief compliance officer and the Trust and its Trustees and officers, including the Trust's CCO, with such certifications as may be reasonably requested; and
(7) reasonably cooperate with any independent registered public accounting firm engaged by the Trust, ensure that all reasonably necessary information and the appropriate personnel are made available to such independent registered public accounting firm, to support the expression of the independent registered public accounting firm's opinion.
(b) The Sub-Adviser represents, warrants and covenants that it has implemented and shall maintain a compliance program in accordance with the requirements of Rule 206(4)-7 under the Advisers Act.
(a) This Agreement shall be effective immediately as of the date set forth above and shall continue in effect for two years from its effective date with respect to the Fund, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, and shall continue year to year thereafter, provided each continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the vote of a majority of the Trustees or (ii) a vote of a "majority" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund's outstanding voting securities, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Trustees who are neither (A) parties to this Agreement nor (B) "interested persons" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person (to the extent required by the 1940 Act) at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.
(b) This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund, without penalty, on sixty (60) days' written notice to the Sub-Adviser: (i) by the Trust, pursuant to (A) action by the Board or (B) the vote of the holders of a "majority" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the shares of the Fund or (ii) by the Adviser. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund, without penalty, by the Sub-Adviser upon ninety (90) days' written notice to the Adviser and the Trust. In addition, this Agreement will terminate with respect to the Fund in the event of the termination of the Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund. This Agreement will be terminated automatically in the event of its "assignment" (as defined in the 1940 Act).
(c) In the event of a termination of this Agreement for any reason with respect to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall reasonably cooperate with any transition manager or successor investment sub-adviser and with the Adviser in transitioning the management of the Portfolio to one or more new sub-advisers or to the Adviser, including, without limitation, providing the transition manager, at such intervals as the transition manager may request, with a list of holdings for the Portfolio and such other information as required by the transition management agreement, into which the Adviser and the transition manager will, at that time, enter.
(d) Termination of this Agreement shall not affect the rights or obligations of the Adviser, the Adviser Indemnitees and the Sub-Adviser under Section 6 of this Agreement.
12. Use of Name
(a) The Sub-Adviser hereby consents to the use of its name and the names of its affiliates in the Fund's disclosure documents, shareholder communications, advertising, sales literature and similar communications. The Sub-Adviser shall not use the name or any tradename, trademark, trade device, service mark, symbol or any abbreviation, contraction or simulation thereof of the Adviser, the Trust, the Fund or any of their affiliates in its marketing materials unless it first receives prior written approval of the Trust and the Adviser.
(b) It is understood that the name of each party to this Agreement, and any derivatives thereof or logos associated with that name, is the valuable property of the party in question and its affiliates, and that each other party has the right to use such names pursuant to the relationship created by, and in accordance with the terms of, this Agreement only so long as this Agreement shall continue in effect. Upon termination of this Agreement, the parties shall forthwith cease to use the names of the other parties (or any derivative or logo) as appropriate and to the extent that continued use is not required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.
13. Confidential Information
(a) Each party agrees that it will treat confidentially all information provided by any other party (the "Discloser") regarding the Discloser's businesses and operations, including without limitation the investment activities or holdings of the Portfolio or the Fund ("Confidential Information"). All Confidential Information provided by the Discloser shall be used only by the other party hereto (the "Recipient") solely for the purposes of rendering services pursuant to this Agreement, and shall not be disclosed to any third party, without the prior consent of the Discloser, except for a limited number of employees, attorneys, accountants and other advisers of the Recipient and its affiliates on a need-to-know basis and solely for the purposes of rendering services under this Agreement.
(b) Confidential Information shall not include any information that: (i) is public when provided or thereafter becomes public through no wrongful act of the Recipient; (ii) is demonstrably known to the Recipient prior to execution of this Agreement; (iii) is independently developed by the Recipient through no wrongful act of the Recipient in the ordinary course of business outside of this Agreement; (iv) is generally employed by the trade at the time that the Recipient learns of such information or knowledge; or (v) has been rightfully and lawfully obtained by the Recipient from any third party.
(c) In the event that the Recipient is requested or required (by deposition, interrogatories, requests for information or documents in legal proceedings, subpoenas, civil investigative demand or similar process), in connection with any proceeding, to disclose any of the Discloser's Confidential Information, the Recipient will give the Discloser prompt written notice of such request or requirement to allow the Discloser an opportunity to obtain a protective order or otherwise obtain assurances that confidential treatment will be accorded to such Confidential Information. In the event that such protective order or other remedy is not obtained, disclosure shall be made of only that portion of the Confidential Information that is legally required to be disclosed. All Confidential Information disclosed as required by law shall nonetheless continue to be deemed Confidential Information.
14. Amendment
This Agreement may be amended in writing signed by the parties to this Agreement in a manner that is in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, as modified or interpreted by any applicable order, exemptive relief or interpretative release issued by the SEC.
15. Notices
All notices hereunder shall be provided in writing, by facsimile or by email. Notices shall be deemed given if delivered in person or by messenger, certified mail with return receipt, or by a reputable overnight delivery service that provides evidence of receipt to the parties; upon receipt if sent by fax; or upon read receipt or reply if delivered by email, at the following addresses:
If to the Trust: Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Marc Bryant
If to the Adviser: Strategic Advisers, Inc.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Chief Operating Officer
With Copy to: Strategic Advisers, Inc.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Karen Benoit
If to the Sub-Adviser: ClariVest Asset Management LLC
11452 El Camino Real, Suite 250
San Diego, CA 92130
Attn.: David Pavan
With a copy to: ClariVest Asset Management LLC
11452 El Camino Real, Suite 250
San Diego, CA 92130
Attn.: Tiffany Ayres
16. Miscellaneous
(a) This Agreement constitutes the full and complete agreement of the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof.
(b) Titles or captions of sections in this Agreement are inserted only as a matter of convenience and for reference, and in no way define, limit, extend or describe the scope of this Agreement or the intent of any provisions thereof.
(c) This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, all of which together shall for all purposes constitute one Agreement, binding on all the parties.
(d) This Agreement and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be governed by, and interpreted, construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without giving effect to the choice of laws provisions of that or any other jurisdiction. To the extent that the applicable laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control. The parties irrevocably consent to submit to the jurisdiction of any federal or state court sitting in The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(e) If any provision of this Agreement shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected hereby and, to this extent, the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed to be severable.
(f) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Sub-Adviser shall be an independent contractor. Nothing herein shall be construed as constituting the Sub-Adviser as an agent of the Adviser, the Trust or the Fund, except to the extent expressly authorized by this Agreement.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have caused this instrument to be executed by their officers designated below as of the date first set forth above.
CLARIVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC
By: /s/Stacey R. Nutt
Name: Stacey R. Nutt
Title: President
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Name: Suzanne Brennan
Title: Chief Operating Officer
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
By: /s/Kenneth Robins
Kenneth Robins
Treasurer
APPENDIX A
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 13 of this Agreement, Sub-Adviser shall be permitted, without the prior consent of the Adviser, to disclose Confidential Information to its third-party service providers listed below, as updated from time to time, solely for the purposes of rendering services under this Agreement.
Institutional Shareholder Services/RiskMetrics Group
Exhibit (d)(62)
INVESTMENT SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENT
AMONG
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.,
CLARIVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC
AND
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
AGREEMENT, made this 6th day of December, 2012, among Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II ("Trust"), a Delaware statutory trust, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund (the "Fund"), Strategic Advisers, Inc. ("Adviser"), a Massachusetts corporation, and ClariVest Asset Management LLC ("Sub-Adviser"), a Delaware limited liability company.
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as an open-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("1940 Act");
WHEREAS, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser are each registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended ("Advisers Act");
WHEREAS, the Trust has retained the Adviser to render investment advisory services to the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, pursuant to a Management Contract dated September 8, 2011, as may be amended from time to time ("Advisory Agreement");
WHEREAS, the Advisory Agreement authorizes the Adviser to delegate to one or more other investment advisers any or all of the Adviser's duties and obligations under the Advisory Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the Trust and the Adviser wish to retain the Sub-Adviser to render certain investment advisory services to the Fund with respect to the portion of the Fund's assets allocated to the Sub-Adviser, as determined from time to time by the Adviser, and the Sub-Adviser is willing to render such services.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed among the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser and the Trust as follows:
1. Appointment
The Trust and the Adviser hereby appoint the Sub-Adviser to act as investment sub-adviser to the Fund with respect to the portion of the Fund's assets allocated, from time to time, by the Adviser to the Sub-Adviser (the "Portfolio"), for the periods and on the terms set forth herein. The Sub-Adviser accepts the appointment and agrees to furnish the services set forth herein for the compensation provided in Section 7 of this Agreement.
2. Services and Duties of Investment Sub-Adviser
Subject to the general supervision and oversight of the Adviser and the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the "Board"), the Sub-Adviser will:
(a) provide a program of continuous investment management for the Portfolio in accordance with the Fund's investment objective and policies as stated in the Fund's prospectus and statement of additional information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on Form N-1A, as amended and supplemented from time to time (the "Registration Statement"), and such other limitations as the Trust, the Fund, the Board or the Adviser may impose with respect to the Portfolio by notice to the Sub-Adviser;
(b) invest and reinvest the assets of the Portfolio by selecting the securities, instruments, repurchase agreements, financial futures contracts, options and other investments and techniques that the Fund may purchase, sell, enter into or use in respect of the Portfolio;
(c) oversee the placement of purchase and sale orders on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio;
(d) employ portfolio managers to make investment decisions and securities analysts to provide research services to the Fund in respect of the Portfolio;
(e) subject to the understanding set forth in Section 10(a)(1) of this Agreement, vote all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested in accordance with the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting policies and procedures and in a manner that complies with applicable law; maintain records of all proxies voted on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio; and provide information to the Trust, the Adviser or their designated agent in a manner that is sufficiently complete and timely to ensure the Trust's compliance with its filing obligations under Rule 30b1-4 of the 1940 Act;
(f) maintain books and records with respect to the Fund's securities transactions in respect of the Portfolio, in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations; and
(g) to the extent reasonably requested by the Adviser or officers of the Fund, cooperate with and provide reasonable assistance to the Adviser and the Trust's other service providers by (1) keeping them fully informed as to such matters that they may reasonably deem necessary with respect to the performance of their obligations to the Fund, (2) providing prompt responses to reasonable requests for information or assistance, and (3) establishing appropriate processes to promote the efficient exchange of information.
In providing those services, the Sub-Adviser will provide the Adviser and the Fund with an ongoing and continuous investment program in respect of the Portfolio. In addition, the Sub-Adviser will furnish the Adviser and/or the Fund with statistical information as the Adviser and/or the Fund may reasonably request with respect to the securities or other investments in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested.
The Sub-Adviser further agrees that, in performing its duties hereunder, it will:
(h) comply in all material respects with the applicable sections of (1) the 1940 Act and the Advisers Act and all rules and regulations thereunder and any other applicable federal and state laws and regulations, (2) the rules and regulations of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, (3) the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Code"), (4) the investment objectives, strategies, policies, limitations and restrictions of the Fund as described in the Registration Statement, (5) the Trust's Trust Instrument and By-Laws or other organizational documents of the Trust and (6) any written instructions of the Adviser or the Board;
(i) manage the assets of the Portfolio in a manner that the Fund will comply with the following requirements of the Code and regulations issued thereunder: section 851(b)(2) and section 851(b)(3) (and, if applicable, section 817(h)); provided, however, that with respect to the 10% voting securities test contained in section 851(b)(3)(A)(ii), the Sub-Adviser will comply with such requirements as the Trust, the Fund or its Adviser shall furnish to the Sub-Adviser from time to time;
(j) keep the Adviser and/or the Board informed of developments materially affecting the Fund's portfolio;
(k) make available to the Board, the Adviser, the Trust's Chief Compliance Officer ("CCO") and the Trust's administrator, promptly upon their request, such copies of its records with respect to the Fund as may be required to assist in their compliance with applicable laws and regulations. As reasonably requested by the Board or the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser will complete periodic or special questionnaires and furnish to the Board and/or the Adviser such periodic and special reports regarding the Fund and the Sub-Adviser including, but not limited to, reports concerning transactions and performance of the Portfolio, quarterly and annual compliance reports and certifications, quarterly tax compliance worksheets, reports regarding compliance with the Trust's procedures pursuant to Rules 17e-1, 17a-7, 10f-3 and 12d3-1 under the 1940 Act (as applicable), fundamental investment restrictions, procedures for opening brokerage accounts and commodity trading accounts, liquidity determinations for securities or other instruments held by the Portfolio such as, among others, securities purchased pursuant to Rule 144A and 4(2) commercial paper, compliance with the Sub-Adviser's Code of Ethics, and such other procedures or requirements that the Adviser may reasonably request from time to time;
(l) make available to the Board and the Adviser at reasonable times its portfolio managers and other appropriate personnel as mutually agreed by the Adviser and Sub-Adviser, either in person or, at the mutual convenience of the Board, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser, by telephone, in order to review the investment policies, performance and other matters relating to the management of the Fund;
(m) review draft reports to shareholders, registration statements or portions thereof that relate to the Portfolio or the Sub-Adviser and other documents provided to the Sub-Adviser, provide comments on such drafts on a timely basis, and provide certifications or sub-certifications on a timely basis as to the accuracy of the information contained in such reports or other documents;
(n) use no material, non-public information concerning portfolio companies that may be in its possession or the possession of any of its affiliates, nor will the Sub-Adviser seek to obtain any such information, in providing investment advice or investment management services to the Fund;
(o) promptly notify the Trust, the Adviser and the Board in the event that the Sub-Adviser or any of its affiliates becomes aware that the Sub-Adviser: (i) is subject to a statutory disqualification that prevents the Sub-Adviser from serving as investment adviser pursuant to this Agreement; (ii) fails to be registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act or under the laws of any jurisdiction in which the Sub-Adviser is required to be registered as an investment adviser in order to perform its obligations under this Agreement; (iii) is the subject of an administrative proceeding or enforcement action by the SEC or other regulatory authority; or (iv) is served or otherwise receives notice of any action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation, at law or in equity, before or by any court, public board or body, or governmental authority, involving the affairs of the Trust or the Adviser or their affiliates; or is involved in any pending litigation or administrative proceeding brought against the Sub-Adviser or any of its management persons (as defined in Rule 206(4)-4 under the Advisers Act). The Sub-Adviser further agrees to notify the Trust and the Adviser promptly of any material fact known to the Sub-Adviser respecting or relating to the Sub-Adviser that is not contained in the Trust's Registration Statement, as amended and supplemented from time to time, regarding the Fund, or any amendment or supplement thereto, but that is required to be disclosed therein, and of any statement contained therein that becomes untrue in any material respect. The Sub-Adviser will promptly notify the Trust, the Adviser and the Board if its chief executive officer or any member of the portfolio management team named in the Registration Statement for the Fund changes, or if there is an actual change in control or management of the Sub-Adviser within the meaning of Rules 2a-6 and 202(a)(1)-1 under the 1940 Act and Advisers Act, respectively;
(p) not disclose information regarding Portfolio or Fund characteristics, trading history, portfolio holdings, performance information or any other related information to any third-party, except in compliance with the Trust's policies on disclosure of portfolio holdings;
(q) provide the Adviser, the Trust or the Board with such information and assurances (including certifications and sub-certifications) as the Adviser, the Trust or the Board may reasonably request from time to time in order to assist the Adviser, the Trust or the Board in complying with applicable laws, rules and regulations, including requirements in connection with the preparation and/or filing of the Fund's Form N-CSRs and Form N-Qs;
(r) provide assistance to the Adviser, custodian or recordkeeping agent for the Trust in determining or confirming, consistent with the procedures and policies stated in the Registration Statement, the value of any portfolio securities or other assets of the Fund for which the Adviser, custodian or recordkeeping agent seeks assistance from the Sub-Adviser or identifies for review by the Sub-Adviser. This assistance includes (but is not limited to): (i) designating and providing access to one or more employees of the Sub-Adviser who are knowledgeable about the security/issuer, its financial condition, trading and/or other relevant factors for valuation, which employees shall be available for consultation when the Board's Valuation Committee convenes; (ii) assisting the Adviser or the custodian in obtaining bids and offers or quotes from broker/dealers or market-makers with respect to securities held by the Fund, upon the reasonable request of the Adviser or custodian; (iii) upon the request of the Adviser or the custodian, confirming pricing and providing recommendations for fair valuations; and (iv) maintaining adequate records and written backup information with respect to the securities valuation assistance provided hereunder, and providing such information to the Adviser or the Trust upon request, with such records being deemed Fund records;
(s) not consult with any other investment sub-adviser of the Trust (if any), or with the sub-adviser to any other investment company (or separate series thereof) managed by the Adviser concerning the Fund's transactions in securities or other assets, except for purposes of complying with the conditions of Rule 12d3-1(a) and (b) under the 1940 Act, and, to the extent that multiple sub-advisers may be engaged to provide services to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall be responsible for providing investment advisory services only with respect to the Portfolio allocated to the Sub-Adviser by the Adviser; and
(t) provide the Trust and the Adviser with a copy of its Form ADV as most recently filed with the SEC, notify the Adviser on a quarterly basis of any amendments to the Sub-Adviser's Form ADV and furnish a copy of such amendments to the Trust and the Adviser; and provide the Trust and the Adviser with a copy of its Form ADV Part II as updated from time to time.
3. Brokerage
The Sub-Adviser may place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund directly with the issuers of the securities, or with brokers or dealers selected by the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser may, in respect of the Portfolio, open and maintain brokerage accounts of all types on behalf of and in the name of the Fund. The Sub-Adviser may enter into standard customer agreements with brokers and direct payments of cash, cash equivalents and securities and other property into such brokerage accounts as the Sub-Adviser deems desirable or appropriate. In selecting brokers or dealers to execute transactions on behalf of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser will use its best efforts to seek the best overall terms available. In assessing the best overall terms available for the Fund transaction, the Sub-Adviser will consider all factors it deems relevant, including, but not limited to, the breadth of the market in the security, the price of the security, the financial condition and execution capability of the broker or dealer and the reasonableness of the commission, if any, for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. In selecting broker-dealers to execute a particular transaction, and in evaluating the best overall terms available, the Sub-Adviser is authorized to consider the brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "1934 Act")) provided to the Fund and/or other accounts over which the Sub-Adviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The parties hereto acknowledge that it is desirable for the Trust that the Sub-Adviser have access to supplemental investment and market research and security and economic analysis provided by broker-dealers who may execute brokerage transactions at a higher cost to the Fund than may result when allocating brokerage to other brokers on the basis of seeking the most favorable price and efficient execution. Therefore, the Sub-Adviser may cause the Fund to pay a broker-dealer that furnishes brokerage and research services a higher commission than that which might be charged by another broker-dealer for effecting the same transaction, provided that the Sub-Adviser determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker-dealer, viewed in terms of either the particular transaction or the overall responsibilities of the Sub-Adviser to the Fund in compliance with Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act. It is understood that the services provided by such brokers may be useful to the Sub-Adviser in connection with the Sub-Adviser's services to other clients. In accordance with Section 11(a) of the 1934 Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder and subject to any other applicable laws and regulations, the Sub-Adviser and its affiliates are authorized to effect portfolio transactions for the Fund and to retain brokerage commissions on such transactions. The Sub-Adviser may, but shall not be obligated to, aggregate or bunch orders for the purchase or sale of securities for the Fund with orders for its other clients where: (i) such aggregation or bunching of orders is not inconsistent with the Fund's investment objectives, policies and procedures, (ii) the allocation of the securities so purchased or sold, as well as the allocation of expenses incurred in any such transaction, shall be made by the Sub-Adviser in a manner that complies with the trade allocation policies and procedures approved by the Board and is fair and equitable in the judgment of the Sub-Adviser and is consistent with the Sub-Adviser's fiduciary obligations to the Fund and each of its other clients.
4. Books, Records and Regulatory Filings
(a) The Sub-Adviser agrees to maintain and to preserve for the applicable periods any such records as are required to be maintained by the Sub-Adviser with respect to the Fund by the 1940 Act and rules adopted thereunder, and by any other applicable laws, rules and regulations. The Sub-Adviser further agrees that all records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund and it will promptly surrender any of such records upon request; provided, however, that the Sub-Adviser may retain copies of such records for the applicable periods they are required by law to be retained, and thereafter shall destroy such records.
(b) The Sub-Adviser agrees that it shall furnish to regulatory authorities having the requisite authority any information or reports in connection with its services hereunder that may be requested in order to determine whether the operations of the Fund are being conducted in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations.
(c) The Sub-Adviser shall make all filings with the SEC required of it pursuant to Section 13 of the 1934 Act with respect to its duties as are set forth herein. The Sub-Adviser also shall make all required filings on Schedule 13D or 13G and Form 13F (as well as other filings triggered by ownership in securities under other applicable laws, rules and regulations) in respect of the Portfolio as may be required of the Fund due to the activities of the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser shall be the sole filer of Form 13F with respect to the Portfolio of the Fund.
5. Class Action Filings
The Sub-Adviser is not responsible for making any class action filings on behalf of the Trust.
6. Standard of Care, Limitation of Liability and Indemnification
(a) The Sub-Adviser shall exercise its best judgment in rendering the services under this Agreement. The Sub-Adviser shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust, the Adviser or the Fund, or affiliated persons of the Adviser or the Fund (collectively, the "Adviser Indemnitees") in connection with the matters to which this Agreement relates except a loss resulting from the Sub-Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties, under this Agreement; provided, however , that nothing herein shall be deemed to protect or purport to protect the Sub-Adviser against any liability to the Adviser Indemnitees for, and the Sub-Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Adviser Indemnitees from, any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which any of the Adviser Indemnitees may become subject arising out of or resulting from (i) the Sub-Adviser causing the Fund to be in violation of any applicable federal or state law, rule or regulation or any investment policy or restriction set forth in the Fund's current Registration Statement or the most current written guidelines, policies or instruction provided in writing by the Board or the Adviser, (ii) the Sub-Adviser causing the Fund to fail to satisfy the requirements set forth in Section 2(i) hereof, (iii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Sub-Adviser or the Portfolio managed by the Sub-Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact known to the Sub-Adviser that was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Adviser or the Trust by the Sub-Adviser for use therein, or (iv) a breach of this Agreement by the Sub-Adviser. In addition, the Sub-Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Trust and the Fund from any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which either the Trust or the Fund may become subject directly arising out of or resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty by the Sub-Adviser under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act with respect to the receipt of compensation for its services under this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing contained in this Agreement shall constitute a waiver or limitation of rights that the Trust or the Fund may have under federal or state securities laws.
(b) The Sub-Adviser is hereby expressly put on notice of the limitation of shareholder liability as set forth in the Trust Instrument or other organizational document of the Trust and agrees that any obligations of the Trust or the Fund arising in connection with this Agreement shall be limited in all cases to the Fund and its assets, and the Sub-Adviser shall not seek satisfaction of any such obligation from any other fund of the Trust or the shareholders or any individual shareholder of the Fund. Nor shall the Sub-Adviser seek satisfaction of any such obligation from the trustees of the Trust (each, a "Trustee" and, together, the "Trustees") or any individual Trustee or any officers.
(c) As used in this Section 6, the term "Sub-Adviser" shall include any officers, directors, employees, independent contractors or other affiliates of the Sub-Adviser performing services with respect to the Fund.
(d) The Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Sub-Adviser from and against any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which the Sub-Adviser may become subject directly arising out of or resulting from, the Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties under this Agreement, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under this Agreement.
7. Compensation
The Sub-Adviser shall be compensated for the services rendered pursuant to this Agreement in accordance with the terms set forth on Schedule A attached hereto.
8. Expenses
The Sub-Adviser will bear all expenses in connection with the performance of its services under this Agreement, excluding those costs of the Fund associated with brokerage activities. The Sub-Adviser shall bear all expenses and costs of the Trust (including reasonable attorney's fees), if any, arising out of a termination or possible termination of this Agreement as a result of an assignment caused by a change of control or management of the Sub-Adviser, including the preparation and mailing of an information statement to shareholders pursuant to a "manager-of-managers" exemptive order from the SEC, or the preparation, mailing, solicitation and other costs associated with the use of a proxy statement relating to a shareholder vote in respect of a new sub-advisory agreement. The foregoing obligations of the Sub-Adviser shall apply in any circumstance in which the Adviser, in consultation with internal or outside counsel to the Trust, deems that an actual or possible assignment of this Agreement has or may occur, and determines that an information statement should be used, or a vote of shareholders should be obtained, as the case may be.
9. Services to Other Companies or Accounts
The investment advisory services of the Sub-Adviser to the Fund under this Agreement are not to be deemed exclusive, and the Sub-Adviser shall be free to render similar services to other investment companies and clients (whether or not their investment objective and policies are similar those of the Fund) and to engage in other activities, provided that such other services and activities do not interfere with or impair the Sub-Adviser's ability to fulfill its duties and obligations under this Agreement. If the Sub-Adviser provides any advice to its clients concerning investment in the shares of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall act solely for such clients in that regard and not in any way on behalf of the Adviser, the Trust or the Fund.
10. Compliance Matters
(a) The Sub-Adviser understands and agrees that it is a "service provider" to the Trust as contemplated by Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act. As such, the Sub-Adviser agrees to cooperate fully with the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers, including the Trust's CCO, with respect to (i) any and all compliance-related matters, and (ii) the Trust's efforts to assure that each of its service providers adopts and maintains policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to prevent violation of the "federal securities laws" (as that term is defined by Rule 38a-1) by the Trust, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser. In this regard, the Sub-Adviser shall:
(1) submit to the Board for its consideration and approval, prior to the effective date of this Agreement, the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, it being understood that the Sub-Adviser's obligation under Section 2(e) of this Agreement to vote all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested shall be subject to the fulfillment of the condition that the Board approve the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting polices and procedures;
(2) submit annually (and at such other times as the Trust may reasonably request) to the Trust's CCO and the Adviser for consideration by the Board, a report discussing the adequacy and effectiveness of the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, and fully describing any material amendments to such compliance program since the most recent such report;
(3) provide periodic reports and certifications concerning the Sub-Adviser's compliance program and special reports in the event of material compliance matters;
(4) provide the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers with reasonable access to information regarding the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, which access shall include on-site visits with the Sub-Adviser as may be reasonably requested from time to time;
(5) permit the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers to maintain an active working relationship with the Sub-Adviser's compliance personnel by, among other things, providing the Adviser and the Trust's CCO and other officers with a specified individual within the Sub-Adviser's organization to discuss and address compliance-related matters;
(6) provide the Adviser and its chief compliance officer and the Trust and its Trustees and officers, including the Trust's CCO, with such certifications as may be reasonably requested; and
(7) reasonably cooperate with any independent registered public accounting firm engaged by the Trust, ensure that all reasonably necessary information and the appropriate personnel are made available to such independent registered public accounting firm, to support the expression of the independent registered public accounting firm's opinion.
(b) The Sub-Adviser represents, warrants and covenants that it has implemented and shall maintain a compliance program in accordance with the requirements of Rule 206(4)-7 under the Advisers Act.
(a) This Agreement shall be effective immediately as of the date set forth above and shall continue in effect for two years from its effective date with respect to the Fund, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, and shall continue year to year thereafter, provided each continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the vote of a majority of the Trustees or (ii) a vote of a "majority" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund's outstanding voting securities, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Trustees who are neither (A) parties to this Agreement nor (B) "interested persons" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person (to the extent required by the 1940 Act) at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.
(b) This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund, without penalty, on sixty (60) days' written notice to the Sub-Adviser: (i) by the Trust, pursuant to (A) action by the Board or (B) the vote of the holders of a "majority" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the shares of the Fund or (ii) by the Adviser. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund, without penalty, by the Sub-Adviser upon ninety (90) days' written notice to the Adviser and the Trust. In addition, this Agreement will terminate with respect to the Fund in the event of the termination of the Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund. This Agreement will be terminated automatically in the event of its "assignment" (as defined in the 1940 Act).
(c) In the event of a termination of this Agreement for any reason with respect to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall reasonably cooperate with any transition manager or successor investment sub-adviser and with the Adviser in transitioning the management of the Portfolio to one or more new sub-advisers or to the Adviser, including, without limitation, providing the transition manager, at such intervals as the transition manager may request, with a list of holdings for the Portfolio and such other information as required by the transition management agreement, into which the Adviser and the transition manager will, at that time, enter.
(d) Termination of this Agreement shall not affect the rights or obligations of the Adviser, the Adviser Indemnitees and the Sub-Adviser under Section 6 of this Agreement.
12. Use of Name
(a) The Sub-Adviser hereby consents to the use of its name and the names of its affiliates in the Fund's disclosure documents, shareholder communications, advertising, sales literature and similar communications. The Sub-Adviser shall not use the name or any tradename, trademark, trade device, service mark, symbol or any abbreviation, contraction or simulation thereof of the Adviser, the Trust, the Fund or any of their affiliates in its marketing materials unless it first receives prior written approval of the Trust and the Adviser.
(b) It is understood that the name of each party to this Agreement, and any derivatives thereof or logos associated with that name, is the valuable property of the party in question and its affiliates, and that each other party has the right to use such names pursuant to the relationship created by, and in accordance with the terms of, this Agreement only so long as this Agreement shall continue in effect. Upon termination of this Agreement, the parties shall forthwith cease to use the names of the other parties (or any derivative or logo) as appropriate and to the extent that continued use is not required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.
13. Confidential Information
(a) Each party agrees that it will treat confidentially all information provided by any other party (the "Discloser") regarding the Discloser's businesses and operations, including without limitation the investment activities or holdings of the Portfolio or the Fund ("Confidential Information"). All Confidential Information provided by the Discloser shall be used only by the other party hereto (the "Recipient") solely for the purposes of rendering services pursuant to this Agreement, and shall not be disclosed to any third party, without the prior consent of the Discloser, except for a limited number of employees, attorneys, accountants and other advisers of the Recipient and its affiliates on a need-to-know basis and solely for the purposes of rendering services under this Agreement.
(b) Confidential Information shall not include any information that: (i) is public when provided or thereafter becomes public through no wrongful act of the Recipient; (ii) is demonstrably known to the Recipient prior to execution of this Agreement; (iii) is independently developed by the Recipient through no wrongful act of the Recipient in the ordinary course of business outside of this Agreement; (iv) is generally employed by the trade at the time that the Recipient learns of such information or knowledge; or (v) has been rightfully and lawfully obtained by the Recipient from any third party.
(c) In the event that the Recipient is requested or required (by deposition, interrogatories, requests for information or documents in legal proceedings, subpoenas, civil investigative demand or similar process), in connection with any proceeding, to disclose any of the Discloser's Confidential Information, the Recipient will give the Discloser prompt written notice of such request or requirement to allow the Discloser an opportunity to obtain a protective order or otherwise obtain assurances that confidential treatment will be accorded to such Confidential Information. In the event that such protective order or other remedy is not obtained, disclosure shall be made of only that portion of the Confidential Information that is legally required to be disclosed. All Confidential Information disclosed as required by law shall nonetheless continue to be deemed Confidential Information.
14. Amendment
This Agreement may be amended in writing signed by the parties to this Agreement in a manner that is in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, as modified or interpreted by any applicable order, exemptive relief or interpretative release issued by the SEC.
15. Notices
All notices hereunder shall be provided in writing, by facsimile or by email. Notices shall be deemed given if delivered in person or by messenger, certified mail with return receipt, or by a reputable overnight delivery service that provides evidence of receipt to the parties; upon receipt if sent by fax; or upon read receipt or reply if delivered by email, at the following addresses:
If to the Trust: Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Marc Bryant
If to the Adviser: Strategic Advisers, Inc.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Chief Operating Officer
With Copy to: Strategic Advisers, Inc.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Karen Benoit
If to the Sub-Adviser: ClariVest Asset Management LLC
11452 El Camino Real, Suite 250
San Diego, CA 92130
Attn.: David Pavan
With a copy to: ClariVest Asset Management LLC
11452 El Camino Real, Suite 250
San Diego, CA 92130
Attn.: Tiffany Ayres
16. Miscellaneous
(a) This Agreement constitutes the full and complete agreement of the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof.
(b) Titles or captions of sections in this Agreement are inserted only as a matter of convenience and for reference, and in no way define, limit, extend or describe the scope of this Agreement or the intent of any provisions thereof.
(c) This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, all of which together shall for all purposes constitute one Agreement, binding on all the parties.
(d) This Agreement and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be governed by, and interpreted, construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without giving effect to the choice of laws provisions of that or any other jurisdiction. To the extent that the applicable laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control. The parties irrevocably consent to submit to the jurisdiction of any federal or state court sitting in The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(e) If any provision of this Agreement shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected hereby and, to this extent, the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed to be severable.
(f) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Sub-Adviser shall be an independent contractor. Nothing herein shall be construed as constituting the Sub-Adviser as an agent of the Adviser, the Trust or the Fund, except to the extent expressly authorized by this Agreement.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have caused this instrument to be executed by their officers designated below as of the date first set forth above.
CLARIVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC
By: /s/Stacey R. Nutt
Name: Stacey R. Nutt
Title: President
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: / s/Suzanne Brennan
Name: Suzanne Brennan
Title: Chief Operating Officer
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
By: /s/Kenneth Robins
Kenneth Robins
Treasurer
APPENDIX A
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 13 of this Agreement, Sub-Adviser shall be permitted, without the prior consent of the Adviser, to disclose Confidential Information to its third-party service providers listed below, as updated from time to time, solely for the purposes of rendering services under this Agreement.
Institutional Shareholder Services/RiskMetrics Group
Exhibit (d)(67)
AMENDED AND RESTATED INVESTMENT SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENT
AMONG
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.,
CAUSEWAY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC
AND
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
AGREEMENT, made this 1st day of December, 2010 and amended and restated as of March 1, 2012 and December 6, 2012, among Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II ("Trust"), a Delaware statutory trust, on behalf of Strategic Advisers International Fund (the "Fund"), Strategic Advisers, Inc. ("Adviser"), a Massachusetts corporation, and Causeway Capital Management LLC ("Sub-Adviser"), a Delaware limited liability company.
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as an open-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("1940 Act");
WHEREAS, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser are each registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended ("Advisers Act");
WHEREAS, the Trust has retained the Adviser to render investment advisory services to the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, pursuant to a Management Contract dated March 5, 2010 as may be amended from time to time ("Advisory Agreement");
WHEREAS, the Advisory Agreement authorizes the Adviser to delegate to one or more other investment advisers any or all of the Adviser's duties and obligations under the Advisory Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the Trust and the Adviser wish to retain the Sub-Adviser to render certain investment advisory services to the Fund with respect to the portion of the Fund's assets allocated to the Sub-Adviser, as determined from time to time by the Adviser, and the Sub-Adviser is willing to render such services.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed among the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser and the Trust as follows:
1. Appointment
The Trust and the Adviser hereby appoint the Sub-Adviser to act as investment sub-adviser to the Fund with respect to the portion of the Fund's assets allocated, from time to time, by the Adviser to the Sub-Adviser (the "Portfolio"), for the periods and on the terms set forth herein. The Sub-Adviser accepts the appointment and agrees to furnish the services set forth herein for the compensation provided in Section 7 of this Agreement.
2. Services and Duties of Investment Sub-Adviser
Subject to the general supervision and oversight of the Adviser and the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the "Board"), the Sub-Adviser will:
(a) provide a program of continuous investment management for the Portfolio in accordance with the Fund's investment objective and policies as stated in the Fund's prospectus and statement of additional information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on Form N-1A, as amended and supplemented from time to time (the "Registration Statement"), and such other limitations as the Trust, the Fund, the Board or the Adviser may impose with respect to the Portfolio by notice to the Sub-Adviser;
(b) invest and reinvest the assets of the Portfolio by selecting the securities, instruments, repurchase agreements, financial futures contracts, forward foreign currency exchange contracts, options and other investments and techniques that the Fund may purchase, sell, enter into or use in respect of the Portfolio;
(c) oversee the placement of purchase and sale orders on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio;
(d) employ portfolio managers to make investment decisions and securities analysts to provide research services to the Fund in respect of the Portfolio;
(e) subject to the understanding set forth in Section 10(a)(1) of this Agreement, vote all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested in accordance with the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting policies and procedures and in a manner that complies with applicable law; maintain records of all proxies voted on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio; and provide information to the Trust, the Adviser or their designated agent in a manner that is sufficiently complete and timely to ensure the Trust's compliance with its filing obligations under Rule 30b1-4 of the 1940 Act;
(f) maintain books and records with respect to the Fund's securities transactions in respect of the Portfolio, in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations; and
(g) to the extent reasonably requested by the Adviser or officers of the Fund, cooperate with and provide reasonable assistance to the Adviser and the Trust's other service providers by (1) keeping them fully informed as to such matters that they may reasonably deem necessary with respect to the performance of their obligations to the Fund, (2) providing prompt responses to reasonable requests for information or assistance, and (3) establishing appropriate processes to promote the efficient exchange of information.
In providing those services, the Sub-Adviser will provide the Adviser and the Fund with an ongoing and continuous investment program in respect of the Portfolio. In addition, the Sub-Adviser will furnish the Adviser and/or the Fund with statistical information as the Adviser and/or the Fund may reasonably request with respect to the securities or other investments in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested.
The Sub-Adviser further agrees that, in performing its duties hereunder, it will:
(h) comply in all material respects with the applicable sections of (1) the 1940 Act and the Advisers Act and all rules and regulations thereunder and any other applicable federal and state laws and regulations, (2) the Sub-Adviser's compliance policies and procedures, (3) the rules and regulations of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, (4) the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Code"), (5) the investment objectives, strategies, policies, limitations and restrictions of the Fund as described in the Registration Statement, (6) the Trust's Trust Instrument and By-Laws or other organizational documents of the Trust and (7) any written instructions of the Adviser or the Board;
(i) manage the assets of the Portfolio in a manner that the Fund will comply with the following requirements of the Code and regulations issued thereunder: section 851(b)(2) and section 851(b)(3) (and, if applicable, section 817(h)); provided, however, that with respect to the 10% voting securities test contained in section 851(b)(3)(A)(ii), the Sub-Adviser will comply with such requirements as the Trust, the Fund or its Adviser shall furnish to the Sub-Adviser from time to time;
(j) keep the Adviser and/or the Board informed of developments materially affecting the Fund's portfolio;
(k) make available to the Board, the Adviser, the Fund's Chief Compliance Officer ("CCO") and the Trust's administrator, promptly upon their request, such copies of its records with respect to the Fund as may be required to assist in their compliance with applicable laws and regulations. As reasonably requested by the Board or the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser will complete periodic or special questionnaires and furnish to the Board and/or the Adviser such periodic and special reports regarding the Fund and the Sub-Adviser including, but not limited to, reports concerning transactions and performance of the Portfolio, quarterly and annual compliance reports and certifications, quarterly tax compliance worksheets, reports regarding compliance with the Trust's procedures pursuant to Rules 17e-1, 17a-7, 10f-3 and 12d3-1 under the 1940 Act (as applicable), quarterly reports identifying material compliance matters and any material changes to the Sub-Adviser's compliance program (including revisions to compliance policies and procedures), fundamental investment restrictions, procedures for opening brokerage accounts and commodity trading accounts, liquidity determinations for securities or other instruments held by the Portfolio such as, among others, securities purchased pursuant to Rule 144A and 4(2) commercial paper, compliance with the Sub-Adviser's Code of Ethics, and such other procedures or requirements that the Adviser may reasonably request from time to time;
(l) make available to the Board and the Adviser at reasonable times its portfolio managers and other appropriate personnel as mutually agreed by the Adviser and Sub-Adviser, either in person or, at the mutual convenience of the Board, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser, by telephone, in order to review the investment policies, performance and other matters relating to the management of the Fund;
(m) review draft reports to shareholders, registration statements or portions thereof that relate to the Portfolio or the Sub-Adviser and other documents provided to the Sub-Adviser, provide comments on such drafts on a timely basis, and provide certifications or sub-certifications on a timely basis as to the accuracy of the information contained in such reports or other documents;
(n) use no material, non-public information concerning portfolio companies that may be in its possession or the possession of any of its affiliates, nor will the Sub-Adviser seek to obtain any such information, in providing investment advice or investment management services to the Fund;
(o) promptly notify the Trust, the Adviser and the Board in the event that the Sub-Adviser or any of its affiliates becomes aware that the Sub-Adviser: (i) is subject to a statutory disqualification that prevents the Sub-Adviser from serving as investment adviser pursuant to this Agreement; (ii) fails to be registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act or under the laws of any jurisdiction in which the Sub-Adviser is required to be registered as an investment adviser in order to perform its obligations under this Agreement; (iii) is the subject of an administrative proceeding or enforcement action by the SEC or other regulatory authority; or (iv) is served or otherwise receives notice of any action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation, at law or in equity, before or by any court, public board or body, or governmental authority, involving the affairs of the Trust or the Adviser or their affiliates; or is involved in any pending litigation or administrative proceeding brought against the Sub-Adviser or any of its management persons (as defined in Rule 206(4)-4 under the Advisers Act). The Sub-Adviser further agrees to notify the Trust and the Adviser promptly of any material fact known to the Sub-Adviser respecting or relating to the Sub-Adviser that is not contained in the Trust's Registration Statement, as amended and supplemented from time to time, regarding the Fund, or any amendment or supplement thereto, but that is required to be disclosed therein, and of any statement contained therein that becomes untrue in any material respect. The Sub-Adviser will promptly notify the Trust, the Adviser and the Board if its chief executive officer or any member of the portfolio management team named in the Registration Statement for the Fund changes, or if there is an actual change in control or management of the Sub-Adviser within the meaning of Rules 2a-6 and 202(a)(1)-1 under the 1940 Act and Advisers Act, respectively;
(p) not disclose information regarding Portfolio or Fund characteristics, trading history, portfolio holdings, performance information or any other related information to any third-party, except in compliance with the Trust's policies on disclosure of portfolio holdings or as necessary to perform services under this Agreement in accordance with Section 13 of this Agreement;
(q) provide the Adviser, the Trust or the Board with such information and assurances (including certifications and sub-certifications) as the Adviser, the Trust or the Board may reasonably request from time to time in order to assist the Adviser, the Trust or the Board in complying with applicable laws, rules and regulations, including requirements in connection with the preparation and/or filing of the Fund's Form N-CSRs and Form N-Qs;
(r) provide assistance to the Adviser, custodian or recordkeeping agent for the Trust in determining or confirming, consistent with the procedures and policies stated in the Registration Statement, the value of any portfolio securities or other assets of the Fund for which the Adviser, custodian or recordkeeping agent seeks assistance from the Sub-Adviser or identifies for review by the Sub-Adviser. This assistance includes (but is not limited to): (i) designating and providing access to one or more employees of the Sub-Adviser who are knowledgeable about the security/issuer, its financial condition, trading and/or other relevant factors for valuation, which employees shall be available for consultation when the Board's Valuation Committee convenes; (ii) assisting the Adviser or the custodian in obtaining bids and offers or quotes from broker/dealers or market-makers with respect to securities held by the Fund, upon the reasonable request of the Adviser or custodian; (iii) upon the request of the Adviser or the custodian, confirming pricing and providing recommendations for fair valuations; and (iv) maintaining adequate records and written backup information with respect to the securities valuation assistance provided hereunder, and providing such information to the Adviser or the Trust upon request, with such records being deemed Fund records;
(s) not consult with any other investment sub-adviser of the Trust (if any), or with the sub-adviser to any other investment company (or separate series thereof) managed by the Adviser concerning the Fund's transactions in securities or other assets, except for purposes of complying with the conditions of Rule 12d3-1(a) and (b) under the 1940 Act, and, to the extent that multiple sub-advisers may be engaged to provide services to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall be responsible for providing investment advisory services only with respect to the Portfolio allocated to the Sub-Adviser by the Adviser; and
(t) provide the Trust and the Adviser with a copy of its Form ADV as most recently filed with the SEC, notify the Adviser on a quarterly basis of any amendments to the Sub-Adviser's Form ADV and furnish a copy of such amendments to the Trust and the Adviser; and provide the Trust and the Adviser with a copy of its Form ADV Part II as updated from time to time.
The Sub-Adviser further agrees that it may perform any or all the services contemplated by this Agreement directly or through such of its subsidiaries or other affiliated persons as it believes reasonably necessary to assist it in carrying out its obligations under this Agreement. However, the Sub-Adviser may not retain the services of any entity that would be an "investment adviser", as that term is defined in the 1940 Act, to the Fund unless any agreement with such entity has been approved by (i) a majority of the Trust's Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, and (ii) to the extent necessary, the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.
3. Brokerage
The Sub-Adviser may place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund directly with the issuers of the securities, or with brokers or dealers selected by the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser may, in respect of the Portfolio, open and maintain brokerage accounts of all types on behalf of and in the name of the Fund. The Sub-Adviser may enter into standard customer agreements with brokers and direct payments of cash, cash equivalents and securities and other property into such brokerage accounts as the Sub-Adviser deems desirable or appropriate. In selecting brokers or dealers to execute transactions on behalf of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser will use its best efforts to seek the best overall terms available. In assessing the best overall terms available for the Fund transaction, the Sub-Adviser will consider all factors it deems relevant, including, but not limited to, the breadth of the market in the security, the price of the security, the financial condition and execution capability of the broker or dealer and the reasonableness of the commission, if any, for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. In selecting broker-dealers to execute a particular transaction, and in evaluating the best overall terms available, the Sub-Adviser is authorized to consider the brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "1934 Act")) provided to the Fund and/or other accounts over which the Sub-Adviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The parties hereto acknowledge that it is desirable for the Trust that the Sub-Adviser have access to supplemental investment and market research and security and economic analysis provided by broker-dealers who may execute brokerage transactions at a higher cost to the Fund than may result when allocating brokerage to other brokers on the basis of seeking the most favorable price and efficient execution. Therefore, the Sub-Adviser may cause the Fund to pay a broker-dealer that furnishes brokerage and research services a higher commission than that which might be charged by another broker-dealer for effecting the same transaction, provided that the Sub-Adviser determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker-dealer, viewed in terms of either the particular transaction or the overall responsibilities of the Sub-Adviser to the Fund in compliance with Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act. It is understood that the services provided by such brokers may be useful to the Sub-Adviser in connection with the Sub-Adviser's services to other clients. In accordance with Section 11(a) of the 1934 Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder and subject to any other applicable laws and regulations, the Sub-Adviser and its affiliates are authorized to effect portfolio transactions for the Fund and to retain brokerage commissions on such transactions. The Sub-Adviser may, but shall not be obligated to, aggregate or bunch orders for the purchase or sale of securities for the Fund with orders for its other clients where: (i) such aggregation or bunching of orders is not inconsistent with the Fund's investment objectives, policies and procedures, (ii) the allocation of the securities so purchased or sold, as well as the allocation of expenses incurred in any such transaction, shall be made by the Sub-Adviser in a manner that complies with the trade allocation policies and procedures approved by the Board and is fair and equitable in the judgment of the Sub-Adviser and is consistent with the Sub-Adviser's fiduciary obligations to the Fund and each of its other clients.
4. Books, Records and Regulatory Filings
(a) The Sub-Adviser agrees to maintain and to preserve for the applicable periods any such records as are required to be maintained by the Sub-Adviser with respect to the Fund by the 1940 Act and rules adopted thereunder, and by any other applicable laws, rules and regulations. The Sub-Adviser further agrees that all records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund and it will promptly surrender any of such records upon request; provided, however, that the Sub-Adviser may retain copies of such records for the applicable periods they are required by law to be retained, and thereafter shall destroy such records.
(b) The Sub-Adviser agrees that it shall furnish to regulatory authorities having the requisite authority any information or reports in connection with its services hereunder that may be requested in order to determine whether the operations of the Fund are being conducted in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations.
(c) The Sub-Adviser shall make all filings with the SEC required of it pursuant to Section 13 of the 1934 Act with respect to its duties as are set forth herein. The Sub-Adviser also shall make all required filings on Schedule 13D or 13G and Form 13F (as well as other filings triggered by ownership in securities under other applicable laws, rules and regulations) in respect of the Portfolio as may be required of the Fund due to the activities of the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser shall be the sole filer of Form 13F with respect to the Portfolio of the Fund.
5. Class Action Filings
The Sub-Adviser is not responsible for making any class action filings on behalf of the Trust.
6. Standard of Care, Limitation of Liability and Indemnification
(a) The Sub-Adviser shall exercise its best judgment in rendering the services under this Agreement. The Sub-Adviser shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust, the Adviser or the Fund, or affiliated persons of the Adviser or the Fund (collectively, the "Adviser Indemnitees") in connection with the matters to which this Agreement relates except a loss resulting from the Sub-Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties, under this Agreement; provided, however , that nothing herein shall be deemed to protect or purport to protect the Sub-Adviser against any liability to the Adviser Indemnitees for, and the Sub-Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Adviser Indemnitees from, any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which any of the Adviser Indemnitees may become subject arising out of or resulting from (i) the Sub-Adviser causing the Fund to be in violation of any applicable federal or state law, rule or regulation or any investment policy or restriction set forth in the Fund's current Registration Statement or the most current written guidelines, policies or instruction provided in writing by the Board or the Adviser, (ii) the Sub-Adviser causing the Fund to fail to satisfy the requirements set forth in Section 2(i) hereof, (iii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Sub-Adviser or the Portfolio managed by the Sub-Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact known to the Sub-Adviser that was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Adviser or the Trust by the Sub-Adviser for use therein, or (iv) a breach of this Agreement by the Sub-Adviser. In addition, the Sub-Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Trust and the Fund from any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which either the Trust or the Fund may become subject directly arising out of or resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty by the Sub-Adviser under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act with respect to the receipt of compensation for its services under this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing contained in this Agreement shall constitute a waiver or limitation of rights that the Trust or the Fund may have under federal or state securities laws.
(b) The Sub-Adviser is hereby expressly put on notice of the limitation of shareholder liability as set forth in the Trust Instrument or other organizational document of the Trust and agrees that any obligations of the Trust or the Fund arising in connection with this Agreement shall be limited in all cases to the Fund and its assets, and the Sub-Adviser shall not seek satisfaction of any such obligation from any other fund of the Trust or the shareholders or any individual shareholder of the Fund. Nor shall the Sub-Adviser seek satisfaction of any such obligation from the trustees of the Trust (each, a "Trustee" and, together, the "Trustees") or any individual Trustee or any officers.
(c) As used in this Section 6, the term "Sub-Adviser" shall include any officers, directors, employees, independent contractors or other affiliates of the Sub-Adviser performing services with respect to the Fund.
(d) The Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Sub-Adviser from and against any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which the Sub-Adviser may become subject directly arising out of or resulting from, the Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties under this Agreement, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under this Agreement.
7. Compensation
The Sub-Adviser shall be compensated for the services rendered pursuant to this Agreement in accordance with the terms set forth on Schedule A attached hereto.
8. Expenses
The Sub-Adviser will bear all expenses in connection with the performance of its services under this Agreement, excluding those costs of the Fund associated with brokerage activities. The Sub-Adviser shall bear all expenses and costs of the Trust (including reasonable attorney's fees), if any, arising out of a termination or possible termination of this Agreement as a result of an assignment caused by a change of control or management of the Sub-Adviser, including the preparation and mailing of an information statement to shareholders pursuant to a "manager-of-managers" exemptive order from the SEC, or the preparation, mailing, solicitation and other costs associated with the use of a proxy statement relating to a shareholder vote in respect of a new sub-advisory agreement. The foregoing obligations of the Sub-Adviser shall apply in any circumstance in which the Adviser, in consultation with internal or outside counsel to the Trust, deems that an actual or possible assignment of this Agreement has or may occur, and determines that an information statement should be used, or a vote of shareholders should be obtained, as the case may be.
9. Services to Other Companies or Accounts
The investment advisory services of the Sub-Adviser to the Fund under this Agreement are not to be deemed exclusive, and the Sub-Adviser shall be free to render similar services to other investment companies and clients (whether or not their investment objective and policies are similar those of the Fund) and to engage in other activities, provided that such other services and activities do not interfere with or impair the Sub-Adviser's ability to fulfill its duties and obligations under this Agreement. If the Sub-Adviser provides any advice to its clients concerning investment in the shares of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall act solely for such clients in that regard and not in any way on behalf of the Adviser, the Trust or the Fund.
10. Compliance Matters
(a) The Sub-Adviser understands and agrees that it is a "service provider" to the Trust as contemplated by Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act. As such, the Sub-Adviser agrees to cooperate fully with the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers, including the Fund's CCO, with respect to (i) any and all compliance-related matters, and (ii) the Trust's efforts to assure that each of its service providers adopts and maintains policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to prevent violation of the "federal securities laws" (as that term is defined by Rule 38a-1) by the Trust, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser. In this regard, the Sub-Adviser shall:
(1) submit to the Board for its consideration and approval, prior to the effective date of this Agreement, the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, it being understood that the Sub-Adviser's obligation under Section 2(e) of this Agreement to vote all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested shall be subject to the fulfillment of the condition that the Board approve the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting polices and procedures;
(2) submit annually (and at such other times as the Trust may reasonably request) to the Fund's CCO and the Adviser for consideration by the Board, a report discussing the adequacy and effectiveness of the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, and fully describing any material amendments to such compliance program since the most recent such report;
(3) provide periodic reports, certifications and information concerning the Sub-Adviser's compliance program including, but not limited to, the following;
(i) Quarterly Compliance Certifications , including any required attachments, no later than the tenth (10th) business day after each calendar quarter;
(ii) Annual Survey to Sub-Advisers , including any required attachments, no later than the tenth (10th) business day of February each year; and
(iii) Annual Report on Code of Ethics Matters , including any required attachments, no later than the tenth (10 th ) business day of February each year.
(4) provide the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers with reasonable access to information regarding the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, which access shall include on-site visits with the Sub-Adviser as may be reasonably requested from time to time;
(5) permit the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers to maintain an active working relationship with the Sub-Adviser's compliance personnel by, among other things, providing the Adviser and the Fund's CCO and other officers with a specified individual within the Sub-Adviser's organization to discuss and address compliance-related matters;
(6) provide the Adviser and its chief compliance officer and the Trust and its Trustees and officers, including the Fund's CCO, with such certifications as may be reasonably requested; and
(7) reasonably cooperate with any independent registered public accounting firm engaged by the Trust, ensure that all reasonably necessary information and the appropriate personnel are made available to such independent registered public accounting firm, to support the expression of the independent registered public accounting firm's opinion, and each year provide the Adviser and such independent registered public accounting firm with a copy of the most recent SAS 70 Report prepared by the Sub-Adviser's independent auditors regarding the Sub-Adviser's internal controls.
(b) The Sub-Adviser represents, warrants and covenants that it has implemented and shall maintain a compliance program in accordance with the requirements of Rule 206(4)-7 under the Advisers Act.
(a) This Agreement shall be effective immediately as of the date set forth above and shall continue in effect for two years from its effective date with respect to the Fund, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, and shall continue year to year thereafter, provided each continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the vote of a majority of the Trustees or (ii) a vote of a "majority" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund's outstanding voting securities, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Trustees who are neither (A) parties to this Agreement nor (B) "interested persons" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person (to the extent required by the 1940 Act) at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.
(b) This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund, without penalty, on sixty (60) days' written notice to the Sub-Adviser: (i) by the Trust, pursuant to (A) action by the Board or (B) the vote of the holders of a "majority" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the shares of the Fund or (ii) by the Adviser. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund, without penalty, by the Sub-Adviser upon ninety (90) days' written notice to the Adviser and the Trust. In addition, this Agreement will terminate with respect to the Fund in the event of the termination of the Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund. This Agreement will be terminated automatically in the event of its "assignment" (as defined in the 1940 Act).
(c) In the event of a termination of this Agreement for any reason with respect to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall reasonably cooperate with any transition manager or successor investment sub-adviser and with the Adviser in transitioning the management of the Portfolio to one or more new sub-advisers or to the Adviser, including, without limitation, providing the transition manager, at such intervals as the transition manager may request, with a list of holdings for the Portfolio and such other information as required by the transition management agreement, into which the Adviser and the transition manager will, at that time, enter. The Sub-Adviser shall deliver to Adviser all periodic compliance reports, certifications and information applicable to the period of Sub-Adviser's services provided under this Agreement, including annual compliance reports and certifications.
(d) Termination of this Agreement shall not affect the rights or obligations of the Adviser, the Adviser Indemnitees and the Sub-Adviser under Section 6 of this Agreement.
12. Use of Name
(a) The Sub-Adviser hereby consents to the use of its name and the names of its affiliates in the Fund's disclosure documents, shareholder communications, advertising, sales literature and similar communications. The Sub-Adviser shall not use the name or any tradename, trademark, trade device, service mark, symbol or any abbreviation, contraction or simulation thereof of the Adviser, the Trust, the Fund or any of their affiliates in its marketing materials unless it first receives prior written approval of the Trust and the Adviser.
(b) It is understood that the name of each party to this Agreement, and any derivatives thereof or logos associated with that name, is the valuable property of the party in question and its affiliates, and that each other party has the right to use such names pursuant to the relationship created by, and in accordance with the terms of, this Agreement only so long as this Agreement shall continue in effect. Upon termination of this Agreement, the parties shall forthwith cease to use the names of the other parties (or any derivative or logo) as appropriate and to the extent that continued use is not required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.
13. Confidential Information
(a) Each party agrees that it will treat confidentially all information provided by any other party (the "Discloser") regarding the Discloser's businesses and operations, including without limitation the investment activities or holdings of the Portfolio or the Fund ("Confidential Information"). All Confidential Information provided by the Discloser shall be used only by the other party hereto (the "Recipient") solely for the purposes of rendering services pursuant to this Agreement, and shall not be disclosed to any third party, without the prior consent of the Discloser, except for a limited number of employees, attorneys, accountants and other advisers of the Recipient and its affiliates on a need-to-know basis and solely for the purposes of rendering services under this Agreement.
(b) Confidential Information shall not include any information that: (i) is public when provided or thereafter becomes public through no wrongful act of the Recipient; (ii) is demonstrably known to the Recipient prior to execution of this Agreement; (iii) is independently developed by the Recipient through no wrongful act of the Recipient in the ordinary course of business outside of this Agreement; (iv) is generally employed by the trade at the time that the Recipient learns of such information or knowledge; or (v) has been rightfully and lawfully obtained by the Recipient from any third party.
(c) In the event that the Recipient is requested or required (by deposition, interrogatories, requests for information or documents in legal proceedings, subpoenas, civil investigative demand or similar process), in connection with any proceeding, to disclose any of the Discloser's Confidential Information, the Recipient will give the Discloser prompt written notice of such request or requirement to allow the Discloser an opportunity to obtain a protective order or otherwise obtain assurances that confidential treatment will be accorded to such Confidential Information. In the event that such protective order or other remedy is not obtained, disclosure shall be made of only that portion of the Confidential Information that is legally required to be disclosed. All Confidential Information disclosed as required by law shall nonetheless continue to be deemed Confidential Information.
14. Amendment
This Agreement may be amended in writing signed by the parties to this Agreement in a manner that is in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, as modified or interpreted by any applicable order, exemptive relief or interpretative release issued by the SEC.
15. Notices
All notices hereunder shall be provided in writing, by facsimile or by email. Notices shall be deemed given if delivered in person or by messenger, certified mail with return receipt, or by a reputable overnight delivery service that provides evidence of receipt to the parties; upon receipt if sent by fax; or upon read receipt or reply if delivered by email, at the following addresses:
If to the Trust: Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Marc Bryant
If to the Adviser: Strategic Advisers, Inc.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Chief Operating Officer
With Copy to: Strategic Advisers, Inc.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Karen Benoit
If to the Sub-Adviser: Causeway Capital Management LLC
11111 Santa Monica Blvd., 15 th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Attn.: Turner Swan
16. Miscellaneous
(a) This Agreement constitutes the full and complete agreement of the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof.
(b) Titles or captions of sections in this Agreement are inserted only as a matter of convenience and for reference, and in no way define, limit, extend or describe the scope of this Agreement or the intent of any provisions thereof.
(c) This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, all of which together shall for all purposes constitute one Agreement, binding on all the parties.
(d) This Agreement and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be governed by, and interpreted, construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without giving effect to the choice of laws provisions of that or any other jurisdiction. To the extent that the applicable laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control. The parties irrevocably consent to submit to the jurisdiction of any federal or state court sitting in The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(e) If any provision of this Agreement shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected hereby and, to this extent, the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed to be severable.
(f) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Sub-Adviser shall be an independent contractor. Nothing herein shall be construed as constituting the Sub-Adviser as an agent of the Adviser, the Trust or the Fund, except to the extent expressly authorized by this Agreement.
(g) The Adviser will comply in all material respects with applicable law in providing services to the Fund.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have caused this instrument to be executed by their officers designated below as of the date first set forth above.
CAUSEWAY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC
By: /s/Grace V. Fermelia
Name: Grace V. Fermelia
Title: COO
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Name: Suzanne Brennan
Title: Chief Operating Officer
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
By: /s/Kenneth Robins
Kenneth Robins
Treasurer
APPENDIX A
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 13 of this Agreement, Sub-Adviser shall be permitted, without the prior consent of the Adviser, to disclose Confidential Information to its third-party service providers listed below, as updated from time to time, solely for the purposes of rendering services under this Agreement.
Charles River Systems, Inc. |
Trading and compliance system |
Omgeo LLC |
Automated trade matching service |
Misys International Banking Systems, Inc. |
Automated foreign exchange trade matching service |
Eagle Investment Systems Corp. |
Portfolio accounting system |
Electra Securities Transaction and Asset Reconciliation System (STaARS) |
Automated reconciliation service |
FactSet Research Systems Inc. |
Online database system for portfolio analytics |
Interactive Data Corporation |
Pricing vendor |
ISS |
Proxy research and record keeping service |
Various broker-dealers |
Purchases and sales of securities |
Exhibit (d)(72)
AMENDED AND RESTATED INVESTMENT SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENT
AMONG
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.,
CAUSEWAY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC
AND
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
AGREEMENT, made this 1st day of March, 2012, and amended and restated as of December 6, 2012 among Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II ("Trust"), a Delaware statutory trust, on behalf of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund (the "Fund"), Strategic Advisers, Inc. ("Adviser"), a Massachusetts corporation, and Causeway Capital Management LLC ("Sub-Adviser"), a Delaware limited liability company.
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as an open-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("1940 Act");
WHEREAS, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser are each registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended ("Advisers Act");
WHEREAS, the Trust has retained the Adviser to render investment advisory services to the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, pursuant to a Management Contract dated March 1, 2012 as may be amended from time to time ("Advisory Agreement");
WHEREAS, the Advisory Agreement authorizes the Adviser to delegate to one or more other investment advisers any or all of the Adviser's duties and obligations under the Advisory Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the Trust and the Adviser wish to retain the Sub-Adviser to render certain investment advisory services to the Fund with respect to the portion of the Fund's assets allocated to the Sub-Adviser, as determined from time to time by the Adviser, and the Sub-Adviser is willing to render such services.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed among the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser and the Trust as follows:
1. Appointment
The Trust and the Adviser hereby appoint the Sub-Adviser to act as investment sub-adviser to the Fund with respect to the portion of the Fund's assets allocated, from time to time, by the Adviser to the Sub-Adviser (the "Portfolio"), for the periods and on the terms set forth herein. The Sub-Adviser accepts the appointment and agrees to furnish the services set forth herein for the compensation provided in Section 7 of this Agreement.
2. Services and Duties of Investment Sub-Adviser
Subject to the general supervision and oversight of the Adviser and the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the "Board"), the Sub-Adviser will:
(a) provide a program of continuous investment management for the Portfolio in accordance with the Fund's investment objective and policies as stated in the Fund's prospectus and statement of additional information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on Form N-1A, as amended and supplemented from time to time (the "Registration Statement"), and such other limitations as the Trust, the Fund, the Board or the Adviser may impose with respect to the Portfolio by notice to the Sub-Adviser;
(b) invest and reinvest the assets of the Portfolio by selecting the securities, instruments, repurchase agreements, financial futures contracts, forward foreign currency exchange contracts, options and other investments and techniques that the Fund may purchase, sell, enter into or use in respect of the Portfolio;
(c) oversee the placement of purchase and sale orders on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio;
(d) employ portfolio managers to make investment decisions and securities analysts to provide research services to the Fund in respect of the Portfolio;
(e) subject to the understanding set forth in Section 10(a)(1) of this Agreement, vote all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested in accordance with the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting policies and procedures and in a manner that complies with applicable law; maintain records of all proxies voted on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio; and provide information to the Trust, the Adviser or their designated agent in a manner that is sufficiently complete and timely to ensure the Trust's compliance with its filing obligations under Rule 30b1-4 of the 1940 Act;
(f) maintain books and records with respect to the Fund's securities transactions in respect of the Portfolio, in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations; and
(g) to the extent reasonably requested by the Adviser or officers of the Fund, cooperate with and provide reasonable assistance to the Adviser and the Trust's other service providers by (1) keeping them fully informed as to such matters that they may reasonably deem necessary with respect to the performance of their obligations to the Fund, (2) providing prompt responses to reasonable requests for information or assistance, and (3) establishing appropriate processes to promote the efficient exchange of information.
In providing those services, the Sub-Adviser will provide the Adviser and the Fund with an ongoing and continuous investment program in respect of the Portfolio. In addition, the Sub-Adviser will furnish the Adviser and/or the Fund with statistical information as the Adviser and/or the Fund may reasonably request with respect to the securities or other investments in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested.
The Sub-Adviser further agrees that, in performing its duties hereunder, it will:
(h) comply in all material respects with the applicable sections of (1) the 1940 Act and the Advisers Act and all rules and regulations thereunder and any other applicable federal and state laws and regulations, (2) the Sub-Adviser's compliance policies and procedures, (3) the rules and regulations of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, (4) the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Code"), (5) the investment objectives, strategies, policies, limitations and restrictions of the Fund as described in the Registration Statement, (6) the Trust's Trust Instrument and By-Laws or other organizational documents of the Trust and (7) any written instructions of the Adviser or the Board;
(i) manage the assets of the Portfolio in a manner that the Fund will comply with the following requirements of the Code and regulations issued thereunder: section 851(b)(2) and section 851(b)(3) (and, if applicable, section 817(h)); provided, however, that with respect to the 10% voting securities test contained in section 851(b)(3)(A)(ii), the Sub-Adviser will comply with such requirements as the Trust, the Fund or its Adviser shall furnish to the Sub-Adviser from time to time;
(j) keep the Adviser and/or the Board informed of developments materially affecting the Fund's portfolio;
(k) make available to the Board, the Adviser, the Fund's Chief Compliance Officer ("CCO") and the Trust's administrator, promptly upon their request, such copies of its records with respect to the Fund as may be required to assist in their compliance with applicable laws and regulations. As reasonably requested by the Board or the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser will complete periodic or special questionnaires and furnish to the Board and/or the Adviser such periodic and special reports regarding the Fund and the Sub-Adviser including, but not limited to, reports concerning transactions and performance of the Portfolio, quarterly and annual compliance reports and certifications, quarterly tax compliance worksheets, reports regarding compliance with the Trust's procedures pursuant to Rules 17e-1, 17a-7, 10f-3 and 12d3-1 under the 1940 Act (as applicable), quarterly reports identifying material compliance matters and any material changes to the Sub-Adviser's compliance program (including revisions to compliance policies and procedures), fundamental investment restrictions, procedures for opening brokerage accounts and commodity trading accounts, liquidity determinations for securities or other instruments held by the Portfolio such as, among others, securities purchased pursuant to Rule 144A and 4(2) commercial paper, compliance with the Sub-Adviser's Code of Ethics, and such other procedures or requirements that the Adviser may reasonably request from time to time;
(l) make available to the Board and the Adviser at reasonable times its portfolio managers and other appropriate personnel as mutually agreed by the Adviser and Sub-Adviser, either in person or, at the mutual convenience of the Board, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser, by telephone, in order to review the investment policies, performance and other matters relating to the management of the Fund;
(m) review draft reports to shareholders, registration statements or portions thereof that relate to the Portfolio or the Sub-Adviser and other documents provided to the Sub-Adviser, provide comments on such drafts on a timely basis, and provide certifications or sub-certifications on a timely basis as to the accuracy of the information contained in such reports or other documents;
(n) use no material, non-public information concerning portfolio companies that may be in its possession or the possession of any of its affiliates, nor will the Sub-Adviser seek to obtain any such information, in providing investment advice or investment management services to the Fund;
(o) promptly notify the Trust, the Adviser and the Board in the event that the Sub-Adviser or any of its affiliates becomes aware that the Sub-Adviser: (i) is subject to a statutory disqualification that prevents the Sub-Adviser from serving as investment adviser pursuant to this Agreement; (ii) fails to be registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act or under the laws of any jurisdiction in which the Sub-Adviser is required to be registered as an investment adviser in order to perform its obligations under this Agreement; (iii) is the subject of an administrative proceeding or enforcement action by the SEC or other regulatory authority; or (iv) is served or otherwise receives notice of any action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation, at law or in equity, before or by any court, public board or body, or governmental authority, involving the affairs of the Trust or the Adviser or their affiliates; or is involved in any pending litigation or administrative proceeding brought against the Sub-Adviser or any of its management persons (as defined in Rule 206(4)-4 under the Advisers Act). The Sub-Adviser further agrees to notify the Trust and the Adviser promptly of any material fact known to the Sub-Adviser respecting or relating to the Sub-Adviser that is not contained in the Trust's Registration Statement, as amended and supplemented from time to time, regarding the Fund, or any amendment or supplement thereto, but that is required to be disclosed therein, and of any statement contained therein that becomes untrue in any material respect. The Sub-Adviser will promptly notify the Trust, the Adviser and the Board if its chief executive officer or any member of the portfolio management team named in the Registration Statement for the Fund changes, or if there is an actual change in control or management of the Sub-Adviser within the meaning of Rules 2a-6 and 202(a)(1)-1 under the 1940 Act and Advisers Act, respectively;
(p) not disclose information regarding Portfolio or Fund characteristics, trading history, portfolio holdings, performance information or any other related information to any third-party, except in compliance with the Trust's policies on disclosure of portfolio holdings or as necessary to perform services under this Agreement in accordance with Section 13 of this Agreement;
(q) provide the Adviser, the Trust or the Board with such information and assurances (including certifications and sub-certifications) as the Adviser, the Trust or the Board may reasonably request from time to time in order to assist the Adviser, the Trust or the Board in complying with applicable laws, rules and regulations, including requirements in connection with the preparation and/or filing of the Fund's Form N-CSRs and Form N-Qs;
(r) provide assistance to the Adviser, custodian or recordkeeping agent for the Trust in determining or confirming, consistent with the procedures and policies stated in the Registration Statement, the value of any portfolio securities or other assets of the Fund for which the Adviser, custodian or recordkeeping agent seeks assistance from the Sub-Adviser or identifies for review by the Sub-Adviser. This assistance includes (but is not limited to): (i) designating and providing access to one or more employees of the Sub-Adviser who are knowledgeable about the security/issuer, its financial condition, trading and/or other relevant factors for valuation, which employees shall be available for consultation when the Board's Valuation Committee convenes; (ii) assisting the Adviser or the custodian in obtaining bids and offers or quotes from broker/dealers or market-makers with respect to securities held by the Fund, upon the reasonable request of the Adviser or custodian; (iii) upon the request of the Adviser or the custodian, confirming pricing and providing recommendations for fair valuations; and (iv) maintaining adequate records and written backup information with respect to the securities valuation assistance provided hereunder, and providing such information to the Adviser or the Trust upon request, with such records being deemed Fund records;
(s) not consult with any other investment sub-adviser of the Trust (if any), or with the sub-adviser to any other investment company (or separate series thereof) managed by the Adviser concerning the Fund's transactions in securities or other assets, except for purposes of complying with the conditions of Rule 12d3-1(a) and (b) under the 1940 Act, and, to the extent that multiple sub-advisers may be engaged to provide services to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall be responsible for providing investment advisory services only with respect to the Portfolio allocated to the Sub-Adviser by the Adviser; and
(t) provide the Trust and the Adviser with a copy of its Form ADV as most recently filed with the SEC, notify the Adviser on a quarterly basis of any amendments to the Sub-Adviser's Form ADV and furnish a copy of such amendments to the Trust and the Adviser; and provide the Trust and the Adviser with a copy of its Form ADV Part II as updated from time to time.
The Sub-Adviser further agrees that it may perform any or all the services contemplated by this Agreement directly or through such of its subsidiaries or other affiliated persons as it believes reasonably necessary to assist it in carrying out its obligations under this Agreement. However, the Sub-Adviser may not retain the services of any entity that would be an "investment adviser", as that term is defined in the 1940 Act, to the Fund unless any agreement with such entity has been approved by (i) a majority of the Trust's Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, and (ii) to the extent necessary, the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.
3. Brokerage
The Sub-Adviser may place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund directly with the issuers of the securities, or with brokers or dealers selected by the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser may, in respect of the Portfolio, open and maintain brokerage accounts of all types on behalf of and in the name of the Fund. The Sub-Adviser may enter into standard customer agreements with brokers and direct payments of cash, cash equivalents and securities and other property into such brokerage accounts as the Sub-Adviser deems desirable or appropriate. In selecting brokers or dealers to execute transactions on behalf of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser will use its best efforts to seek the best overall terms available. In assessing the best overall terms available for the Fund transaction, the Sub-Adviser will consider all factors it deems relevant, including, but not limited to, the breadth of the market in the security, the price of the security, the financial condition and execution capability of the broker or dealer and the reasonableness of the commission, if any, for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. In selecting broker-dealers to execute a particular transaction, and in evaluating the best overall terms available, the Sub-Adviser is authorized to consider the brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "1934 Act")) provided to the Fund and/or other accounts over which the Sub-Adviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The parties hereto acknowledge that it is desirable for the Trust that the Sub-Adviser have access to supplemental investment and market research and security and economic analysis provided by broker-dealers who may execute brokerage transactions at a higher cost to the Fund than may result when allocating brokerage to other brokers on the basis of seeking the most favorable price and efficient execution. Therefore, the Sub-Adviser may cause the Fund to pay a broker-dealer that furnishes brokerage and research services a higher commission than that which might be charged by another broker-dealer for effecting the same transaction, provided that the Sub-Adviser determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker-dealer, viewed in terms of either the particular transaction or the overall responsibilities of the Sub-Adviser to the Fund in compliance with Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act. It is understood that the services provided by such brokers may be useful to the Sub-Adviser in connection with the Sub-Adviser's services to other clients. In accordance with Section 11(a) of the 1934 Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder and subject to any other applicable laws and regulations, the Sub-Adviser and its affiliates are authorized to effect portfolio transactions for the Fund and to retain brokerage commissions on such transactions. The Sub-Adviser may, but shall not be obligated to, aggregate or bunch orders for the purchase or sale of securities for the Fund with orders for its other clients where: (i) such aggregation or bunching of orders is not inconsistent with the Fund's investment objectives, policies and procedures, (ii) the allocation of the securities so purchased or sold, as well as the allocation of expenses incurred in any such transaction, shall be made by the Sub-Adviser in a manner that complies with the trade allocation policies and procedures approved by the Board and is fair and equitable in the judgment of the Sub-Adviser and is consistent with the Sub-Adviser's fiduciary obligations to the Fund and each of its other clients.
4. Books, Records and Regulatory Filings
(a) The Sub-Adviser agrees to maintain and to preserve for the applicable periods any such records as are required to be maintained by the Sub-Adviser with respect to the Fund by the 1940 Act and rules adopted thereunder, and by any other applicable laws, rules and regulations. The Sub-Adviser further agrees that all records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund and it will promptly surrender any of such records upon request; provided, however, that the Sub-Adviser may retain copies of such records for the applicable periods they are required by law to be retained, and thereafter shall destroy such records.
(b) The Sub-Adviser agrees that it shall furnish to regulatory authorities having the requisite authority any information or reports in connection with its services hereunder that may be requested in order to determine whether the operations of the Fund are being conducted in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations.
(c) The Sub-Adviser shall make all filings with the SEC required of it pursuant to Section 13 of the 1934 Act with respect to its duties as are set forth herein. The Sub-Adviser also shall make all required filings on Schedule 13D or 13G and Form 13F (as well as other filings triggered by ownership in securities under other applicable laws, rules and regulations) in respect of the Portfolio as may be required of the Fund due to the activities of the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser shall be the sole filer of Form 13F with respect to the Portfolio of the Fund.
5. Class Action Filings
The Sub-Adviser is not responsible for making any class action filings on behalf of the Trust.
6. Standard of Care, Limitation of Liability and Indemnification
(a) The Sub-Adviser shall exercise its best judgment in rendering the services under this Agreement. The Sub-Adviser shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust, the Adviser or the Fund, or affiliated persons of the Adviser or the Fund (collectively, the "Adviser Indemnitees") in connection with the matters to which this Agreement relates except a loss resulting from the Sub-Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties, under this Agreement; provided, however , that nothing herein shall be deemed to protect or purport to protect the Sub-Adviser against any liability to the Adviser Indemnitees for, and the Sub-Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Adviser Indemnitees from, any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which any of the Adviser Indemnitees may become subject arising out of or resulting from (i) the Sub-Adviser causing the Fund to be in violation of any applicable federal or state law, rule or regulation or any investment policy or restriction set forth in the Fund's current Registration Statement or the most current written guidelines, policies or instruction provided in writing by the Board or the Adviser, (ii) the Sub-Adviser causing the Fund to fail to satisfy the requirements set forth in Section 2(i) hereof, (iii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Sub-Adviser or the Portfolio managed by the Sub-Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact known to the Sub-Adviser that was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Adviser or the Trust by the Sub-Adviser for use therein, or (iv) a breach of this Agreement by the Sub-Adviser. In addition, the Sub-Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Trust and the Fund from any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which either the Trust or the Fund may become subject directly arising out of or resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty by the Sub-Adviser under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act with respect to the receipt of compensation for its services under this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing contained in this Agreement shall constitute a waiver or limitation of rights that the Trust or the Fund may have under federal or state securities laws.
(b) The Sub-Adviser is hereby expressly put on notice of the limitation of shareholder liability as set forth in the Trust Instrument or other organizational document of the Trust and agrees that any obligations of the Trust or the Fund arising in connection with this Agreement shall be limited in all cases to the Fund and its assets, and the Sub-Adviser shall not seek satisfaction of any such obligation from any other fund of the Trust or the shareholders or any individual shareholder of the Fund. Nor shall the Sub-Adviser seek satisfaction of any such obligation from the trustees of the Trust (each, a "Trustee" and, together, the "Trustees") or any individual Trustee or any officers.
(c) As used in this Section 6, the term "Sub-Adviser" shall include any officers, directors, employees, independent contractors or other affiliates of the Sub-Adviser performing services with respect to the Fund.
(d) The Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Sub-Adviser from and against any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which the Sub-Adviser may become subject directly arising out of or resulting from, the Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties under this Agreement, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under this Agreement.
7. Compensation
The Sub-Adviser shall be compensated for the services rendered pursuant to this Agreement in accordance with the terms set forth on Schedule A attached hereto.
8. Expenses
The Sub-Adviser will bear all expenses in connection with the performance of its services under this Agreement, excluding those costs of the Fund associated with brokerage activities. The Sub-Adviser shall bear all expenses and costs of the Trust (including reasonable attorney's fees), if any, arising out of a termination or possible termination of this Agreement as a result of an assignment caused by a change of control or management of the Sub-Adviser, including the preparation and mailing of an information statement to shareholders pursuant to a "manager-of-managers" exemptive order from the SEC, or the preparation, mailing, solicitation and other costs associated with the use of a proxy statement relating to a shareholder vote in respect of a new sub-advisory agreement. The foregoing obligations of the Sub-Adviser shall apply in any circumstance in which the Adviser, in consultation with internal or outside counsel to the Trust, deems that an actual or possible assignment of this Agreement has or may occur, and determines that an information statement should be used, or a vote of shareholders should be obtained, as the case may be.
9. Services to Other Companies or Accounts
The investment advisory services of the Sub-Adviser to the Fund under this Agreement are not to be deemed exclusive, and the Sub-Adviser shall be free to render similar services to other investment companies and clients (whether or not their investment objective and policies are similar those of the Fund) and to engage in other activities, provided that such other services and activities do not interfere with or impair the Sub-Adviser's ability to fulfill its duties and obligations under this Agreement. If the Sub-Adviser provides any advice to its clients concerning investment in the shares of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall act solely for such clients in that regard and not in any way on behalf of the Adviser, the Trust or the Fund.
10. Compliance Matters
(a) The Sub-Adviser understands and agrees that it is a "service provider" to the Trust as contemplated by Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act. As such, the Sub-Adviser agrees to cooperate fully with the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers, including the Fund's CCO, with respect to (i) any and all compliance-related matters, and (ii) the Trust's efforts to assure that each of its service providers adopts and maintains policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to prevent violation of the "federal securities laws" (as that term is defined by Rule 38a-1) by the Trust, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser. In this regard, the Sub-Adviser shall:
(1) submit to the Board for its consideration and approval, prior to the effective date of this Agreement, the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, it being understood that the Sub-Adviser's obligation under Section 2(e) of this Agreement to vote all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested shall be subject to the fulfillment of the condition that the Board approve the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting polices and procedures;
(2) submit annually (and at such other times as the Trust may reasonably request) to the Fund's CCO and the Adviser for consideration by the Board, a report discussing the adequacy and effectiveness of the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, and fully describing any material amendments to such compliance program since the most recent such report;
(3) provide periodic reports, certifications and information concerning the Sub-Adviser's compliance program including, but not limited to, the following;
(i) Quarterly Compliance Certifications , including any required attachments, no later than the tenth (10th) business day after each calendar quarter;
(ii) Annual Survey to Sub-Advisers , including any required attachments, no later than the tenth (10th) business day of February each year; and
(iii) Annual Report on Code of Ethics Matters , including any required attachments, no later than the tenth (10 th ) business day of February each year.
(4) provide the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers with reasonable access to information regarding the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, which access shall include on-site visits with the Sub-Adviser as may be reasonably requested from time to time;
(5) permit the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers to maintain an active working relationship with the Sub-Adviser's compliance personnel by, among other things, providing the Adviser and the Fund's CCO and other officers with a specified individual within the Sub-Adviser's organization to discuss and address compliance-related matters;
(6) provide the Adviser and its chief compliance officer and the Trust and its Trustees and officers, including the Fund's CCO, with such certifications as may be reasonably requested; and
(7) reasonably cooperate with any independent registered public accounting firm engaged by the Trust, ensure that all reasonably necessary information and the appropriate personnel are made available to such independent registered public accounting firm, to support the expression of the independent registered public accounting firm's opinion, and each year provide the Adviser and such independent registered public accounting firm with a copy of the most recent SAS 70 Report prepared by the Sub-Adviser's independent auditors regarding the Sub-Adviser's internal controls.
(b) The Sub-Adviser represents, warrants and covenants that it has implemented and shall maintain a compliance program in accordance with the requirements of Rule 206(4)-7 under the Advisers Act.
(a) This Agreement shall be effective immediately as of the date set forth above and shall continue in effect for two years from its effective date with respect to the Fund, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, and shall continue year to year thereafter, provided each continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the vote of a majority of the Trustees or (ii) a vote of a "majority" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund's outstanding voting securities, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Trustees who are neither (A) parties to this Agreement nor (B) "interested persons" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person (to the extent required by the 1940 Act) at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.
(b) This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund, without penalty, on sixty (60) days' written notice to the Sub-Adviser: (i) by the Trust, pursuant to (A) action by the Board or (B) the vote of the holders of a "majority" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the shares of the Fund or (ii) by the Adviser. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund, without penalty, by the Sub-Adviser upon ninety (90) days' written notice to the Adviser and the Trust. In addition, this Agreement will terminate with respect to the Fund in the event of the termination of the Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund. This Agreement will be terminated automatically in the event of its "assignment" (as defined in the 1940 Act).
(c) In the event of a termination of this Agreement for any reason with respect to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall reasonably cooperate with any transition manager or successor investment sub-adviser and with the Adviser in transitioning the management of the Portfolio to one or more new sub-advisers or to the Adviser, including, without limitation, providing the transition manager, at such intervals as the transition manager may request, with a list of holdings for the Portfolio and such other information as required by the transition management agreement, into which the Adviser and the transition manager will, at that time, enter. The Sub-Adviser shall deliver to Adviser all periodic compliance reports, certifications and information applicable to the period of Sub-Adviser's services provided under this Agreement, including annual compliance reports and certifications.
(d) Termination of this Agreement shall not affect the rights or obligations of the Adviser, the Adviser Indemnitees and the Sub-Adviser under Section 6 of this Agreement.
12. Use of Name
(a) The Sub-Adviser hereby consents to the use of its name and the names of its affiliates in the Fund's disclosure documents, shareholder communications, advertising, sales literature and similar communications. The Sub-Adviser shall not use the name or any tradename, trademark, trade device, service mark, symbol or any abbreviation, contraction or simulation thereof of the Adviser, the Trust, the Fund or any of their affiliates in its marketing materials unless it first receives prior written approval of the Trust and the Adviser.
(b) It is understood that the name of each party to this Agreement, and any derivatives thereof or logos associated with that name, is the valuable property of the party in question and its affiliates, and that each other party has the right to use such names pursuant to the relationship created by, and in accordance with the terms of, this Agreement only so long as this Agreement shall continue in effect. Upon termination of this Agreement, the parties shall forthwith cease to use the names of the other parties (or any derivative or logo) as appropriate and to the extent that continued use is not required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.
13. Confidential Information
(a) Each party agrees that it will treat confidentially all information provided by any other party (the "Discloser") regarding the Discloser's businesses and operations, including without limitation the investment activities or holdings of the Portfolio or the Fund ("Confidential Information"). All Confidential Information provided by the Discloser shall be used only by the other party hereto (the "Recipient") solely for the purposes of rendering services pursuant to this Agreement, and shall not be disclosed to any third party, without the prior consent of the Discloser, except for a limited number of employees, attorneys, accountants and other advisers of the Recipient and its affiliates on a need-to-know basis and solely for the purposes of rendering services under this Agreement.
(b) Confidential Information shall not include any information that: (i) is public when provided or thereafter becomes public through no wrongful act of the Recipient; (ii) is demonstrably known to the Recipient prior to execution of this Agreement; (iii) is independently developed by the Recipient through no wrongful act of the Recipient in the ordinary course of business outside of this Agreement; (iv) is generally employed by the trade at the time that the Recipient learns of such information or knowledge; or (v) has been rightfully and lawfully obtained by the Recipient from any third party.
(c) In the event that the Recipient is requested or required (by deposition, interrogatories, requests for information or documents in legal proceedings, subpoenas, civil investigative demand or similar process), in connection with any proceeding, to disclose any of the Discloser's Confidential Information, the Recipient will give the Discloser prompt written notice of such request or requirement to allow the Discloser an opportunity to obtain a protective order or otherwise obtain assurances that confidential treatment will be accorded to such Confidential Information. In the event that such protective order or other remedy is not obtained, disclosure shall be made of only that portion of the Confidential Information that is legally required to be disclosed. All Confidential Information disclosed as required by law shall nonetheless continue to be deemed Confidential Information.
14. Amendment
This Agreement may be amended in writing signed by the parties to this Agreement in a manner that is in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, as modified or interpreted by any applicable order, exemptive relief or interpretative release issued by the SEC.
15. Notices
All notices hereunder shall be provided in writing, by facsimile or by email. Notices shall be deemed given if delivered in person or by messenger, certified mail with return receipt, or by a reputable overnight delivery service that provides evidence of receipt to the parties; upon receipt if sent by fax; or upon read receipt or reply if delivered by email, at the following addresses:
If to the Trust: Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Marc Bryant
If to the Adviser: Strategic Advisers, Inc.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Chief Operating Officer
With Copy to: Strategic Advisers, Inc.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Karen Benoit
If to the Sub-Adviser: Causeway Capital Management LLC
11111 Santa Monica Blvd., 15 th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Attn.: Turner Swan
16. Miscellaneous
(a) This Agreement constitutes the full and complete agreement of the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof.
(b) Titles or captions of sections in this Agreement are inserted only as a matter of convenience and for reference, and in no way define, limit, extend or describe the scope of this Agreement or the intent of any provisions thereof.
(c) This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, all of which together shall for all purposes constitute one Agreement, binding on all the parties.
(d) This Agreement and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be governed by, and interpreted, construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without giving effect to the choice of laws provisions of that or any other jurisdiction. To the extent that the applicable laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control. The parties irrevocably consent to submit to the jurisdiction of any federal or state court sitting in The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(e) If any provision of this Agreement shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected hereby and, to this extent, the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed to be severable.
(f) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Sub-Adviser shall be an independent contractor. Nothing herein shall be construed as constituting the Sub-Adviser as an agent of the Adviser, the Trust or the Fund, except to the extent expressly authorized by this Agreement.
(g) The Adviser will comply in all material respects with applicable law in providing services to the Fund.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have caused this instrument to be executed by their officers designated below as of the date first set forth above.
CAUSEWAY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC
By: /s/Grace V. Fermelia
Name: Grace V. Fermelia
Title: COO
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Name: Suzanne Brennan
Title: Chief Operating Officer
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
By: /s/Kenneth Robins
Kenneth Robins
Treasurer
APPENDIX A
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 13 of this Agreement, Sub-Adviser shall be permitted, without the prior consent of the Adviser, to disclose Confidential Information to its third-party service providers listed below, as updated from time to time, solely for the purposes of rendering services under this Agreement.
Charles River Systems, Inc. |
Trading and compliance system |
Omgeo LLC |
Automated trade matching service |
Misys International Banking Systems, Inc. |
Automated foreign exchange trade matching service |
Eagle Investment Systems Corp. |
Portfolio accounting system |
Electra Securities Transaction and Asset Reconciliation System (STaARS) |
Automated reconciliation service |
FactSet Research Systems Inc. |
Online database system for portfolio analytics |
Interactive Data Corporation |
Pricing vendor |
ISS |
Proxy research and record keeping service |
Various broker-dealers |
Purchases and sales of securities |
Exhibit (d)(77)
INVESTMENT SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENT
AMONG
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.,
T. ROWE PRICE ASSOCIATES, INC.
AND
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
AGREEMENT, made this 6 th day of December, among Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II ("Trust"), a Delaware statutory trust, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund (the "Fund"), Strategic Advisers, Inc. ("Adviser"), a Massachusetts corporation, and T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. ("Sub-Adviser"), a Maryland corporation.
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as an open-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("1940 Act");
WHEREAS, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser are each registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended ("Advisers Act");
WHEREAS, the Trust has retained the Adviser to render investment advisory services to the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, pursuant to a Management Contract dated December 1, 2011, as may be amended from time to time ("Advisory Agreement");
WHEREAS, the Advisory Agreement authorizes the Adviser to delegate to one or more other investment advisers any or all of the Adviser's duties and obligations under the Advisory Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the Trust and the Adviser wish to retain the Sub-Adviser to render certain investment advisory services to the Fund with respect to the portion of the Fund's assets allocated to the Sub-Adviser, as determined from time to time by the Adviser, and the Sub-Adviser is willing to render such services.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed among the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser and the Trust as follows:
1. Appointment
The Trust and the Adviser hereby appoint the Sub-Adviser to act as investment sub-adviser to the Fund with respect to the portion of the Fund's assets allocated, from time to time, by the Adviser to the Sub-Adviser (the "Portfolio"), for the periods and on the terms set forth herein. The Sub-Adviser accepts the appointment and agrees to furnish the services set forth herein for the compensation provided in Section 7 of this Agreement.
2. Services and Duties of Investment Sub-Adviser
Subject to the general supervision and oversight of the Adviser and the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the "Board"), the Sub-Adviser will:
(a) provide a program of continuous investment management for the Portfolio in accordance with the Fund's investment objective and policies as stated in the Fund's prospectus and statement of additional information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on Form N-1A, as amended and supplemented from time to time (the "Registration Statement"), and such other limitations as the Trust, the Fund, the Board or the Adviser may impose with respect to the Portfolio by notice to the Sub-Adviser; Such notice may be written or oral. Oral notice will be followed by written notice as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter;
(b) invest and reinvest the assets of the Portfolio by selecting the securities, instruments, repurchase agreements, financial futures contracts, options, and other investments and techniques that the Fund may purchase, sell, enter into or use in respect of the Portfolio;
(c) oversee the placement of purchase and sale orders on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio;
(d) employ portfolio managers to make investment decisions and securities analysts to provide research services to the Fund in respect of the Portfolio;
(e) subject to the understanding set forth in Section 10(a)(1) of this Agreement, and to the timely receipt by the Sub-Adviser of all necessary proxy voting materials, vote all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested in accordance with the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting policies and procedures and in a manner that complies with applicable law; maintain records of all proxies voted on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio; and provide information to the Trust, the Adviser or their designated agent in a manner that is sufficiently complete and timely to ensure the Trust's compliance with its filing obligations under Rule 30b1-4 of the 1940 Act ;
(f) maintain books and records with respect to the Fund's securities transactions in respect of the Portfolio, in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations; and
(g) to the extent reasonably requested by the Adviser or officers of the Fund and to the extent reasonably practicable for the Sub-Adviser, cooperate with and provide reasonable assistance to the Adviser and the Trust's other service providers by (1) keeping them fully informed as to such matters that they may reasonably deem necessary with respect to the performance of their obligations to the Fund, (2) providing prompt responses to reasonable requests for information or assistance, and (3) establishing appropriate processes to promote the efficient exchange of information.
In providing those services, the Sub-Adviser will provide the Adviser and the Fund with an ongoing and continuous investment program in respect of the Portfolio. In addition, the Sub-Adviser will furnish the Adviser and/or the Fund with statistical information as the Adviser and/or the Fund may reasonably request with respect to the securities or other investments in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested.
The Adviser acknowledges that the Sub-Adviser is not the compliance agent for the Fund or for the Adviser, and does not have access to all of the Fund's books and records necessary to perform certain compliance testing. The Adviser acknowledges that to the extent that the Sub-Adviser has agreed to perform the services specified in this Section 2 in accordance with applicable law (including subchapters M and L of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), the 1940 Act and the Advisers Act) and in accordance with the Trust's Instrument and By-Laws, policies and determinations of the Trustees of the Trust, the Adviser, and the Fund's Registration Statement, the Sub-Adviser shall perform such services based upon its own internal books and records with respect to the Portfolio, which comprise a portion of the Fund's books and records, and shall not be held responsible under this Sub-Advisory Agreement so long as it performs such services in accordance with this Sub-Advisory Agreement based upon such books and records and such instructions provided by the Fund or the Adviser.
The Sub-Adviser further agrees that, in performing its duties hereunder, it will:
(h) comply in all material respects with the applicable sections of (1) the 1940 Act and the Advisers Act and all rules and regulations thereunder and any other applicable federal and state laws and regulations, (2) the Sub-Adviser's compliance policies and procedures, (3) the rules and regulations of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, (4) the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Code") with respect to the provisions enumerated in paragraph 2(i) below, (5) the investment objectives, strategies, policies, limitations and restrictions of the Fund as described in the Registration Statement, (6) the Trust's Trust Instrument and By-Laws or other organizational documents of the Trust that are provided to the Sub-Adviser and (7) any written instructions of the Adviser or the Board that are provided to the Sub-Adviser;
(i) use its commercially reasonable efforts to manage the assets of the Portfolio to comply with the following requirements of the Code and regulations issued thereunder: section 851(b)(2) and section 851(b)(3) (and, if applicable, section 817(h)); provided, however, that with respect to the 10% voting securities test contained in section 851(b)(3)(A)(ii), the Sub-Adviser will comply with such reasonable requirements as the Trust, the Fund or its Adviser shall furnish to the Sub-Adviser from time to time to keep the Fund from exceeding the 10% limit with respect to any voting securities;
(j) keep the Adviser and/or the Board informed of developments materially affecting the Fund's portfolio;
(k) make available to the Board, the Adviser, the Fund's Chief Compliance Officer ("CCO") and the Trust's administrator, promptly upon their request, such copies of its records with respect to the Portfolio as may be required to assist in their compliance with applicable laws and regulations. As reasonably requested by the Board or the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser will complete periodic or special questionnaires and furnish to the Board and/or the Adviser such periodic and special reports regarding the Portfolio and the Sub-Adviser including, but not limited to, reports concerning transactions and performance of the Portfolio, quarterly and annual compliance reports and certifications, reports regarding compliance with the Trust's procedures provided by the Adviser, and updated as appropriate, pursuant to Rules 17e-1, 17a-7, 10f-3 and 12d3-1 under the 1940 Act (as applicable), quarterly reports identifying known material compliance matters and any material changes to the Sub-Adviser's compliance program (including revisions to compliance policies and procedures), fundamental investment restrictions, procedures for opening brokerage accounts and commodity trading accounts, liquidity determinations for securities or other instruments held by the Portfolio such as, among others, securities purchased pursuant to Rule 144A and 4(2) commercial paper, compliance with the Sub-Adviser's Code of Ethics, and such other procedures or requirements that the Adviser may reasonably request from time to time;
(l) make available to the Board and the Adviser at reasonable times its portfolio managers and other appropriate personnel as mutually agreed by the Adviser and Sub-Adviser, either in person or, at the mutual convenience of the Board, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser, by telephone or other electronic media, in order to review the investment policies, performance and other matters relating to the management of the Portfolio;
(m) review draft reports to shareholders, registration statements or portions thereof that relate to the Portfolio or the Sub-Adviser and other documents provided to the Sub-Adviser, provide comments on such drafts on a timely basis, and provide certifications or sub-certifications on a timely basis as to the accuracy of the information contained in such reports or other documents;
(n) use no material, non-public information concerning portfolio companies that may be in its possession or the possession of any of its affiliates, nor will the Sub-Adviser seek to obtain any such information, in providing investment advice or investment management services to the Fund;
(o) promptly notify the Trust, the Adviser and the Board in the event that the Sub-Adviser or any of its affiliates becomes aware that the Sub-Adviser: (i) is subject to a statutory disqualification that prevents the Sub-Adviser from serving as investment adviser pursuant to this Agreement; (ii) fails to be registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act or under the laws of any jurisdiction in which the Sub-Adviser is required to be registered as an investment adviser in order to perform its obligations under this Agreement; (iii) has knowledge that it is the subject of an administrative proceeding or receives a formal notice of an enforcement action by the SEC or other regulatory authority; or (iv) is served or otherwise receives notice of any action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation, at law or in equity, before or by any court, public board or body, or governmental authority, directly involving the affairs of the Trust or the Adviser or their affiliates; or is involved in any pending litigation or administrative proceeding directly relating to the Trust or the Adviser brought against the Sub-Adviser or any of its management persons (as defined in Rule 206(4)-4 under the Advisers Act). The Sub-Adviser further agrees to notify the Trust and the Adviser promptly of any material fact known to the Sub-Adviser respecting or relating to the Sub-Adviser that is not contained in the Trust's Registration Statement, as amended and supplemented from time to time, regarding the Fund, or any amendment or supplement thereto, but that is required to be disclosed therein, and of any statement contained therein that becomes untrue in any material respect. The Sub-Adviser will promptly notify the Trust, the Adviser and the Board if its chief executive officer or the portfolio manager named in the Registration Statement for the Fund changes, or if there is an actual change in control or management of the Sub-Adviser within the meaning of Rules 2a-6 and 202(a)(1)-1 under the 1940 Act and Advisers Act, respectively;
(p) not disclose information regarding Portfolio or Fund characteristics, trading history, portfolio holdings, performance information or any other related information to any third-party, except in compliance with the Trust's policies on disclosure of portfolio holdings;
(q) provide the Adviser, the Trust or the Board with such information and assurances (including certifications and sub-certifications) as the Adviser, the Trust or the Board may reasonably request from time to time in order to assist the Adviser, the Trust or the Board in complying with applicable laws, rules and regulations, including requirements in connection with the preparation and/or filing of the Fund's Form N-CSRs and Form N-Qs;
(r) provide such assistance to the Adviser, custodian or recordkeeping agent for the Trust in determining or confirming, consistent with the procedures and policies stated in the Registration Statement, the value of any portfolio securities or other assets of the Fund for which the Adviser, custodian or recordkeeping agent seeks reasonable assistance from the Sub-Adviser or identifies for review by the Sub-Adviser. This assistance includes (but is not limited to): (i) designating and providing access to one or more employees of the Sub-Adviser who are knowledgeable about the security/issuer, its financial condition, trading and/or other relevant factors for valuation, which employees shall be available for consultation when the Board's Valuation Committee convenes; (ii) assisting the Adviser or the custodian in obtaining bids and offers or quotes from broker/dealers or market-makers with respect to securities held by the Fund for which market quotations are not readily available, upon the reasonable request of the Adviser or custodian; (iii) upon the request of the Adviser or the custodian, confirming pricing and providing recommendations for fair valuations; and (iv) maintaining adequate records and written backup information with respect to the securities valuation assistance provided hereunder, and providing such information to the Adviser or the Trust upon request, with such records being deemed Fund records;
(s) not consult with any other investment sub-adviser of the Trust (if any), or with the sub-adviser to any other investment company (or separate series thereof) managed by the Adviser concerning the Fund's transactions in securities or other assets, except for purposes of complying with the conditions of Rule 12d3-1(a) and (b) under the 1940 Act, and, to the extent that multiple sub-advisers may be engaged to provide services to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall be responsible for providing investment advisory services only with respect to the Portfolio allocated to the Sub-Adviser by the Adviser; and
(t) provide the Trust and the Adviser with a copy of its Form ADV as most recently filed with the SEC, notify the Adviser on a quarterly basis of any amendments to the Sub-Adviser's Form ADV and furnish a copy of such amendments to the Trust and the Adviser; and provide the Trust and the Adviser with a copy of its Form ADV Part II as updated from time to time.
The Sub-Adviser further agrees that it may perform any or all the services contemplated by this Agreement directly or through such of its subsidiaries or other affiliated persons as it believes reasonably necessary to assist it in carrying out its obligations under this Agreement. However, the Sub-Adviser may not retain the services of any entity to provide investment advisory services that would be an "investment adviser", as that term is defined in the 1940 Act, to the Fund unless any agreement with such entity has been approved by (i) a majority of the Trust's Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, and (ii) to the extent necessary, the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.
3. Brokerage
The Sub-Adviser may place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund directly with the issuers of the securities, or with brokers or dealers selected by the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser may, in respect of the Portfolio, open and maintain brokerage accounts, and enter into trading agreements of all types on behalf of and in the name of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio. The Sub-Adviser may enter into standard customer agreements with brokers and direct payments of cash, cash equivalents and securities and other property into such brokerage accounts as the Sub-Adviser deems desirable or appropriate. In selecting brokers or dealers to execute transactions on behalf of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser will use its best efforts to seek the best overall terms available. In assessing the best overall terms available for the Fund transaction, the Sub-Adviser will consider all factors it deems relevant, including, but not limited to, the breadth of the market in the security, the price of the security, the financial condition and execution capability of the broker or dealer and the reasonableness of the commission, if any, for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. In selecting broker-dealers to execute a particular transaction, and in evaluating the best overall terms available, the Sub-Adviser is authorized to consider the brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "1934 Act")) provided to the Fund and/or other accounts over which the Sub-Adviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The parties hereto acknowledge that it is desirable for the Trust that the Sub-Adviser have access to supplemental investment and market research and security and economic analysis provided by broker-dealers who may execute brokerage transactions at a higher cost to the Fund than may result when allocating brokerage to other brokers on the basis of seeking the most favorable price and efficient execution. Therefore, the Sub-Adviser may cause the Fund to pay a broker-dealer that furnishes brokerage and research services a higher commission than that which might be charged by another broker-dealer for effecting the same transaction, provided that the Sub-Adviser determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker-dealer, viewed in terms of either the particular transaction or the overall responsibilities of the Sub-Adviser to the Fund in compliance with Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act. It is understood that the services provided by such brokers may be useful to the Sub-Adviser in connection with the Sub-Adviser's services to other clients. In accordance with Section 11(a) of the 1934 Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder and subject to any other applicable laws and regulations, the Sub-Adviser and its affiliates are authorized to effect transactions for the Fund and to retain brokerage commissions on such transactions. The Sub-Adviser may, but shall not be obligated to, aggregate or bunch orders for the purchase or sale of securities for the Fund with orders for its other clients where: (i) such aggregation or bunching of orders is not inconsistent with the Fund's investment objectives, policies and procedures, (ii) the allocation of the securities so purchased or sold, as well as the allocation of expenses incurred in any such transaction, shall be made by the Sub-Adviser in a manner that complies with the Sub-Adviser's trade allocation policies and procedures approved by the Board and is fair and equitable in the judgment of the Sub-Adviser and is consistent with the Sub-Adviser's fiduciary obligations to the Fund and each of its other clients.
4. Books, Records and Regulatory Filings
(a) The Sub-Adviser agrees to maintain and to preserve for the applicable periods any such records as are required to be maintained by the Sub-Adviser with respect to the Fund by the 1940 Act and rules adopted thereunder, and by any other applicable laws, rules and regulations. The Sub-Adviser further agrees that all records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund and it will promptly surrender any of such records upon request; provided, however, that the Sub-Adviser may retain copies of such records for the applicable periods they are required by law to be retained, and thereafter shall destroy such records.
(b) The Sub-Adviser agrees that it shall furnish to regulatory authorities having the requisite authority any information or reports in connection with its services hereunder that may be requested in order to determine whether the operations of the Fund are being conducted in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations.
(c) The Sub-Adviser shall make all filings with the SEC required of it pursuant to Section 13 of the 1934 Act with respect to its duties as are set forth herein. The Sub-Adviser shall make required filings on Form 13F with respect to its portion of the Portfolio that may be required of the Fund and will include information related to the Portfolio on the Sub-Adviser's Schedule 13G if required based on the Portfolio's ownership of a portfolio security. The Sub-Adviser shall be the sole filer of Form 13F with respect to its sub-advised portion of the Portfolio holdings of the Fund. If the Portfolio holds a portfolio security for which a Schedule 13D or 13G is required based on the ownership level, the Sub-Adviser will include the Portfolio on its Schedule 13D or 13G. The Adviser shall determine that the Sub-Adviser's filing of Schedule 13D or 13G satisfies the Adviser's reporting obligations under the federal securities laws.
5. Class Action Filings
The Sub-Adviser is not responsible for making any class action filings on behalf of the Trust.
6. Standard of Care, Limitation of Liability and Indemnification
(a) The Sub-Adviser shall exercise its best judgment in rendering the services under this Agreement. The Sub-Adviser shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust, the Adviser or the Fund, or affiliated persons of the Adviser or the Fund (collectively, the "Adviser Indemnitees") in connection with the matters to which this Agreement relates except a loss resulting from the Sub-Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties, under this Agreement; provided, however , that nothing herein shall be deemed to protect or purport to protect the Sub-Adviser against any liability to the Adviser Indemnitees for, and the Sub-Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Adviser Indemnitees from, any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which any of the Adviser Indemnitees may become subject arising out of or resulting from (i) the Sub-Adviser's failure to meet its standard of care and thereby causing the Fund to be in violation of any applicable federal or state law, rule or regulation or any investment policy or restriction set forth in the Fund's current Registration Statement or the most current written guidelines, policies or instruction provided in writing by the Board or the Adviser, (ii) the Sub-Adviser causing the Fund to fail to satisfy the diversification or source of income requirements of Subchapter M and, if applicable section 817(h) of the Code and regulations issued thereunder, according to the Sub-Adviser's books and records which shall be reconciled daily with the books and records of the Fund, (iii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Trust or the Fund or the omission to state therein a material fact known to the Sub-Adviser that was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, in each case, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Adviser or the Trust by the Sub-Adviser specifically for use therein, or (iv) the Sub-Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties, under this agreement or otherwise, for a breach of this Agreement by the Sub-Adviser Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing contained in this Agreement shall constitute a waiver or limitation of rights that the Trust or the Fund may have under federal or state securities laws.
(b) The Sub-Adviser is hereby expressly put on notice of the limitation of shareholder liability as set forth in the Trust Instrument or other organizational document of the Trust and agrees that any obligations of the Trust or the Fund arising in connection with this Agreement shall be limited in all cases to the Fund and its assets, and the Sub-Adviser shall not seek satisfaction of any such obligation from any other fund of the Trust or the shareholders or any individual shareholder of the Fund. Nor shall the Sub-Adviser seek satisfaction of any such obligation from the trustees of the Trust (each, a "Trustee" and, together, the "Trustees") or any individual Trustee or any officers.
(c) As used in this Section 6, the term "Sub-Adviser" shall include any officers, directors, employees, independent contractors or other affiliates of the Sub-Adviser performing services to the Fund with respect to the Portfolio.
(d) The Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Sub-Adviser from and against any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which the Sub-Adviser may become subject directly arising out of or resulting from, the Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties under this Agreement, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under this Agreement.
7. Compensation
The Sub-Adviser shall be compensated for the services rendered pursuant to this Agreement in accordance with the terms set forth on Schedule A attached hereto.
8. Expenses
The Sub-Adviser will bear all expenses in connection with the performance of its services under this Agreement, excluding those costs of the Fund associated with brokerage activities. The Sub-Adviser shall bear all expenses and costs of the Trust (including reasonable attorney's fees), if any, arising out of a termination or possible termination of this Agreement as a result of an assignment caused by a change of control or management of the Sub-Adviser, including the preparation and mailing of an information statement to shareholders pursuant to a "manager-of-managers" exemptive order from the SEC, or the preparation, mailing, solicitation and other costs associated with the use of a proxy statement relating to a shareholder vote in respect of a new sub-advisory agreement. The foregoing obligations of the Sub-Adviser shall apply in any circumstance in which the Adviser, in consultation with internal or outside counsel reasonably acceptable to both the Adviser and Sub-Adviser to the Trust, deems that an actual or possible assignment of this Agreement has or may occur, and determines that an information statement should be used, or a vote of shareholders should be obtained, as the case may be.
9. Services to Other Companies or Accounts
The investment advisory services of the Sub-Adviser to the Fund in respect of the Portfolio under this Agreement are not to be deemed exclusive, and the Sub-Adviser shall be free to render similar services to other investment companies and clients (whether or not their investment objective and policies are similar to those of the Fund) and to engage in other activities, provided that such other services and activities do not interfere with or impair the Sub-Adviser's ability to fulfill its duties and obligations under this Agreement. If the Sub-Adviser provides any advice to its clients concerning investment in the shares of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall act solely for such clients in that regard and not in any way on behalf of the Adviser, the Trust or the Fund.
10. Compliance Matters
(a) The Sub-Adviser understands and agrees that it is a "service provider" to the Trust as contemplated by Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act. As such, the Sub-Adviser agrees to cooperate fully with the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers, including the Fund's CCO, with respect to (i) any and all compliance-related matters, and (ii) the Trust's efforts to assure that each of its service providers adopts and maintains policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to prevent violation of the "federal securities laws" (as that term is defined by Rule 38a-1) by the Trust, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser. In this regard, the Sub-Adviser shall:
(1) submit to the Board for its consideration and approval, prior to the effective date of this Agreement, the Sub-Adviser's applicable compliance policies and procedures, it being understood that the Sub-Adviser's obligation under Section 2(e) of this Agreement to vote all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested shall be subject to the fulfillment of the condition that the Board approve the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting polices and procedures;
(2) submit annually (and at such other times as the Trust may reasonably request) to the Fund's CCO and the Adviser for consideration by the Board, a report discussing the adequacy and effectiveness of the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, and fully describing any material amendments to such compliance program since the most recent such report;
(3) shall respond to requests for periodic reports, certifications and information concerning the Sub-Adviser's compliance program including, but not limited to, the following;
(i) Quarterly Compliance Certifications , including any required attachments, provided to the Adviser on a best efforts basis by the tenth (10th) business day after each calendar quarter and not later than the fifteenth (15 th ) business day after each calendar quarter. To assist the Adviser in meeting its reporting obligations, Sub-Adviser shall respond promptly to the Adviser's follow-up requests incident to such Certifications;
(ii) Annual Survey to Sub-Advisers , including any required attachments, as specified in Q1 of each year; and
(iii) Annual Report on Code of Ethics Matters , including any required attachments, no later than the 15 th business day of October each year..
(4) provide the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers with reasonable access to information regarding the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, which access shall include on-site visits with the Sub-Adviser as may be reasonably requested from time to time;
(5) permit the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers to maintain an active working relationship with the Sub-Adviser's compliance personnel by, among other things, providing the Adviser and the Fund's CCO and other officers with a specified individual within the Sub-Adviser's organization to discuss and address compliance-related matters;
(6) provide the Adviser and its chief compliance officer and the Trust and its Trustees and officers, including the Fund's CCO, with such certifications as may be reasonably requested; and
(7) reasonably cooperate with any independent registered public accounting firm engaged by the Trust, ensure that all reasonably necessary information and the appropriate personnel are made available to such independent registered public accounting firm, to support the expression of the independent registered public accounting firm's opinion, and each year provide the Adviser and such independent registered public accounting firm with a copy of the most recent SSAE 16 or similar Report prepared by the Sub-Adviser's independent auditors regarding the Sub-Adviser's internal controls.
(b) The Sub-Adviser represents, warrants and covenants that it has implemented and shall maintain a compliance program in accordance with the requirements of Rule 206(4)-7 under the Advisers Act.
(c) The Adviser will provide the Sub-Adviser records to facilitate the Sub-Adviser's ability to meet the Sub-Adviser's obligations under Rule 206(4)-5 of the Advisers Act. The Sub-Adviser shall treat such records as subject to the applicable confidentiality provision(s) under this Agreement, provided that at no time, unless so required by the applicable laws or relevant regulatory authorities, shall the records be disclosed to or otherwise made available to and shared with any third party or the general public.
(a) This Agreement shall be effective immediately as of the date set forth above and shall continue in effect for two years from its effective date with respect to the Fund, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, and shall continue year to year thereafter, provided each continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the vote of a majority of the Trustees or (ii) a vote of a "majority" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund's outstanding voting securities, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Trustees who are neither (A) parties to this Agreement nor (B) "interested persons" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person (to the extent required by the 1940 Act) at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.
(b) This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund, without penalty, on sixty (60) days' written notice to the Sub-Adviser: (i) by the Trust, pursuant to (A) action by the Board or (B) the vote of the holders of a "majority" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the shares of the Fund or (ii) by the Adviser. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund, without penalty, by the Sub-Adviser upon ninety (90) days' written notice to the Adviser and the Trust. In addition, this Agreement will terminate with respect to the Fund in the event of the termination of the Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund. This Agreement will be terminated automatically in the event of its "assignment" (as defined in the 1940 Act).
(c) In the event of a termination of this Agreement for any reason with respect to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall reasonably cooperate with any transition manager or successor investment sub-adviser and with the Adviser in transitioning the management of the Portfolio to one or more new sub-advisers or to the Adviser, including, without limitation, providing the transition manager, at such intervals as the transition manager may request, subject to a confidentiality agreement, with a list of holdings for the Portfolio and such other information as required by the transition management agreement, into which the Adviser and the transition manager will, at that time, enter. The Sub-Adviser shall deliver to Adviser all periodic compliance reports, certifications and information applicable to the period of Sub-Adviser's services provided under this Agreement, including annual compliance reports and certifications.
(d) Termination of this Agreement shall not affect the rights or obligations of the Adviser, the Adviser Indemnitees and the Sub-Adviser under Section 6 of this Agreement for the period that the Sub-Adviser provided services to the Trust.
12. Use of Name
(a) The Sub-Adviser hereby consents to the use of its name and the names of its affiliates in the Fund's disclosure documents incorporated directly or by reference into the Registration statement. The Adviser shall furnish to the Sub-Adviser for approval, shareholder communications, advertising, sales literature and similar communications prepared for distribution to shareholders of the Fund or the public, which make reference to or uses the name of the Sub-Adviser or any of its affiliates, prior to the use thereof (which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Adviser shall be permitted to use any such materials if the Sub-Adviser does not reasonably object in writing within five (5) business days after receiving such materials. The Adviser will not use any logo related to the name of the Sub-Adviser or its affiliates unless the Adviser enters into a separate licensing agreement with the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser shall not use the name or any tradename, trademark, trade device, service mark, symbol or any abbreviation, contraction or simulation thereof of the Adviser, the Trust, the Fund or any of their affiliates in its marketing materials unless it first receives prior written approval of the Trust and the Adviser. The Adviser shall not use the name or any tradename, trademark, trade device, service mark, symbol or any abbreviation, contraction or simulation thereof of the Sub-Adviser or any of its affiliates in its marketing materials unless it first receives prior written approval of the Sub-Adviser
(b) It is understood that the name of each party to this Agreement, and any derivatives thereof or logos associated with that name, is the valuable property of the party in question and its affiliates, and that each other party has the right to use such names pursuant to the relationship created by, and in accordance with the terms of, this Agreement only so long as this Agreement shall continue in effect. Upon termination of this Agreement, the parties shall forthwith cease to use the names of the other parties (or any derivative or logo) as appropriate and to the extent that continued use is not required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.
13. Confidential Information
(a) Each party agrees that it will treat confidentially all information provided by any other party (the "Discloser") regarding the Discloser's businesses and operations, including without limitation the investment activities or holdings of the Portfolio or the Fund and any non-public information ("Confidential Information"). All Confidential Information provided by the Discloser shall be used only by the other party hereto (the "Recipient") solely for the purposes of rendering services pursuant to this Agreement, and shall not be disclosed to any third party, without the prior consent of the Discloser, except for a limited number of employees, attorneys, accountants and other advisers of the Recipient and its affiliates on a need-to-know basis and solely for the purposes of rendering services under this Agreement. The Recipient has a duty not to trade on the Confidential Information. Recipient shall take reasonable security precautions, at least as great as the precautions it takes to protect its own confidential information to prevent the Confidential Information from being disclosed to third parties.
(b) Confidential Information shall not include any information that: (i) is public when provided or thereafter becomes public through no wrongful act of the Recipient; (ii) is demonstrably known to the Recipient prior to execution of this Agreement; (iii) is independently developed by the Recipient through no wrongful act of the Recipient in the ordinary course of business outside of this Agreement; (iv) is generally employed by the industry at the time that the Recipient learns of such information or knowledge; or (v) has been rightfully and lawfully obtained by the Recipient from any third party.
(c) In the event that the Recipient is requested or required (by deposition, interrogatories, requests for information or documents in legal proceedings, subpoenas, civil investigative demand or similar process), in connection with any proceeding, to disclose any of the Discloser's Confidential Information, the Recipient will give the Discloser prompt written notice of such request or requirement to allow the Discloser an opportunity to obtain a protective order or otherwise obtain assurances that confidential treatment will be accorded to such Confidential Information. In the event that such protective order or other remedy is not obtained, disclosure shall be made of only that portion of the Confidential Information that is legally required to be disclosed. All Confidential Information disclosed as required by law shall nonetheless continue to be deemed Confidential Information.
14. Amendment
This Agreement may be amended in writing signed by the parties to this Agreement in a manner that is in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, as modified or interpreted by any applicable order, exemptive relief or interpretative release issued by the SEC.
15. Notices
All notices hereunder shall be provided in writing, by facsimile or by email. Notices shall be deemed given if delivered in person or by messenger, certified mail with return receipt, or by a reputable overnight delivery service that provides evidence of receipt to the parties; upon receipt if sent by fax; or upon read receipt or reply if delivered by email, at the following addresses:
If to the Trust: Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Marc Bryant
If to the Adviser: Strategic Advisers, Inc.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Chief Operating Officer
With Copy to: Strategic Advisers, Inc.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Karen Benoit
If to the Sub-Adviser: T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.
100 East Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
Attn: Darrell N. Braman
With a copy to: T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.
100 East Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
Attn: Fran Pollack-Matz
16. Miscellaneous
(a) This Agreement constitutes the full and complete agreement of the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof.
(b) Titles or captions of sections in this Agreement are inserted only as a matter of convenience and for reference, and in no way define, limit, extend or describe the scope of this Agreement or the intent of any provisions thereof.
(c) This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, all of which together shall for all purposes constitute one Agreement, binding on all the parties.
(d) This Agreement and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be governed by, and interpreted, construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without giving effect to the choice of laws provisions of that or any other jurisdiction. To the extent that the applicable laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control. The parties irrevocably consent to submit to the jurisdiction of any federal or state court sitting in The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(e) If any provision of this Agreement shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected hereby and, to this extent, the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed to be severable.
(f) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Sub-Adviser shall be an independent contractor. Nothing herein shall be construed as constituting the Sub-Adviser as an agent of the Adviser, the Trust or the Fund, except to the extent expressly authorized by this Agreement.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have caused this instrument to be executed by their officers designated below as of the date first set forth above.
T. ROWE PRICE ASSOCIATES, INC.
By: /s/Fran Pollack-Matz
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Name: Suzanne Brennan
Title: Chief Operating Officer
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
By: /s/Kenneth Robins
Kenneth Robins
Treasurer
Exhibit (d)(80)
AMENDED AND RESTATED INVESTMENT SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENT
AMONG
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.,
INVESCO ADVISERS, INC.
AND
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST, II
AGREEMENT, made this 1 st day of December, 2010, and amended and restated on December 1, 2011, among Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II ("Trust"), a Delaware statutory trust, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund (the "Fund"), Strategic Advisers, Inc. ("Adviser"), a Massachusetts corporation, and Invesco Advisers, Inc. ("Sub-Adviser"), a Delaware corporation.
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as an open-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("1940 Act");
WHEREAS, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser are each registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended ("Advisers Act");
WHEREAS, the Trust has retained the Adviser to render investment advisory services to the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, pursuant to a Management Contract dated March 5, 2010 as may be amended from time to time ("Advisory Agreement");
WHEREAS, the Advisory Agreement authorizes the Adviser to delegate to one or more other investment advisers any or all of the Adviser's duties and obligations under the Advisory Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the Trust and the Adviser wish to retain the Sub-Adviser to render certain investment advisory services to the Fund with respect to the portion of the Fund's assets allocated to the Sub-Adviser, as determined from time to time by the Adviser, and the Sub-Adviser is willing to render such services.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed among the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser and the Trust as follows:
1. Appointment
The Trust and the Adviser hereby appoint the Sub-Adviser to act as investment sub-adviser to the Fund with respect to the portion of the Fund's assets allocated, from time to time, by the Adviser to the Sub-Adviser (the "Portfolio"), for the periods and on the terms set forth herein. The Sub-Adviser accepts the appointment and agrees to furnish the services set forth herein for the compensation provided in Section 7 of this Agreement.
2. Services and Duties of Investment Sub-Adviser
Subject to the general supervision and oversight of the Adviser and the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the "Board"), and solely with respect to the Portfolio, the Sub-Adviser will:
(a) provide a program of continuous investment management for the Portfolio in accordance with the Fund's investment objective and policies as stated in the Fund's prospectus and statement of additional information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on Form N-1A, as amended and supplemented from time to time (the "Registration Statement"), and such other limitations as the Trust, the Fund, the Board or the Adviser may impose with respect to the Portfolio by notice to the Sub-Adviser;
(b) invest and reinvest the assets of the Portfolio by selecting the securities, instruments, repurchase agreements, financial futures contracts, options and other investments and techniques that the Fund may purchase, sell, enter into or use in respect of the Portfolio;
(c) oversee the placement of purchase and sale orders on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio;
(d) employ portfolio managers to make investment decisions and securities analysts to provide research services to the Fund in respect of the Portfolio;
(e) subject to the understanding set forth in Section 10(a)(1) of this Agreement, vote all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested in accordance with the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting policies and procedures and in a manner that complies with applicable law; maintain records of all proxies voted on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio; and provide information to the Trust, the Adviser or their designated agent in a manner that is sufficiently complete and timely to ensure the Trust's compliance with its filing obligations under Rule 30b1-4 of the 1940 Act;
(f) maintain books and records with respect to the Fund's securities transactions in respect of the Portfolio, in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations; and
(g) to the extent reasonably requested by the Adviser or officers of the Fund, cooperate with and provide reasonable assistance to the Adviser and the Trust's other service providers by (1) keeping them fully informed as to such matters that they may reasonably deem necessary with respect to the performance of their obligations to the Fund, (2) providing prompt responses to reasonable requests for information or assistance, and (3) establishing appropriate processes to promote the efficient exchange of information.
In providing those services, the Sub-Adviser will provide the Adviser and the Fund with an ongoing and continuous investment program in respect of the Portfolio. In addition, the Sub-Adviser will furnish the Adviser and/or the Fund with statistical information as the Adviser and/or the Fund may reasonably request with respect to the securities or other investments in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested.
The Sub-Adviser further agrees that, in performing its duties hereunder, it will:
(h) comply in all material respects with the applicable sections of (1) the 1940 Act and the Advisers Act and all rules and regulations thereunder and any other applicable federal and state laws and regulations, (2) the Sub-Adviser's compliance policies and procedures, (3) the rules and regulations of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, (4) the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Code"), (5) the investment objectives, strategies, policies, limitations and restrictions of the Fund as described in the Registration Statement, (6) the Trust's Trust Instrument and By-Laws or other organizational documents of the Trust and (7) any written instructions of the Adviser or the Board;
(i) manage the assets of the Portfolio in a manner that will enable the fund to comply with the following requirements of the Code and regulations issued thereunder: section 851(b)(2) and section 851(b)(3); provided, however, that with respect to the 10% voting securities test contained in section 851(b)(3)(A)(ii), the Sub-Adviser will comply with such requirements as the Trust, the Fund or its Adviser shall furnish to the Sub-Adviser from time to time;
(j) keep the Adviser and/or the Board informed of developments materially affecting the Fund's portfolio;
(k) make available to the Board, the Adviser, the Fund's Chief Compliance Officer ("CCO") and the Trust's administrator, promptly upon their request, such copies of its records with respect to the Fund as may be required to assist in their compliance with applicable laws and regulations. As reasonably requested by the Board or the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser will complete periodic or special questionnaires and furnish to the Board and/or the Adviser such periodic and special reports regarding the Fund and the Sub-Adviser including, but not limited to, reports concerning transactions and performance of the Portfolio, quarterly and annual compliance reports and certifications, reports regarding compliance with the Trust's procedures pursuant to Rules 17e-1, 17a-7, 10f-3 and 12d3-1 under the 1940 Act (as applicable), quarterly reports identifying material compliance matters and any material changes to the Sub-Adviser's compliance program (including revisions to compliance policies and procedures), fundamental investment restrictions, procedures for opening brokerage accounts and commodity trading accounts, liquidity determinations for securities or other instruments held by the Portfolio such as, among others, securities purchased pursuant to Rule 144A and 4(2) commercial paper, compliance with the Sub-Adviser's Code of Ethics, and such other procedures or requirements that the Adviser may reasonably request from time to time;
(l) make available to the Board and the Adviser at reasonable times its portfolio managers and other appropriate personnel as mutually agreed by the Adviser and Sub-Adviser, either in person or, at the mutual convenience of the Board, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser, by telephone, in order to review the investment policies, performance and other matters relating to the management of the Fund;
(m) review draft reports to shareholders, registration statements or portions thereof that relate to the Portfolio or the Sub-Adviser and other documents provided to the Sub-Adviser, provide comments on such drafts on a timely basis, and provide certifications or sub-certifications on a timely basis as to the accuracy of the information contained in such reports or other documents;
(n) use no material, non-public information concerning portfolio companies that may be in its possession or the possession of any of its affiliates, nor will the Sub-Adviser seek to obtain any such information, in providing investment advice or investment management services to the Fund;
(o) promptly notify the Trust, the Adviser and the Board in the event that the Sub-Adviser or any of its affiliates becomes aware that the Sub-Adviser: (i) is subject to a statutory disqualification that prevents the Sub-Adviser from serving as investment adviser pursuant to this Agreement; (ii) fails to be registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act or under the laws of any jurisdiction in which the Sub-Adviser is required to be registered as an investment adviser in order to perform its obligations under this Agreement; (iii) is the subject of an administrative proceeding or enforcement action by the SEC or other regulatory authority; or (iv) is served or otherwise receives notice of any action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation, at law or in equity, before or by any court, public board or body, or governmental authority, involving the affairs of the Trust or the Adviser or their affiliates; or is involved in any pending litigation or administrative proceeding brought against the Sub-Adviser or any of its management persons (as defined in Rule 206(4)-4 under the Advisers Act). The Sub-Adviser further agrees to notify the Trust and the Adviser promptly of any material fact known to the Sub-Adviser respecting or relating to the Sub-Adviser that is not contained in the Trust's Registration Statement, as amended and supplemented from time to time, regarding the Fund, or any amendment or supplement thereto, but that is required to be disclosed therein, and of any statement contained therein that becomes untrue in any material respect. The Sub-Adviser will promptly notify the Trust, the Adviser and the Board if its chief executive officer or any member of the portfolio management team named in the Registration Statement for the Fund changes, or if there is an actual change in control or management of the Sub-Adviser within the meaning of Rules 2a-6 and 202(a)(1)-1 under the 1940 Act and Advisers Act, respectively;
(p) not disclose information regarding Portfolio or Fund characteristics, trading history, portfolio holdings, performance information or any other related information to any third-party, except (i) in compliance with the Trust's policies on disclosure of portfolio holdings; (ii) as required by applicable law or regulation, including regulatory requests for information; or (iii) as necessary to perform services under this Agreement, all in accordance with Section 13 below to the extent applicable.
(q) provide the Adviser, the Trust or the Board with such information and assurances (including certifications and sub-certifications) as the Adviser, the Trust or the Board may reasonably request from time to time in order to assist the Adviser, the Trust or the Board in complying with applicable laws, rules and regulations, including requirements in connection with the preparation and/or filing of the Fund's Form N-CSRs and Form N-Qs;
(r) provide assistance to the Adviser, custodian or recordkeeping agent for the Trust in determining or confirming, consistent with the procedures and policies stated in the Registration Statement, the value of any portfolio securities or other assets of the Fund for which the Adviser, custodian or recordkeeping agent seeks assistance from the Sub-Adviser or identifies for review by the Sub-Adviser. This assistance includes (but is not limited to): (i) designating and providing access to one or more employees of the Sub-Adviser who are knowledgeable about the security/issuer, its financial condition, trading and/or other relevant factors for valuation, which employees shall be available for consultation when the Board's Valuation Committee convenes; (ii) assisting the Adviser or the custodian in obtaining bids and offers or quotes from broker/dealers or market-makers with respect to securities held by the Fund, upon the reasonable request of the Adviser or custodian; (iii) upon the request of the Adviser or the custodian, confirming pricing and providing recommendations for fair valuations; and (iv) maintaining adequate records and written backup information with respect to the securities valuation assistance provided hereunder, and providing such information to the Adviser or the Trust upon request, with such records being deemed Fund records;
(s) not consult with any other investment sub-adviser of the Trust (if any), or with the sub-adviser to any other investment company (or separate series thereof) managed by the Adviser concerning the Fund's transactions in securities or other assets, except for purposes of complying with the conditions of Rule 12d3-1(a) and (b) under the 1940 Act, and, to the extent that multiple sub-advisers may be engaged to provide services to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall be responsible for providing investment advisory services only with respect to the Portfolio allocated to the Sub-Adviser by the Adviser; and
(t) provide the Trust and the Adviser with a copy of its Form ADV as most recently filed with the SEC, notify the Adviser on a quarterly basis of any amendments to the Sub-Adviser's Form ADV and furnish a copy of such amendments to the Trust and the Adviser; and provide the Trust and the Adviser with a copy of its Form ADV Part II as updated from time to time.
The Sub-Adviser further agrees that it may perform any or all the services contemplated by this Agreement directly or through such of its subsidiaries or other affiliated persons, or unaffiliated persons described in Appendix A, as it believes reasonably necessary to assist it in carrying out its obligations under this Agreement. However, the Sub-Adviser may not retain the services of any entity that would be an "investment adviser", as that term is defined in the 1940 Act, to the Fund unless any agreement with such entity has been approved by (i) a majority of the Trust's Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, and (ii) to the extent necessary, the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. The Sub-Adviser shall remain liable to the Trust and the Adviser for the performance of Sub-Adviser's obligations hereunder and for the acts and omissions of such other affiliated or unaffiliated person(s), and neither the Trust nor the Adviser shall be responsible for any fees that any such person(s) may charge to Sub-Adviser for such services.
3. Brokerage
The Sub-Adviser may place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund directly with the issuers of the securities, or with brokers or dealers selected by the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser may, in respect of the Portfolio, open and maintain brokerage accounts of all types on behalf of and in the name of the Fund. The Sub-Adviser may enter into standard customer agreements with brokers and direct payments of cash, cash equivalents and securities and other property into such brokerage accounts as the Sub-Adviser deems desirable or appropriate. In selecting brokers or dealers to execute transactions on behalf of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser will use its best efforts to seek the best overall terms available. In assessing the best overall terms available for the Fund transaction, the Sub-Adviser will consider all factors it deems relevant, including, but not limited to, the breadth of the market in the security, the price of the security, the financial condition and execution capability of the broker or dealer and the reasonableness of the commission, if any, for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. In selecting broker-dealers to execute a particular transaction, and in evaluating the best overall terms available, the Sub-Adviser is authorized to consider the brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "1934 Act")) provided to the Fund and/or other accounts over which the Sub-Adviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The parties hereto acknowledge that it is desirable for the Trust that the Sub-Adviser have access to supplemental investment and market research and security and economic analysis provided by broker-dealers who may execute brokerage transactions at a higher cost to the Fund than may result when allocating brokerage to other brokers on the basis of seeking the most favorable price and efficient execution. Therefore, the Sub-Adviser may cause the Fund to pay a broker-dealer that furnishes brokerage and research services a higher commission than that which might be charged by another broker-dealer for effecting the same transaction, provided that the Sub-Adviser determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker-dealer, viewed in terms of either the particular transaction or the overall responsibilities of the Sub-Adviser to the Fund in compliance with Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act. It is understood that the services provided by such brokers may be useful to the Sub-Adviser in connection with the Sub-Adviser's services to other clients. In accordance with Section 11(a) of the 1934 Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder and subject to any other applicable laws and regulations, the Sub-Adviser and its affiliates are authorized to effect portfolio transactions for the Fund and to retain brokerage commissions on such transactions. The Sub-Adviser may, but shall not be obligated to, aggregate or bunch orders for the purchase or sale of securities for the Fund with orders for its other clients where: (i) such aggregation or bunching of orders is not inconsistent with the Fund's investment objectives, policies and procedures, (ii) the allocation of the securities so purchased or sold, as well as the allocation of expenses incurred in any such transaction, shall be made by the Sub-Adviser in a manner that complies with the trade allocation policies and procedures approved by the Board and is fair and equitable in the judgment of the Sub-Adviser and is consistent with the Sub-Adviser's fiduciary obligations to the Fund and each of its other clients.
4. Books, Records and Regulatory Filings
(a) The Sub-Adviser agrees to maintain and to preserve for the applicable periods any such records as are required to be maintained by the Sub-Adviser with respect to the Fund by the 1940 Act and rules adopted thereunder, and by any other applicable laws, rules and regulations. The Sub-Adviser further agrees that all records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund and it will promptly surrender any of such records upon request; provided, however, that the Sub-Adviser may retain copies of such records for the applicable periods they are required by law to be retained, and thereafter shall destroy such records.
(b) The Sub-Adviser agrees that it shall furnish to regulatory authorities having the requisite authority any information or reports in connection with its services hereunder that may be requested in order to determine whether the operations of the Fund are being conducted in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations.
(c) The Sub-Adviser shall make all filings with the SEC required of it pursuant to Section 13 of the 1934 Act with respect to its duties as are set forth herein. The Sub-Adviser also shall make all required filings on Schedule 13D or 13G and Form 13F (as well as other filings triggered by ownership in securities under other applicable laws, rules and regulations) in respect of the Portfolio as may be required of the Fund due to the activities of the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser shall be the sole filer of Form 13F with respect to the Portfolio of the Fund.
5. Class Action Filings
The Sub-Adviser is not responsible for making any class action filings on behalf of the Trust.
6. Standard of Care, Limitation of Liability and Indemnification
(a) The Sub-Adviser shall exercise its best judgment in rendering the services under this Agreement. The Sub-Adviser shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss, claim, damage, liability or litigation (including legal and other expenses) incurred or suffered by the Trust, the Adviser or the Fund, or affiliated persons of the Adviser or the Fund (collectively, the "Adviser Indemnitees") in connection with the matters to which this Agreement relates except a loss resulting from the Sub-Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties, under this Agreement; provided, however , that nothing herein shall be deemed to protect or purport to protect the Sub-Adviser against any liability to the Adviser Indemnitees for, and the Sub-Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Adviser Indemnitees from, any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which any of the Adviser Indemnitees may become subject arising out of or resulting from (i) the Sub-Adviser causing the Fund to be in violation of any applicable federal or state law, rule or regulation or any investment policy or restriction set forth in the Fund's current Registration Statement or the most current written guidelines, policies or instruction provided in writing by the Board or the Adviser, (ii) the Sub-Adviser causing the Fund to fail to satisfy the requirements set forth in Section 2(i) hereof, (iii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Sub-Adviser or the Portfolio managed by the Sub-Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact known to the Sub-Adviser that was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Adviser or the Trust by the Sub-Adviser for use therein, provided, however, that Sub-Adviser had had a reasonable opportunity to review information regarding Sub-Adviser contained in the prospectus and SAI, proxy voting materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature or other materials pertaining to the Fund as set forth in Section 2, or (iv) a breach of this Agreement by the Sub-Adviser. In addition, the Sub-Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Trust and the Fund from any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which either the Trust or the Fund may become subject directly arising out of or resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty by the Sub-Adviser under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act with respect to the receipt of compensation for its services under this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing contained in this Agreement shall constitute a waiver or limitation of rights that the Trust or the Fund may have under federal or state securities laws.
(b) The Sub-Adviser is hereby expressly put on notice of the limitation of shareholder liability as set forth in the Trust Instrument or other organizational document of the Trust and agrees that any obligations of the Trust or the Fund arising in connection with this Agreement shall be limited in all cases to the Fund and its assets, and the Sub-Adviser shall not seek satisfaction of any such obligation from any other fund of the Trust or the shareholders or any individual shareholder of the Fund. Nor shall the Sub-Adviser seek satisfaction of any such obligation from the trustees of the Trust (each, a "Trustee" and, together, the "Trustees") or any individual Trustee or any officers.
(c) As used in this Section 6, the term "Sub-Adviser" shall include any officers, directors, employees, independent contractors or other affiliates of the Sub-Adviser performing services with respect to the Fund.
(d) The Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Sub-Adviser from and against any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which the Sub-Adviser may become subject directly arising out of or resulting from, the Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties under this Agreement, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under this Agreement.
7. Compensation
The Sub-Adviser shall be compensated for the services rendered pursuant to this Agreement in accordance with the terms set forth on Schedule A attached hereto.
8. Expenses
The Sub-Adviser will bear all expenses in connection with the performance of its services under this Agreement, excluding those costs of the Fund associated with brokerage activities. The Sub-Adviser shall bear all expenses and costs of the Trust (including reasonable attorney's fees), if any, arising out of a termination or possible termination of this Agreement as a result of an assignment caused by a change of control or management of the Sub-Adviser, including the preparation and mailing of an information statement to shareholders pursuant to a "manager-of-managers" exemptive order from the SEC, or the preparation, mailing, solicitation and other costs associated with the use of a proxy statement relating to a shareholder vote in respect of a new sub-advisory agreement. The foregoing obligations of the Sub-Adviser shall apply in any circumstance in which the Adviser, in consultation with internal or outside counsel to the Trust, deems that an actual or possible assignment of this Agreement has or may occur, and determines that an information statement should be used, or a vote of shareholders should be obtained, as the case may be.
9. Services to Other Companies or Accounts
The investment advisory services of the Sub-Adviser to the Fund under this Agreement are not to be deemed exclusive, and the Sub-Adviser shall be free to render similar services to other investment companies and clients (whether or not their investment objective and policies are similar those of the Fund) and to engage in other activities, provided that such other services and activities do not interfere with or impair the Sub-Adviser's ability to fulfill its duties and obligations under this Agreement. If the Sub-Adviser provides any advice to its clients concerning investment in the shares of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall act solely for such clients in that regard and not in any way on behalf of the Adviser, the Trust or the Fund.
10. Compliance Matters
(a) The Sub-Adviser understands and agrees that it is a "service provider" to the Trust as contemplated by Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act. As such, the Sub-Adviser agrees to cooperate fully with the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers, including the Fund's CCO, with respect to (i) any and all compliance-related matters, and (ii) the Trust's efforts to assure that each of its service providers adopts and maintains policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to prevent violation of the "federal securities laws" (as that term is defined by Rule 38a-1) by the Trust, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser. In this regard, the Sub-Adviser shall:
(1) submit to the Board for its consideration and approval, prior to the effective date of this Agreement, the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, it being understood that the Sub-Adviser's obligation under Section 2(e) of this Agreement to vote all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested shall be subject to the fulfillment of the condition that the Board approve the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting polices and procedures;
(2) submit annually (and at such other times as the Trust may reasonably request) to the Fund's CCO and the Adviser for consideration by the Board, a report discussing the adequacy and effectiveness of the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, and fully describing any material amendments to such compliance program since the most recent such report;
(3) provide periodic reports, certifications and information concerning the Sub-Adviser's compliance program including, but not limited to, the following;
(i) Quarterly Compliance Certifications , including any required attachments, no later than the tenth (10th) business day after each calendar quarter;
(ii) Annual Survey to Sub-Advisers , including any required attachments, no later than the tenth (10th) business day of February each year; and
(iii) Annual Report on Code of Ethics Matters , including any required attachments, no later than the tenth (10 th ) business day of February each year. (4) provide the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers with reasonable access to information regarding the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, which access shall include on-site visits with the Sub-Adviser as may be reasonably requested from time to time;
(5) permit the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers to maintain an active working relationship with the Sub-Adviser's compliance personnel by, among other things, providing the Adviser and the Fund's CCO and other officers with a specified individual within the Sub-Adviser's organization to discuss and address compliance-related matters;
(6) provide the Adviser and its chief compliance officer and the Trust and its Trustees and officers, including the Fund's CCO, with such certifications as may be reasonably requested; and
(7) reasonably cooperate with any independent registered public accounting firm engaged by the Trust, ensure that all reasonably necessary information and the appropriate personnel are made available to such independent registered public accounting firm, to support the expression of the independent registered public accounting firm's opinion, and each year provide the Adviser and such independent registered public accounting firm with a copy of the most recent SAS 70 Report prepared by the Sub-Adviser's independent auditors regarding the Sub-Adviser's internal controls.
(b) The Sub-Adviser represents, warrants and covenants that it has implemented and shall maintain a compliance program in accordance with the requirements of Rule 206(4)-7 under the Advisers Act.
(a) This Agreement shall be effective immediately as of the date set forth above and shall continue in effect for two years from its effective date with respect to the Fund, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, and shall continue year to year thereafter, provided each continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the vote of a majority of the Trustees or (ii) a vote of a "majority" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund's outstanding voting securities, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Trustees who are neither (A) parties to this Agreement nor (B) "interested persons" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person (to the extent required by the 1940 Act) at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.
(b) This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund, without penalty, on sixty (60) days' written notice to the Sub-Adviser: (i) by the Trust, pursuant to (A) action by the Board or (B) the vote of the holders of a "majority" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the shares of the Fund or (ii) by the Adviser. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund, without penalty, by the Sub-Adviser upon ninety (90) days' written notice to the Adviser and the Trust. In addition, this Agreement will terminate with respect to the Fund in the event of the termination of the Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund. This Agreement will be terminated automatically in the event of its "assignment" (as defined in the 1940 Act).
(c) In the event of a termination of this Agreement for any reason with respect to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall reasonably cooperate with any transition manager or successor investment sub-adviser and with the Adviser in transitioning the management of the Portfolio to one or more new sub-advisers or to the Adviser, including, without limitation, providing the transition manager, at such intervals as the transition manager may request, with a list of holdings for the Portfolio and such other information as required by the transition management agreement, into which the Adviser and the transition manager will, at that time, enter. The Sub-Adviser shall deliver to Adviser all periodic compliance reports, certifications and information applicable to the period of Sub-Adviser's services provided under this Agreement, including annual compliance reports and certifications.
(d) Termination of this Agreement shall not affect the rights or obligations of the Adviser, the Adviser Indemnitees and the Sub-Adviser under Section 6 of this Agreement.
12. Use of Name
(a) The Sub-Adviser hereby consents to the use of its name and the names of its affiliates in the Fund's disclosure documents, shareholder communications, advertising, sales literature and similar communications ("Materials"), provided that the Adviser agrees to afford the Sub-Adviser the opportunity to review all such Materials which refer to the Sub-Adviser. The Adviser shall be permitted to use such Materials if the Sub-Adviser does not reasonably object in writing within five (5) business days after receipt thereof. In the event that this Agreement shall be terminated for any reason, and in the event a new or successor Agreement with Sub-Adviser is not concluded, the Adviser and the Trust understand that it/they must immediately take all steps necessary to delete the name "Invesco" from the Portfolio's names and any other reference in all materials (including the Adviser's website) and cease any and all use of the name "Invesco". The Sub-Adviser shall not use the name or any tradename, trademark, trade device, service mark, symbol or any abbreviation, contraction or simulation thereof of the Adviser, the Trust, the Fund or any of their affiliates in its marketing materials unless it first receives prior written approval of the Trust and the Adviser. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Sub-Adviser may list the name of the Fund in materials provided to the board of trustees of other mutual funds managed by the Sub-Adviser.
(b) It is understood that the name of each party to this Agreement, and any derivatives thereof or logos associated with that name, is the valuable property of the party in question and its affiliates, and that each other party has the right to use such names pursuant to the relationship created by, and in accordance with the terms of, this Agreement only so long as this Agreement shall continue in effect. Upon termination of this Agreement, the parties shall forthwith cease to use the names of the other parties (or any derivative or logo) as appropriate and to the extent that continued use is not required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.
13. Confidential Information
(a) Each party agrees that it will treat confidentially all information provided by any other party (the "Discloser") regarding the Discloser's businesses and operations, including without limitation the investment activities or holdings of the Portfolio or the Fund ("Confidential Information"). All Confidential Information provided by the Discloser shall be used only by the other party hereto (the "Recipient") solely for the purposes of rendering services pursuant to this Agreement, and, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, shall not be disclosed to any third party, except those listed on Appendix A, without the prior consent of the Discloser, except for a limited number of employees, attorneys, accountants and other advisers of the Recipient and its affiliates on a need-to-know basis and solely for the purposes of rendering services under this Agreement.
(b) Confidential Information shall not include any information that: (i) is public when provided or thereafter becomes public through no wrongful act of the Recipient; (ii) is demonstrably known to the Recipient prior to execution of this Agreement; (iii) is independently developed by the Recipient through no wrongful act of the Recipient in the ordinary course of business outside of this Agreement; (iv) is generally employed by the trade at the time that the Recipient learns of such information or knowledge; or (v) has been rightfully and lawfully obtained by the Recipient from any third party.
(c) In the event that the Recipient is requested or required (by deposition, interrogatories, requests for information or documents in legal proceedings, subpoenas, civil investigative demand or similar process), in connection with any proceeding, to disclose any of the Discloser's Confidential Information, the Recipient will give the Discloser prompt written notice of such request or requirement to allow the Discloser an opportunity to obtain a protective order or otherwise obtain assurances that confidential treatment will be accorded to such Confidential Information. In the event that such protective order or other remedy is not obtained, disclosure shall be made of only that portion of the Confidential Information that is legally required to be disclosed. All Confidential Information disclosed as required by law shall nonetheless continue to be deemed Confidential Information.
14. Amendment
This Agreement may be amended in writing signed by the parties to this Agreement in a manner that is in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, as modified or interpreted by any applicable order, exemptive relief or interpretative release issued by the SEC.
15. Notices
All notices hereunder shall be provided in writing, by facsimile or by email. Notices shall be deemed given if delivered in person or by messenger, certified mail with return receipt, or by a reputable overnight delivery service that provides evidence of receipt to the parties; upon receipt if sent by fax; or upon read receipt or reply if delivered by email, at the following addresses:
If to the Trust: Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Marc Bryant
If to the Adviser: Strategic Advisers, Inc.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Chief Operating Officer
With Copy to: Strategic Advisers, Inc.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Karen Benoit
If to the Sub-Adviser: Invesco Advisers, Inc.
11 Greenway Plaza, Suite 2500
Houston, Texas 77046
Attn: President
With a copy to: Invesco Advisers, Inc.
11 Greenway Plaza, Suite 2500
Houston, Texas 77046
Attn: General Counsel
16. Miscellaneous
(a) This Agreement constitutes the full and complete agreement of the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof.
(b) Titles or captions of sections in this Agreement are inserted only as a matter of convenience and for reference, and in no way define, limit, extend or describe the scope of this Agreement or the intent of any provisions thereof.
(c) This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, all of which together shall for all purposes constitute one Agreement, binding on all the parties.
(d) This Agreement and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be governed by, and interpreted, construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without giving effect to the choice of laws provisions of that or any other jurisdiction. To the extent that the applicable laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control. The parties irrevocably consent to submit to the jurisdiction of any federal or state court sitting in The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(e) If any provision of this Agreement shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected hereby and, to this extent, the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed to be severable.
(f) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Sub-Adviser shall be an independent contractor. Nothing herein shall be construed as constituting the Sub-Adviser as an agent of the Adviser, the Trust or the Fund, except to the extent expressly authorized by this Agreement.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have caused this instrument to be executed by their officers designated below as of the date first set forth above.
INVESCO ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/John Cooper
Name: John Cooper
Title: Senior Vice President
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Name: Suzanne Brennan
Title: Chief Operating Officer
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
By: /s/Kenneth Robins
Kenneth Robbins
Treasurer
APPENDIX A
Notwithstanding the provisions of this Agreement, Sub-Adviser shall be permitted, without the prior consent of the Adviser, to disclose Confidential Information to its third-party service provider listed below, solely for the purposes of rendering services under this Agreement.
Ness Innovative Business Services
Exhibit (d)(81)
INVESTMENT SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENT
AMONG
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.,
KENNEDY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, INC. AND
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
AGREEMENT, made this 6th day of December 2012, among Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II ("Trust"), a Delaware statutory trust, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund (the "Fund"), Strategic Advisers, Inc. ("Adviser"), a Massachusetts corporation, and Kennedy Capital Management, Inc. ("Sub-Adviser"), a Missouri corporation.
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as an open-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("1940 Act");
WHEREAS, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser are each registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended ("Advisers Act");
WHEREAS, the Trust has retained the Adviser to render investment advisory services to the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, pursuant to a Management Contract dated March 5, 2010, as may be amended from time to time ("Advisory Agreement");
WHEREAS, the Advisory Agreement authorizes the Adviser to delegate to one or more other investment advisers any or all of the Adviser's duties and obligations under the Advisory Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the Trust and the Adviser wish to retain the Sub-Adviser to render certain investment advisory services to the Fund with respect to the portion of the Fund's assets allocated to the Sub-Adviser, as determined from time to time by the Adviser, and the Sub-Adviser is willing to render such services.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed among the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser and the Trust as follows:
1. Appointment
The Trust and the Adviser hereby appoint the Sub-Adviser to act as investment sub-adviser to the Fund with respect to the portion of the Fund's assets allocated, from time to time, by the Adviser to the Sub-Adviser (the "Portfolio"), for the periods and on the terms set forth herein. The Sub-Adviser accepts the appointment and agrees to furnish the services set forth herein for the compensation provided in Section 7 of this Agreement.
2. Services and Duties of Investment Sub-Adviser
Subject to the general supervision and oversight of the Adviser and the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the "Board"), the Sub-Adviser will:
(a) provide a program of continuous investment management for the Portfolio in accordance with the Fund's investment objective and policies as stated in the Fund's prospectus and statement of additional information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on Form N-1A, as amended and supplemented from time to time (the "Registration Statement"), and such other limitations as the Trust, the Fund, the Board or the Adviser may impose with respect to the Portfolio by notice to the Sub-Adviser;
(b) invest and reinvest the assets of the Portfolio by selecting the securities, instruments, repurchase agreements, financial futures contracts, options and other investments and techniques that the Fund may purchase, sell, enter into or use in respect of the Portfolio;
(c) oversee the placement of purchase and sale orders on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio;
(d) employ portfolio managers to make investment decisions and securities analysts to provide research services to the Fund in respect of the Portfolio;
(e) subject to the understanding set forth in Section 10(a)(1) of this Agreement, vote all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested in accordance with the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting policies and procedures and in a manner that complies with applicable law; maintain records of all proxies voted on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio; and provide information to the Trust, the Adviser or their designated agent in a manner that is sufficiently complete and timely to ensure the Trust's compliance with its filing obligations under Rule 30b1-4 of the 1940 Act;
(f) maintain books and records with respect to the Fund's securities transactions in respect of the Portfolio, in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations; and
(g) to the extent reasonably requested by the Adviser or officers of the Fund, cooperate with and provide reasonable assistance to the Adviser and the Trust's other service providers by (1) keeping them fully informed as to such matters that they may reasonably deem necessary with respect to the performance of their obligations to the Fund, (2) providing prompt responses to reasonable requests for information or assistance, and (3) establishing appropriate processes to promote the efficient exchange of information.
In providing those services, the Sub-Adviser will provide the Adviser and the Fund with an ongoing and continuous investment program in respect of the Portfolio. In addition, the Sub-Adviser will furnish the Adviser and/or the Fund with statistical information as the Adviser and/or the Fund may reasonably request with respect to the securities or other investments in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested.
The Sub-Adviser further agrees that, in performing its duties hereunder, it will:
(h) comply in all material respects with the applicable sections of (1) the 1940 Act and the Advisers Act and all rules and regulations thereunder and any other applicable federal and state laws and regulations, (2) the Sub-Adviser's compliance policies and procedures, (3) the rules and regulations of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, (4) the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Code"), (5) the investment objectives, strategies, policies, limitations and restrictions of the Fund as described in the Registration Statement, (6) the Trust's Trust Instrument and By-Laws or other organizational documents of the Trust and (7) any written instructions of the Adviser or the Board;
(i) manage the assets of the Portfolio to comply with the following requirements of the Code and regulations issued thereunder: section 851(b)(2) and section 851(b)(3) (and, if applicable, section 817(h)); provided, however, that with respect to the 10% voting securities test contained in section 851(b)(3)(A)(ii), the Sub-Adviser will comply with such requirements as the Trust, the Fund or its Adviser shall furnish to the Sub-Adviser from time to time;
(j) keep the Adviser and/or the Board informed of developments materially affecting the Fund's portfolio;
(k) make available to the Board, the Adviser, the Fund's Chief Compliance Officer ("CCO") and the Trust's administrator, promptly upon their request, such copies of its records with respect to the Fund as may be required to assist in their compliance with applicable laws and regulations. As reasonably requested by the Board or the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser will complete periodic or special questionnaires and furnish to the Board and/or the Adviser such periodic and special reports regarding the Fund and the Sub-Adviser including, but not limited to, reports concerning transactions and performance of the Portfolio, quarterly and annual compliance reports and certifications, reports regarding compliance with the Trust's procedures pursuant to Rules 17e-1, 17a-7, 10f-3 and 12d3-1 under the 1940 Act (as applicable), quarterly reports identifying material compliance matters and any material changes to the Sub-Adviser's compliance program (including revisions to compliance policies and procedures), fundamental investment restrictions, procedures for opening brokerage accounts and commodity trading accounts, liquidity determinations for securities or other instruments held by the Portfolio such as, among others, securities purchased pursuant to Rule 144A and 4(2) commercial paper, compliance with the Sub-Adviser's Code of Ethics, and such other procedures or requirements that the Adviser may reasonably request from time to time;
(l) make available to the Board and the Adviser at reasonable times its portfolio managers and other appropriate personnel as mutually agreed by the Adviser and Sub-Adviser, either in person or, at the mutual convenience of the Board, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser, by telephone or other electronic media, in order to review the investment policies, performance and other matters relating to the management of the Fund;
(m) review draft reports to shareholders, registration statements or portions thereof that relate to the Portfolio or the Sub-Adviser and other documents provided to the Sub-Adviser, provide comments on such drafts on a timely basis, and provide certifications or sub-certifications on a timely basis as to the accuracy of the information contained in such reports or other documents;
(n) use no material, non-public information concerning portfolio companies that may be in its possession or the possession of any of its affiliates, nor will the Sub-Adviser seek to obtain any such information, in providing investment advice or investment management services to the Fund;
(o) promptly notify the Trust, the Adviser and the Board in the event that the Sub-Adviser or any of its affiliates becomes aware that the Sub-Adviser: (i) is subject to a statutory disqualification that prevents the Sub-Adviser from serving as investment adviser pursuant to this Agreement; (ii) fails to be registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act or under the laws of any jurisdiction in which the Sub-Adviser is required to be registered as an investment adviser in order to perform its obligations under this Agreement; (iii) is the subject of an administrative proceeding or enforcement action by the SEC or other regulatory authority; or (iv) is served or otherwise receives notice of any action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation, at law or in equity, before or by any court, public board or body, or governmental authority, involving the affairs of the Trust or the Adviser or their affiliates; or is involved in any pending litigation or administrative proceeding brought against the Sub-Adviser or any of its management persons (as described in Rule 204-3(b)(4) under the Advisers Act). The Sub-Adviser further agrees to notify the Trust and the Adviser promptly of any material fact known to the Sub-Adviser respecting or relating to the Sub-Adviser that is not contained in the Trust's Registration Statement, as amended and supplemented from time to time, regarding the Fund, or any amendment or supplement thereto, but that is required to be disclosed therein, and of any statement contained therein that becomes untrue in any material respect. The Sub-Adviser will promptly notify the Trust, the Adviser and the Board if its chief executive officer or any member of the portfolio management team named in the Registration Statement for the Fund changes, or if there is an actual change in control or management of the Sub-Adviser within the meaning of Rules 2a-6 and 202(a)(1)-1 under the 1940 Act and Advisers Act, respectively;
(p) not disclose information regarding Portfolio or Fund characteristics, trading history, portfolio holdings, performance information or any other related information to any third-party, except in compliance with the Trust's policies on disclosure of portfolio holdings;
(q) provide the Adviser, the Trust or the Board with such information and assurances (including certifications and sub-certifications) as the Adviser, the Trust or the Board may reasonably request from time to time in order to assist the Adviser, the Trust or the Board in complying with applicable laws, rules and regulations, including requirements in connection with the preparation and/or filing of the Fund's Form N-CSRs and Form N-Qs;
(r) provide assistance to the Adviser, custodian or recordkeeping agent for the Trust in determining or confirming, consistent with the procedures and policies stated in the Registration Statement, the value of any portfolio securities or other assets of the Fund for which the Adviser, custodian or recordkeeping agent seeks assistance from the Sub-Adviser or identifies for review by the Sub-Adviser. This assistance includes (but is not limited to): (i) designating and providing access to one or more employees of the Sub-Adviser who are knowledgeable about the security/issuer, its financial condition, trading and/or other relevant factors for valuation, which employees shall be available for consultation when the Board's Valuation Committee convenes; (ii) assisting the Adviser or the custodian in obtaining bids and offers or quotes from broker/dealers or market-makers with respect to securities held by the Fund, upon the reasonable request of the Adviser or custodian; (iii) upon the request of the Adviser or the custodian, confirming pricing and providing recommendations for fair valuations; and (iv) maintaining adequate records and written backup information with respect to the securities valuation assistance provided hereunder, and providing such information to the Adviser or the Trust upon request, with such records being deemed Fund records;
(s) not consult with any other investment sub-adviser of the Trust (if any), or with the sub-adviser to any other investment company (or separate series thereof) managed by the Adviser concerning the Fund's transactions in securities or other assets, except for purposes of complying with the conditions of Rule 12d3-1(a) and (b) under the 1940 Act, and, to the extent that multiple sub-advisers may be engaged to provide services to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall be responsible for providing investment advisory services only with respect to the Portfolio allocated to the Sub-Adviser by the Adviser; and
(t) provide the Trust and the Adviser with a copy of its Form ADV as most recently filed with the SEC, notify the Adviser on a quarterly basis of any amendments to the Sub-Adviser's Form ADV and furnish a copy of such amendments to the Trust and the Adviser; and provide the Trust and the Adviser with a copy of its Form ADV Part 2A as updated from time to time.
The Sub-Adviser further agrees that it may perform any or all the services contemplated by this Agreement directly or through such of its subsidiaries or other affiliated persons as it believes reasonably necessary to assist it in carrying out its obligations under this Agreement. However, the Sub-Adviser may not retain the services of any entity that would be an "investment adviser", as that term is defined in the 1940 Act, to the Fund unless any agreement with such entity has been approved by (i) a majority of the Trust's Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, and (ii) to the extent necessary, the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.
3. Brokerage
The Sub-Adviser may place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund directly with the issuers of the securities, or with brokers or dealers selected by the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser may, in respect of the Portfolio, open and maintain brokerage accounts of all types on behalf of and in the name of the Fund. The Sub-Adviser may enter into standard customer agreements with brokers and direct payments of cash, cash equivalents and securities and other property into such brokerage accounts as the Sub-Adviser deems desirable or appropriate. In selecting brokers or dealers to execute transactions on behalf of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser will use its best efforts to seek the best overall terms available. In assessing the best overall terms available for the Fund transaction, the Sub-Adviser will consider all factors it deems relevant, including, but not limited to, the breadth of the market in the security, the price of the security, the financial condition and execution capability of the broker or dealer and the reasonableness of the commission, if any, for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. In selecting broker-dealers to execute a particular transaction, and in evaluating the best overall terms available, the Sub-Adviser is authorized to consider the brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "1934 Act")) provided to the Fund and/or other accounts over which the Sub-Adviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The parties hereto acknowledge that it is desirable for the Trust that the Sub-Adviser have access to supplemental investment and market research and security and economic analysis provided by broker-dealers who may execute brokerage transactions at a higher cost to the Fund than may result when allocating brokerage to other brokers on the basis of seeking the most favorable price and efficient execution. Therefore, the Sub-Adviser may cause the Fund to pay a broker-dealer that furnishes brokerage and research services a higher commission than that which might be charged by another broker-dealer for effecting the same transaction, provided that the Sub-Adviser determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker-dealer, viewed in terms of either the particular transaction or the overall responsibilities of the Sub-Adviser to the Fund in compliance with Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act. It is understood that the services provided by such brokers may be useful to the Sub-Adviser in connection with the Sub-Adviser's services to other clients. In accordance with Section 11(a) of the 1934 Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder and subject to any other applicable laws and regulations, the Sub-Adviser and its affiliates are authorized to effect portfolio transactions for the Fund and to retain brokerage commissions on such transactions. The Sub-Adviser may, but shall not be obligated to, aggregate or bunch orders for the purchase or sale of securities for the Fund with orders for its other clients where: (i) such aggregation or bunching of orders is not inconsistent with the Fund's investment objectives, policies and procedures, (ii) the allocation of the securities so purchased or sold, as well as the allocation of expenses incurred in any such transaction, shall be made by the Sub-Adviser in a manner that complies with the trade allocation policies and procedures approved by the Board and is fair and equitable in the judgment of the Sub-Adviser and is consistent with the Sub-Adviser's fiduciary obligations to the Fund and each of its other clients.
4. Books, Records and Regulatory Filings
(a) The Sub-Adviser agrees to maintain and to preserve for the applicable periods any such records as are required to be maintained by the Sub-Adviser with respect to the Fund by the 1940 Act and rules adopted thereunder, and by any other applicable laws, rules and regulations. The Sub-Adviser further agrees that all records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund and it will promptly surrender any of such records upon request; provided, however, that the Sub-Adviser may retain copies of such records for the applicable periods they are required by law to be retained, and thereafter shall destroy such records.
(b) The Sub-Adviser agrees that it shall furnish to regulatory authorities having the requisite authority any information or reports in connection with its services hereunder that may be requested in order to determine whether the operations of the Fund are being conducted in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations.
(c) The Sub-Adviser shall make all filings with the SEC required of it pursuant to Section 13 of the 1934 Act with respect to its duties as are set forth herein. The Sub-Adviser also shall make all required filings on Schedule 13D or 13G and Form 13F (as well as other filings triggered by ownership in securities under other applicable laws, rules and regulations) in respect of the Portfolio as may be required of the Fund due to the activities of the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser shall be the sole filer of Form 13F with respect to the Portfolio of the Fund.
5. Class Action Filings
The Sub-Adviser is not responsible for making any class action filings on behalf of the Trust.
6. Standard of Care, Limitation of Liability and Indemnification
(a) The Sub-Adviser shall exercise its best judgment in rendering the services under this Agreement. The Sub-Adviser shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust, the Adviser or the Fund, or affiliated persons of the Adviser or the Fund (collectively, the "Adviser Indemnitees") in connection with the matters to which this Agreement relates except a loss resulting from the Sub-Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties, under this Agreement; provided, however , that nothing herein shall be deemed to protect or purport to protect the Sub-Adviser against any liability to the Adviser Indemnitees for, and the Sub-Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Adviser Indemnitees from, any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which any of the Adviser Indemnitees may become subject arising out of or resulting from (i) the Sub-Adviser causing the Fund to be in violation of any applicable federal or state law, rule or regulation or any investment policy or restriction set forth in the Fund's current Registration Statement or the most current written guidelines, policies or instruction provided in writing by the Board or the Adviser, (ii) the Sub-Adviser causing the Fund to fail to satisfy the requirements set forth in Section 2(i) hereof, (iii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Sub-Adviser or the Portfolio managed by the Sub-Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact known to the Sub-Adviser that was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Adviser or the Trust by the Sub-Adviser for use therein, or (iv) a breach of this Agreement by the Sub-Adviser. In addition, the Sub-Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Trust and the Fund from any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which either the Trust or the Fund may become subject directly arising out of or resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty by the Sub-Adviser under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act with respect to the receipt of compensation for its services under this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing contained in this Agreement shall constitute a waiver or limitation of rights that the Trust or the Fund may have under federal or state securities laws.
(b) The Sub-Adviser is hereby expressly put on notice of the limitation of shareholder liability as set forth in the Trust Instrument or other organizational document of the Trust and agrees that any obligations of the Trust or the Fund arising in connection with this Agreement shall be limited in all cases to the Fund and its assets, and the Sub-Adviser shall not seek satisfaction of any such obligation from any other fund of the Trust or the shareholders or any individual shareholder of the Fund. Nor shall the Sub-Adviser seek satisfaction of any such obligation from the trustees of the Trust (each, a "Trustee" and, together, the "Trustees") or any individual Trustee or any officers.
(c) As used in this Section 6, the term "Sub-Adviser" shall include any officers, directors, employees, independent contractors or other affiliates of the Sub-Adviser performing services with respect to the Fund.
(d) The Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Sub-Adviser from and against any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which the Sub-Adviser may become subject directly arising out of or resulting from, the Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties under this Agreement, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under this Agreement.
7. Compensation
The Sub-Adviser shall be compensated for the services rendered pursuant to this Agreement in accordance with the terms set forth on Schedule A attached hereto.
8. Expenses
The Sub-Adviser will bear all expenses in connection with the performance of its services under this Agreement, excluding those costs of the Fund associated with brokerage activities. The Sub-Adviser shall bear all expenses and costs of the Trust (including reasonable attorney's fees), if any, arising out of a termination or possible termination of this Agreement as a result of an assignment caused by a change of control or management of the Sub-Adviser, including the preparation and mailing of an information statement to shareholders pursuant to a "manager-of-managers" exemptive order from the SEC, or the preparation, mailing, solicitation and other costs associated with the use of a proxy statement relating to a shareholder vote in respect of a new sub-advisory agreement. The foregoing obligations of the Sub-Adviser shall apply in any circumstance in which the Adviser, in consultation with internal or outside counsel to the Trust, deems that an actual or possible assignment of this Agreement has or may occur, and determines that an information statement should be used, or a vote of shareholders should be obtained, as the case may be.
9. Services to Other Companies or Accounts
The investment advisory services of the Sub-Adviser to the Fund under this Agreement are not to be deemed exclusive, and the Sub-Adviser shall be free to render similar services to other investment companies and clients (whether or not their investment objective and policies are similar those of the Fund) and to engage in other activities, provided that such other services and activities do not interfere with or impair the Sub-Adviser's ability to fulfill its duties and obligations under this Agreement. If the Sub-Adviser provides any advice to its clients concerning investment in the shares of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall act solely for such clients in that regard and not in any way on behalf of the Adviser, the Trust or the Fund.
10. Compliance Matters
(a) The Sub-Adviser understands and agrees that it is a "service provider" to the Trust as contemplated by Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act. As such, the Sub-Adviser agrees to cooperate fully with the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers, including the Fund's CCO, with respect to (i) any and all compliance-related matters, and (ii) the Trust's efforts to assure that each of its service providers adopts and maintains policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to prevent violation of the "federal securities laws" (as that term is defined by Rule 38a-1) by the Trust, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser. In this regard, the Sub-Adviser shall:
(1) submit to the Board for its consideration and approval, prior to the effective date of this Agreement, the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, it being understood that the Sub-Adviser's obligation under Section 2(e) of this Agreement to vote all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested shall be subject to the fulfillment of the condition that the Board approve the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting polices and procedures;
(2) submit annually (and at such other times as the Trust may reasonably request) to the Fund's CCO and the Adviser for consideration by the Board, a report discussing the adequacy and effectiveness of the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, and fully describing any material amendments to such compliance program since the most recent such report;
(3) provide periodic reports, certifications and information concerning the Sub-Adviser's compliance program including, but not limited to, the following;
(i) Quarterly Compliance Certifications , including any required attachments, no later than the tenth (10th) business day after each calendar quarter;
(ii) Annual Survey to Sub-Advisers , including any required attachments, as specified in Q1 each year; and
(iii) Annual Report on Code of Ethics Matters , including any required attachments, no later than the fifteenth (15 th ) business day of October each year.
(4) provide the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers with reasonable access to information regarding the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, which access shall include on-site visits with the Sub-Adviser as may be reasonably requested from time to time;
(5) permit the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers to maintain an active working relationship with the Sub-Adviser's compliance personnel by, among other things, providing the Adviser and the Fund's CCO and other officers with a specified individual within the Sub-Adviser's organization to discuss and address compliance-related matters;
(6) provide the Adviser and its chief compliance officer and the Trust and its Trustees and officers, including the Fund's CCO, with such certifications as may be reasonably requested; and
(7) reasonably cooperate with any independent registered public accounting firm engaged by the Trust, ensure that all reasonably necessary information and the appropriate personnel are made available to such independent registered public accounting firm, to support the expression of the independent registered public accounting firm's opinion, and each year provide the Adviser and such independent registered public accounting firm with a copy of the most recent SAS 70 Report prepared by the Sub-Adviser's independent auditors regarding the Sub-Adviser's internal controls.
(b) The Sub-Adviser represents, warrants and covenants that it has implemented and shall maintain a compliance program in accordance with the requirements of Rule 206(4)-7 under the Advisers Act.
(a) This Agreement shall be effective immediately as of the date set forth above and shall continue in effect for two years from its effective date with respect to the Fund, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, and shall continue year to year thereafter, provided each continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the vote of a majority of the Trustees or (ii) a vote of a "majority" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund's outstanding voting securities, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Trustees who are neither (A) parties to this Agreement nor (B) "interested persons" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person (to the extent required by the 1940 Act) at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.
(b) This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund, without penalty, on sixty (60) days' written notice to the Sub-Adviser: (i) by the Trust, pursuant to (A) action by the Board or (B) the vote of the holders of a "majority" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the shares of the Fund or (ii) by the Adviser. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund, without penalty, by the Sub-Adviser upon ninety (90) days' written notice to the Adviser and the Trust. In addition, this Agreement will terminate with respect to the Fund in the event of the termination of the Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund. This Agreement will be terminated automatically in the event of its "assignment" (as defined in the 1940 Act).
(c) In the event of a termination of this Agreement for any reason with respect to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall reasonably cooperate with any transition manager or successor investment sub-adviser and with the Adviser in transitioning the management of the Portfolio to one or more new sub-advisers or to the Adviser, including, without limitation, providing the transition manager, at such intervals as the transition manager may request, with a list of holdings for the Portfolio and such other information as required by the transition management agreement, into which the Adviser and the transition manager will, at that time, enter. The Sub-Adviser shall deliver to Adviser all periodic compliance reports, certifications and information applicable to the period of Sub-Adviser's services provided under this Agreement, including annual compliance reports and certifications.
(d) Termination of this Agreement shall not affect the rights or obligations of the Adviser, the Adviser Indemnitees and the Sub-Adviser under Section 6 of this Agreement.
12. Use of Name
(a) The Sub-Adviser hereby consents to the use of its name and the names of its affiliates in the Fund's disclosure documents, shareholder communications, advertising, sales literature and similar communications. The Sub-Adviser shall not use the name or any tradename, trademark, trade device, service mark, symbol or any abbreviation, contraction or simulation thereof of the Adviser, the Trust, the Fund or any of their affiliates in its marketing materials unless it first receives prior written approval of the Trust and the Adviser.
(b) It is understood that the name of each party to this Agreement, and any derivatives thereof or logos associated with that name, is the valuable property of the party in question and its affiliates, and that each other party has the right to use such names pursuant to the relationship created by, and in accordance with the terms of, this Agreement only so long as this Agreement shall continue in effect. Upon termination of this Agreement, the parties shall forthwith cease to use the names of the other parties (or any derivative or logo) as appropriate and to the extent that continued use is not required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.
13. Confidential Information
(a) Each party agrees that it will treat confidentially all information provided by any other party (the "Discloser") regarding the Discloser's businesses and operations, including without limitation the investment activities or holdings of the Portfolio or the Fund ("Confidential Information"). All Confidential Information provided by the Discloser shall be used only by the other party hereto (the "Recipient") solely for the purposes of rendering services pursuant to this Agreement, and shall not be disclosed to any third party, without the prior consent of the Discloser, except for a limited number of employees, attorneys, accountants and other advisers of the Recipient and its affiliates on a need-to-know basis and solely for the purposes of rendering services under this Agreement.
(b) Confidential Information shall not include any information that: (i) is public when provided or thereafter becomes public through no wrongful act of the Recipient; (ii) is demonstrably known to the Recipient prior to execution of this Agreement; (iii) is independently developed by the Recipient through no wrongful act of the Recipient in the ordinary course of business outside of this Agreement; (iv) is generally employed by the trade at the time that the Recipient learns of such information or knowledge; or (v) has been rightfully and lawfully obtained by the Recipient from any third party.
(c) In the event that the Recipient is requested or required (by deposition, interrogatories, requests for information or documents in legal proceedings, subpoenas, civil investigative demand or similar process), in connection with any proceeding, to disclose any of the Discloser's Confidential Information, the Recipient will give the Discloser prompt written notice of such request or requirement to allow the Discloser an opportunity to obtain a protective order or otherwise obtain assurances that confidential treatment will be accorded to such Confidential Information. In the event that such protective order or other remedy is not obtained, disclosure shall be made of only that portion of the Confidential Information that is legally required to be disclosed. All Confidential Information disclosed as required by law shall nonetheless continue to be deemed Confidential Information.
14. Amendment
This Agreement may be amended in writing signed by the parties to this Agreement in a manner that is in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, as modified or interpreted by any applicable order, exemptive relief or interpretative release issued by the SEC.
15. Notices
All notices hereunder shall be provided in writing, by facsimile or by email. Notices shall be deemed given if delivered in person or by messenger, certified mail with return receipt, or by a reputable overnight delivery service that provides evidence of receipt to the parties; upon receipt if sent by fax; or upon read receipt or reply if delivered by email, at the following addresses:
If to the Trust: Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Marc Bryant
If to the Adviser: Strategic Advisers, Inc.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Chief Operating Officer
With Copy to: Strategic Advisers, Inc.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Karen Benoit
If to the Sub-Adviser: Kennedy Capital Management, Inc.
10829 Olive Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63141
Attn.: Stephen Mace
With a copy to: Kennedy Capital Management, Inc.
10829 Olive Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63141
Attn.: Marilyn Lammert
16. Miscellaneous
(a) This Agreement constitutes the full and complete agreement of the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof.
(b) Titles or captions of sections in this Agreement are inserted only as a matter of convenience and for reference, and in no way define, limit, extend or describe the scope of this Agreement or the intent of any provisions thereof.
(c) This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, all of which together shall for all purposes constitute one Agreement, binding on all the parties.
(d) This Agreement and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be governed by, and interpreted, construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without giving effect to the choice of laws provisions of that or any other jurisdiction. To the extent that the applicable laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control. The parties irrevocably consent to submit to the jurisdiction of any federal or state court sitting in The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(e) If any provision of this Agreement shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected hereby and, to this extent, the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed to be severable.
(f) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Sub-Adviser shall be an independent contractor. Nothing herein shall be construed as constituting the Sub-Adviser as an agent of the Adviser, the Trust or the Fund, except to the extent expressly authorized by this Agreement.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have caused this instrument to be executed by their officers designated below as of the date first set forth above.
KENNEDY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, INC.
By: /s/Stephen A. Mace
Name: Stephen A. Mace
Title: Chief Operating Officer
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Name: Suzanne Brennan
Title: Chief Operating Officer
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
By: /s/Kenneth Robins
Kenneth Robins
Treasurer
Exhibit (d)(88)
INVESTMENT SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENT
AMONG
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.,
KENNEDY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, INC. AND
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
AGREEMENT, made this 6th day of December 2012, among Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II ("Trust"), a Delaware statutory trust, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund (the "Fund"), Strategic Advisers, Inc. ("Adviser"), a Massachusetts corporation, and Kennedy Capital Management, Inc. ("Sub-Adviser"), a Missouri corporation.
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as an open-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("1940 Act");
WHEREAS, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser are each registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended ("Advisers Act");
WHEREAS, the Trust has retained the Adviser to render investment advisory services to the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, pursuant to a Management Contract dated December 1, 2012, as may be amended from time to time ("Advisory Agreement");
WHEREAS, the Advisory Agreement authorizes the Adviser to delegate to one or more other investment advisers any or all of the Adviser's duties and obligations under the Advisory Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the Trust and the Adviser wish to retain the Sub-Adviser to render certain investment advisory services to the Fund with respect to the portion of the Fund's assets allocated to the Sub-Adviser, as determined from time to time by the Adviser, and the Sub-Adviser is willing to render such services.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed among the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser and the Trust as follows:
1. Appointment
The Trust and the Adviser hereby appoint the Sub-Adviser to act as investment sub-adviser to the Fund with respect to the portion of the Fund's assets allocated, from time to time, by the Adviser to the Sub-Adviser (the "Portfolio"), for the periods and on the terms set forth herein. The Sub-Adviser accepts the appointment and agrees to furnish the services set forth herein for the compensation provided in Section 7 of this Agreement.
2. Services and Duties of Investment Sub-Adviser
Subject to the general supervision and oversight of the Adviser and the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the "Board"), the Sub-Adviser will:
(a) provide a program of continuous investment management for the Portfolio in accordance with the Fund's investment objective and policies as stated in the Fund's prospectus and statement of additional information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on Form N-1A, as amended and supplemented from time to time (the "Registration Statement"), and such other limitations as the Trust, the Fund, the Board or the Adviser may impose with respect to the Portfolio by notice to the Sub-Adviser;
(b) invest and reinvest the assets of the Portfolio by selecting the securities, instruments, repurchase agreements, financial futures contracts, options and other investments and techniques that the Fund may purchase, sell, enter into or use in respect of the Portfolio;
(c) oversee the placement of purchase and sale orders on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio;
(d) employ portfolio managers to make investment decisions and securities analysts to provide research services to the Fund in respect of the Portfolio;
(e) subject to the understanding set forth in Section 10(a)(1) of this Agreement, vote all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested in accordance with the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting policies and procedures and in a manner that complies with applicable law; maintain records of all proxies voted on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio; and provide information to the Trust, the Adviser or their designated agent in a manner that is sufficiently complete and timely to ensure the Trust's compliance with its filing obligations under Rule 30b1-4 of the 1940 Act;
(f) maintain books and records with respect to the Fund's securities transactions in respect of the Portfolio, in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations; and
(g) to the extent reasonably requested by the Adviser or officers of the Fund, cooperate with and provide reasonable assistance to the Adviser and the Trust's other service providers by (1) keeping them fully informed as to such matters that they may reasonably deem necessary with respect to the performance of their obligations to the Fund, (2) providing prompt responses to reasonable requests for information or assistance, and (3) establishing appropriate processes to promote the efficient exchange of information.
In providing those services, the Sub-Adviser will provide the Adviser and the Fund with an ongoing and continuous investment program in respect of the Portfolio. In addition, the Sub-Adviser will furnish the Adviser and/or the Fund with statistical information as the Adviser and/or the Fund may reasonably request with respect to the securities or other investments in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested.
The Sub-Adviser further agrees that, in performing its duties hereunder, it will:
(h) comply in all material respects with the applicable sections of (1) the 1940 Act and the Advisers Act and all rules and regulations thereunder and any other applicable federal and state laws and regulations, (2) the Sub-Adviser's compliance policies and procedures, (3) the rules and regulations of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, (4) the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Code"), (5) the investment objectives, strategies, policies, limitations and restrictions of the Fund as described in the Registration Statement, (6) the Trust's Trust Instrument and By-Laws or other organizational documents of the Trust and (7) any written instructions of the Adviser or the Board;
(i) manage the assets of the Portfolio to comply with the following requirements of the Code and regulations issued thereunder: section 851(b)(2) and section 851(b)(3) (and, if applicable, section 817(h)); provided, however, that with respect to the 10% voting securities test contained in section 851(b)(3)(A)(ii), the Sub-Adviser will comply with such requirements as the Trust, the Fund or its Adviser shall furnish to the Sub-Adviser from time to time;
(j) keep the Adviser and/or the Board informed of developments materially affecting the Fund's portfolio;
(k) make available to the Board, the Adviser, the Fund's Chief Compliance Officer ("CCO") and the Trust's administrator, promptly upon their request, such copies of its records with respect to the Fund as may be required to assist in their compliance with applicable laws and regulations. As reasonably requested by the Board or the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser will complete periodic or special questionnaires and furnish to the Board and/or the Adviser such periodic and special reports regarding the Fund and the Sub-Adviser including, but not limited to, reports concerning transactions and performance of the Portfolio, quarterly and annual compliance reports and certifications, reports regarding compliance with the Trust's procedures pursuant to Rules 17e-1, 17a-7, 10f-3 and 12d3-1 under the 1940 Act (as applicable), quarterly reports identifying material compliance matters and any material changes to the Sub-Adviser's compliance program (including revisions to compliance policies and procedures), fundamental investment restrictions, procedures for opening brokerage accounts and commodity trading accounts, liquidity determinations for securities or other instruments held by the Portfolio such as, among others, securities purchased pursuant to Rule 144A and 4(2) commercial paper, compliance with the Sub-Adviser's Code of Ethics, and such other procedures or requirements that the Adviser may reasonably request from time to time;
(l) make available to the Board and the Adviser at reasonable times its portfolio managers and other appropriate personnel as mutually agreed by the Adviser and Sub-Adviser, either in person or, at the mutual convenience of the Board, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser, by telephone or other electronic media, in order to review the investment policies, performance and other matters relating to the management of the Fund;
(m) review draft reports to shareholders, registration statements or portions thereof that relate to the Portfolio or the Sub-Adviser and other documents provided to the Sub-Adviser, provide comments on such drafts on a timely basis, and provide certifications or sub-certifications on a timely basis as to the accuracy of the information contained in such reports or other documents;
(n) use no material, non-public information concerning portfolio companies that may be in its possession or the possession of any of its affiliates, nor will the Sub-Adviser seek to obtain any such information, in providing investment advice or investment management services to the Fund;
(o) promptly notify the Trust, the Adviser and the Board in the event that the Sub-Adviser or any of its affiliates becomes aware that the Sub-Adviser: (i) is subject to a statutory disqualification that prevents the Sub-Adviser from serving as investment adviser pursuant to this Agreement; (ii) fails to be registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act or under the laws of any jurisdiction in which the Sub-Adviser is required to be registered as an investment adviser in order to perform its obligations under this Agreement; (iii) is the subject of an administrative proceeding or enforcement action by the SEC or other regulatory authority; or (iv) is served or otherwise receives notice of any action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation, at law or in equity, before or by any court, public board or body, or governmental authority, involving the affairs of the Trust or the Adviser or their affiliates; or is involved in any pending litigation or administrative proceeding brought against the Sub-Adviser or any of its management persons (as described in Rule 204-3(b)(4) under the Advisers Act). The Sub-Adviser further agrees to notify the Trust and the Adviser promptly of any material fact known to the Sub-Adviser respecting or relating to the Sub-Adviser that is not contained in the Trust's Registration Statement, as amended and supplemented from time to time, regarding the Fund, or any amendment or supplement thereto, but that is required to be disclosed therein, and of any statement contained therein that becomes untrue in any material respect. The Sub-Adviser will promptly notify the Trust, the Adviser and the Board if its chief executive officer or any member of the portfolio management team named in the Registration Statement for the Fund changes, or if there is an actual change in control or management of the Sub-Adviser within the meaning of Rules 2a-6 and 202(a)(1)-1 under the 1940 Act and Advisers Act, respectively;
(p) not disclose information regarding Portfolio or Fund characteristics, trading history, portfolio holdings, performance information or any other related information to any third-party, except in compliance with the Trust's policies on disclosure of portfolio holdings;
(q) provide the Adviser, the Trust or the Board with such information and assurances (including certifications and sub-certifications) as the Adviser, the Trust or the Board may reasonably request from time to time in order to assist the Adviser, the Trust or the Board in complying with applicable laws, rules and regulations, including requirements in connection with the preparation and/or filing of the Fund's Form N-CSRs and Form N-Qs;
(r) provide assistance to the Adviser, custodian or recordkeeping agent for the Trust in determining or confirming, consistent with the procedures and policies stated in the Registration Statement, the value of any portfolio securities or other assets of the Fund for which the Adviser, custodian or recordkeeping agent seeks assistance from the Sub-Adviser or identifies for review by the Sub-Adviser. This assistance includes (but is not limited to): (i) designating and providing access to one or more employees of the Sub-Adviser who are knowledgeable about the security/issuer, its financial condition, trading and/or other relevant factors for valuation, which employees shall be available for consultation when the Board's Valuation Committee convenes; (ii) assisting the Adviser or the custodian in obtaining bids and offers or quotes from broker/dealers or market-makers with respect to securities held by the Fund, upon the reasonable request of the Adviser or custodian; (iii) upon the request of the Adviser or the custodian, confirming pricing and providing recommendations for fair valuations; and (iv) maintaining adequate records and written backup information with respect to the securities valuation assistance provided hereunder, and providing such information to the Adviser or the Trust upon request, with such records being deemed Fund records;
(s) not consult with any other investment sub-adviser of the Trust (if any), or with the sub-adviser to any other investment company (or separate series thereof) managed by the Adviser concerning the Fund's transactions in securities or other assets, except for purposes of complying with the conditions of Rule 12d3-1(a) and (b) under the 1940 Act, and, to the extent that multiple sub-advisers may be engaged to provide services to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall be responsible for providing investment advisory services only with respect to the Portfolio allocated to the Sub-Adviser by the Adviser; and
(t) provide the Trust and the Adviser with a copy of its Form ADV as most recently filed with the SEC, notify the Adviser on a quarterly basis of any amendments to the Sub-Adviser's Form ADV and furnish a copy of such amendments to the Trust and the Adviser; and provide the Trust and the Adviser with a copy of its Form ADV Part 2A as updated from time to time.
The Sub-Adviser further agrees that it may perform any or all the services contemplated by this Agreement directly or through such of its subsidiaries or other affiliated persons as it believes reasonably necessary to assist it in carrying out its obligations under this Agreement. However, the Sub-Adviser may not retain the services of any entity that would be an "investment adviser", as that term is defined in the 1940 Act, to the Fund unless any agreement with such entity has been approved by (i) a majority of the Trust's Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, and (ii) to the extent necessary, the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.
3. Brokerage
The Sub-Adviser may place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund directly with the issuers of the securities, or with brokers or dealers selected by the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser may, in respect of the Portfolio, open and maintain brokerage accounts of all types on behalf of and in the name of the Fund. The Sub-Adviser may enter into standard customer agreements with brokers and direct payments of cash, cash equivalents and securities and other property into such brokerage accounts as the Sub-Adviser deems desirable or appropriate. In selecting brokers or dealers to execute transactions on behalf of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser will use its best efforts to seek the best overall terms available. In assessing the best overall terms available for the Fund transaction, the Sub-Adviser will consider all factors it deems relevant, including, but not limited to, the breadth of the market in the security, the price of the security, the financial condition and execution capability of the broker or dealer and the reasonableness of the commission, if any, for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. In selecting broker-dealers to execute a particular transaction, and in evaluating the best overall terms available, the Sub-Adviser is authorized to consider the brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "1934 Act")) provided to the Fund and/or other accounts over which the Sub-Adviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The parties hereto acknowledge that it is desirable for the Trust that the Sub-Adviser have access to supplemental investment and market research and security and economic analysis provided by broker-dealers who may execute brokerage transactions at a higher cost to the Fund than may result when allocating brokerage to other brokers on the basis of seeking the most favorable price and efficient execution. Therefore, the Sub-Adviser may cause the Fund to pay a broker-dealer that furnishes brokerage and research services a higher commission than that which might be charged by another broker-dealer for effecting the same transaction, provided that the Sub-Adviser determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker-dealer, viewed in terms of either the particular transaction or the overall responsibilities of the Sub-Adviser to the Fund in compliance with Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act. It is understood that the services provided by such brokers may be useful to the Sub-Adviser in connection with the Sub-Adviser's services to other clients. In accordance with Section 11(a) of the 1934 Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder and subject to any other applicable laws and regulations, the Sub-Adviser and its affiliates are authorized to effect portfolio transactions for the Fund and to retain brokerage commissions on such transactions. The Sub-Adviser may, but shall not be obligated to, aggregate or bunch orders for the purchase or sale of securities for the Fund with orders for its other clients where: (i) such aggregation or bunching of orders is not inconsistent with the Fund's investment objectives, policies and procedures, (ii) the allocation of the securities so purchased or sold, as well as the allocation of expenses incurred in any such transaction, shall be made by the Sub-Adviser in a manner that complies with the trade allocation policies and procedures approved by the Board and is fair and equitable in the judgment of the Sub-Adviser and is consistent with the Sub-Adviser's fiduciary obligations to the Fund and each of its other clients.
4. Books, Records and Regulatory Filings
(a) The Sub-Adviser agrees to maintain and to preserve for the applicable periods any such records as are required to be maintained by the Sub-Adviser with respect to the Fund by the 1940 Act and rules adopted thereunder, and by any other applicable laws, rules and regulations. The Sub-Adviser further agrees that all records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund and it will promptly surrender any of such records upon request; provided, however, that the Sub-Adviser may retain copies of such records for the applicable periods they are required by law to be retained, and thereafter shall destroy such records.
(b) The Sub-Adviser agrees that it shall furnish to regulatory authorities having the requisite authority any information or reports in connection with its services hereunder that may be requested in order to determine whether the operations of the Fund are being conducted in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations.
(c) The Sub-Adviser shall make all filings with the SEC required of it pursuant to Section 13 of the 1934 Act with respect to its duties as are set forth herein. The Sub-Adviser also shall make all required filings on Schedule 13D or 13G and Form 13F (as well as other filings triggered by ownership in securities under other applicable laws, rules and regulations) in respect of the Portfolio as may be required of the Fund due to the activities of the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser shall be the sole filer of Form 13F with respect to the Portfolio of the Fund.
5. Class Action Filings
The Sub-Adviser is not responsible for making any class action filings on behalf of the Trust.
6. Standard of Care, Limitation of Liability and Indemnification
(a) The Sub-Adviser shall exercise its best judgment in rendering the services under this Agreement. The Sub-Adviser shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust, the Adviser or the Fund, or affiliated persons of the Adviser or the Fund (collectively, the "Adviser Indemnitees") in connection with the matters to which this Agreement relates except a loss resulting from the Sub-Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties, under this Agreement; provided, however , that nothing herein shall be deemed to protect or purport to protect the Sub-Adviser against any liability to the Adviser Indemnitees for, and the Sub-Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Adviser Indemnitees from, any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which any of the Adviser Indemnitees may become subject arising out of or resulting from (i) the Sub-Adviser causing the Fund to be in violation of any applicable federal or state law, rule or regulation or any investment policy or restriction set forth in the Fund's current Registration Statement or the most current written guidelines, policies or instruction provided in writing by the Board or the Adviser, (ii) the Sub-Adviser causing the Fund to fail to satisfy the requirements set forth in Section 2(i) hereof, (iii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Sub-Adviser or the Portfolio managed by the Sub-Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact known to the Sub-Adviser that was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Adviser or the Trust by the Sub-Adviser for use therein, or (iv) a breach of this Agreement by the Sub-Adviser. In addition, the Sub-Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Trust and the Fund from any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which either the Trust or the Fund may become subject directly arising out of or resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty by the Sub-Adviser under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act with respect to the receipt of compensation for its services under this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing contained in this Agreement shall constitute a waiver or limitation of rights that the Trust or the Fund may have under federal or state securities laws.
(b) The Sub-Adviser is hereby expressly put on notice of the limitation of shareholder liability as set forth in the Trust Instrument or other organizational document of the Trust and agrees that any obligations of the Trust or the Fund arising in connection with this Agreement shall be limited in all cases to the Fund and its assets, and the Sub-Adviser shall not seek satisfaction of any such obligation from any other fund of the Trust or the shareholders or any individual shareholder of the Fund. Nor shall the Sub-Adviser seek satisfaction of any such obligation from the trustees of the Trust (each, a "Trustee" and, together, the "Trustees") or any individual Trustee or any officers.
(c) As used in this Section 6, the term "Sub-Adviser" shall include any officers, directors, employees, independent contractors or other affiliates of the Sub-Adviser performing services with respect to the Fund.
(d) The Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Sub-Adviser from and against any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which the Sub-Adviser may become subject directly arising out of or resulting from, the Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties under this Agreement, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under this Agreement.
7. Compensation
The Sub-Adviser shall be compensated for the services rendered pursuant to this Agreement in accordance with the terms set forth on Schedule A attached hereto.
8. Expenses
The Sub-Adviser will bear all expenses in connection with the performance of its services under this Agreement, excluding those costs of the Fund associated with brokerage activities. The Sub-Adviser shall bear all expenses and costs of the Trust (including reasonable attorney's fees), if any, arising out of a termination or possible termination of this Agreement as a result of an assignment caused by a change of control or management of the Sub-Adviser, including the preparation and mailing of an information statement to shareholders pursuant to a "manager-of-managers" exemptive order from the SEC, or the preparation, mailing, solicitation and other costs associated with the use of a proxy statement relating to a shareholder vote in respect of a new sub-advisory agreement. The foregoing obligations of the Sub-Adviser shall apply in any circumstance in which the Adviser, in consultation with internal or outside counsel to the Trust, deems that an actual or possible assignment of this Agreement has or may occur, and determines that an information statement should be used, or a vote of shareholders should be obtained, as the case may be.
9. Services to Other Companies or Accounts
The investment advisory services of the Sub-Adviser to the Fund under this Agreement are not to be deemed exclusive, and the Sub-Adviser shall be free to render similar services to other investment companies and clients (whether or not their investment objective and policies are similar those of the Fund) and to engage in other activities, provided that such other services and activities do not interfere with or impair the Sub-Adviser's ability to fulfill its duties and obligations under this Agreement. If the Sub-Adviser provides any advice to its clients concerning investment in the shares of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall act solely for such clients in that regard and not in any way on behalf of the Adviser, the Trust or the Fund.
10. Compliance Matters
(a) The Sub-Adviser understands and agrees that it is a "service provider" to the Trust as contemplated by Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act. As such, the Sub-Adviser agrees to cooperate fully with the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers, including the Fund's CCO, with respect to (i) any and all compliance-related matters, and (ii) the Trust's efforts to assure that each of its service providers adopts and maintains policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to prevent violation of the "federal securities laws" (as that term is defined by Rule 38a-1) by the Trust, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser. In this regard, the Sub-Adviser shall:
(1) submit to the Board for its consideration and approval, prior to the effective date of this Agreement, the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, it being understood that the Sub-Adviser's obligation under Section 2(e) of this Agreement to vote all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested shall be subject to the fulfillment of the condition that the Board approve the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting polices and procedures;
(2) submit annually (and at such other times as the Trust may reasonably request) to the Fund's CCO and the Adviser for consideration by the Board, a report discussing the adequacy and effectiveness of the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, and fully describing any material amendments to such compliance program since the most recent such report;
(3) provide periodic reports, certifications and information concerning the Sub-Adviser's compliance program including, but not limited to, the following;
(i) Quarterly Compliance Certifications , including any required attachments, no later than the tenth (10th) business day after each calendar quarter;
(ii) Annual Survey to Sub-Advisers , including any required attachments, as specified in Q1 each year; and
(iii) Annual Report on Code of Ethics Matters , including any required attachments, no later than the fifteenth (15 th ) business day of October each year.
(4) provide the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers with reasonable access to information regarding the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, which access shall include on-site visits with the Sub-Adviser as may be reasonably requested from time to time;
(5) permit the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers to maintain an active working relationship with the Sub-Adviser's compliance personnel by, among other things, providing the Adviser and the Fund's CCO and other officers with a specified individual within the Sub-Adviser's organization to discuss and address compliance-related matters;
(6) provide the Adviser and its chief compliance officer and the Trust and its Trustees and officers, including the Fund's CCO, with such certifications as may be reasonably requested; and
(7) reasonably cooperate with any independent registered public accounting firm engaged by the Trust, ensure that all reasonably necessary information and the appropriate personnel are made available to such independent registered public accounting firm, to support the expression of the independent registered public accounting firm's opinion, and each year provide the Adviser and such independent registered public accounting firm with a copy of the most recent SAS 70 Report prepared by the Sub-Adviser's independent auditors regarding the Sub-Adviser's internal controls.
(b) The Sub-Adviser represents, warrants and covenants that it has implemented and shall maintain a compliance program in accordance with the requirements of Rule 206(4)-7 under the Advisers Act.
(a) This Agreement shall be effective immediately as of the date set forth above and shall continue in effect for two years from its effective date with respect to the Fund, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, and shall continue year to year thereafter, provided each continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the vote of a majority of the Trustees or (ii) a vote of a "majority" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund's outstanding voting securities, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Trustees who are neither (A) parties to this Agreement nor (B) "interested persons" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person (to the extent required by the 1940 Act) at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.
(b) This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund, without penalty, on sixty (60) days' written notice to the Sub-Adviser: (i) by the Trust, pursuant to (A) action by the Board or (B) the vote of the holders of a "majority" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the shares of the Fund or (ii) by the Adviser. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund, without penalty, by the Sub-Adviser upon ninety (90) days' written notice to the Adviser and the Trust. In addition, this Agreement will terminate with respect to the Fund in the event of the termination of the Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund. This Agreement will be terminated automatically in the event of its "assignment" (as defined in the 1940 Act).
(c) In the event of a termination of this Agreement for any reason with respect to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall reasonably cooperate with any transition manager or successor investment sub-adviser and with the Adviser in transitioning the management of the Portfolio to one or more new sub-advisers or to the Adviser, including, without limitation, providing the transition manager, at such intervals as the transition manager may request, with a list of holdings for the Portfolio and such other information as required by the transition management agreement, into which the Adviser and the transition manager will, at that time, enter. The Sub-Adviser shall deliver to Adviser all periodic compliance reports, certifications and information applicable to the period of Sub-Adviser's services provided under this Agreement, including annual compliance reports and certifications.
(d) Termination of this Agreement shall not affect the rights or obligations of the Adviser, the Adviser Indemnitees and the Sub-Adviser under Section 6 of this Agreement.
12. Use of Name
(a) The Sub-Adviser hereby consents to the use of its name and the names of its affiliates in the Fund's disclosure documents, shareholder communications, advertising, sales literature and similar communications. The Sub-Adviser shall not use the name or any tradename, trademark, trade device, service mark, symbol or any abbreviation, contraction or simulation thereof of the Adviser, the Trust, the Fund or any of their affiliates in its marketing materials unless it first receives prior written approval of the Trust and the Adviser.
(b) It is understood that the name of each party to this Agreement, and any derivatives thereof or logos associated with that name, is the valuable property of the party in question and its affiliates, and that each other party has the right to use such names pursuant to the relationship created by, and in accordance with the terms of, this Agreement only so long as this Agreement shall continue in effect. Upon termination of this Agreement, the parties shall forthwith cease to use the names of the other parties (or any derivative or logo) as appropriate and to the extent that continued use is not required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.
13. Confidential Information
(a) Each party agrees that it will treat confidentially all information provided by any other party (the "Discloser") regarding the Discloser's businesses and operations, including without limitation the investment activities or holdings of the Portfolio or the Fund ("Confidential Information"). All Confidential Information provided by the Discloser shall be used only by the other party hereto (the "Recipient") solely for the purposes of rendering services pursuant to this Agreement, and shall not be disclosed to any third party, without the prior consent of the Discloser, except for a limited number of employees, attorneys, accountants and other advisers of the Recipient and its affiliates on a need-to-know basis and solely for the purposes of rendering services under this Agreement.
(b) Confidential Information shall not include any information that: (i) is public when provided or thereafter becomes public through no wrongful act of the Recipient; (ii) is demonstrably known to the Recipient prior to execution of this Agreement; (iii) is independently developed by the Recipient through no wrongful act of the Recipient in the ordinary course of business outside of this Agreement; (iv) is generally employed by the trade at the time that the Recipient learns of such information or knowledge; or (v) has been rightfully and lawfully obtained by the Recipient from any third party.
(c) In the event that the Recipient is requested or required (by deposition, interrogatories, requests for information or documents in legal proceedings, subpoenas, civil investigative demand or similar process), in connection with any proceeding, to disclose any of the Discloser's Confidential Information, the Recipient will give the Discloser prompt written notice of such request or requirement to allow the Discloser an opportunity to obtain a protective order or otherwise obtain assurances that confidential treatment will be accorded to such Confidential Information. In the event that such protective order or other remedy is not obtained, disclosure shall be made of only that portion of the Confidential Information that is legally required to be disclosed. All Confidential Information disclosed as required by law shall nonetheless continue to be deemed Confidential Information.
14. Amendment
This Agreement may be amended in writing signed by the parties to this Agreement in a manner that is in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, as modified or interpreted by any applicable order, exemptive relief or interpretative release issued by the SEC.
15. Notices
All notices hereunder shall be provided in writing, by facsimile or by email. Notices shall be deemed given if delivered in person or by messenger, certified mail with return receipt, or by a reputable overnight delivery service that provides evidence of receipt to the parties; upon receipt if sent by fax; or upon read receipt or reply if delivered by email, at the following addresses:
If to the Trust: Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Marc Bryant
If to the Adviser: Strategic Advisers, Inc.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Chief Operating Officer
With Copy to: Strategic Advisers, Inc.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Karen Benoit
If to the Sub-Adviser: Kennedy Capital Management, Inc.
10829 Olive Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63141
Attn.: Stephen Mace
With a copy to: Kennedy Capital Management, Inc.
10829 Olive Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63141
Attn.: Marilyn Lammert
16. Miscellaneous
(a) This Agreement constitutes the full and complete agreement of the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof.
(b) Titles or captions of sections in this Agreement are inserted only as a matter of convenience and for reference, and in no way define, limit, extend or describe the scope of this Agreement or the intent of any provisions thereof.
(c) This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, all of which together shall for all purposes constitute one Agreement, binding on all the parties.
(d) This Agreement and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be governed by, and interpreted, construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without giving effect to the choice of laws provisions of that or any other jurisdiction. To the extent that the applicable laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control. The parties irrevocably consent to submit to the jurisdiction of any federal or state court sitting in The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(e) If any provision of this Agreement shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected hereby and, to this extent, the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed to be severable.
(f) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Sub-Adviser shall be an independent contractor. Nothing herein shall be construed as constituting the Sub-Adviser as an agent of the Adviser, the Trust or the Fund, except to the extent expressly authorized by this Agreement.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have caused this instrument to be executed by their officers designated below as of the date first set forth above.
KENNEDY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, INC.
By: /s/Stephen A. Mace
Name: Stephen A. Mace
Title: Chief Operating Officer
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Name: Suzanne Brennan
Title: Chief Operating Officer
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
By: /s/Kenneth Robins
Kenneth Robins
Treasurer
Exhibit (d)(92)
INVESTMENT SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENT
AMONG
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.,
ARISTOTLE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
AND
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
AGREEMENT, made this 17th day of December 2012, among Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II ("Trust"), a Delaware statutory trust, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Value Fund (the "Fund"), Strategic Advisers, Inc. ("Adviser"), a Massachusetts corporation, and Aristotle Capital Management, LLC ("Sub-Adviser"), a Delaware limited liability company.
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as an open-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("1940 Act");
WHEREAS, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser are each registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended ("Advisers Act");
WHEREAS, the Trust has retained the Adviser to render investment advisory services to the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, pursuant to a Management Contract dated March 5, 2010, as may be amended from time to time ("Advisory Agreement");
WHEREAS, the Advisory Agreement authorizes the Adviser to delegate to one or more other investment advisers any or all of the Adviser's duties and obligations under the Advisory Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the Trust and the Adviser wish to retain the Sub-Adviser to render certain investment advisory services to the Fund with respect to the portion of the Fund's assets allocated to the Sub-Adviser, as determined from time to time by the Adviser, and the Sub-Adviser is willing to render such services.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed among the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser and the Trust as follows:
1. Appointment
The Trust and the Adviser hereby appoint the Sub-Adviser to act as investment sub-adviser to the Fund with respect to the portion of the Fund's assets allocated, from time to time, by the Adviser to the Sub-Adviser (the "Portfolio"), for the periods and on the terms set forth herein. The Sub-Adviser accepts the appointment and agrees to furnish the services set forth herein for the compensation provided in Section 7 of this Agreement.
2. Services and Duties of Investment Sub-Adviser
Subject to the general supervision and oversight of the Adviser and the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the "Board"), the Sub-Adviser will:
(a) provide a program of continuous investment management for the Portfolio in accordance with the Fund's investment objective and policies as stated in the Fund's prospectus and statement of additional information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on Form N-1A, as amended and supplemented from time to time (the "Registration Statement"), and such other limitations as the Trust, the Fund, the Board or the Adviser may impose with respect to the Portfolio by notice to the Sub-Adviser;
(b) invest and reinvest the assets of the Portfolio by selecting the securities, instruments, repurchase agreements, financial futures contracts, options and other investments and techniques that the Fund may purchase, sell, enter into or use in respect of the Portfolio;
(c) oversee the placement of purchase and sale orders on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio;
(d) employ portfolio managers to make investment decisions and securities analysts to provide research services to the Fund in respect of the Portfolio;
(e) subject to the understanding set forth in Section 10(a)(1) of this Agreement, vote all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested in accordance with the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting policies and procedures and in a manner that complies with applicable law; maintain records of all proxies voted on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio; and provide information to the Trust, the Adviser or their designated agent in a manner that is sufficiently complete and timely to ensure the Trust's compliance with its filing obligations under Rule 30b1-4 of the 1940 Act;
(f) maintain books and records with respect to the Fund's securities transactions in respect of the Portfolio, in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations; and
(g) to the extent reasonably requested by the Adviser or officers of the Fund, cooperate with and provide reasonable assistance to the Adviser and the Trust's other service providers by (1) keeping them fully informed as to such matters that they may reasonably deem necessary with respect to the performance of their obligations to the Fund, (2) providing prompt responses to reasonable requests for information or assistance, and (3) establishing appropriate processes to promote the efficient exchange of information.
In providing those services, the Sub-Adviser will provide the Adviser and the Fund with an ongoing and continuous investment program in respect of the Portfolio. In addition, the Sub-Adviser will furnish the Adviser and/or the Fund with statistical information as the Adviser and/or the Fund may reasonably request with respect to the securities or other investments in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested.
The Sub-Adviser further agrees that, in performing its duties hereunder, it will:
(h) comply in all material respects with the applicable sections of (1) the 1940 Act and the Advisers Act and all rules and regulations thereunder and any other applicable federal and state laws and regulations, (2) the Sub-Adviser's compliance policies and procedures, (3) the rules and regulations of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, (4) the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Code"), (5) the investment objectives, strategies, policies, limitations and restrictions of the Fund as described in the Registration Statement, (6) the Trust's Trust Instrument and By-Laws or other organizational documents of the Trust and (7) any written instructions of the Adviser or the Board;
(i) manage the assets of the Portfolio to comply with the following requirements of the Code and regulations issued thereunder: section 851(b)(2) and section 851(b)(3) (and, if applicable, section 817(h)); provided, however, that with respect to the 10% voting securities test contained in section 851(b)(3)(A)(ii), the Sub-Adviser will comply with such requirements as the Trust, the Fund or its Adviser shall furnish to the Sub-Adviser from time to time;
(j) keep the Adviser and/or the Board informed of developments materially affecting the Fund's portfolio;
(k) make available to the Board, the Adviser, the Fund's Chief Compliance Officer ("CCO") and the Trust's administrator, promptly upon their request, such copies of its records with respect to the Fund as may be required to assist in their compliance with applicable laws and regulations. As reasonably requested by the Board or the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser will complete periodic or special questionnaires and furnish to the Board and/or the Adviser such periodic and special reports regarding the Fund and the Sub-Adviser including, but not limited to, reports concerning transactions and performance of the Portfolio, quarterly and annual compliance reports and certifications, reports regarding compliance with the Trust's procedures pursuant to Rules 17e-1, 17a-7, 10f-3 and 12d3-1 under the 1940 Act (as applicable), quarterly reports identifying material compliance matters and any material changes to the Sub-Adviser's compliance program (including revisions to compliance policies and procedures), fundamental investment restrictions, procedures for opening brokerage accounts and commodity trading accounts, liquidity determinations for securities or other instruments held by the Portfolio such as, among others, securities purchased pursuant to Rule 144A and 4(2) commercial paper, compliance with the Sub-Adviser's Code of Ethics, and such other procedures or requirements that the Adviser may reasonably request from time to time;
(l) make available to the Board and the Adviser at reasonable times its portfolio managers and other appropriate personnel as mutually agreed by the Adviser and Sub-Adviser, either in person or, at the mutual convenience of the Board, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser, by telephone or other electronic media, in order to review the investment policies, performance and other matters relating to the management of the Fund;
(m) review draft reports to shareholders, registration statements or portions thereof that relate to the Portfolio or the Sub-Adviser and other documents provided to the Sub-Adviser, provide comments on such drafts on a timely basis, and provide certifications or sub-certifications on a timely basis as to the accuracy of the information contained in such reports or other documents;
(n) use no material, non-public information concerning portfolio companies that may be in its possession or the possession of any of its affiliates, nor will the Sub-Adviser seek to obtain any such information, in providing investment advice or investment management services to the Fund;
(o) promptly notify the Trust, the Adviser and the Board in the event that the Sub-Adviser or any of its affiliates becomes aware that the Sub-Adviser: (i) is subject to a statutory disqualification that prevents the Sub-Adviser from serving as investment adviser pursuant to this Agreement; (ii) fails to be registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act or under the laws of any jurisdiction in which the Sub-Adviser is required to be registered as an investment adviser in order to perform its obligations under this Agreement; (iii) is the subject of an administrative proceeding or enforcement action by the SEC or other regulatory authority; or (iv) is served or otherwise receives notice of any action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation, at law or in equity, before or by any court, public board or body, or governmental authority, involving the affairs of the Trust or the Adviser or their affiliates; or is involved in any pending litigation or administrative proceeding brought against the Sub-Adviser or any of its management persons (as defined in Rule 206(4)-4 under the Advisers Act). The Sub-Adviser further agrees to notify the Trust and the Adviser promptly of any material fact known to the Sub-Adviser respecting or relating to the Sub-Adviser that is not contained in the Trust's Registration Statement, as amended and supplemented from time to time, regarding the Fund, or any amendment or supplement thereto, but that is required to be disclosed therein, and of any statement contained therein that becomes untrue in any material respect. The Sub-Adviser will promptly notify the Trust, the Adviser and the Board if its chief executive officer or any member of the portfolio management team named in the Registration Statement for the Fund changes, or if there is an actual change in control or management of the Sub-Adviser within the meaning of Rules 2a-6 and 202(a)(1)-1 under the 1940 Act and Advisers Act, respectively;
(p) not disclose information regarding Portfolio or Fund characteristics, trading history, portfolio holdings, performance information or any other related information to any third-party, except in compliance with the Trust's policies on disclosure of portfolio holdings;
(q) provide the Adviser, the Trust or the Board with such information and assurances (including certifications and sub-certifications) as the Adviser, the Trust or the Board may reasonably request from time to time in order to assist the Adviser, the Trust or the Board in complying with applicable laws, rules and regulations, including requirements in connection with the preparation and/or filing of the Fund's Form N-CSRs and Form N-Qs;
(r) provide assistance to the Adviser, custodian or recordkeeping agent for the Trust in determining or confirming, consistent with the procedures and policies stated in the Registration Statement, the value of any portfolio securities or other assets of the Fund for which the Adviser, custodian or recordkeeping agent seeks assistance from the Sub-Adviser or identifies for review by the Sub-Adviser. This assistance includes (but is not limited to): (i) designating and providing access to one or more employees of the Sub-Adviser who are knowledgeable about the security/issuer, its financial condition, trading and/or other relevant factors for valuation, which employees shall be available for consultation when the Board's Valuation Committee convenes; (ii) assisting the Adviser or the custodian in obtaining bids and offers or quotes from broker/dealers or market-makers with respect to securities held by the Fund, upon the reasonable request of the Adviser or custodian; (iii) upon the request of the Adviser or the custodian, confirming pricing and providing recommendations for fair valuations; and (iv) maintaining adequate records and written backup information with respect to the securities valuation assistance provided hereunder, and providing such information to the Adviser or the Trust upon request, with such records being deemed Fund records;
(s) not consult with any other investment sub-adviser of the Trust (if any), or with the sub-adviser to any other investment company (or separate series thereof) managed by the Adviser concerning the Fund's transactions in securities or other assets, except for purposes of complying with the conditions of Rule 12d3-1(a) and (b) under the 1940 Act, and, to the extent that multiple sub-advisers may be engaged to provide services to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall be responsible for providing investment advisory services only with respect to the Portfolio allocated to the Sub-Adviser by the Adviser; and
(t) provide the Trust and the Adviser with a copy of its Form ADV as most recently filed with the SEC, notify the Adviser on a quarterly basis of any amendments to the Sub-Adviser's Form ADV and furnish a copy of such amendments to the Trust and the Adviser; and provide the Trust and the Adviser with a copy of its Form ADV Part II as updated from time to time.
The Sub-Adviser further agrees that it may perform any or all the services contemplated by this Agreement directly or through such of its subsidiaries or other affiliated persons as it believes reasonably necessary to assist it in carrying out its obligations under this Agreement. However, the Sub-Adviser may not retain the services of any entity that would be an "investment adviser", as that term is defined in the 1940 Act, to the Fund unless any agreement with such entity has been approved by (i) a majority of the Trust's Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, and (ii) to the extent necessary, the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.
3. Brokerage
The Sub-Adviser may place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund directly with the issuers of the securities, or with brokers or dealers selected by the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser may, in respect of the Portfolio, open and maintain brokerage accounts of all types on behalf of and in the name of the Fund. The Sub-Adviser may enter into standard customer agreements with brokers and direct payments of cash, cash equivalents and securities and other property into such brokerage accounts as the Sub-Adviser deems desirable or appropriate. In selecting brokers or dealers to execute transactions on behalf of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser will use its best efforts to seek the best overall terms available. In assessing the best overall terms available for the Fund transaction, the Sub-Adviser will consider all factors it deems relevant, including, but not limited to, the breadth of the market in the security, the price of the security, the financial condition and execution capability of the broker or dealer and the reasonableness of the commission, if any, for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. In selecting broker-dealers to execute a particular transaction, and in evaluating the best overall terms available, the Sub-Adviser is authorized to consider the brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "1934 Act")) provided to the Fund and/or other accounts over which the Sub-Adviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The parties hereto acknowledge that it is desirable for the Trust that the Sub-Adviser have access to supplemental investment and market research and security and economic analysis provided by broker-dealers who may execute brokerage transactions at a higher cost to the Fund than may result when allocating brokerage to other brokers on the basis of seeking the most favorable price and efficient execution. Therefore, the Sub-Adviser may cause the Fund to pay a broker-dealer that furnishes brokerage and research services a higher commission than that which might be charged by another broker-dealer for effecting the same transaction, provided that the Sub-Adviser determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker-dealer, viewed in terms of either the particular transaction or the overall responsibilities of the Sub-Adviser to the Fund in compliance with Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act. It is understood that the services provided by such brokers may be useful to the Sub-Adviser in connection with the Sub-Adviser's services to other clients. In accordance with Section 11(a) of the 1934 Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder and subject to any other applicable laws and regulations, the Sub-Adviser and its affiliates are authorized to effect portfolio transactions for the Fund and to retain brokerage commissions on such transactions. The Sub-Adviser may, but shall not be obligated to, aggregate or bunch orders for the purchase or sale of securities for the Fund with orders for its other clients where: (i) such aggregation or bunching of orders is not inconsistent with the Fund's investment objectives, policies and procedures, (ii) the allocation of the securities so purchased or sold, as well as the allocation of expenses incurred in any such transaction, shall be made by the Sub-Adviser in a manner that complies with the trade allocation policies and procedures approved by the Board and is fair and equitable in the judgment of the Sub-Adviser and is consistent with the Sub-Adviser's fiduciary obligations to the Fund and each of its other clients.
4. Books, Records and Regulatory Filings
(a) The Sub-Adviser agrees to maintain and to preserve for the applicable periods any such records as are required to be maintained by the Sub-Adviser with respect to the Fund by the 1940 Act and rules adopted thereunder, and by any other applicable laws, rules and regulations. The Sub-Adviser further agrees that all records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund and it will promptly surrender any of such records upon request; provided, however, that the Sub-Adviser may retain copies of such records for the applicable periods they are required by law to be retained, and thereafter shall destroy such records.
(b) The Sub-Adviser agrees that it shall furnish to regulatory authorities having the requisite authority any information or reports in connection with its services hereunder that may be requested in order to determine whether the operations of the Fund are being conducted in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations.
(c) The Sub-Adviser shall make all filings with the SEC required of it pursuant to Section 13 of the 1934 Act with respect to its duties as are set forth herein. The Sub-Adviser also shall make all required filings on Schedule 13D or 13G and Form 13F (as well as other filings triggered by ownership in securities under other applicable laws, rules and regulations) in respect of the Portfolio as may be required of the Fund due to the activities of the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser shall be the sole filer of Form 13F with respect to the Portfolio of the Fund.
5. Class Action Filings
The Sub-Adviser is not responsible for making any class action filings on behalf of the Trust.
6. Standard of Care, Limitation of Liability and Indemnification
(a) The Sub-Adviser shall exercise its best judgment in rendering the services under this Agreement. The Sub-Adviser shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust, the Adviser or the Fund, or affiliated persons of the Adviser or the Fund (collectively, the "Adviser Indemnitees") in connection with the matters to which this Agreement relates except a loss resulting from the Sub-Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties, under this Agreement; provided, however , that nothing herein shall be deemed to protect or purport to protect the Sub-Adviser against any liability to the Adviser Indemnitees for, and the Sub-Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Adviser Indemnitees from, any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which any of the Adviser Indemnitees may become subject arising out of or resulting from (i) the Sub-Adviser causing the Fund to be in violation of any applicable federal or state law, rule or regulation or any investment policy or restriction set forth in the Fund's current Registration Statement or the most current written guidelines, policies or instruction provided in writing by the Board or the Adviser, (ii) the Sub-Adviser causing the Fund to fail to satisfy the requirements set forth in Section 2(i) hereof, (iii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Sub-Adviser or the Portfolio managed by the Sub-Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact known to the Sub-Adviser that was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Adviser or the Trust by the Sub-Adviser for use therein, or (iv) a breach of this Agreement by the Sub-Adviser. In addition, the Sub-Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Trust and the Fund from any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which either the Trust or the Fund may become subject directly arising out of or resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty by the Sub-Adviser under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act with respect to the receipt of compensation for its services under this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing contained in this Agreement shall constitute a waiver or limitation of rights that the Trust or the Fund may have under federal or state securities laws.
(b) The Sub-Adviser is hereby expressly put on notice of the limitation of shareholder liability as set forth in the Trust Instrument or other organizational document of the Trust and agrees that any obligations of the Trust or the Fund arising in connection with this Agreement shall be limited in all cases to the Fund and its assets, and the Sub-Adviser shall not seek satisfaction of any such obligation from any other fund of the Trust or the shareholders or any individual shareholder of the Fund. Nor shall the Sub-Adviser seek satisfaction of any such obligation from the trustees of the Trust (each, a "Trustee" and, together, the "Trustees") or any individual Trustee or any officers.
(c) As used in this Section 6, the term "Sub-Adviser" shall include any officers, directors, employees, independent contractors or other affiliates of the Sub-Adviser performing services with respect to the Fund.
(d) The Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Sub-Adviser from and against any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which the Sub-Adviser may become subject directly arising out of or resulting from, the Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties under this Agreement, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under this Agreement.
7. Compensation
The Sub-Adviser shall be compensated for the services rendered pursuant to this Agreement in accordance with the terms set forth on Schedule A attached hereto.
8. Expenses
The Sub-Adviser will bear all expenses in connection with the performance of its services under this Agreement, excluding those costs of the Fund associated with brokerage activities. The Sub-Adviser shall bear all expenses and costs of the Trust (including reasonable attorney's fees), if any, arising out of a termination or possible termination of this Agreement as a result of an assignment caused by a change of control or management of the Sub-Adviser, including the preparation and mailing of an information statement to shareholders pursuant to a "manager-of-managers" exemptive order from the SEC, or the preparation, mailing, solicitation and other costs associated with the use of a proxy statement relating to a shareholder vote in respect of a new sub-advisory agreement. The foregoing obligations of the Sub-Adviser shall apply in any circumstance in which the Adviser, in consultation with internal or outside counsel to the Trust, deems that an actual or possible assignment of this Agreement has or may occur, and determines that an information statement should be used, or a vote of shareholders should be obtained, as the case may be.
9. Services to Other Companies or Accounts
The investment advisory services of the Sub-Adviser to the Fund under this Agreement are not to be deemed exclusive, and the Sub-Adviser shall be free to render similar services to other investment companies and clients (whether or not their investment objective and policies are similar those of the Fund) and to engage in other activities, provided that such other services and activities do not interfere with or impair the Sub-Adviser's ability to fulfill its duties and obligations under this Agreement. If the Sub-Adviser provides any advice to its clients concerning investment in the shares of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall act solely for such clients in that regard and not in any way on behalf of the Adviser, the Trust or the Fund.
10. Compliance Matters
(a) The Sub-Adviser understands and agrees that it is a "service provider" to the Trust as contemplated by Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act. As such, the Sub-Adviser agrees to cooperate fully with the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers, including the Fund's CCO, with respect to (i) any and all compliance-related matters, and (ii) the Trust's efforts to assure that each of its service providers adopts and maintains policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to prevent violation of the "federal securities laws" (as that term is defined by Rule 38a-1) by the Trust, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser. In this regard, the Sub-Adviser shall:
(1) submit to the Board for its consideration and approval, prior to the effective date of this Agreement, the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, it being understood that the Sub-Adviser's obligation under Section 2(e) of this Agreement to vote all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested shall be subject to the fulfillment of the condition that the Board approve the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting polices and procedures;
(2) submit annually (and at such other times as the Trust may reasonably request) to the Fund's CCO and the Adviser for consideration by the Board, a report discussing the adequacy and effectiveness of the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, and fully describing any material amendments to such compliance program since the most recent such report;
(3) provide periodic reports, certifications and information concerning the Sub-Adviser's compliance program including, but not limited to, the following;
(i) Quarterly Compliance Certifications , including any required attachments, no later than the tenth (10th) business day after each calendar quarter;
(ii) Annual Survey to Sub-Advisers , including any required attachments, as specified in Q1 each year; and
(iii) Annual Report on Code of Ethics Matters , including any required attachments, no later than the fifteenth (15 th ) business day of October each year.
(4) provide the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers with reasonable access to information regarding the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, which access shall include on-site visits with the Sub-Adviser as may be reasonably requested from time to time;
(5) permit the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers to maintain an active working relationship with the Sub-Adviser's compliance personnel by, among other things, providing the Adviser and the Fund's CCO and other officers with a specified individual within the Sub-Adviser's organization to discuss and address compliance-related matters;
(6) provide the Adviser and its chief compliance officer and the Trust and its Trustees and officers, including the Fund's CCO, with such certifications as may be reasonably requested; and
(7) reasonably cooperate with any independent registered public accounting firm engaged by the Trust, ensure that all reasonably necessary information and the appropriate personnel are made available to such independent registered public accounting firm, to support the expression of the independent registered public accounting firm's opinion.
(b) The Sub-Adviser represents, warrants and covenants that it has implemented and shall maintain a compliance program in accordance with the requirements of Rule 206(4)-7 under the Advisers Act.
(a) This Agreement shall be effective immediately as of the date set forth above and shall continue in effect for two years from its effective date with respect to the Fund, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, and shall continue year to year thereafter, provided each continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the vote of a majority of the Trustees or (ii) a vote of a "majority" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund's outstanding voting securities, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Trustees who are neither (A) parties to this Agreement nor (B) "interested persons" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person (to the extent required by the 1940 Act) at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.
(b) This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund, without penalty, on sixty (60) days' written notice to the Sub-Adviser: (i) by the Trust, pursuant to (A) action by the Board or (B) the vote of the holders of a "majority" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the shares of the Fund or (ii) by the Adviser. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund, without penalty, by the Sub-Adviser upon ninety (90) days' written notice to the Adviser and the Trust. In addition, this Agreement will terminate with respect to the Fund in the event of the termination of the Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund. This Agreement will be terminated automatically in the event of its "assignment" (as defined in the 1940 Act).
(c) In the event of a termination of this Agreement for any reason with respect to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall reasonably cooperate with any transition manager or successor investment sub-adviser and with the Adviser in transitioning the management of the Portfolio to one or more new sub-advisers or to the Adviser, including, without limitation, providing the transition manager, at such intervals as the transition manager may request, with a list of holdings for the Portfolio and such other information as required by the transition management agreement, into which the Adviser and the transition manager will, at that time, enter. The Sub-Adviser shall deliver to Adviser all periodic compliance reports, certifications and information applicable to the period of Sub-Adviser's services provided under this Agreement, including annual compliance reports and certifications.
(d) Termination of this Agreement shall not affect the rights or obligations of the Adviser, the Adviser Indemnitees and the Sub-Adviser under Section 6 of this Agreement.
12. Use of Name
(a) The Sub-Adviser hereby consents to the use of its name and the names of its affiliates in the Fund's disclosure documents, shareholder communications, advertising, sales literature and similar communications. The Sub-Adviser shall not use the name or any tradename, trademark, trade device, service mark, symbol or any abbreviation, contraction or simulation thereof of the Adviser, the Trust, the Fund or any of their affiliates in its marketing materials unless it first receives prior written approval of the Trust and the Adviser.
(b) It is understood that the name of each party to this Agreement, and any derivatives thereof or logos associated with that name, is the valuable property of the party in question and its affiliates, and that each other party has the right to use such names pursuant to the relationship created by, and in accordance with the terms of, this Agreement only so long as this Agreement shall continue in effect. Upon termination of this Agreement, the parties shall forthwith cease to use the names of the other parties (or any derivative or logo) as appropriate and to the extent that continued use is not required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.
13. Confidential Information
(a) Each party agrees that it will treat confidentially all information provided by any other party (the "Discloser") regarding the Discloser's businesses and operations, including without limitation the investment activities or holdings of the Portfolio or the Fund ("Confidential Information"). All Confidential Information provided by the Discloser shall be used only by the other party hereto (the "Recipient") solely for the purposes of rendering services pursuant to this Agreement, and shall not be disclosed to any third party, without the prior consent of the Discloser, except for a limited number of employees, attorneys, accountants and other advisers of the Recipient and its affiliates on a need-to-know basis and solely for the purposes of rendering services under this Agreement.
(b) Confidential Information shall not include any information that: (i) is public when provided or thereafter becomes public through no wrongful act of the Recipient; (ii) is demonstrably known to the Recipient prior to execution of this Agreement; (iii) is independently developed by the Recipient through no wrongful act of the Recipient in the ordinary course of business outside of this Agreement; (iv) is generally employed by the trade at the time that the Recipient learns of such information or knowledge; or (v) has been rightfully and lawfully obtained by the Recipient from any third party.
(c) In the event that the Recipient is requested or required (by deposition, interrogatories, requests for information or documents in legal proceedings, subpoenas, civil investigative demand or similar process), in connection with any proceeding, to disclose any of the Discloser's Confidential Information, the Recipient will give the Discloser prompt written notice of such request or requirement to allow the Discloser an opportunity to obtain a protective order or otherwise obtain assurances that confidential treatment will be accorded to such Confidential Information. In the event that such protective order or other remedy is not obtained, disclosure shall be made of only that portion of the Confidential Information that is legally required to be disclosed. All Confidential Information disclosed as required by law shall nonetheless continue to be deemed Confidential Information.
14. Amendment
This Agreement may be amended in writing signed by the parties to this Agreement in a manner that is in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, as modified or interpreted by any applicable order, exemptive relief or interpretative release issued by the SEC.
15. Notices
All notices hereunder shall be provided in writing, by facsimile or by email. Notices shall be deemed given if delivered in person or by messenger, certified mail with return receipt, or by a reputable overnight delivery service that provides evidence of receipt to the parties; upon receipt if sent by fax; or upon read receipt or reply if delivered by email, at the following addresses:
If to the Trust: Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Marc Bryant
If to the Adviser: Strategic Advisers, Inc.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Chief Operating Officer
With Copy to: Strategic Advisers, Inc.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Karen Benoit
If to the Sub-Adviser: Aristotle Capital Management, LLC
11100 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 1700
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Attn.: Richard Schweitzer, CFO & CCO
With a copy to: Aristotle Capital Management, LLC
20 Pacifica, Suite 1050
Irvine, CA 92618
Attn.: Steve Borowski, President
16. Miscellaneous
(a) This Agreement constitutes the full and complete agreement of the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof.
(b) Titles or captions of sections in this Agreement are inserted only as a matter of convenience and for reference, and in no way define, limit, extend or describe the scope of this Agreement or the intent of any provisions thereof.
(c) This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, all of which together shall for all purposes constitute one Agreement, binding on all the parties.
(d) This Agreement and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be governed by, and interpreted, construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without giving effect to the choice of laws provisions of that or any other jurisdiction. To the extent that the applicable laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control. The parties irrevocably consent to submit to the jurisdiction of any federal or state court sitting in The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(e) If any provision of this Agreement shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected hereby and, to this extent, the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed to be severable.
(f) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Sub-Adviser shall be an independent contractor. Nothing herein shall be construed as constituting the Sub-Adviser as an agent of the Adviser, the Trust or the Fund, except to the extent expressly authorized by this Agreement.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have caused this instrument to be executed by their officers designated below as of the date first set forth above.
ARISTOTLE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
By: /s/Richard Schweitzer
Name: Richard Schweitzer
Title: CFO & Chief Compliance Officer
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Name: Suzanne Brennan
Title: Chief Operating Officer
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
By: /s/Kenneth Robins
Kenneth Robins
Treasurer
Exhibit (d)(97)
INVESTMENT SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENT
AMONG
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.,
ARISTOTLE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
AND
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
AGREEMENT, made this 17th day of December 2012, among Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II ("Trust"), a Delaware statutory trust, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund (the "Fund"), Strategic Advisers, Inc. ("Adviser"), a Massachusetts corporation, and Aristotle Capital Management, LLC ("Sub-Adviser"), a Delaware limited liability company.
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as an open-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("1940 Act");
WHEREAS, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser are each registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended ("Advisers Act");
WHEREAS, the Trust has retained the Adviser to render investment advisory services to the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, pursuant to a Management Contract dated September 8, 2011, as may be amended from time to time ("Advisory Agreement");
WHEREAS, the Advisory Agreement authorizes the Adviser to delegate to one or more other investment advisers any or all of the Adviser's duties and obligations under the Advisory Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the Trust and the Adviser wish to retain the Sub-Adviser to render certain investment advisory services to the Fund with respect to the portion of the Fund's assets allocated to the Sub-Adviser, as determined from time to time by the Adviser, and the Sub-Adviser is willing to render such services.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed among the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser and the Trust as follows:
1. Appointment
The Trust and the Adviser hereby appoint the Sub-Adviser to act as investment sub-adviser to the Fund with respect to the portion of the Fund's assets allocated, from time to time, by the Adviser to the Sub-Adviser (the "Portfolio"), for the periods and on the terms set forth herein. The Sub-Adviser accepts the appointment and agrees to furnish the services set forth herein for the compensation provided in Section 7 of this Agreement.
2. Services and Duties of Investment Sub-Adviser
Subject to the general supervision and oversight of the Adviser and the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the "Board"), the Sub-Adviser will:
(a) provide a program of continuous investment management for the Portfolio in accordance with the Fund's investment objective and policies as stated in the Fund's prospectus and statement of additional information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on Form N-1A, as amended and supplemented from time to time (the "Registration Statement"), and such other limitations as the Trust, the Fund, the Board or the Adviser may impose with respect to the Portfolio by notice to the Sub-Adviser;
(b) invest and reinvest the assets of the Portfolio by selecting the securities, instruments, repurchase agreements, financial futures contracts, options and other investments and techniques that the Fund may purchase, sell, enter into or use in respect of the Portfolio;
(c) oversee the placement of purchase and sale orders on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio;
(d) employ portfolio managers to make investment decisions and securities analysts to provide research services to the Fund in respect of the Portfolio;
(e) subject to the understanding set forth in Section 10(a)(1) of this Agreement, vote all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested in accordance with the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting policies and procedures and in a manner that complies with applicable law; maintain records of all proxies voted on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Portfolio; and provide information to the Trust, the Adviser or their designated agent in a manner that is sufficiently complete and timely to ensure the Trust's compliance with its filing obligations under Rule 30b1-4 of the 1940 Act;
(f) maintain books and records with respect to the Fund's securities transactions in respect of the Portfolio, in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations; and
(g) to the extent reasonably requested by the Adviser or officers of the Fund, cooperate with and provide reasonable assistance to the Adviser and the Trust's other service providers by (1) keeping them fully informed as to such matters that they may reasonably deem necessary with respect to the performance of their obligations to the Fund, (2) providing prompt responses to reasonable requests for information or assistance, and (3) establishing appropriate processes to promote the efficient exchange of information.
In providing those services, the Sub-Adviser will provide the Adviser and the Fund with an ongoing and continuous investment program in respect of the Portfolio. In addition, the Sub-Adviser will furnish the Adviser and/or the Fund with statistical information as the Adviser and/or the Fund may reasonably request with respect to the securities or other investments in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested.
The Sub-Adviser further agrees that, in performing its duties hereunder, it will:
(h) comply in all material respects with the applicable sections of (1) the 1940 Act and the Advisers Act and all rules and regulations thereunder and any other applicable federal and state laws and regulations, (2) the Sub-Adviser's compliance policies and procedures, (3) the rules and regulations of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, (4) the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Code"), (5) the investment objectives, strategies, policies, limitations and restrictions of the Fund as described in the Registration Statement, (6) the Trust's Trust Instrument and By-Laws or other organizational documents of the Trust and (7) any written instructions of the Adviser or the Board;
(i) manage the assets of the Portfolio to comply with the following requirements of the Code and regulations issued thereunder: section 851(b)(2) and section 851(b)(3) (and, if applicable, section 817(h)); provided, however, that with respect to the 10% voting securities test contained in section 851(b)(3)(A)(ii), the Sub-Adviser will comply with such requirements as the Trust, the Fund or its Adviser shall furnish to the Sub-Adviser from time to time;
(j) keep the Adviser and/or the Board informed of developments materially affecting the Fund's portfolio;
(k) make available to the Board, the Adviser, the Fund's Chief Compliance Officer ("CCO") and the Trust's administrator, promptly upon their request, such copies of its records with respect to the Fund as may be required to assist in their compliance with applicable laws and regulations. As reasonably requested by the Board or the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser will complete periodic or special questionnaires and furnish to the Board and/or the Adviser such periodic and special reports regarding the Fund and the Sub-Adviser including, but not limited to, reports concerning transactions and performance of the Portfolio, quarterly and annual compliance reports and certifications, reports regarding compliance with the Trust's procedures pursuant to Rules 17e-1, 17a-7, 10f-3 and 12d3-1 under the 1940 Act (as applicable), quarterly reports identifying material compliance matters and any material changes to the Sub-Adviser's compliance program (including revisions to compliance policies and procedures), fundamental investment restrictions, procedures for opening brokerage accounts and commodity trading accounts, liquidity determinations for securities or other instruments held by the Portfolio such as, among others, securities purchased pursuant to Rule 144A and 4(2) commercial paper, compliance with the Sub-Adviser's Code of Ethics, and such other procedures or requirements that the Adviser may reasonably request from time to time;
(l) make available to the Board and the Adviser at reasonable times its portfolio managers and other appropriate personnel as mutually agreed by the Adviser and Sub-Adviser, either in person or, at the mutual convenience of the Board, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser, by telephone or other electronic media, in order to review the investment policies, performance and other matters relating to the management of the Fund;
(m) review draft reports to shareholders, registration statements or portions thereof that relate to the Portfolio or the Sub-Adviser and other documents provided to the Sub-Adviser, provide comments on such drafts on a timely basis, and provide certifications or sub-certifications on a timely basis as to the accuracy of the information contained in such reports or other documents;
(n) use no material, non-public information concerning portfolio companies that may be in its possession or the possession of any of its affiliates, nor will the Sub-Adviser seek to obtain any such information, in providing investment advice or investment management services to the Fund;
(o) promptly notify the Trust, the Adviser and the Board in the event that the Sub-Adviser or any of its affiliates becomes aware that the Sub-Adviser: (i) is subject to a statutory disqualification that prevents the Sub-Adviser from serving as investment adviser pursuant to this Agreement; (ii) fails to be registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act or under the laws of any jurisdiction in which the Sub-Adviser is required to be registered as an investment adviser in order to perform its obligations under this Agreement; (iii) is the subject of an administrative proceeding or enforcement action by the SEC or other regulatory authority; or (iv) is served or otherwise receives notice of any action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation, at law or in equity, before or by any court, public board or body, or governmental authority, involving the affairs of the Trust or the Adviser or their affiliates; or is involved in any pending litigation or administrative proceeding brought against the Sub-Adviser or any of its management persons (as defined in Rule 206(4)-4 under the Advisers Act). The Sub-Adviser further agrees to notify the Trust and the Adviser promptly of any material fact known to the Sub-Adviser respecting or relating to the Sub-Adviser that is not contained in the Trust's Registration Statement, as amended and supplemented from time to time, regarding the Fund, or any amendment or supplement thereto, but that is required to be disclosed therein, and of any statement contained therein that becomes untrue in any material respect. The Sub-Adviser will promptly notify the Trust, the Adviser and the Board if its chief executive officer or any member of the portfolio management team named in the Registration Statement for the Fund changes, or if there is an actual change in control or management of the Sub-Adviser within the meaning of Rules 2a-6 and 202(a)(1)-1 under the 1940 Act and Advisers Act, respectively;
(p) not disclose information regarding Portfolio or Fund characteristics, trading history, portfolio holdings, performance information or any other related information to any third-party, except in compliance with the Trust's policies on disclosure of portfolio holdings;
(q) provide the Adviser, the Trust or the Board with such information and assurances (including certifications and sub-certifications) as the Adviser, the Trust or the Board may reasonably request from time to time in order to assist the Adviser, the Trust or the Board in complying with applicable laws, rules and regulations, including requirements in connection with the preparation and/or filing of the Fund's Form N-CSRs and Form N-Qs;
(r) provide assistance to the Adviser, custodian or recordkeeping agent for the Trust in determining or confirming, consistent with the procedures and policies stated in the Registration Statement, the value of any portfolio securities or other assets of the Fund for which the Adviser, custodian or recordkeeping agent seeks assistance from the Sub-Adviser or identifies for review by the Sub-Adviser. This assistance includes (but is not limited to): (i) designating and providing access to one or more employees of the Sub-Adviser who are knowledgeable about the security/issuer, its financial condition, trading and/or other relevant factors for valuation, which employees shall be available for consultation when the Board's Valuation Committee convenes; (ii) assisting the Adviser or the custodian in obtaining bids and offers or quotes from broker/dealers or market-makers with respect to securities held by the Fund, upon the reasonable request of the Adviser or custodian; (iii) upon the request of the Adviser or the custodian, confirming pricing and providing recommendations for fair valuations; and (iv) maintaining adequate records and written backup information with respect to the securities valuation assistance provided hereunder, and providing such information to the Adviser or the Trust upon request, with such records being deemed Fund records;
(s) not consult with any other investment sub-adviser of the Trust (if any), or with the sub-adviser to any other investment company (or separate series thereof) managed by the Adviser concerning the Fund's transactions in securities or other assets, except for purposes of complying with the conditions of Rule 12d3-1(a) and (b) under the 1940 Act, and, to the extent that multiple sub-advisers may be engaged to provide services to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall be responsible for providing investment advisory services only with respect to the Portfolio allocated to the Sub-Adviser by the Adviser; and
(t) provide the Trust and the Adviser with a copy of its Form ADV as most recently filed with the SEC, notify the Adviser on a quarterly basis of any amendments to the Sub-Adviser's Form ADV and furnish a copy of such amendments to the Trust and the Adviser; and provide the Trust and the Adviser with a copy of its Form ADV Part II as updated from time to time.
The Sub-Adviser further agrees that it may perform any or all the services contemplated by this Agreement directly or through such of its subsidiaries or other affiliated persons as it believes reasonably necessary to assist it in carrying out its obligations under this Agreement. However, the Sub-Adviser may not retain the services of any entity that would be an "investment adviser", as that term is defined in the 1940 Act, to the Fund unless any agreement with such entity has been approved by (i) a majority of the Trust's Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, and (ii) to the extent necessary, the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.
3. Brokerage
The Sub-Adviser may place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund directly with the issuers of the securities, or with brokers or dealers selected by the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser may, in respect of the Portfolio, open and maintain brokerage accounts of all types on behalf of and in the name of the Fund. The Sub-Adviser may enter into standard customer agreements with brokers and direct payments of cash, cash equivalents and securities and other property into such brokerage accounts as the Sub-Adviser deems desirable or appropriate. In selecting brokers or dealers to execute transactions on behalf of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser will use its best efforts to seek the best overall terms available. In assessing the best overall terms available for the Fund transaction, the Sub-Adviser will consider all factors it deems relevant, including, but not limited to, the breadth of the market in the security, the price of the security, the financial condition and execution capability of the broker or dealer and the reasonableness of the commission, if any, for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. In selecting broker-dealers to execute a particular transaction, and in evaluating the best overall terms available, the Sub-Adviser is authorized to consider the brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "1934 Act")) provided to the Fund and/or other accounts over which the Sub-Adviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The parties hereto acknowledge that it is desirable for the Trust that the Sub-Adviser have access to supplemental investment and market research and security and economic analysis provided by broker-dealers who may execute brokerage transactions at a higher cost to the Fund than may result when allocating brokerage to other brokers on the basis of seeking the most favorable price and efficient execution. Therefore, the Sub-Adviser may cause the Fund to pay a broker-dealer that furnishes brokerage and research services a higher commission than that which might be charged by another broker-dealer for effecting the same transaction, provided that the Sub-Adviser determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker-dealer, viewed in terms of either the particular transaction or the overall responsibilities of the Sub-Adviser to the Fund in compliance with Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act. It is understood that the services provided by such brokers may be useful to the Sub-Adviser in connection with the Sub-Adviser's services to other clients. In accordance with Section 11(a) of the 1934 Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder and subject to any other applicable laws and regulations, the Sub-Adviser and its affiliates are authorized to effect portfolio transactions for the Fund and to retain brokerage commissions on such transactions. The Sub-Adviser may, but shall not be obligated to, aggregate or bunch orders for the purchase or sale of securities for the Fund with orders for its other clients where: (i) such aggregation or bunching of orders is not inconsistent with the Fund's investment objectives, policies and procedures, (ii) the allocation of the securities so purchased or sold, as well as the allocation of expenses incurred in any such transaction, shall be made by the Sub-Adviser in a manner that complies with the trade allocation policies and procedures approved by the Board and is fair and equitable in the judgment of the Sub-Adviser and is consistent with the Sub-Adviser's fiduciary obligations to the Fund and each of its other clients.
4. Books, Records and Regulatory Filings
(a) The Sub-Adviser agrees to maintain and to preserve for the applicable periods any such records as are required to be maintained by the Sub-Adviser with respect to the Fund by the 1940 Act and rules adopted thereunder, and by any other applicable laws, rules and regulations. The Sub-Adviser further agrees that all records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund and it will promptly surrender any of such records upon request; provided, however, that the Sub-Adviser may retain copies of such records for the applicable periods they are required by law to be retained, and thereafter shall destroy such records.
(b) The Sub-Adviser agrees that it shall furnish to regulatory authorities having the requisite authority any information or reports in connection with its services hereunder that may be requested in order to determine whether the operations of the Fund are being conducted in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations.
(c) The Sub-Adviser shall make all filings with the SEC required of it pursuant to Section 13 of the 1934 Act with respect to its duties as are set forth herein. The Sub-Adviser also shall make all required filings on Schedule 13D or 13G and Form 13F (as well as other filings triggered by ownership in securities under other applicable laws, rules and regulations) in respect of the Portfolio as may be required of the Fund due to the activities of the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser shall be the sole filer of Form 13F with respect to the Portfolio of the Fund.
5. Class Action Filings
The Sub-Adviser is not responsible for making any class action filings on behalf of the Trust.
6. Standard of Care, Limitation of Liability and Indemnification
(a) The Sub-Adviser shall exercise its best judgment in rendering the services under this Agreement. The Sub-Adviser shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust, the Adviser or the Fund, or affiliated persons of the Adviser or the Fund (collectively, the "Adviser Indemnitees") in connection with the matters to which this Agreement relates except a loss resulting from the Sub-Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties, under this Agreement; provided, however , that nothing herein shall be deemed to protect or purport to protect the Sub-Adviser against any liability to the Adviser Indemnitees for, and the Sub-Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Adviser Indemnitees from, any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which any of the Adviser Indemnitees may become subject arising out of or resulting from (i) the Sub-Adviser causing the Fund to be in violation of any applicable federal or state law, rule or regulation or any investment policy or restriction set forth in the Fund's current Registration Statement or the most current written guidelines, policies or instruction provided in writing by the Board or the Adviser, (ii) the Sub-Adviser causing the Fund to fail to satisfy the requirements set forth in Section 2(i) hereof, (iii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Sub-Adviser or the Portfolio managed by the Sub-Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact known to the Sub-Adviser that was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Adviser or the Trust by the Sub-Adviser for use therein, or (iv) a breach of this Agreement by the Sub-Adviser. In addition, the Sub-Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Trust and the Fund from any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which either the Trust or the Fund may become subject directly arising out of or resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty by the Sub-Adviser under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act with respect to the receipt of compensation for its services under this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing contained in this Agreement shall constitute a waiver or limitation of rights that the Trust or the Fund may have under federal or state securities laws.
(b) The Sub-Adviser is hereby expressly put on notice of the limitation of shareholder liability as set forth in the Trust Instrument or other organizational document of the Trust and agrees that any obligations of the Trust or the Fund arising in connection with this Agreement shall be limited in all cases to the Fund and its assets, and the Sub-Adviser shall not seek satisfaction of any such obligation from any other fund of the Trust or the shareholders or any individual shareholder of the Fund. Nor shall the Sub-Adviser seek satisfaction of any such obligation from the trustees of the Trust (each, a "Trustee" and, together, the "Trustees") or any individual Trustee or any officers.
(c) As used in this Section 6, the term "Sub-Adviser" shall include any officers, directors, employees, independent contractors or other affiliates of the Sub-Adviser performing services with respect to the Fund.
(d) The Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Sub-Adviser from and against any and all claims, losses, expenses, obligations and liabilities (including reasonable attorney's fees) to which the Sub-Adviser may become subject directly arising out of or resulting from, the Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its obligations and duties under this Agreement, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under this Agreement.
7. Compensation
The Sub-Adviser shall be compensated for the services rendered pursuant to this Agreement in accordance with the terms set forth on Schedule A attached hereto.
8. Expenses
The Sub-Adviser will bear all expenses in connection with the performance of its services under this Agreement, excluding those costs of the Fund associated with brokerage activities. The Sub-Adviser shall bear all expenses and costs of the Trust (including reasonable attorney's fees), if any, arising out of a termination or possible termination of this Agreement as a result of an assignment caused by a change of control or management of the Sub-Adviser, including the preparation and mailing of an information statement to shareholders pursuant to a "manager-of-managers" exemptive order from the SEC, or the preparation, mailing, solicitation and other costs associated with the use of a proxy statement relating to a shareholder vote in respect of a new sub-advisory agreement. The foregoing obligations of the Sub-Adviser shall apply in any circumstance in which the Adviser, in consultation with internal or outside counsel to the Trust, deems that an actual or possible assignment of this Agreement has or may occur, and determines that an information statement should be used, or a vote of shareholders should be obtained, as the case may be.
9. Services to Other Companies or Accounts
The investment advisory services of the Sub-Adviser to the Fund under this Agreement are not to be deemed exclusive, and the Sub-Adviser shall be free to render similar services to other investment companies and clients (whether or not their investment objective and policies are similar those of the Fund) and to engage in other activities, provided that such other services and activities do not interfere with or impair the Sub-Adviser's ability to fulfill its duties and obligations under this Agreement. If the Sub-Adviser provides any advice to its clients concerning investment in the shares of the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall act solely for such clients in that regard and not in any way on behalf of the Adviser, the Trust or the Fund.
10. Compliance Matters
(a) The Sub-Adviser understands and agrees that it is a "service provider" to the Trust as contemplated by Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act. As such, the Sub-Adviser agrees to cooperate fully with the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers, including the Fund's CCO, with respect to (i) any and all compliance-related matters, and (ii) the Trust's efforts to assure that each of its service providers adopts and maintains policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to prevent violation of the "federal securities laws" (as that term is defined by Rule 38a-1) by the Trust, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser. In this regard, the Sub-Adviser shall:
(1) submit to the Board for its consideration and approval, prior to the effective date of this Agreement, the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, it being understood that the Sub-Adviser's obligation under Section 2(e) of this Agreement to vote all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Portfolio may be invested shall be subject to the fulfillment of the condition that the Board approve the Sub-Adviser's proxy voting polices and procedures;
(2) submit annually (and at such other times as the Trust may reasonably request) to the Fund's CCO and the Adviser for consideration by the Board, a report discussing the adequacy and effectiveness of the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, and fully describing any material amendments to such compliance program since the most recent such report;
(3) provide periodic reports, certifications and information concerning the Sub-Adviser's compliance program including, but not limited to, the following;
(i) Quarterly Compliance Certifications , including any required attachments, no later than the tenth (10th) business day after each calendar quarter;
(ii) Annual Survey to Sub-Advisers , including any required attachments, as specified in Q1 each year; and
(iii) Annual Report on Code of Ethics Matters , including any required attachments, no later than the fifteenth (15 th ) business day of October each year.
(4) provide the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers with reasonable access to information regarding the Sub-Adviser's compliance program, which access shall include on-site visits with the Sub-Adviser as may be reasonably requested from time to time;
(5) permit the Adviser and the Trust and its Trustees and officers to maintain an active working relationship with the Sub-Adviser's compliance personnel by, among other things, providing the Adviser and the Fund's CCO and other officers with a specified individual within the Sub-Adviser's organization to discuss and address compliance-related matters;
(6) provide the Adviser and its chief compliance officer and the Trust and its Trustees and officers, including the Fund's CCO, with such certifications as may be reasonably requested; and
(7) reasonably cooperate with any independent registered public accounting firm engaged by the Trust, ensure that all reasonably necessary information and the appropriate personnel are made available to such independent registered public accounting firm, to support the expression of the independent registered public accounting firm's opinion.
(b) The Sub-Adviser represents, warrants and covenants that it has implemented and shall maintain a compliance program in accordance with the requirements of Rule 206(4)-7 under the Advisers Act.
(a) This Agreement shall be effective immediately as of the date set forth above and shall continue in effect for two years from its effective date with respect to the Fund, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, and shall continue year to year thereafter, provided each continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the vote of a majority of the Trustees or (ii) a vote of a "majority" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund's outstanding voting securities, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Trustees who are neither (A) parties to this Agreement nor (B) "interested persons" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person (to the extent required by the 1940 Act) at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.
(b) This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund, without penalty, on sixty (60) days' written notice to the Sub-Adviser: (i) by the Trust, pursuant to (A) action by the Board or (B) the vote of the holders of a "majority" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the shares of the Fund or (ii) by the Adviser. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund, without penalty, by the Sub-Adviser upon ninety (90) days' written notice to the Adviser and the Trust. In addition, this Agreement will terminate with respect to the Fund in the event of the termination of the Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund. This Agreement will be terminated automatically in the event of its "assignment" (as defined in the 1940 Act).
(c) In the event of a termination of this Agreement for any reason with respect to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall reasonably cooperate with any transition manager or successor investment sub-adviser and with the Adviser in transitioning the management of the Portfolio to one or more new sub-advisers or to the Adviser, including, without limitation, providing the transition manager, at such intervals as the transition manager may request, with a list of holdings for the Portfolio and such other information as required by the transition management agreement, into which the Adviser and the transition manager will, at that time, enter. The Sub-Adviser shall deliver to Adviser all periodic compliance reports, certifications and information applicable to the period of Sub-Adviser's services provided under this Agreement, including annual compliance reports and certifications.
(d) Termination of this Agreement shall not affect the rights or obligations of the Adviser, the Adviser Indemnitees and the Sub-Adviser under Section 6 of this Agreement.
12. Use of Name
(a) The Sub-Adviser hereby consents to the use of its name and the names of its affiliates in the Fund's disclosure documents, shareholder communications, advertising, sales literature and similar communications. The Sub-Adviser shall not use the name or any tradename, trademark, trade device, service mark, symbol or any abbreviation, contraction or simulation thereof of the Adviser, the Trust, the Fund or any of their affiliates in its marketing materials unless it first receives prior written approval of the Trust and the Adviser.
(b) It is understood that the name of each party to this Agreement, and any derivatives thereof or logos associated with that name, is the valuable property of the party in question and its affiliates, and that each other party has the right to use such names pursuant to the relationship created by, and in accordance with the terms of, this Agreement only so long as this Agreement shall continue in effect. Upon termination of this Agreement, the parties shall forthwith cease to use the names of the other parties (or any derivative or logo) as appropriate and to the extent that continued use is not required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.
13. Confidential Information
(a) Each party agrees that it will treat confidentially all information provided by any other party (the "Discloser") regarding the Discloser's businesses and operations, including without limitation the investment activities or holdings of the Portfolio or the Fund ("Confidential Information"). All Confidential Information provided by the Discloser shall be used only by the other party hereto (the "Recipient") solely for the purposes of rendering services pursuant to this Agreement, and shall not be disclosed to any third party, without the prior consent of the Discloser, except for a limited number of employees, attorneys, accountants and other advisers of the Recipient and its affiliates on a need-to-know basis and solely for the purposes of rendering services under this Agreement.
(b) Confidential Information shall not include any information that: (i) is public when provided or thereafter becomes public through no wrongful act of the Recipient; (ii) is demonstrably known to the Recipient prior to execution of this Agreement; (iii) is independently developed by the Recipient through no wrongful act of the Recipient in the ordinary course of business outside of this Agreement; (iv) is generally employed by the trade at the time that the Recipient learns of such information or knowledge; or (v) has been rightfully and lawfully obtained by the Recipient from any third party.
(c) In the event that the Recipient is requested or required (by deposition, interrogatories, requests for information or documents in legal proceedings, subpoenas, civil investigative demand or similar process), in connection with any proceeding, to disclose any of the Discloser's Confidential Information, the Recipient will give the Discloser prompt written notice of such request or requirement to allow the Discloser an opportunity to obtain a protective order or otherwise obtain assurances that confidential treatment will be accorded to such Confidential Information. In the event that such protective order or other remedy is not obtained, disclosure shall be made of only that portion of the Confidential Information that is legally required to be disclosed. All Confidential Information disclosed as required by law shall nonetheless continue to be deemed Confidential Information.
14. Amendment
This Agreement may be amended in writing signed by the parties to this Agreement in a manner that is in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, as modified or interpreted by any applicable order, exemptive relief or interpretative release issued by the SEC.
15. Notices
All notices hereunder shall be provided in writing, by facsimile or by email. Notices shall be deemed given if delivered in person or by messenger, certified mail with return receipt, or by a reputable overnight delivery service that provides evidence of receipt to the parties; upon receipt if sent by fax; or upon read receipt or reply if delivered by email, at the following addresses:
If to the Trust: Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Marc Bryant
If to the Adviser: Strategic Advisers, Inc.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Chief Operating Officer
With Copy to: Strategic Advisers, Inc.
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
Attn.: Karen Benoit
If to the Sub-Adviser: Aristotle Capital Management, LLC
11100 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 1700
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Attn.: Richard Schweitzer, CFO & CCO
With a copy to: Aristotle Capital Management, LLC
20 Pacifica, Suite 1050
Irvine, CA 92618
Attn.: Steve Borowski, President
16. Miscellaneous
(a) This Agreement constitutes the full and complete agreement of the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof.
(b) Titles or captions of sections in this Agreement are inserted only as a matter of convenience and for reference, and in no way define, limit, extend or describe the scope of this Agreement or the intent of any provisions thereof.
(c) This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, all of which together shall for all purposes constitute one Agreement, binding on all the parties.
(d) This Agreement and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be governed by, and interpreted, construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without giving effect to the choice of laws provisions of that or any other jurisdiction. To the extent that the applicable laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control. The parties irrevocably consent to submit to the jurisdiction of any federal or state court sitting in The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(e) If any provision of this Agreement shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected hereby and, to this extent, the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed to be severable.
(f) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Sub-Adviser shall be an independent contractor. Nothing herein shall be construed as constituting the Sub-Adviser as an agent of the Adviser, the Trust or the Fund, except to the extent expressly authorized by this Agreement.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have caused this instrument to be executed by their officers designated below as of the date first set forth above.
ARISTOTLE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
By: /s/Richard Schweitzer
Name: Richard Schweitzer
Title: CFO & Chief Compliance Officer
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Name: Suzanne Brennan
Title: Chief Operating Officer
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
By: /s/Kenneth Robins
Kenneth Robins
Treasurer
Exhibit (g)(3)
APPENDIX B
TO
CUSTODIAN AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON
AND
EACH OF THE INVESTMENT COMPANIES
LISTED ON APPENDIX "A" THERETO
DATED AS OF JANUARY 30, 2012
The following is a list of Additional Custodians, Special Subcustodians, Foreign Subcustodians and Eligible Securities Depositories under the Custodian Agreement dated as of January 1, 2007 (the "Custodian Agreement*).
A. Additional Custodians
Custodian Purpose
Bank of New York FICASH
FITERM
B. Special Subcustodians
Custodian Purpose
Bank of New York FICASH
Chemical Bank, N.A. Third Party Repurchase Agreements*
Citibank, N.A. Global Bond Ceritificates*
*Chemical Bank, N.A. will act as Special Subcustodian with respect to third party repurchase agreements for the following Portfolios only:
Fund Portfolio
Fidelity Institutional Cash Portfolios U.S. Treasury Portfolio II
Fidelity Hereford Street Trust Spartan Money Market Fund
Fidelity Select Portfolios Money Market Portfolio
Fidelity Union Street Trust II Fidelity Daily Income Trust
Spartan World Money Market Fund
Fidelity Phillips Street Trust Fidelity Cash Reserves
**Citibank, N.A. will act as Special Subcustodian with respect to Global Bond Certificates for Fidelity Advisor Series VIII: Fidelity Advisor Strategic Income Fund only.
C. Foreign Subcustodians
Country |
Subcustodian Name Legacy Mellon |
City |
Central Depository Name |
2nd Central Depository |
3rd Central Depository |
Argentina |
Citibank, N.A. |
Buenos Aires |
Caja de Valores S.A. |
Central de Registration y de Instrumentos de Endeamiento Publico (CRYL) |
|
Australia |
National Australia Bank Ltd |
Melbourne |
ASX Settlement and Transfer Corporation Pty Ltd |
Austraclear Limited |
|
Austria |
Bank Austria, Creditanstalt |
Vienna |
Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG (OeKB) |
|
|
Bahrain |
HSBC |
Manama |
The Clearing, Settlement, and Central Depository |
|
|
Bangladesh |
HSBC Bank Middle East, Limited |
Dhaka |
Central Depository Bangladesh Limited (CDBL) |
|
|
Belgium |
Citibank International Plc |
Amsterdam |
Euroclear Belgium |
Banque Nationale de Belgique (National Bank of Belgium) |
|
Benin |
Societe Generale de Banques en Cote D'ivoire |
Abidjan |
Dépositaire Central/Banque de Règlement (DCBR) |
|
|
Bermuda |
HSBC Bank Bermuda Limited |
Hamilton |
Bermuda Securities Depository (BSD) |
|
|
Botswana |
Stanbic Bank Botswana Limited |
Gaborone |
Bank of Botswana |
Central Securities Depository Company of Botswana Limited (CSDB) |
|
Brazil |
Citibank N.A. |
Sao Paulo |
BM&FBOVESPA - Central Securities Depository |
Central de Custodian e Liquidacao Financeira de Titulos (CETIP) |
Sistema Especial de Liquidacao e Custodia (SELIC) |
Bulgaria |
ING Bank N.V. |
Sofia |
Bulgarian National Bank |
Central Depository AD (CDAD) |
|
Canada |
CIBC Mellon Trust Co |
Toronto |
Canadian Depository for Securities Limited (CDS) |
|
|
Cayman Islands |
BNY Mellon |
New York |
Depository Trust Company |
Federal Reserve Bank |
|
Channel Islands |
BNY Mellon |
London |
CREST |
|
|
Chile |
Banco Itau |
Santiago |
Deposito Central de Valores S.A. (DCV) |
|
|
China-Shanghai |
HSBC |
Shanghai |
China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited, Shanghai Branch |
|
|
China- Shenzhen |
HSBC |
Shenzhen |
China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited, Shenzhen Branch |
|
|
Colombia |
Cititrust Colombia S.A. |
Bogota |
Deposito Central de Valores (DCV) |
Deposito Centralizado de Valores de Colombia S.A. (DECEVAL) |
|
Costa Rica |
Banco Nacional de Costa Rica |
San Jose |
CEVAL |
|
|
Croatia |
Privredna Banka Zagreb D.D. |
Zagreb |
Sredisnje klirinsko depozitarno drustvo, d.d. (SKDD) |
|
|
Cyprus |
BNP Paribas Securities Services, Athens |
Athens |
Central Depository and Central Registry |
|
|
Czech Republic |
ING Bank N.V. |
Czech National Bank (CNB) |
Centralni depozitar cennych papiru, a.s. (CDCP) |
|
|
Denmark |
Danske Bank A/S |
Copenhagen |
Vaerdipapircentralen (VP) |
|
|
Ecuador |
Banco de la Produccion S.A. |
Quito |
Deposito Centralizado de Compensacion Y Liquidacion de Valores (DECEVALE) S.A. |
|
|
Egypt |
HSBC Bank Egypt SAE |
Cairo |
Misr for Central Clearing, Depository and Registry S.A.E. |
Central Bank of Egypt |
|
Estonia |
Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB |
Tallinn |
Estonian Central Securities Depository |
|
|
Euromarkets |
Clearstream Banking Luxembourg |
Brussels |
Clearstream Banking, S.A. |
Euroclear Bank S.A./N.V. |
|
Euromarkets |
Euroclear Bank |
Brussels |
Clearstream Banking, S.A. |
Euroclear Bank S.A./N.V. |
|
Finland |
SEB Helsinki |
Helsinki |
Euroclear Finland Oy |
|
|
France |
BNP Paribas Securities Services |
Paris |
Euroclear France |
|
|
Germany |
The Bank of New York Mellon SA/NV |
Frankfurt am Main |
Clearstream Banking AG, Frankfurt |
|
|
Ghana |
Stanbic Bank Ghana Ltd |
Accra |
Bank of Ghana |
Ghana Central Securities Depository (GSD) |
|
Greece |
BNP Paribas Securities Services, Athens |
Athens |
The Hellenic Exchanges S.A. Holding, Clearing, Settlement and Registry (HELEX) (CSD). |
Bank of Greece |
|
Guinea Bissau |
Societe Generale de Banques en Cote D'ivoire |
Abidjan |
Dépositaire Central/Banque de Règlement (DCBR) |
|
|
Hong Kong SAR |
HSBC |
Kowloon |
Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited |
Central Money Market Unit (CMU) |
|
Hungary |
ING Bank N.V. |
Budapest |
Keler |
|
|
Iceland |
Islandsbanki hf |
Reykjavik |
Verobrefaskraning Islands hf. (VS) |
|
|
India |
Deutsche Bank (DB) Mumbai |
Mumbai |
National Securities Depository Ltd. (NSDL) |
Central Depository Services India Ltd. (CDSL) |
The Reserve Bank of India - Public Debt Office (PDO) |
Indonesia |
HSBC |
Jakarta |
Bank Indonesia |
PT Kustodian Sentral Efek Indonesia (KSEI) |
|
Ireland |
The Bank of New York Mellon |
London |
CREST |
|
|
Israel |
Bank Hapoalim B.M. |
Tel Aviv |
The Stock Exchange Clearing House Ltd. (SECH) |
|
|
Italy |
Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. |
Milan |
Monte Titoli S.p.A. (MT) |
|
|
Ivory Coast |
Société Générale de Banques en Côte d'Ivoire |
Abidjan |
Dépositaire Central/Banque de Règlement (DCBR) |
|
|
Japan |
Mizuho Corporate Bank / The Bank of Tokyo - Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. |
Tokyo |
Japan Securities Depository Center (JASDEC) |
Bank of Japan |
|
Jordan |
HSBC |
Amman |
Securities Depository Center (SDC) |
The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) |
|
Kazakhstan |
HSBC |
Almaty |
Central Securities Depository |
|
|
Kenya |
CFC Stanbic Bank Limited |
Nairobi |
Central Bank of Kenya |
The Central Depository and Settlement Corporation Ltd. |
|
Kuwait |
HSBC |
Safat |
Kuwait Clearing Company KCC |
Central Bank of Kuwait |
|
Latvia |
Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB |
Riga |
Latvian Central Depository (LCD) |
|
|
Lebanon |
HSBC |
Beirut |
Midclear |
Bank of Lebanon |
|
Lithuania |
Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB |
Vilnius |
Central Securities Depository of Lithuania |
|
|
Luxembourg |
Euroclear |
Brussels |
Clearstream Banking Luxembourg, S.A. |
|
|
Malaysia |
HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad |
Kuala Lumpur |
Bursa Malaysia Depository Sdn Bhd (BMDSB) |
Bank Negara Malaysia |
|
Mali |
Societe Generale de Banques en Cote D'ivoire |
Abidjan |
Dépositaire Central/Banque de Règlement (DCBR) |
|
|
Malta |
HSBC Bank Malta Plc |
Valletta |
Central Securities Depository |
|
|
Mauritius |
HSBC |
Ebene |
Central Depository and Settlement Company Ltd. (CDS) |
Bank of Mauritius |
|
Mexico |
Banco Nacional de México S.A. (Banamex S.A.) |
Mexico City |
S.D. Indeval, S.A. de C.V. (Indeval) |
|
|
Morocco |
Citibank Maghreb |
Casablanca |
Maroclear |
|
|
Namibia |
Standard Bank Namibia Limited |
Windhoek |
Bank of Namibia |
|
|
Netherlands |
The Bank of New York Mellon SA/NV |
Amsterdam |
Euroclear Nederland |
|
|
New Zealand |
National Australia Bank Ltd |
Auckland |
New Zealand Central Securities Depository Limited (NZCSD) |
|
|
Niger |
Societe Generale de Banques en Cote D'ivoire |
Abidjan |
Dépositaire Central/Banque de Règlement (DCBR) |
|
|
Nigeria |
Stanbic IBTC Plc Nigeria |
Victoria Island, Lagos |
Central Securities Clearing System Limited |
|
|
Norway |
DnB NOR BANK ASA |
Oslo |
Verdipapirsentralen ASA |
|
|
Oman |
HSBC |
Ruwi |
Muscat Depository and Securities Registration Company, SAOC |
|
|
Pakistan |
Deutsche Bank AG |
Karachi |
Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited (CDC) |
State Bank of Pakistan |
|
Palestinian Autonomous Area |
HSBC Bank Middle East, Limited |
Ramallah |
The Clearing, Depository and Settlement Department (CDS), a department of the Palestine Securities Exchange. |
|
|
Peru |
Citibank del Perú |
Lima |
Caja de Valores y Liquidaciones ICLVS.A. (CAVALI) |
Banco Central de Reserva del Perú (BCRP) |
|
Philippines |
HSBC |
Manila |
Philippine Depository and Trust Corporation (PDTC) |
Bureau of Treasury (BTR) |
Appointed Registry |
Poland |
ING Bank Slaski S.A. |
Warsaw |
National Depository for Securities (NDS) |
National Bank of Poland (NBP) |
|
Portugal |
Citibank International Plc, Sucursal em Portugal |
Lisbon |
Interbolsa |
|
|
Qatar |
HSBC |
Doha |
Central Registry Department, a department of the Qatar Exchange |
|
|
Romania |
ING Bank N.V. |
Bucharest |
National Bank of Romania |
S. C Central Depository S.A |
|
Russia |
ZAO Citibank Moscow |
Moscow |
National Depository Center (NDC) |
Depository Clearing Company (DCC) |
|
Saudi Arabia |
HSBC |
Riyadh |
The Tadawul Securities Depository Centre |
Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) |
|
Senegal |
Societe Generale de Banques en Cote D'ivoire |
Abidjan |
Dépositaire Central/Banque de Règlement (DCBR) |
|
|
Serbia |
Bank Austria, Creditanstalt |
Belgrade |
The Central Securities Depository and Clearing House, Centralni registar depo i kliring hartija od vrednosti (CRHoV). |
|
|
Singapore |
DBS Bank Ltd |
Singapore |
Central Depository (Pte.) Limited (CDP) |
Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) |
|
Slovak Republic |
ING Bank N.V. |
Bratislava |
Centralny depozitar cennych papierov (CDCP) SR, a.s. |
|
|
Slovenia |
UniCredit Bank |
Ljubljana |
Central Securities Clearing Corporation of Slovenia |
|
|
South Africa |
Standard Bank of South Africa Limited |
Johannesburg |
STRATE |
|
|
South Korea |
HSBC |
Seoul |
Korea Securities Depository (KSD) |
|
|
Spain |
Banco Central Hispanoamericano (BCH) |
Madrid |
IBERCLEAR |
|
|
Sri Lanka |
HSBC |
Colombo |
Central Depository System Private Limited (CDS) |
Central Bank of Sri Lanka |
|
Swaziland |
Standard Bank Swaziland Limited |
Mbabane |
None |
|
|
Sweden |
Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB |
Stockholm |
Euroclear Sweden AB |
|
|
Switzerland |
UBS AG |
Zurich |
SIX SIS Ltd |
|
|
Taiwan |
Standard Chartered Bank |
Taipei |
Taiwan Depository and Clearing Corporation (TDCC) |
Central Bank of the Republic of China, Taiwan (CBC) |
|
Thailand |
HSBC |
Bangkok |
Thailand Securities Depository Company Limited (TSD) |
|
|
Tunisia |
Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie |
Tunis |
Société Tunisienne Interprofessionelle pour la Compensation et de Dépôts des Valeurs Mobilières (STICODEVAM) |
|
|
Turkey |
Deutsche Bank A.S. |
Istanbul |
Central Registry Agency (CRA) |
Central Bank of Turkey (CBT) |
|
Ukraine |
ING Bank Ukraine |
Kiev |
National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) |
Interregional Securities Union (MFS) |
National Depositary of Ukraine (NDU) |
United Arab Emirates |
HSBC |
Dubai |
The Clearing, Depository and Settlement (CDS), a department of the Dubai Financial Market (DFM). |
The Central Depository and Settlement (CDS), a department of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). |
|
United Kingdom |
The Bank of New York Mellon |
London |
CREST |
|
|
United States |
The Bank of New York Mellon |
New York |
Depository Trust Company |
Federal Reserve Bank |
|
Uruguay |
Banco Itaú Uruguay S.A. |
Montevideo |
Banco Central de Uruguay (BCU) |
|
|
Venezuela |
Citibank, N.A., Caracas |
Caracas |
Caja Venezolana de Valores CA (CVV) |
Banco Central de Venezuela (BCV) |
|
Vietnam |
HSBC |
Ho Chi Minh City |
Vietnam Securities Depository (VSD) |
|
|
Zambia |
Stanbic Bank Zambia Plc |
Lusaka |
Lusaka Stock Exchange Central Shares Depository (LuSECSD) |
Bank of Zambia (BoZ) |
|
Zimbabwe |
Stanbic Bank of Zimbabwe Ltd |
Harare |
None |
|
|
Each of the Investment Companies Listed on Appendix "A"
Attached Hereto, on Behalf of Each of Their Respective Portfolios
By:/s/Adrien Deberghes
Name: Adrien Deberghes
Title: Deputy Treasurer: Equity Funds, Asst. Treasurer: Fixed Income Funds
The Bank of New York Mellon
By:/s/Claire Driscoll
Name: Claire Driscoll
Title: Vice President
Exhibit (g)(5)
TO
CUSTODIAN AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST COMPANY
AND
EACH OF THE INVESTMENT COMPANIES
DATED AS OF December 31, 2012
Trust |
Fund |
Effective |
Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II |
Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund |
01/28/2011 |
Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II |
Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund |
06/18/2012 09/26/2010 |
Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II |
Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds |
04/11/2012 |
Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II |
Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund |
01/28/2011 |
Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II |
Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds Strategic Advisers International Fund Strategic Advisers International II Fund |
06/18/2012
12/13/2010 09/17/2010 |
Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II |
Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund |
04/11/2012 |
Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II |
Strategic Advisers Short Duration Fund |
12/20/2011 |
Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II |
Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund |
09/17/2010 |
Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II |
Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund |
12/20/2011 |
Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II |
Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund |
01/28/2011 |
Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II |
Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund |
01/28/2011 |
Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II |
Strategic Advisers Value Fund |
06/26/2010 |
Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II |
Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund |
11/16/2011 |
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties has caused this Agreement to be executed in its name and behalf on the day and year first above written.
Each of the Investment Companies Listed on Appendix "A" Attached Hereto, on Behalf of each of Their Respective Portfolios |
State Street Bank and Trust Company |
|
|
By: /s/Kenneth Robins |
By:/s/Michael F. Rogers |
Name: Kenneth Robins |
Name: Michael F. Rogers |
Title: Treasurer |
Title: Executive Vice President |
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Exhibit (h)(1)
STRATEGIC ADVISERS CORE FUND
MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER AGREEMENT
This Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated as of October 1, 2012 (the "Agreement"), is made and entered into by and between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, a Delaware statutory trust which may issue one or more series of shares of beneficial interest (the "Trust"), on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Fund (the "Fund"), and Strategic Advisers, Inc. (the "Manager").
WHEREAS, the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Manager entered into a Management Contract, dated as of December 3, 2009 (the "Management Agreement"), pursuant to which the Manager agreed to provide certain services and to pay certain expenses of the Fund in return for a management fee described in the Management Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the Management Agreement provides that the Manager will pay expenses of the Fund out of the management fee.
NOW THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER. Until this Agreement shall be amended or terminated pursuant to Section 2 or Section 5 hereof, the Manager agrees to waive 25 basis points of the management fee.
2. AMENDMENTS. This Agreement may not be amended to increase the management fee payable by the Fund except by a vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees of the Trust.
3. INTERPRETATION. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require the Trust or the Fund to take any action contrary to the Trust's Declaration of Trust or Bylaws, each as in effect from time to time, or any applicable statutory or regulatory requirement, including without limitation any requirements under the 1940 Act, to which it is subject or by which it is bound, or to relieve or deprive the Trust's Board of Trustees of its responsibility for or control of the conduct of the affairs of the Trust or the Fund.
4. DEFINITIONS. Any question of interpretation of any term or provision of this Agreement having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from the terms and provisions of the Management Agreement or the 1940 Act, shall have the same meaning as and be resolved by reference to the Management Agreement.
5. TERMINATION. This Agreement shall terminate upon the earlier of (a) the termination of the Management Agreement between the Fund and the Manager or (b) September 30, 2015, except as otherwise agreed between the parties in writing.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized, as of the date first above written.
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
on behalf of STRATEGIC ADVISERS CORE FUND
By: /s/Kenneth B. Robins
Kenneth B. Robins
President and Treasurer
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Suzanne Brennan
COO
Exhibit (h)(2)
STRATEGIC ADVISERS CORE INCOME FUND
MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER AGREEMENT
This Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated as of October 1, 2012 (the "Agreement"), is made and entered into by and between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, a Delaware statutory trust which may issue one or more series of shares of beneficial interest (the "Trust"), on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund (the "Fund"), and Strategic Advisers, Inc. (the "Manager").
WHEREAS, the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Manager entered into a Management Contract, dated as of March 5, 2010 (the "Management Agreement"), pursuant to which the Manager agreed to provide certain services to the Fund in return for a management fee described in the Management Agreement.
NOW THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER. Until this Agreement shall be amended or terminated pursuant to Section 2 or Section 5 hereof, the Manager agrees to waive 25 basis points of the management fee.
2. AMENDMENTS. This Agreement may not be amended to increase the management fee payable by the Fund except by a vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees of the Trust.
3. INTERPRETATION. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require the Trust or the Fund to take any action contrary to the Trust's Declaration of Trust or Bylaws, each as in effect from time to time, or any applicable statutory or regulatory requirement, including without limitation any requirements under the 1940 Act, to which it is subject or by which it is bound, or to relieve or deprive the Trust's Board of Trustees of its responsibility for or control of the conduct of the affairs of the Trust or the Fund.
4. DEFINITIONS. Any question of interpretation of any term or provision of this Agreement having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from the terms and provisions of the Management Agreement or the 1940 Act, shall have the same meaning as and be resolved by reference to the Management Agreement.
5. TERMINATION. This Agreement shall terminate upon the earlier of (a) the termination of the Management Agreement between the Fund and the Manager or (b) September 30, 2015, except as otherwise agreed between the parties in writing.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized, as of the date first above written.
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
on behalf of STRATEGIC ADVISERS CORE INCOME FUND
By: /s/Kenneth B. Robins
Kenneth B. Robins
President and Treasurer
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Suzanne Brennan
COO
Exhibit (h)(3)
STRATEGIC ADVISERS CORE INCOME MULTI-MANAGER FUND
AMENDED AND RESTATED MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER AGREEMENT
This Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated as of June 7th, 2012, and amended and restated on April 15, 2013 (the "Agreement"), is made and entered into by and between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, a Delaware statutory trust which may issue one or more series of shares of beneficial interest (the "Trust"), on behalf of Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund (the "Fund"), and Strategic Advisers, Inc. (the "Manager").
WHEREAS, the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Manager entered into a Management Contract, dated as of June 7th, 2012 (the "Management Agreement"), pursuant to which the Manager agreed to provide certain services to the Fund in return for a management fee described in the Management Agreement.
NOW THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER. Until this Agreement shall be amended or terminated pursuant to Section 2 or Section 5 hereof, the Manager agrees to waive 30 basis points of the management fee.
2. AMENDMENTS. This Agreement may not be amended to increase the management fee payable by the Fund except by a vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees of the Trust.
3. INTERPRETATION. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require the Trust or the Fund to take any action contrary to the Trust's Declaration of Trust or Bylaws, each as in effect from time to time, or any applicable statutory or regulatory requirement, including without limitation any requirements under the 1940 Act, to which it is subject or by which it is bound, or to relieve or deprive the Trust's Board of Trustees of its responsibility for or control of the conduct of the affairs of the Trust or the Fund.
4. DEFINITIONS. Any question of interpretation of any term or provision of this Agreement having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from the terms and provisions of the Management Agreement or the 1940 Act, shall have the same meaning as and be resolved by reference to the Management Agreement.
5. TERMINATION. This Agreement shall terminate upon the earlier of (a) the termination of the Management Agreement between the Fund and the Manager or (b) April 30, 2014, except as otherwise agreed between the parties in writing.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized, as of the date first above written.
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
on behalf of STRATEGIC ADVISERS CORE INCOME MULTI-MANAGER FUND
By: /s/ Kenneth B. Robins
Kenneth B. Robins
President and Treasurer
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/ Derek Young
Derek Young
President
Exhibit (h)(4)
STRATEGIC ADVISERS EMERGING MARKETS FUND
MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER AGREEMENT
This Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated as of October 1, 2012 (the "Agreement"), is made and entered into by and between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, a Delaware statutory trust which may issue one or more series of shares of beneficial interest (the "Trust"), on behalf of Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund (the "Fund"), and Strategic Advisers, Inc. (the "Manager").
WHEREAS, the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Manager entered into a Management Contract, dated as of September 8, 2010 (the "Management Agreement"), pursuant to which the Manager agreed to provide certain services to the Fund in return for a management fee described in the Management Agreement.
NOW THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER. Until this Agreement shall be amended or terminated pursuant to Section 2 or Section 5 hereof, the Manager agrees to waive 25 basis points of the management fee.
2. AMENDMENTS. This Agreement may not be amended to increase the management fee payable by the Fund except by a vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees of the Trust.
3. INTERPRETATION. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require the Trust or the Fund to take any action contrary to the Trust's Declaration of Trust or Bylaws, each as in effect from time to time, or any applicable statutory or regulatory requirement, including without limitation any requirements under the 1940 Act, to which it is subject or by which it is bound, or to relieve or deprive the Trust's Board of Trustees of its responsibility for or control of the conduct of the affairs of the Trust or the Fund.
4. DEFINITIONS. Any question of interpretation of any term or provision of this Agreement having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from the terms and provisions of the Management Agreement or the 1940 Act, shall have the same meaning as and be resolved by reference to the Management Agreement.
5. TERMINATION. This Agreement shall terminate upon the earlier of (a) the termination of the Management Agreement between the Fund and the Manager or (b) September 30, 2015, except as otherwise agreed between the parties in writing.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized, as of the date first above written.
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
on behalf of STRATEGIC ADVISERS EMERGING MARKETS FUND
By: /s/Kenneth B. Robins
Kenneth B. Robins
President and Treasurer
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Suzanne Brennan
COO
Exhibit (h)(5)
STRATEGIC ADVISERS EMERGING MARKETS FUND OF FUNDS
AMENDED AND RESTATED MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER AGREEMENT
This Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated as of March 1, 2012, and amended and restated on April 15, 2013 (the "Agreement"), is made and entered into by and between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, a Delaware statutory trust which may issue one or more series of shares of beneficial interest (the "Trust"), on behalf of Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds (the "Fund"), and Strategic Advisers, Inc. (the "Manager").
WHEREAS, the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Manager entered into a Management Contract, dated as of March 1, 2012 (the "Management Agreement"), pursuant to which the Manager agreed to provide certain services to the Fund in return for a management fee described in the Management Agreement.
NOW THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER. Until this Agreement shall be amended or terminated pursuant to Section 2 or Section 5 hereof, the Manager agrees to waive 30 basis points of the management fee.
2. AMENDMENTS. This Agreement may not be amended to increase the management fee payable by the Fund except by a vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees of the Trust.
3. INTERPRETATION. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require the Trust or the Fund to take any action contrary to the Trust's Declaration of Trust or Bylaws, each as in effect from time to time, or any applicable statutory or regulatory requirement, including without limitation any requirements under the 1940 Act, to which it is subject or by which it is bound, or to relieve or deprive the Trust's Board of Trustees of its responsibility for or control of the conduct of the affairs of the Trust or the Fund.
4. DEFINITIONS. Any question of interpretation of any term or provision of this Agreement having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from the terms and provisions of the Management Agreement or the 1940 Act, shall have the same meaning as and be resolved by reference to the Management Agreement.
5. TERMINATION. This Agreement shall terminate upon the earlier of (a) the termination of the Management Agreement between the Fund and the Manager or (b) April 30, 2014, except as otherwise agreed between the parties in writing.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized, as of the date first above written.
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
on behalf of STRATEGIC ADVISERS EMERGING MARKETS FUND OF FUNDS
By: /s/ Kenneth B. Robins
Kenneth B. Robins
President and Treasurer
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/ Derek Young
Derek Young
President
Exhibit (h)(6)
STRATEGIC ADVISERS GROWTH FUND
MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER AGREEMENT
This Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated as of October 1, 2012 (the "Agreement"), is made and entered into by and between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, a Delaware statutory trust which may issue one or more series of shares of beneficial interest (the "Trust"), on behalf of Strategic Advisers Growth Fund (the "Fund"), and Strategic Advisers, Inc. (the "Manager").
WHEREAS, the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Manager entered into a Management Contract, dated as of March 5, 2010 (the "Management Agreement"), pursuant to which the Manager agreed to provide certain services to the Fund in return for a management fee described in the Management Agreement.
NOW THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER. Until this Agreement shall be amended or terminated pursuant to Section 2 or Section 5 hereof, the Manager agrees to waive 25 basis points of the management fee.
2. AMENDMENTS. This Agreement may not be amended to increase the management fee payable by the Fund except by a vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees of the Trust.
3. INTERPRETATION. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require the Trust or the Fund to take any action contrary to the Trust's Declaration of Trust or Bylaws, each as in effect from time to time, or any applicable statutory or regulatory requirement, including without limitation any requirements under the 1940 Act, to which it is subject or by which it is bound, or to relieve or deprive the Trust's Board of Trustees of its responsibility for or control of the conduct of the affairs of the Trust or the Fund.
4. DEFINITIONS. Any question of interpretation of any term or provision of this Agreement having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from the terms and provisions of the Management Agreement or the 1940 Act, shall have the same meaning as and be resolved by reference to the Management Agreement.
5. TERMINATION. This Agreement shall terminate upon the earlier of (a) the termination of the Management Agreement between the Fund and the Manager or (b) September 30, 2015, except as otherwise agreed between the parties in writing.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized, as of the date first above written.
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
on behalf of STRATEGIC ADVISERS GROWTH FUND
By: /s/Kenneth B. Robins
Kenneth B. Robins
President and Treasurer
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Suzanne Brennan
COO
Exhibit (h)(7)
STRATEGIC ADVISERS INCOME OPPORTUNITIES FUND
MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER AGREEMENT
This Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated as of October 1, 2012 (the "Agreement"), is made and entered into by and between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, a Delaware statutory trust which may issue one or more series of shares of beneficial interest (the "Trust"), on behalf of Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund (the "Fund"), and Strategic Advisers, Inc. (the "Manager").
WHEREAS, the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Manager entered into a Management Contract, dated as of March 5, 2010 (the "Management Agreement"), pursuant to which the Manager agreed to provide certain services to the Fund in return for a management fee described in the Management Agreement.
NOW THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER. Until this Agreement shall be amended or terminated pursuant to Section 2 or Section 5 hereof, the Manager agrees to waive 25 basis points of the management fee.
2. AMENDMENTS. This Agreement may not be amended to increase the management fee payable by the Fund except by a vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees of the Trust.
3. INTERPRETATION. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require the Trust or the Fund to take any action contrary to the Trust's Declaration of Trust or Bylaws, each as in effect from time to time, or any applicable statutory or regulatory requirement, including without limitation any requirements under the 1940 Act, to which it is subject or by which it is bound, or to relieve or deprive the Trust's Board of Trustees of its responsibility for or control of the conduct of the affairs of the Trust or the Fund.
4. DEFINITIONS. Any question of interpretation of any term or provision of this Agreement having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from the terms and provisions of the Management Agreement or the 1940 Act, shall have the same meaning as and be resolved by reference to the Management Agreement.
5. TERMINATION. This Agreement shall terminate upon the earlier of (a) the termination of the Management Agreement between the Fund and the Manager or (b) September 30, 2015, except as otherwise agreed between the parties in writing.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized, as of the date first above written.
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
on behalf of STRATEGIC ADVISERS INCOME OPPORTUNITIES FUND
By: /s/Kenneth B. Robins
Kenneth B. Robins
President and Treasurer
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Suzanne Brennan
COO
Exhibit (h)(8)
STRATEGIC ADVISERS INCOME OPPORTUNITIES FUND OF FUNDS
AMENDED AND RESTATED MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER AGREEMENT
This Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated as of June 7, 2012, and amended and restated on April 15, 2013 (the "Agreement"), is made and entered into by and between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, a Delaware statutory trust which may issue one or more series of shares of beneficial interest (the "Trust"), on behalf of Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds (the "Fund"), and Strategic Advisers, Inc. (the "Manager").
WHEREAS, the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Manager entered into a Management Contract, dated as of June 7, 2012 (the "Management Agreement"), pursuant to which the Manager agreed to provide certain services to the Fund in return for a management fee described in the Management Agreement.
NOW THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER. Until this Agreement shall be amended or terminated pursuant to Section 2 or Section 5 hereof, the Manager agrees to waive 30 basis points of the management fee.
2. AMENDMENTS. This Agreement may not be amended to increase the management fee payable by the Fund except by a vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees of the Trust.
3. INTERPRETATION. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require the Trust or the Fund to take any action contrary to the Trust's Declaration of Trust or Bylaws, each as in effect from time to time, or any applicable statutory or regulatory requirement, including without limitation any requirements under the 1940 Act, to which it is subject or by which it is bound, or to relieve or deprive the Trust's Board of Trustees of its responsibility for or control of the conduct of the affairs of the Trust or the Fund.
4. DEFINITIONS. Any question of interpretation of any term or provision of this Agreement having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from the terms and provisions of the Management Agreement or the 1940 Act, shall have the same meaning as and be resolved by reference to the Management Agreement.
5. TERMINATION. This Agreement shall terminate upon the earlier of (a) the termination of the Management Agreement between the Fund and the Manager or (b) April 30, 2014, except as otherwise agreed between the parties in writing.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized, as of the date first above written.
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
on behalf of STRATEGIC ADVISERS INCOME OPPORTUNITIES FUND OF FUNDS
By: /s/ Kenneth B. Robins
Kenneth B. Robins
President and Treasurer
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/ Derek Young
Derek Young
President
Exhibit (h)(9)
STRATEGIC ADVISERS INTERNATIONAL FUND
MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER AGREEMENT
This Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated as of October 1, 2012 (the "Agreement"), is made and entered into by and between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, a Delaware statutory trust which may issue one or more series of shares of beneficial interest (the "Trust"), on behalf of Strategic Advisers International Fund (the "Fund"), and Strategic Advisers, Inc. (the "Manager").
WHEREAS, the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Manager entered into a Management Contract, dated as of March 5, 2010 (the "Management Agreement"), pursuant to which the Manager agreed to provide certain services to the Fund in return for a management fee described in the Management Agreement.
NOW THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER. Until this Agreement shall be amended or terminated pursuant to Section 2 or Section 5 hereof, the Manager agrees to waive 25 basis points of the management fee.
2. AMENDMENTS. This Agreement may not be amended to increase the management fee payable by the Fund except by a vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees of the Trust.
3. INTERPRETATION. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require the Trust or the Fund to take any action contrary to the Trust's Declaration of Trust or Bylaws, each as in effect from time to time, or any applicable statutory or regulatory requirement, including without limitation any requirements under the 1940 Act, to which it is subject or by which it is bound, or to relieve or deprive the Trust's Board of Trustees of its responsibility for or control of the conduct of the affairs of the Trust or the Fund.
4. DEFINITIONS. Any question of interpretation of any term or provision of this Agreement having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from the terms and provisions of the Management Agreement or the 1940 Act, shall have the same meaning as and be resolved by reference to the Management Agreement.
5. TERMINATION. This Agreement shall terminate upon the earlier of (a) the termination of the Management Agreement between the Fund and the Manager or (b) September 30, 2015, except as otherwise agreed between the parties in writing.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized, as of the date first above written.
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
on behalf of STRATEGIC ADVISERS INTERNATIONAL FUND
By: /s/Kenneth B. Robins
Kenneth B. Robins
President and Treasurer
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Suzanne Brennan
COO
Exhibit (h)(10)
STRATEGIC ADVISERS INTERNATIONAL II FUND
MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER AGREEMENT
This Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated as of October 1, 2012 (the "Agreement"), is made and entered into by and between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, a Delaware statutory trust which may issue one or more series of shares of beneficial interest (the "Trust"), on behalf of Strategic Advisers International II Fund (the "Fund"), and Strategic Advisers, Inc. (the "Manager").
WHEREAS, the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Manager entered into a Management Contract, dated as of March 5, 2010 (the "Management Agreement"), pursuant to which the Manager agreed to provide certain services to the Fund in return for a management fee described in the Management Agreement.
NOW THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER. Until this Agreement shall be amended or terminated pursuant to Section 2 or Section 5 hereof, the Manager agrees to waive 25 basis points of the management fee.
2. AMENDMENTS. This Agreement may not be amended to increase the management fee payable by the Fund except by a vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees of the Trust.
3. INTERPRETATION. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require the Trust or the Fund to take any action contrary to the Trust's Declaration of Trust or Bylaws, each as in effect from time to time, or any applicable statutory or regulatory requirement, including without limitation any requirements under the 1940 Act, to which it is subject or by which it is bound, or to relieve or deprive the Trust's Board of Trustees of its responsibility for or control of the conduct of the affairs of the Trust or the Fund.
4. DEFINITIONS. Any question of interpretation of any term or provision of this Agreement having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from the terms and provisions of the Management Agreement or the 1940 Act, shall have the same meaning as and be resolved by reference to the Management Agreement.
5. TERMINATION. This Agreement shall terminate upon the earlier of (a) the termination of the Management Agreement between the Fund and the Manager or (b) September 30, 2015, except as otherwise agreed between the parties in writing.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized, as of the date first above written.
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
on behalf of STRATEGIC ADVISERS INTERNATIONAL II FUND
By: /s/Kenneth B. Robins
Kenneth B. Robins
President and Treasurer
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Suzanne Brennan
COO
Exhibit (h)(12)
STRATEGIC ADVISERS SMALL-MID CAP FUND
MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER AGREEMENT
This Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated as of October 1, 2012 (the "Agreement"), is made and entered into by and between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, a Delaware statutory trust which may issue one or more series of shares of beneficial interest (the "Trust"), on behalf of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund (the "Fund"), and Strategic Advisers, Inc. (the "Manager").
WHEREAS, the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Manager entered into a Management Contract, dated as of March 5, 2010 (the "Management Agreement"), pursuant to which the Manager agreed to provide certain services to the Fund in return for a management fee described in the Management Agreement.
NOW THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER. Until this Agreement shall be amended or terminated pursuant to Section 2 or Section 5 hereof, the Manager agrees to waive 25 basis points of the management fee.
2. AMENDMENTS. This Agreement may not be amended to increase the management fee payable by the Fund except by a vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees of the Trust.
3. INTERPRETATION. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require the Trust or the Fund to take any action contrary to the Trust's Declaration of Trust or Bylaws, each as in effect from time to time, or any applicable statutory or regulatory requirement, including without limitation any requirements under the 1940 Act, to which it is subject or by which it is bound, or to relieve or deprive the Trust's Board of Trustees of its responsibility for or control of the conduct of the affairs of the Trust or the Fund.
4. DEFINITIONS. Any question of interpretation of any term or provision of this Agreement having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from the terms and provisions of the Management Agreement or the 1940 Act, shall have the same meaning as and be resolved by reference to the Management Agreement.
5. TERMINATION. This Agreement shall terminate upon the earlier of (a) the termination of the Management Agreement between the Fund and the Manager or (b) September 30, 2015, except as otherwise agreed between the parties in writing.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized, as of the date first above written.
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
on behalf of STRATEGIC ADVISERS SMALL-MID CAP FUND
By: /s/Kenneth B. Robins
Kenneth B. Robins
President and Treasurer
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Suzanne Brennan
COO
Exhibit (h)(13)
STRATEGIC ADVISERS U.S. OPPORTUNITY FUND
MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER AGREEMENT
This Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated as of October 1, 2012 (the "Agreement"), is made and entered into by and between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, a Delaware statutory trust which may issue one or more series of shares of beneficial interest (the "Trust"), on behalf of Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund (the "Fund"), and Strategic Advisers, Inc. (the "Manager").
WHEREAS, the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Manager entered into a Management Contract, dated as of March 5, 2010 (the "Management Agreement"), pursuant to which the Manager agreed to provide certain services to the Fund in return for a management fee described in the Management Agreement.
NOW THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER. Until this Agreement shall be amended or terminated pursuant to Section 2 or Section 5 hereof, the Manager agrees to waive 25 basis points of the management fee.
2. AMENDMENTS. This Agreement may not be amended to increase the management fee payable by the Fund except by a vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees of the Trust.
3. INTERPRETATION. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require the Trust or the Fund to take any action contrary to the Trust's Declaration of Trust or Bylaws, each as in effect from time to time, or any applicable statutory or regulatory requirement, including without limitation any requirements under the 1940 Act, to which it is subject or by which it is bound, or to relieve or deprive the Trust's Board of Trustees of its responsibility for or control of the conduct of the affairs of the Trust or the Fund.
4. DEFINITIONS. Any question of interpretation of any term or provision of this Agreement having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from the terms and provisions of the Management Agreement or the 1940 Act, shall have the same meaning as and be resolved by reference to the Management Agreement.
5. TERMINATION. This Agreement shall terminate upon the earlier of (a) the termination of the Management Agreement between the Fund and the Manager or (b) September 30, 2015, except as otherwise agreed between the parties in writing.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized, as of the date first above written.
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
on behalf of STRATEGIC ADVISERS U.S. OPPORTUNITY FUND
By: /s/Kenneth B. Robins
Kenneth B. Robins
President and Treasurer
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Suzanne Brennan
COO
Exhibit (h)(14)
STRATEGIC ADVISERS U.S. OPPORTUNITY II FUND
MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER AGREEMENT
This Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated as of October 1, 2012 (the "Agreement"), is made and entered into by and between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, a Delaware statutory trust which may issue one or more series of shares of beneficial interest (the "Trust"), on behalf of Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund (the "Fund"), and Strategic Advisers, Inc. (the "Manager").
WHEREAS, the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Manager entered into a Management Contract, dated as of March 5, 2010 (the "Management Agreement"), pursuant to which the Manager agreed to provide certain services to the Fund in return for a management fee described in the Management Agreement.
NOW THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER. Until this Agreement shall be amended or terminated pursuant to Section 2 or Section 5 hereof, the Manager agrees to waive 25 basis points of the management fee.
2. AMENDMENTS. This Agreement may not be amended to increase the management fee payable by the Fund except by a vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees of the Trust.
3. INTERPRETATION. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require the Trust or the Fund to take any action contrary to the Trust's Declaration of Trust or Bylaws, each as in effect from time to time, or any applicable statutory or regulatory requirement, including without limitation any requirements under the 1940 Act, to which it is subject or by which it is bound, or to relieve or deprive the Trust's Board of Trustees of its responsibility for or control of the conduct of the affairs of the Trust or the Fund.
4. DEFINITIONS. Any question of interpretation of any term or provision of this Agreement having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from the terms and provisions of the Management Agreement or the 1940 Act, shall have the same meaning as and be resolved by reference to the Management Agreement.
5. TERMINATION. This Agreement shall terminate upon the earlier of (a) the termination of the Management Agreement between the Fund and the Manager or (b) September 30, 2015, except as otherwise agreed between the parties in writing.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized, as of the date first above written.
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
on behalf of STRATEGIC ADVISERS U.S. OPPORTUNITY II FUND
By: /s/Kenneth B. Robins
Kenneth B. Robins
President and Treasurer
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Suzanne Brennan
COO
Exhibit (h)(15)
STRATEGIC ADVISERS VALUE FUND
AMENDED AND RESTATED MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER AGREEMENT
This Amended and Restated Management Fee Waiver Agreement, dated as of October 1, 2012 (the "Agreement"), is made and entered into by and between Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, a Delaware statutory trust which may issue one or more series of shares of beneficial interest (the "Trust"), on behalf of Strategic Advisers Value Fund (the "Fund"), and Strategic Advisers, Inc. (the "Manager").
WHEREAS, the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Manager entered into a Management Contract, dated as of March 5, 2010 (the "Management Agreement"), pursuant to which the Manager agreed to provide certain services to the Fund in return for a management fee described in the Management Agreement.
NOW THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. MANAGEMENT FEE WAIVER. Until this Agreement shall be amended or terminated pursuant to Section 2 or Section 5 hereof, the Manager agrees to waive 25 basis points of the management fee.
2. AMENDMENTS. This Agreement may not be amended to increase the management fee payable by the Fund except by a vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees of the Trust.
3. INTERPRETATION. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require the Trust or the Fund to take any action contrary to the Trust's Declaration of Trust or Bylaws, each as in effect from time to time, or any applicable statutory or regulatory requirement, including without limitation any requirements under the 1940 Act, to which it is subject or by which it is bound, or to relieve or deprive the Trust's Board of Trustees of its responsibility for or control of the conduct of the affairs of the Trust or the Fund.
4. DEFINITIONS. Any question of interpretation of any term or provision of this Agreement having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from the terms and provisions of the Management Agreement or the 1940 Act, shall have the same meaning as, and be resolved by reference to, the Management Agreement.
5. TERMINATION. This Agreement shall terminate upon the earlier of (a) the termination of the Management Agreement between the Fund and the Manager or (b) September 30, 2015, except as otherwise agreed between the parties in writing.
6. ENTIRE AGREEMENT. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the parties with
respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior agreements.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized, as of the date first above written.
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II
on behalf of STRATEGIC ADVISERS VALUE FUND
By: /s/Kenneth B. Robins
Kenneth B. Robins
President and Treasurer
STRATEGIC ADVISERS, INC.
By: /s/Suzanne Brennan
Suzanne Brennan
COO
Exhibit (i)
Dechert LLP |
200 Clarendon Street 27th Floor Boston, MA 02116-5021 +1 617 728 7100 Main +1 617 426 6567 Fax www.dechert.com |
April 23, 2013
Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
245 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210
Re: Post-Effective Amendment No. 35 and Amendment No. 38 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as counsel to Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, a Delaware statutory trust (the "Trust") and its separate series Strategic Advisers Core Income Fund, Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund, Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds, Strategic Advisers International Fund, Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers International II Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund, Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity Fund, and Strategic Advisers U.S. Opportunity II Fund (the "Funds"), in connection with Post-Effective Amendment No. 35 and Amendment No. 38 to the Trust's Registration Statement on Form N-1A (the "Amendment"), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
In connection with the opinions set forth herein, you have provided to us originals, copies or facsimile transmissions of, and we have reviewed and relied upon, among other things, copies of the following: the Amendment; the Trust Instrument of the Trust dated March 8, 2006; and the By-Laws of the Trust dated June 4, 2009 (the "By-Laws"). In addition, we have reviewed and relied upon a Certificate issued by the Delaware Secretary of State. We have assumed that the By-Laws have been duly adopted by the Trustees. We have also examined such documents and questions of law as we have concluded are necessary or appropriate for purposes of the opinions expressed below.
In rendering this opinion we have assumed, without independent verification, (i) the due authority of all individuals signing in representative capacities and the genuineness of signatures; (ii) the authenticity, completeness and continued effectiveness of all documents or copies furnished to us; (iii) that any resolutions provided have been duly adopted by the Funds' Board of Trustees; (iv) that the facts contained in the instruments and certificates or statements of public officials, officers and representatives of the Funds on which we have relied for the purposes of this opinion are true and correct; and (v) that no amendments, agreements, resolutions or actions have been approved, executed or adopted which would limit, supersede or modify the items described above. Where documents are referred to in resolutions approved by the Board of Trustees, or in the Amendment, we have assumed such documents are the same as in the most recent form provided to us, whether as an exhibit to the Amendment or otherwise. When any opinion set forth below relates to the existence or standing of the Trust, such opinion is based entirely upon and is limited by the items referred to above, and we understand that the foregoing assumptions, limitations and qualifications are acceptable to you.
Based upon the foregoing, we are of the opinion that:
1. The Trust has been duly formed and is validly existing as a statutory trust under the laws of the state of Delaware; and
2. the Shares registered under the Securities Act, when issued in accordance with the terms described in the Amendment, will be legally issued, fully paid and non-assessable by the Trust.
We express no opinion as to any other matter other than as expressly set forth above and no other opinion is intended or may be inferred herefrom. The opinions expressed herein are given as of the date hereof and we undertake no obligation and hereby disclaim any obligation to advise you of any change after the date of this opinion pertaining to any matter referred to herein. We hereby consent to the use of this opinion as an exhibit to the Amendment. In giving such consent, we do not hereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required by Section 7 of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.
We are members of the Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and do not hold ourselves out as being conversant with the laws of any jurisdiction other than those of the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We note that we are not licensed to practice law in the State of Delaware, and to the extent that any opinion herein involves the laws of the State of Delaware, such opinion should be understood to be based solely upon our review of the documents referred to above and the published statutes of the State of Delaware.
Very truly yours,
/s/ Dechert LLP
Exhibit (m)(4)
DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE PLAN
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II:
STRATEGIC ADVISERS CORE INCOME MULTI-MANAGER FUND
Class F Shares
1. This Distribution and Service Plan (the "Plan"), when effective in accordance with its terms, shall be the written plan contemplated by Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "Act") for Class F ("Class F") shares of Strategic Advisers Core Income Multi-Manager Fund (the "Fund"), a series of shares of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II (the "Trust").
2. The Trust has entered into a General Distribution Agreement with respect to the Fund with Fidelity Distributors Corporation (the "Distributor"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fidelity Management & Research Company ("FMR"), under which the Distributor uses all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for the Fund's shares of beneficial interest ("shares"). Under the agreement, the Distributor pays the expenses of printing and distributing any prospectuses, reports and other literature used by the Distributor, advertising, and other promotional activities in connection with the offering of shares of the Fund. It is recognized that Strategic Advisers, Inc. ("Strategic Advisers"), an affiliate of FMR, may use its revenues, including management fees paid to Strategic Advisers by the Fund, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to make payment to the Distributor with respect to any expenses incurred in connection with the distribution of Class F shares, including the activities referred to above.
3. Strategic Advisers directly, or through the Distributor, may, subject to the approval of the Trustees, make payments to securities dealers and other third parties who engage in the sale of Class F shares or who render shareholder support services, including but not limited to providing office space, equipment and telephone facilities, answering routine inquiries regarding the Fund, processing shareholder transactions and providing such other shareholder services as the Trust may reasonably request.
4. Class F will not make separate payments as a result of this Plan to Strategic Advisers, the Distributor or any other party, it being recognized that the Fund presently pays, and will continue to pay, a management fee to Strategic Advisers. To the extent that any payments made by the Fund to Strategic Advisers, including any payment of management fees, should be deemed to be indirect financing of any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares within the context of Rule 12b-1 under the Act, then such payments shall be deemed to be authorized by this Plan.
5. This Plan shall become effective upon the approval by a vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust, including a majority of Trustees who are not "interested persons" of the Trust (as defined in the Act) and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of this Plan or in any agreements related to this Plan (the "Independent Trustees"), cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on this Plan.
6. This Plan shall, unless terminated as hereinafter provided, remain in effect until June 30, 2013, and from year to year thereafter, provided, however, that such continuance is subject to approval annually by a vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on this Plan. This Plan may be amended at any time by the Board of Trustees, provided that (a) any amendment to authorize direct payments by Class F to finance any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares, or to increase materially the amount spent by Class F for distribution shall be effective only upon approval by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of Class F, and (b) any material amendments of this Plan shall be effective only upon approval in the manner provided in the first sentence in this paragraph.
7. This Plan may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, by vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of Class F.
8. During the existence of this Plan, the Trust shall require Strategic Advisers and/or Distributor to provide the Trust, for review by the Trust's Board of Trustees, and the Trustees shall review, at least quarterly, a written report of the amounts expended in connection with financing any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares (making estimates of such costs where necessary or desirable) and the purposes for which such expenditures were made.
9. This Plan does not require Strategic Advisers or Distributor to perform any specific type or level of distribution activities or to incur any specific level of expenses for activities primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares.
10. Consistent with the limitation of shareholder liability as set forth in the Trust's Trust Instrument or other organizational document, any obligations assumed by Class F pursuant to this Plan and any agreements related to this Plan shall be limited in all cases to Class F and its assets, and shall not constitute an obligation of any shareholder of the Trust or of any other class of the Fund, series of the Trust or class of such series.
11. If any provision of this Plan shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of the Plan shall not be affected thereby.
Exhibit (m)(6)
DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE PLAN
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II:
STRATEGIC ADVISERS CORE MULTI-MANAGER FUND
Class F Shares
1. This Distribution and Service Plan (the "Plan"), when effective in accordance with its terms, shall be the written plan contemplated by Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "Act") for Class F ("Class F") shares of Strategic Advisers Core Multi-Manager Fund (the "Fund"), a series of shares of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II (the "Trust").
2. The Trust has entered into a General Distribution Agreement with respect to the Fund with Fidelity Distributors Corporation (the "Distributor"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fidelity Management & Research Company ("FMR"), under which the Distributor uses all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for the Fund's shares of beneficial interest ("shares"). Under the agreement, the Distributor pays the expenses of printing and distributing any prospectuses, reports and other literature used by the Distributor, advertising, and other promotional activities in connection with the offering of shares of the Fund. It is recognized that Strategic Advisers, Inc. ("Strategic Advisers"), an affiliate of FMR, may use its revenues, including management fees paid to Strategic Advisers by the Fund, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to make payment to the Distributor with respect to any expenses incurred in connection with the distribution of Class F shares, including the activities referred to above.
3. Strategic Advisers directly, or through the Distributor, may, subject to the approval of the Trustees, make payments to securities dealers and other third parties who engage in the sale of Class F shares or who render shareholder support services, including but not limited to providing office space, equipment and telephone facilities, answering routine inquiries regarding the Fund, processing shareholder transactions and providing such other shareholder services as the Trust may reasonably request.
4. Class F will not make separate payments as a result of this Plan to Strategic Advisers, the Distributor or any other party, it being recognized that the Fund presently pays, and will continue to pay, a management fee to Strategic Advisers. To the extent that any payments made by the Fund to Strategic Advisers, including any payment of management fees, should be deemed to be indirect financing of any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares within the context of Rule 12b-1 under the Act, then such payments shall be deemed to be authorized by this Plan.
5. This Plan shall become effective upon the approval by a vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust, including a majority of Trustees who are not "interested persons" of the Trust (as defined in the Act) and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of this Plan or in any agreements related to this Plan (the "Independent Trustees"), cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on this Plan.
6. This Plan shall, unless terminated as hereinafter provided, remain in effect until June 30, 2013, and from year to year thereafter, provided, however, that such continuance is subject to approval annually by a vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on this Plan. This Plan may be amended at any time by the Board of Trustees, provided that (a) any amendment to authorize direct payments by Class F to finance any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares, or to increase materially the amount spent by Class F for distribution shall be effective only upon approval by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of Class F, and (b) any material amendments of this Plan shall be effective only upon approval in the manner provided in the first sentence in this paragraph.
7. This Plan may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, by vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of Class F.
8. During the existence of this Plan, the Trust shall require Strategic Advisers and/or Distributor to provide the Trust, for review by the Trust's Board of Trustees, and the Trustees shall review, at least quarterly, a written report of the amounts expended in connection with financing any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares (making estimates of such costs where necessary or desirable) and the purposes for which such expenditures were made.
9. This Plan does not require Strategic Advisers or Distributor to perform any specific type or level of distribution activities or to incur any specific level of expenses for activities primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares.
10. Consistent with the limitation of shareholder liability as set forth in the Trust's Trust Instrument or other organizational document, any obligations assumed by Class F pursuant to this Plan and any agreements related to this Plan shall be limited in all cases to Class F and its assets, and shall not constitute an obligation of any shareholder of the Trust or of any other class of the Fund, series of the Trust or class of such series.
11. If any provision of this Plan shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of the Plan shall not be affected thereby.
Exhibit (m)(9)
DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE PLAN
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II:
STRATEGIC ADVISERS EMERGING MARKETS FUND OF FUNDS
Class F Shares
1. This Distribution and Service Plan (the "Plan"), when effective in accordance with its terms, shall be the written plan contemplated by Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "Act") for Class F ("Class F") shares of Strategic Advisers Emerging Markets Fund of Funds (the "Fund"), a series of shares of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II (the "Trust").
2. The Trust has entered into a General Distribution Agreement with respect to the Fund with Fidelity Distributors Corporation (the "Distributor"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fidelity Management & Research Company ("FMR"), under which the Distributor uses all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for the Fund's shares of beneficial interest ("shares"). Under the agreement, the Distributor pays the expenses of printing and distributing any prospectuses, reports and other literature used by the Distributor, advertising, and other promotional activities in connection with the offering of shares of the Fund. It is recognized that Strategic Advisers, Inc. ("Strategic Advisers"), an affiliate of FMR, may use its revenues, including management fees paid to Strategic Advisers by the Fund, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to make payment to the Distributor with respect to any expenses incurred in connection with the distribution of Class F shares, including the activities referred to above.
3. Strategic Advisers directly, or through the Distributor, may, subject to the approval of the Trustees, make payments to securities dealers and other third parties who engage in the sale of Class F shares or who render shareholder support services, including but not limited to providing office space, equipment and telephone facilities, answering routine inquiries regarding the Fund, processing shareholder transactions and providing such other shareholder services as the Trust may reasonably request.
4. Class F will not make separate payments as a result of this Plan to Strategic Advisers, the Distributor or any other party, it being recognized that the Fund presently pays, and will continue to pay, a management fee to Strategic Advisers. To the extent that any payments made by the Fund to Strategic Advisers, including any payment of management fees, should be deemed to be indirect financing of any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares within the context of Rule 12b-1 under the Act, then such payments shall be deemed to be authorized by this Plan.
5. This Plan shall become effective upon the approval by a vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust, including a majority of Trustees who are not "interested persons" of the Trust (as defined in the Act) and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of this Plan or in any agreements related to this Plan (the "Independent Trustees"), cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on this Plan.
6. This Plan shall, unless terminated as hereinafter provided, remain in effect until June 30, 2013, and from year to year thereafter, provided, however, that such continuance is subject to approval annually by a vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on this Plan. This Plan may be amended at any time by the Board of Trustees, provided that (a) any amendment to authorize direct payments by Class F to finance any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares, or to increase materially the amount spent by Class F for distribution shall be effective only upon approval by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of Class F, and (b) any material amendments of this Plan shall be effective only upon approval in the manner provided in the first sentence in this paragraph.
7. This Plan may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, by vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of Class F.
8. During the existence of this Plan, the Trust shall require Strategic Advisers and/or Distributor to provide the Trust, for review by the Trust's Board of Trustees, and the Trustees shall review, at least quarterly, a written report of the amounts expended in connection with financing any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares (making estimates of such costs where necessary or desirable) and the purposes for which such expenditures were made.
9. This Plan does not require Strategic Advisers or Distributor to perform any specific type or level of distribution activities or to incur any specific level of expenses for activities primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares.
10. Consistent with the limitation of shareholder liability as set forth in the Trust's Trust Instrument or other organizational document, any obligations assumed by Class F pursuant to this Plan and any agreements related to this Plan shall be limited in all cases to Class F and its assets, and shall not constitute an obligation of any shareholder of the Trust or of any other class of the Fund, series of the Trust or class of such series.
11. If any provision of this Plan shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of the Plan shall not be affected thereby.
Exhibit (m)(12)
DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE PLAN
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II:
STRATEGIC ADVISERS GROWTH MULTI-MANAGER FUND
Class F Shares
1. This Distribution and Service Plan (the "Plan"), when effective in accordance with its terms, shall be the written plan contemplated by Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "Act") for Class F ("Class F") shares of Strategic Advisers Growth Multi-Manager Fund (the "Fund"), a series of shares of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II (the "Trust").
2. The Trust has entered into a General Distribution Agreement with respect to the Fund with Fidelity Distributors Corporation (the "Distributor"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fidelity Management & Research Company ("FMR"), under which the Distributor uses all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for the Fund's shares of beneficial interest ("shares"). Under the agreement, the Distributor pays the expenses of printing and distributing any prospectuses, reports and other literature used by the Distributor, advertising, and other promotional activities in connection with the offering of shares of the Fund. It is recognized that Strategic Advisers, Inc. ("Strategic Advisers"), an affiliate of FMR, may use its revenues, including management fees paid to Strategic Advisers by the Fund, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to make payment to the Distributor with respect to any expenses incurred in connection with the distribution of Class F shares, including the activities referred to above.
3. Strategic Advisers directly, or through the Distributor, may, subject to the approval of the Trustees, make payments to securities dealers and other third parties who engage in the sale of Class F shares or who render shareholder support services, including but not limited to providing office space, equipment and telephone facilities, answering routine inquiries regarding the Fund, processing shareholder transactions and providing such other shareholder services as the Trust may reasonably request.
4. Class F will not make separate payments as a result of this Plan to Strategic Advisers, the Distributor or any other party, it being recognized that the Fund presently pays, and will continue to pay, a management fee to Strategic Advisers. To the extent that any payments made by the Fund to Strategic Advisers, including any payment of management fees, should be deemed to be indirect financing of any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares within the context of Rule 12b-1 under the Act, then such payments shall be deemed to be authorized by this Plan.
5. This Plan shall become effective upon the approval by a vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust, including a majority of Trustees who are not "interested persons" of the Trust (as defined in the Act) and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of this Plan or in any agreements related to this Plan (the "Independent Trustees"), cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on this Plan.
6. This Plan shall, unless terminated as hereinafter provided, remain in effect until June 30, 2013, and from year to year thereafter, provided, however, that such continuance is subject to approval annually by a vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on this Plan. This Plan may be amended at any time by the Board of Trustees, provided that (a) any amendment to authorize direct payments by Class F to finance any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares, or to increase materially the amount spent by Class F for distribution shall be effective only upon approval by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of Class F, and (b) any material amendments of this Plan shall be effective only upon approval in the manner provided in the first sentence in this paragraph.
7. This Plan may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, by vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of Class F.
8. During the existence of this Plan, the Trust shall require Strategic Advisers and/or Distributor to provide the Trust, for review by the Trust's Board of Trustees, and the Trustees shall review, at least quarterly, a written report of the amounts expended in connection with financing any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares (making estimates of such costs where necessary or desirable) and the purposes for which such expenditures were made.
9. This Plan does not require Strategic Advisers or Distributor to perform any specific type or level of distribution activities or to incur any specific level of expenses for activities primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares.
10. Consistent with the limitation of shareholder liability as set forth in the Trust's Trust Instrument or other organizational document, any obligations assumed by Class F pursuant to this Plan and any agreements related to this Plan shall be limited in all cases to Class F and its assets, and shall not constitute an obligation of any shareholder of the Trust or of any other class of the Fund, series of the Trust or class of such series.
11. If any provision of this Plan shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of the Plan shall not be affected thereby.
Exhibit (m)(15)
DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE PLAN
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II:
STRATEGIC ADVISERS INCOME OPPORTUNITIES FUND OF FUNDS
Class F Shares
1. This Distribution and Service Plan (the "Plan"), when effective in accordance with its terms, shall be the written plan contemplated by Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "Act") for Class F ("Class F") shares of Strategic Advisers Income Opportunities Fund of Funds (the "Fund"), a series of shares of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II (the "Trust").
2. The Trust has entered into a General Distribution Agreement with respect to the Fund with Fidelity Distributors Corporation (the "Distributor"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fidelity Management & Research Company ("FMR"), under which the Distributor uses all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for the Fund's shares of beneficial interest ("shares"). Under the agreement, the Distributor pays the expenses of printing and distributing any prospectuses, reports and other literature used by the Distributor, advertising, and other promotional activities in connection with the offering of shares of the Fund. It is recognized that Strategic Advisers, Inc. ("Strategic Advisers"), an affiliate of FMR, may use its revenues, including management fees paid to Strategic Advisers by the Fund, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to make payment to the Distributor with respect to any expenses incurred in connection with the distribution of Class F shares, including the activities referred to above.
3. Strategic Advisers directly, or through the Distributor, may, subject to the approval of the Trustees, make payments to securities dealers and other third parties who engage in the sale of Class F shares or who render shareholder support services, including but not limited to providing office space, equipment and telephone facilities, answering routine inquiries regarding the Fund, processing shareholder transactions and providing such other shareholder services as the Trust may reasonably request.
4. Class F will not make separate payments as a result of this Plan to Strategic Advisers, the Distributor or any other party, it being recognized that the Fund presently pays, and will continue to pay, a management fee to Strategic Advisers. To the extent that any payments made by the Fund to Strategic Advisers, including any payment of management fees, should be deemed to be indirect financing of any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares within the context of Rule 12b-1 under the Act, then such payments shall be deemed to be authorized by this Plan.
5. This Plan shall become effective upon the approval by a vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust, including a majority of Trustees who are not "interested persons" of the Trust (as defined in the Act) and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of this Plan or in any agreements related to this Plan (the "Independent Trustees"), cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on this Plan.
6. This Plan shall, unless terminated as hereinafter provided, remain in effect until June 30, 2013, and from year to year thereafter, provided, however, that such continuance is subject to approval annually by a vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on this Plan. This Plan may be amended at any time by the Board of Trustees, provided that (a) any amendment to authorize direct payments by Class F to finance any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares, or to increase materially the amount spent by Class F for distribution shall be effective only upon approval by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of Class F, and (b) any material amendments of this Plan shall be effective only upon approval in the manner provided in the first sentence in this paragraph.
7. This Plan may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, by vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of Class F.
8. During the existence of this Plan, the Trust shall require Strategic Advisers and/or Distributor to provide the Trust, for review by the Trust's Board of Trustees, and the Trustees shall review, at least quarterly, a written report of the amounts expended in connection with financing any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares (making estimates of such costs where necessary or desirable) and the purposes for which such expenditures were made.
9. This Plan does not require Strategic Advisers or Distributor to perform any specific type or level of distribution activities or to incur any specific level of expenses for activities primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares.
10. Consistent with the limitation of shareholder liability as set forth in the Trust's Trust Instrument or other organizational document, any obligations assumed by Class F pursuant to this Plan and any agreements related to this Plan shall be limited in all cases to Class F and its assets, and shall not constitute an obligation of any shareholder of the Trust or of any other class of the Fund, series of the Trust or class of such series.
11. If any provision of this Plan shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of the Plan shall not be affected thereby.
Exhibit (m)(19)
DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE PLAN
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II:
STRATEGIC ADVISERS INTERNATIONAL MULTI-MANAGER FUND
Class F Shares
1. This Distribution and Service Plan (the "Plan"), when effective in accordance with its terms, shall be the written plan contemplated by Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "Act") for Class F ("Class F") shares of Strategic Advisers International Multi-Manager Fund (the "Fund"), a series of shares of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II (the "Trust").
2. The Trust has entered into a General Distribution Agreement with respect to the Fund with Fidelity Distributors Corporation (the "Distributor"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fidelity Management & Research Company ("FMR"), under which the Distributor uses all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for the Fund's shares of beneficial interest ("shares"). Under the agreement, the Distributor pays the expenses of printing and distributing any prospectuses, reports and other literature used by the Distributor, advertising, and other promotional activities in connection with the offering of shares of the Fund. It is recognized that Strategic Advisers, Inc. ("Strategic Advisers"), an affiliate of FMR, may use its revenues, including management fees paid to Strategic Advisers by the Fund, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to make payment to the Distributor with respect to any expenses incurred in connection with the distribution of Class F shares, including the activities referred to above.
3. Strategic Advisers directly, or through the Distributor, may, subject to the approval of the Trustees, make payments to securities dealers and other third parties who engage in the sale of Class F shares or who render shareholder support services, including but not limited to providing office space, equipment and telephone facilities, answering routine inquiries regarding the Fund, processing shareholder transactions and providing such other shareholder services as the Trust may reasonably request.
4. Class F will not make separate payments as a result of this Plan to Strategic Advisers, the Distributor or any other party, it being recognized that the Fund presently pays, and will continue to pay, a management fee to Strategic Advisers. To the extent that any payments made by the Fund to Strategic Advisers, including any payment of management fees, should be deemed to be indirect financing of any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares within the context of Rule 12b-1 under the Act, then such payments shall be deemed to be authorized by this Plan.
5. This Plan shall become effective upon the approval by a vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust, including a majority of Trustees who are not "interested persons" of the Trust (as defined in the Act) and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of this Plan or in any agreements related to this Plan (the "Independent Trustees"), cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on this Plan.
6. This Plan shall, unless terminated as hereinafter provided, remain in effect until June 30, 2013, and from year to year thereafter, provided, however, that such continuance is subject to approval annually by a vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on this Plan. This Plan may be amended at any time by the Board of Trustees, provided that (a) any amendment to authorize direct payments by Class F to finance any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares, or to increase materially the amount spent by Class F for distribution shall be effective only upon approval by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of Class F, and (b) any material amendments of this Plan shall be effective only upon approval in the manner provided in the first sentence in this paragraph.
7. This Plan may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, by vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of Class F.
8. During the existence of this Plan, the Trust shall require Strategic Advisers and/or Distributor to provide the Trust, for review by the Trust's Board of Trustees, and the Trustees shall review, at least quarterly, a written report of the amounts expended in connection with financing any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares (making estimates of such costs where necessary or desirable) and the purposes for which such expenditures were made.
9. This Plan does not require Strategic Advisers or Distributor to perform any specific type or level of distribution activities or to incur any specific level of expenses for activities primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares.
10. Consistent with the limitation of shareholder liability as set forth in the Trust's Trust Instrument or other organizational document, any obligations assumed by Class F pursuant to this Plan and any agreements related to this Plan shall be limited in all cases to Class F and its assets, and shall not constitute an obligation of any shareholder of the Trust or of any other class of the Fund, series of the Trust or class of such series.
11. If any provision of this Plan shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of the Plan shall not be affected thereby.
Exhibit (m)(23)
DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE PLAN
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II:
STRATEGIC ADVISERS SMALL-MID CAP MULTI-MANAGER FUND
Class F Shares
1. This Distribution and Service Plan (the "Plan"), when effective in accordance with its terms, shall be the written plan contemplated by Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "Act") for Class F ("Class F") shares of Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Multi-Manager Fund (the "Fund"), a series of shares of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II (the "Trust").
2. The Trust has entered into a General Distribution Agreement with respect to the Fund with Fidelity Distributors Corporation (the "Distributor"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fidelity Management & Research Company ("FMR"), under which the Distributor uses all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for the Fund's shares of beneficial interest ("shares"). Under the agreement, the Distributor pays the expenses of printing and distributing any prospectuses, reports and other literature used by the Distributor, advertising, and other promotional activities in connection with the offering of shares of the Fund. It is recognized that Strategic Advisers, Inc. ("Strategic Advisers"), an affiliate of FMR, may use its revenues, including management fees paid to Strategic Advisers by the Fund, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to make payment to the Distributor with respect to any expenses incurred in connection with the distribution of Class F shares, including the activities referred to above.
3. Strategic Advisers directly, or through the Distributor, may, subject to the approval of the Trustees, make payments to securities dealers and other third parties who engage in the sale of Class F shares or who render shareholder support services, including but not limited to providing office space, equipment and telephone facilities, answering routine inquiries regarding the Fund, processing shareholder transactions and providing such other shareholder services as the Trust may reasonably request.
4. Class F will not make separate payments as a result of this Plan to Strategic Advisers, the Distributor or any other party, it being recognized that the Fund presently pays, and will continue to pay, a management fee to Strategic Advisers. To the extent that any payments made by the Fund to Strategic Advisers, including any payment of management fees, should be deemed to be indirect financing of any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares within the context of Rule 12b-1 under the Act, then such payments shall be deemed to be authorized by this Plan.
5. This Plan shall become effective upon the approval by a vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust, including a majority of Trustees who are not "interested persons" of the Trust (as defined in the Act) and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of this Plan or in any agreements related to this Plan (the "Independent Trustees"), cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on this Plan.
6. This Plan shall, unless terminated as hereinafter provided, remain in effect until June 30, 2013, and from year to year thereafter, provided, however, that such continuance is subject to approval annually by a vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on this Plan. This Plan may be amended at any time by the Board of Trustees, provided that (a) any amendment to authorize direct payments by Class F to finance any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares, or to increase materially the amount spent by Class F for distribution shall be effective only upon approval by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of Class F, and (b) any material amendments of this Plan shall be effective only upon approval in the manner provided in the first sentence in this paragraph.
7. This Plan may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, by vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of Class F.
8. During the existence of this Plan, the Trust shall require Strategic Advisers and/or Distributor to provide the Trust, for review by the Trust's Board of Trustees, and the Trustees shall review, at least quarterly, a written report of the amounts expended in connection with financing any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares (making estimates of such costs where necessary or desirable) and the purposes for which such expenditures were made.
9. This Plan does not require Strategic Advisers or Distributor to perform any specific type or level of distribution activities or to incur any specific level of expenses for activities primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares.
10. Consistent with the limitation of shareholder liability as set forth in the Trust's Trust Instrument or other organizational document, any obligations assumed by Class F pursuant to this Plan and any agreements related to this Plan shall be limited in all cases to Class F and its assets, and shall not constitute an obligation of any shareholder of the Trust or of any other class of the Fund, series of the Trust or class of such series.
11. If any provision of this Plan shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of the Plan shall not be affected thereby.
Exhibit (m)(28)
DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE PLAN
FIDELITY RUTLAND SQUARE TRUST II:
STRATEGIC ADVISERS VALUE MULTI-MANAGER FUND
Class F Shares
1. This Distribution and Service Plan (the "Plan"), when effective in accordance with its terms, shall be the written plan contemplated by Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "Act") for Class F ("Class F") shares of Strategic Advisers Value Multi-Manager Fund (the "Fund"), a series of shares of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II (the "Trust").
2. The Trust has entered into a General Distribution Agreement with respect to the Fund with Fidelity Distributors Corporation (the "Distributor"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fidelity Management & Research Company ("FMR"), under which the Distributor uses all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for the Fund's shares of beneficial interest ("shares"). Under the agreement, the Distributor pays the expenses of printing and distributing any prospectuses, reports and other literature used by the Distributor, advertising, and other promotional activities in connection with the offering of shares of the Fund. It is recognized that Strategic Advisers, Inc. ("Strategic Advisers"), an affiliate of FMR, may use its revenues, including management fees paid to Strategic Advisers by the Fund, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to make payment to the Distributor with respect to any expenses incurred in connection with the distribution of Class F shares, including the activities referred to above.
3. Strategic Advisers directly, or through the Distributor, may, subject to the approval of the Trustees, make payments to securities dealers and other third parties who engage in the sale of Class F shares or who render shareholder support services, including but not limited to providing office space, equipment and telephone facilities, answering routine inquiries regarding the Fund, processing shareholder transactions and providing such other shareholder services as the Trust may reasonably request.
4. Class F will not make separate payments as a result of this Plan to Strategic Advisers, the Distributor or any other party, it being recognized that the Fund presently pays, and will continue to pay, a management fee to Strategic Advisers. To the extent that any payments made by the Fund to Strategic Advisers, including any payment of management fees, should be deemed to be indirect financing of any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares within the context of Rule 12b-1 under the Act, then such payments shall be deemed to be authorized by this Plan.
5. This Plan shall become effective upon the approval by a vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust, including a majority of Trustees who are not "interested persons" of the Trust (as defined in the Act) and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of this Plan or in any agreements related to this Plan (the "Independent Trustees"), cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on this Plan.
6. This Plan shall, unless terminated as hereinafter provided, remain in effect until June 30, 2013, and from year to year thereafter, provided, however, that such continuance is subject to approval annually by a vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on this Plan. This Plan may be amended at any time by the Board of Trustees, provided that (a) any amendment to authorize direct payments by Class F to finance any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares, or to increase materially the amount spent by Class F for distribution shall be effective only upon approval by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of Class F, and (b) any material amendments of this Plan shall be effective only upon approval in the manner provided in the first sentence in this paragraph.
7. This Plan may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, by vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of Class F.
8. During the existence of this Plan, the Trust shall require Strategic Advisers and/or Distributor to provide the Trust, for review by the Trust's Board of Trustees, and the Trustees shall review, at least quarterly, a written report of the amounts expended in connection with financing any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares (making estimates of such costs where necessary or desirable) and the purposes for which such expenditures were made.
9. This Plan does not require Strategic Advisers or Distributor to perform any specific type or level of distribution activities or to incur any specific level of expenses for activities primarily intended to result in the sale of Class F shares.
10. Consistent with the limitation of shareholder liability as set forth in the Trust's Trust Instrument or other organizational document, any obligations assumed by Class F pursuant to this Plan and any agreements related to this Plan shall be limited in all cases to Class F and its assets, and shall not constitute an obligation of any shareholder of the Trust or of any other class of the Fund, series of the Trust or class of such series.
11. If any provision of this Plan shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of the Plan shall not be affected thereby.
Exhibit (p)(9)
ClariVest Code of Ethics
ClariVest Code of Ethics
Implementation Date: April 2012
____________________________________________________________________________
General
The Code of Ethics is predicated on the principle that ClariVest owes a fiduciary duty to its Clients . 1 Accordingly, Employees must avoid activities, interests and relationships that run contrary (or appear to run contrary) to the best interests of Clients. At all times, ClariVest will:
Any questions with respect to ClariVest's Code of Ethics should be directed to the CCO and/or the CEO or outside counsel. As discussed in greater detail below, Employees must promptly report any violations of the Code of Ethics to the CCO. All reported Code of Ethics violations will be treated as being made on an anonymous basis.
Potential Risks
In developing these policies and procedures, ClariVest considered the material risks associated with administering the Code of Ethics. This analysis includes risks such as:
1 S.E.C. v. Capital Gains Research, Inc., 375 U.S. at 191-192 (1963).
ClariVest has established the following guidelines to effectuate and monitor ClariVest's Code of Ethics.
Guiding Principles & Standards of Conduct
All Employees of ClariVest shall:
1. Personal Security Transaction Policy
In order for ClariVest to minimize compliance risks such as Scalping, Front-Running or the appearance of a conflict of interest with the trading conducted for ClariVest Clients, Employees of ClariVest are prohibited from engaging in transactions in publicly-traded Reportable Securities that are equities or derivatives of equities (such as options, puts, calls, etc.) in which the person has, or by reason of such transaction acquires, any direct or indirect beneficial ownership, except for (a) transactions in ETFs and derivatives of ETFs, (b) exempt securities described below in "Reportable and Exempt Securities" or (c) exempt transactions described below in "Exceptions from Reporting Requirements". Subject to the following paragraph, employees are permitted to invest in privately-held Reportable Securities and publicly-traded Reportable Securities that are not equities or derivatives of equities (such as municipal bonds, etc.).
Employees may not participate in initial public offerings, and must have written pre-clearance from the CCO for securities transactions involving limited offerings. (See " Pre-clearance " below for additional information.) For purposes of this policy a limited offering shall be a security that has a market capitalization of less than $500 million or security that is exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933. The CCO shall (a) obtain from the Employee full details of the proposed transaction; and (b) conclude that the security does not fit the investment strategy recommended by ClariVest and if so, that no Clients have any foreseeable interest in ClariVest purchasing such security on their behalf. The CCO may request a copy of any offering materials (subscription agreement, etc.) associated with the Limited Offering.
PLEASE NOTE THAT EMPLOYEES MUST PRE-CLEAR AND REPORT ANY PERSONAL TRANSACTION IN ANY FUND FOR WHICH CLARIVEST SERVES AS THE INVESTMENT ADVISER AND ANY OTHER REPORTABLE FUND. (SEE "PRE-CLEARANCE" BELOW FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.) |
Reportable and Exempt Securities
Commodities, futures and options traded on a commodities exchange, including currency futures are not considered securities. However, futures and options on any group or index of securities shall be considered securities.
Beneficial Ownership
Employees are considered to have beneficial ownership of securities if they have or share a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in the securities. Employees have a pecuniary interest in securities if they have the ability to directly or indirectly profit from a securities transaction.
The following are examples of indirect pecuniary interests in securities:
Employees do not have an indirect pecuniary interest in securities held by entities in which they hold an equity interest unless they are a controlling equity holder or they share investment control over the securities held by the entity.
The following circumstances constitute beneficial ownership by Employees of securities held by a trust:
For purposes of clarification, in no event will an account or pooled vehicle managed by ClariVest be subject to the Personal Security Transaction Policy, including by virtue of the fact that ClariVest receives a performance or incentive fee with respect to such account or vehicle.
Reporting
Quarterly Transaction Reports
Each Employee will work with the CCO to ensure that such Employee's broker-dealers send ClariVest's CCO duplicate trade confirmations and/or account statements of the Employee when possible, at a minimum, no later than thirty (30) days after the end of each calendar quarter.
Except as set forth in the following sentence, each Employee of ClariVest shall provide the CCO with quarterly transaction reports that disclose all transactions in Reportable Securities in which the person has, or by reason of such transaction acquires, any direct or indirect beneficial ownership (except for exempt transactions listed in the section below entitled "Exceptions from Reporting Requirements"). The quarterly transaction reports from Employees shall contain disclosure of any transactions not reflected in a brokerage statement delivered to the CCO within thirty (30) days of quarter end. The quarterly transaction reports are due within thirty (30) days of quarter end and shall contain a confirmation by the Employee that the Employee has not engaged in any prohibited securities transaction. See Attachment A.
Employees shall also report on a quarterly basis, not later than 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter, the name of any brokerage account established by the Employee during the quarter in which any securities were held during the quarter for the direct or indirect benefit of the Employee, the date the account was established, and the date the report was submitted. Employees shall also report any brokerage account closed by the Employee during such quarter. See Attachment B.
The quarterly transaction reports and quarterly account opening/closing reports submitted by Employees are reviewed by the Chief Compliance Officer to confirm compliance with the Code of Ethics.
EMPLOYEES ARE REMINDED THAT THEY MUST ALSO REPORT TRANSACTIONS BY MEMBERS OF THE EMPLOYEE'S IMMEDIATE FAMILY INCLUDING SPOUSE, CHILDREN AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE HOUSEHOLD IN ACCOUNTS OVER WHICH THE EMPLOYEE HAS DIRECT OR INDIRECT INFLUENCE OR CONTROL. |
Initial and Annual Holdings Reports
New ClariVest Employees are required to report all of their Reportable Securities holdings and Securities Accounts not later than 10 days after the commencement of their employment (See Attachment C for a copy of the Initial Securities Accounts Report and Attachment D for a copy of the Initial Holdings Report). These reports must be current as of a date not more than 45 days prior to the date the person becomes subject to this Code. Employees are permitted to retain any Reportable Securities held by them as of their hire date. If any Employee chooses to hold such Reportable Securities, it must obtain prior written approval from the CCO should he/she ever want to sell any publicly-traded Reportable Security that is an equity or derivative of an equity (other than ETFs or derivatives of ETFs). (See " Pre-clearance " below for additional information.) The initial holdings reports and initial securities accounts reports submitted by Employees are reviewed by the Chief Compliance Officer to confirm compliance with the Code of Ethics.
Existing Employees are required to provide ClariVest with a complete list of Reportable Securities holdings and Securities Accounts on an annual basis, on or before February 14 th of each year. The report shall be current at least as of December 31 st , which is a date no more than 45 days from the final date the report is due to be submitted. (See Attachment E for a copy of the Annual Securities Accounts Report and Attachment F for a copy of the Annual Holdings Report). The annual holdings reports and annual securities accounts reports submitted by Employees are reviewed by the Chief Compliance Officer to confirm compliance with the Code of Ethics.
In the event that an Employee submits brokerage or custodial statements to satisfy the initial and/or annual holdings report requirement, the Employee must be certain that such statements include the information found on the applicable Attachments.
AS NOTED ABOVE, EMPLOYEES MUST REPORT THE NAME OF ANY BROKER, DEALER OR BANK WITH WHICH THE EMPLOYEE MAINTAINS AN ACCOUNT IN WHICH ANY SECURITIES ARE HELD FOR THE EMPLOYEE'S DIRECT OR INDIRECT BENEFIT. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS REQUIREMENT DOES NOT PROVIDE FOR ANY EXEMPTIONS TO THE DEFINITION OF A SECURITY. THUS, IF EMPLOYEES HAVE A BENEFICIAL INTEREST IN A NON-REPORTABLE SECURITY IN AN ACCOUNT THAT HAS NOT PREVIOUSLY BEEN REPORTED, THE NAME OF THE BROKER, DEALER OR BANK WHERE THESE ACCOUNTS ARE MAINTAINED MUST BE REPORTED. |
Exceptions from Reporting Requirements
An Employee is not required to submit: 1) a transaction or initial and annual holdings report with respect to securities held in accounts over which the Employee had no direct or indirect influence or control (i.e., any transactions occurring in an account that is managed on a fully-discretionary basis by an unaffiliated money manager and over which such employee has no direct or indirect influence or control), and 2) a transaction report with respect to transactions effected pursuant to an automatic investment plan (such as a 401(k)). The CCO will determine on a case-by-case basis whether an account qualifies for either of these exceptions.
Trading and Review
ClariVest strictly forbids Front-Running client accounts, which is a practice generally understood to be Employees personally trading ahead of proposed client transactions. In order to minimize the risk of Front-Running, ClariVest prohibits personal securities transactions in most publicly-traded Reportable Securities as described above under "Personal Security Transaction Policy". The CCO will closely monitor Employees' investment patterns to confirm compliance with these restrictions. The CFO will monitor the CCO's personal securities transactions for compliance with the Personal Security Transaction Policy.
If ClariVest discovers that an Employee is personally trading contrary to the policies set forth above, the Employee shall meet with the CCO and CEO to review the facts surrounding the transactions.
Pre-clearance
The following procedures shall apply to any situation in which an Employee must obtain pre-clearance for a trade. Employees shall request pre-clearance in writing (which includes requests by e-mail). Once pre-clearance is granted to an Employee, such Employee may only transact in that security for the time period specified by the CCO. If the Employee wishes to transact in that security on any other day, they must again obtain pre-clearance from the CCO or another individual designated.
Reporting Violations and Remedial Actions
ClariVest takes the potential for conflicts of interest caused by personal investing very seriously. As such, ClariVest requires its Employees to promptly report any violations of the Code of Ethics to the CCO.
If any violation of ClariVest's Personal Security Transaction Policy is determined to have occurred, the CCO may impose sanctions and take such other actions as he/she deems appropriate, including, without limitation, requiring that the trades in question be reversed, requiring the disgorgement of profits or gifts, issuing a letter of caution or warning, issuing a suspension of personal trading rights or suspension of employment (with or without compensation), imposing a fine, making a civil referral to the SEC, making a criminal referral, and/or terminating employment for cause or any combination of the foregoing. All sanctions and other actions taken shall be in accordance with applicable employment laws and regulations. Any profits or gifts forfeited shall be paid to the applicable client(s), if any, or given to a charity, as the CCO shall determine is appropriate.
No person shall participate in a determination of whether he or she has committed a violation of this Policy or in the imposition of any sanction against himself or herself; provided that such person may be given an opportunity to provide any explanations or additional information that the CCO may or may not consider in making his/her determination.
2. Insider Trading Policy
Section 204A of the Advisers Act requires every investment adviser to establish, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent the misuse of material, Non-Public Information by any person associated with such investment adviser. In accordance with Section 204A, ClariVest has instituted the following procedures to prevent the misuse of Non-Public Information.
Securities laws have been interpreted to prohibit the following activities:
Whom Does the Policy Cover?
This policy covers all of ClariVest's Employees who (1) have access to nonpublic information regarding any Client's purchase or sale of securities, or nonpublic information regarding the portfolio holdings of any Reportable Fund, or (2) is involved in making securities recommendations to Clients, or who has access to such recommendations that are nonpublic. This policy also covers any transactions in any securities participated in by family members, trusts or corporations directly or indirectly controlled by such persons. In addition, the policy applies to transactions engaged in by corporations in which the Employee is an officer, director or 10% or greater stockholder and a partnership of which the Employee is a partner unless the Employee has no direct or indirect control over the partnership.
In addition, this policy covers the principals of Stellate Partners, LLC, ClariVest's third party marketing and client-service firm and a part owner of ClariVest, because the principals of Stellate Partners, LLC may have access to nonpublic information regarding Clients' holdings, purchases or sales of securities as a result of their client-service responsibilities.
Note that this policy does not cover ClariVest's outside directors, who do not have the access or involvement described in the first sentence of this subsection.
What Information is Material?
Individuals may not be held liable for trading on inside information unless the information is material. Information is generally viewed to be "material" where: (i) there is a substantial likelihood that a reasonable investor would consider the information important in making an investment decision; (ii) the disclosure of the information would be viewed by the reasonable investor as having significantly altered the ´total mix' of information made available; or (iii) the disclosure of the information is reasonably certain to have a substantial effect on the market price of the security. Advance knowledge of the following types of information is generally regarded as Material:
Information provided by a company could be material because of its expected effect on a particular class of a company's securities, all of the company's securities, the securities of another company, or the securities of several companies. The misuse of material Non-Public Information applies to all types of securities, including equity, debt, commercial paper, government securities and options.
Material Information does not have to relate to a company's business. For example, Material Information about the contents of an upcoming newspaper column may affect the price of a security, and therefore be considered material.
What Information is Non-Public?
In order for issues concerning inside trading to arise, information must not only be material, but also Non-Public.
Once material, Non-Public Information has been effectively distributed to the investing public, it is no longer classified as material, Non-Public Information. However, the distribution of Non-Public Information must occur through commonly recognized channels for the classification to change. In addition, the information must not only be publicly disclosed, there must be adequate time for the public to receive and digest the information. Lastly, Non-Public Information does not change to public information solely by selective dissemination.
Employees must be aware that even where there is no expectation of confidentiality, a person may become an insider upon receiving material, Non-Public Information. Whether the "tip" made to the Employee makes him/her a "tippee" depends on whether the corporate insider expects to benefit personally, either directly or indirectly, from the disclosure.
The "benefit" is not limited to a present or future monetary gain; it could be a reputational benefit or an expectation of a quid pro quo from the recipient by a gift of the information. Employees may also become insiders or tippees if they obtain material, Non-Public Information from acquaintances, at social gatherings, by overhearing conversations, etc.
Selective Disclosure
Employees must never disclose proposed/pending trades to any client or other individual/entity outside of ClariVest (other than the entity trading the security for ClariVest), except in connection with the transition of a client's funds into or out of a ClariVest strategy. Additionally, ClariVest must be careful when disclosing the composition of Clients' portfolios without obtaining consent from the CCO. Federal Securities Laws may specifically prohibit the dissemination of such information and doing so may be construed as a violation of ClariVest's fiduciary duty to Clients. Selectively disclosing the portfolio holdings of a client's portfolio to certain investors/outside parties may also be viewed as ClariVest engaging in a practice of favoritism. Including information regarding Clients' portfolio holdings in marketing materials and ClariVest's website is subject to the CCO's approval in accordance with ClariVest's Marketing policy and procedures. All inquiries that are received by Employees to disclose portfolio holdings must be reported to the CCO or CEO before such holdings are provided. In determining whether or not to approve the dissemination of holdings information, the CCO will consider, among other things, how current the holdings information is. However, in no case will the CCO approve the dissemination of holdings information that is less than one (1) month old (except for limited holdings information (such as top-ten holdings) or information provided in connection with an upcoming account funding or transition, which may be disseminated before it is one (1) month old).
ClariVest will provide Clients with certain information relating to the holdings or performance of their accounts, as requested. All Clients are provided with the opportunity to request such information to ensure that no selective disclosure of such information has occurred.
Procedures to follow if an Employee Believes that he/she Possesses Material, Non-Public Information
If an Employee has questions as to whether they are in possession of material, Non-Public Information, they must inform the CCO as soon as possible. From this point, the Employee, CCO and/or CEO will conduct research to determine if the information is likely to be considered important to investors in making investment decisions, and whether the information has been publicly disseminated.
ClariVest's CCO will periodically review a sampling of employee emails and instant messages to look for evidence of violations of this policy. If the CCO locates evidence of such activity, she will inform the COO and/or CEO and discuss the appropriate response. The CCO will maintain documentation regarding any such violations.
3. Restrictions on spreading false or misleading rumors
Market events in 2008 highlighted the potential impact of false rumors on stock prices, and regulators including the SEC responded by reminding market participants that they are prohibited from intentionally spreading false rumors to impact the financial condition of an issuer.
ClariVest employees are prohibited from spreading rumors that they know are false or misleading with the intention of impacting a security price and/or profiting from its dissemination; for example, by shorting a stock and saying the company is in danger of collapse. If an employee obtains information that it believes may be false or misleading, the employee will notify the CCO before conducting any trading based on that information.
ClariVest's CCO will periodically review a sampling of employee emails and instant messages to look for evidence of violations of this policy. If the CCO locates evidence of such activity, she will inform the COO and/or CEO and discuss the appropriate response. The CCO will maintain documentation regarding any such violations.
4. Serving As Officers, Trustees and/or Directors of Outside Organizations
Employees may, under certain circumstances, be granted permission to serve as directors, trustees or officers of outside organizations. These organizations can include public or private corporations, partnerships, charitable foundations and other not-for-profit institutions. Employees may also receive compensation for such activities.
As an outside board member or officer, an Employee may come into possession of material Non-Public Information about the outside company, or other public companies. It is critical that a proper information barrier be in place between ClariVest and the outside organization, and that the Employee does not communicate such information to other Employees in violation of the information barrier.
Similarly, ClariVest may have a business relationship with the outside organization or may seek a relationship in the future. In those circumstances, the Employee must not be involved in the decision to retain or hire the outside organization.
Employees are prohibited from engaging in such outside activities without the prior approval from the CCO. See Attachment G. Approval will be granted on a case by case basis, subject to proper resolution of potential conflicts of interest. Outside activities will be approved only if any conflict of interest issues can be satisfactorily resolved and all of the necessary disclosures are made on Part II of Form ADV.
5. Diversion of Firm Business or Investment Opportunity
No Employee may acquire, or receive personal gain or profit from, any business opportunity that comes to his or her attention as a result of his or her association with ClariVest and in which he or she knows ClariVest might be expected to participate or have an interest in participating, without disclosing in writing all necessary facts to the CCO, offering the particular opportunity to ClariVest, and obtaining written authorization to participate from the CCO.
Any personal or family interest of an Employee in any ClariVest business activity or transaction must be immediately disclosed to the CCO. For example, if an Employee becomes aware that a transaction being considered or undertaken by ClariVest may benefit, either directly or indirectly, an Employee or a family member thereof, the Employee must immediately disclose this possibility to the CCO.
Please note that the foregoing policy does not apply to the principals of Stellate Partners, LLC, as their non-compete obligations are addressed in the written solicitor agreement between ClariVest and Stellate Partners, LLC.
6. Loans
No Employee may borrow funds from or become indebted to a client of ClariVest, except with respect to customary personal loans (e.g., home mortgage loans, automobile loans, lines of credit, etc.), unless the arrangement is disclosed in writing and receives prior approval from the CCO. No Employee may use ClariVest's name, position in a particular market or goodwill to receive any benefit on loan transactions without the prior express written consent of the CCO.
7. Dealings with Government and Industry Regulators
The following policy is subject in all respects to the policies and procedures regarding pay to play practices set forth below in this Code of Ethics. ClariVest's policy forbids payments of any kind by it, its Employees or any agent or other intermediary to any government official or candidate, self-regulatory official, corporation or other similar person or entity, within the United States or abroad, for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business, or for the purpose of influencing favorable consideration of any application for a business activity or other matter. This policy covers all types of payments, even to minor government officials and industry regulators, regardless of whether the payment would be considered legal under the circumstances. This policy encourages Employees to avoid even the appearance of impropriety in their dealings with industry and government regulators and officials. No Employee can hold a public office if it in any way conflicts with ClariVest's business.
It is expected and required that all Employees fulfill their personal obligations to governmental and regulatory bodies. Those obligations include the filing of appropriate federal, state and local tax returns, as well as the filing of any applicable forms or reports required by regulatory bodies.
All Employees are required to cooperate fully with management in connection with any internal or independent investigation and any claims, actions, arbitrations, litigations, investigations or inquiries brought by or against ClariVest.
8. Improper Use of ClariVest Property
No Employee may utilize the investment management property of ClariVest or utilize the services of ClariVest, its principals or Employees, for his or her personal benefit or the benefit of another person or entity (except in connection with ClariVest's business), without approval of the CCO. For this purpose, "investment management property" means both tangible and intangible property, including ClariVest funds, information, business plans, business opportunities, confidential research, intellectual property or proprietary processes, and ideas for new research or services.
Except for immaterial use, no Employee may utilize other property of ClariVest or utilize the services of ClariVest, its principals or Employees, for his or her personal benefit or the benefit of another person or entity, without approval of the CCO (except in connection with ClariVest's business). For this purpose, "other property" means both tangible and intangible property, including premises, equipment and supplies.
9. Protection of ClariVest's Name
Employees should at all times be aware that ClariVest's name, reputation and credibility are valuable assets and must be safeguarded from any potential misuse. Care should be exercised to avoid the unauthorized use of ClariVest's name in any manner that could be misinterpreted to indicate a relationship between ClariVest and any other entity or activity.
10. Employee Involvement in Litigation or Proceedings
Employees must advise the CCO immediately if they become involved in or threatened with litigation or an administrative investigation or proceeding of any kind, are subject to any judgment, order or arrest, or are contacted by any regulatory authority.
11. Gifts and Entertainment
Employees' Receipt of Business Meals, Sporting Events and Other Entertainment - Employees may attend business meals, sporting events and other entertainment events at the expense of a giver, as long as the expense is reasonable, not lavish or extravagant in nature and the Employee is accompanied by the giver. In the event that the estimated cost of the meal, event, etc. is greater than $250 per person, the Employee must obtain prior approval from the CCO of his/her attendance at the meal, event, etc. See Attachment H. If the event is highly publicized such that the tickets may be selling in excess of their face value, the Employee must consider the market value for the reporting requirements. In evaluating whether or not to approve an Employee's attendance at an entertainment event greater than $250 per person, the CCO will consider the potential conflict of interest between ClariVest and its clients associated with the event. For example, the conflict associated with an entertainment event with a data vendor (where ClariVest pays for the data services) is likely low. As a result, an entertainment event with such a vendor may be appropriate where the same entertainment event with a broker, for example, (where clients pay the broker's commissions) may not be appropriate.
Giving and Receiving Gifts - Employees must obtain prior approval from the CCO to accept from or give to an entity gifts over $100 (either one single gift, or in aggregate on an annual basis). See Attachment H. In evaluating whether or not to approve a gift over $100, the CCO will consider the potential conflict of interest between ClariVest and its clients associated with the gift. For example, the conflict associated with a gift from a data vendor (where ClariVest pays for the data services) is likely low. As a result, a gift from such a vendor may be appropriate where the same gift from a broker (where clients pay the broker's commissions), for example, may not be appropriate. Reasonable gifts received on behalf of the Company shall not require reporting. Examples of reasonable gifts include holiday gift baskets and lunches brought to ClariVest's offices by service providers. ClariVest and its Employees are prohibited from giving gifts that may be deemed as excessive, and must obtain approval to give all gifts in excess of $100 to any client, prospective client or any individual or entity that ClariVest is seeking to do business with.
Gifts Given to Taft-Hartley Funds - Employees are reminded that notwithstanding this policy, ClariVest may manage Taft-Hartley funds and any gratuity provided by ClariVest to labor unions or union representatives that have an "interest" in the Taft-Hartley fund (including the members covered by the Taft-Hartley fund) in excess of $250 per fiscal year are required to be reported on Attachment H and Department Labor Form LM-10 within 90 days following the end of ClariVest's fiscal year. Accordingly, ClariVest will monitor all gratuities as discussed and make the appropriate filings on DOL Form LM-10.
The Department of Labor has issued further guidance on the filing of Form LM-10 through its website ( www.dol.gov ). Below are the relevant web-pages regarding the filing of Form LM-10:
Form LM-10
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/olms/GPEA_Forms/lm%20-%2010p.pdf#search='Form%20LM10http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/olms/GPEA_Forms/LM-10%20instructions.pdf'
Instructions to Form LM-10
Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/olms/LM10_FAQ.htm
The CCO shall track all reportable entertainment and gifts via Attachment I.
12. Travel Expenses
Employees may charge against appropriate ClariVest accounts normal and reasonable travel and travel-related expenses incurred for a ClariVest business purpose. Such expenses may include meals and incidentals, travel costs (air, train, etc.), lodging expenses, business phone calls and other miscellaneous travel related expenses. When incurring such expenses, Employees must use reasonable judgment and generally be aware of escalating travel costs. While ClariVest has not prescribed limits on such expenses, ClariVest may reiterate its policy with Employees as necessary.
ClariVest will pay for travel expenses (airline, hotel, meals and incidentals) related to Employees' attendance at conferences, company visits, etc. In the event that any such expenses are included as part of the event (i.e. a broker charters a jet for numerous investment firms, including ClariVest, to visit a company, etc.), ClariVest shall determine the reasonableness of such expenses and may choose to approximate the value of such expenses and forward the third-party a reimbursement check. ClariVest has adopted this policy in order to avoid any perceived conflict of interest associated with our relationships with outside service providers.
13. Political Contributions
Policy Statement on Contributions
ClariVest complies with SEC Rule 206(4)-5 regarding "pay-to-play" practices by investment advisers. ClariVest will not make any Contributions. No Contributions may be made by Covered Associates without the prior approval of the CCO or, in the CCO's absence, the COO.
Rule 206(4)-5(d) makes it unlawful for any investment adviser covered by the rule and its Covered Associates to do anything indirectly which, if done directly, would result in a violation of this section. ClariVest will require its Employees to certify annually that they have not done anything indirectly which, if done directly, would result in a violation of Rule 206(4)-5.
Political Contribution Review and Approval Forms
Before becoming an Employee, the prospective Employee must identify to the CCO all relevant Contributions in the previous two years (these would include contributions by the Employee and its immediate family and controlled-PACs, each as described in the definition of "Covered Associate"). The form of the Political Contribution Review Form is attached as Attachment J.
Thereafter, each Employee must complete a Political Contribution Approval Form (attached as Attachment K) and receive authorization before any additional Contributions by a Covered Associate. A Covered Associate may be given permission for Contributions totaling up to $350 per election to an Official for whom the individual is entitled to vote, and up to $150 per election to an Official for whom the individual is not entitled to vote, but approval on a Political Contribution Approval Form is required. Contributions to political parties and political action committees will generally be approved, but approval on a Political Contribution Approval Form is required.
Annually, each Employee must certify to ClariVest that (1) such Employee has informed the members of his/her immediate family sharing the same household of the pay to play policies and procedures set forth in ClariVest's Code of Ethics, (2) such Employee (and its immediate family and controlled-PACs, each as described in the definition of "Covered Associate") has complied with this policy, and (3) such Employee has requested and received all required approvals for each Contribution in the past year, or give ClariVest a report disclosing all Contributions made during that year. These certifications are part of ClariVest's annual Compliance Manual certification attached hereto.
Contribution Approvals
No Contributions may be made without the prior written approval of the CCO. The CCO must obtain the prior written approval of the COO before making any Contributions. The CCO (or, in the CCO's absence, the COO) will notify the Covered Associate of approval or denial of clearance to make a Contribution. If a Covered Associate receives approval to make a Contribution, such Covered Associate must make that Contribution within the time period specified by the CCO (or COO). If the Contribution is not made within such time period, the Covered Associate must request approval again.
Review of Contributions
ClariVest will review all Contributions made by its Covered Associates to monitor compliance with this policy. ClariVest reserves the right to require a Covered Associate to cancel and request a reimbursement of, at the Covered Associate's expense, any Contribution if ClariVest believes such Contribution might violate this policy or appears improper. Except as required to enforce this policy or to participate in any investigation concerning violations of applicable law, ClariVest will keep all such information confidential.
Restrictions on Soliciting or Coordinating Contributions
ClariVest and its Covered Associates may not solicit or coordinate (1) Contributions for an Official of a Government Entity to which ClariVest is providing (or seeking to provide) advisory services or (2) any Contribution to a political party of a state or locality where ClariVest is providing or seeking to provide advisory services. ClariVest's Covered Associates must obtain pre-approval before they solicit or coordinate (1) Contributions for an Official of a Government Entity or (2) any Contribution to a political party of a state or locality. The form to use for this purpose is attached as Attachment L.
Recordkeeping
ClariVest's CCO will keep records of:
14. Social Networking
Although the SEC has not engaged in any formal rule-making with respect to the use of social networking websites by advisers, it is possible that the use of these sites could be deemed advertising depending on the content, context and recipient of the information disclosed on such a site. ClariVest is adopting this policy to minimize the risk that the use of these sites could be deemed advertising by ClariVest.
Employees are not restricted from accessing social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or blogs from their work computers. However, any access by Employees from their work computers should be limited to reasonable, immaterial use. Moreover, use of social networking sites is subject to ClariVest's Employee Handbook, including, without limitation, the Operations Policies addressing Use of Communication Systems and Internet Code of Conduct.
Employees are prohibited from using social networking sites to engage in marketing or advertising of ClariVest's products or services. Employees may not post any information on any social networking site regarding ClariVest without pre-approval, other than the company name, the Employee's title and employment dates, information contained on ClariVest's website, and information contained in the Employees' approved bio. (An Employee may obtain a copy of their approved bio from the CCO upon request.) If an Employee would like to post any additional information regarding ClariVest on a social networking site, they must obtain pre-approval from the CCO before posting. To be clear, Employees are not required to obtain pre-approval of their resumes before submitting them in a one-on-one communication with a prospective employer or job search firm.
Quarterly, the CCO will search Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ for employee profiles and will review the information contained therein to confirm it complies with the foregoing policy.
15. Disclosure
ClariVest shall describe its Code of Ethics in Part 2A of Form ADV and, upon request, furnish Clients with a copy of the Code of Ethics.
The requirement to report on issues to ClariVest's Clients, including fund and ERISA Client's Boards, under this Code and securities regulations may include significant conflicts of interest that arise involving the personal investment policies, even if the conflicts have not resulted in a violation of this Code. For example, ClariVest may be required to report to a Client's Board if a Portfolio Manager is a director of a company whose securities are held by the client's portfolio.
If the CCO determines that a material violation of this Code has occurred, he or she shall promptly report the violation, and any enforcement action taken, to ClariVest's senior management. If ClariVest's senior management determines that such material violation appears to involve a fraudulent, deceptive or manipulative act, ClariVest will report its findings to the fund's Board of Directors or Trustees pursuant to Rule 17j-1.
Recordkeeping
ClariVest shall maintain records in the manner and to the extent set forth below, which records shall be available for appropriate examination by representatives of regulatory authorities or ClariVest's management.
Responsibility
The CCO will be responsible for administering the Code of Ethics. All questions regarding the policy should be directed to the CCO. ClariVest shall provide the Code of Ethics and all amendments to all "supervised" employees, and such employees must annually acknowledge in writing their receipt and understanding of the Code of Ethics and such amendments.
[17j-1] In the event a material change is made to the Personal Trading Policy of the Code of Ethics, the CCO shall inform the CCO of any fund which is a Client of such material change to enable the fund CCO to ensure that such material change is approved by such fund's Board no later than six months after adoption of the material change.
Attachment A
Quarterly Transaction Reporting Form
REPORTING EMPLOYEE NAME:___________________________________
I certify all the information in the following form is true and I did not participate in any
prohibited securities transaction per the Code of Ethics for the specified quarter.
SIGNATURE:______________________________________________________
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In accordance with ClariVest's Code of Ethics, please provide a list of all reportable securities transactions that have occurred during the previous calendar quarter in any account in which you maintain a pecuniary interest; provided that you are not required to report (1) transactions reflected in brokerage statements provided to the CCO within 30 days of the end of the calendar quarter or (2) transactions for which you obtained pre-approval.
DELIVER TO THE CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER WITHIN 30 DAYS OF THE END OF EACH CALENDAR QUARTER.
USE ADDITIONAL SHEETS IF NECESSARY.
Attachment B
Quarterly Account Opening/Closing Reporting Form |
REPORTING EMPLOYEE NAME:___________________________________
FOR QUARTER END: ______________________________________________ |
In accordance with ClariVest's Code of Ethics, please provide a list of all Securities Accounts that have opened/closed during the previous calendar quarter in which you maintain a pecuniary interest.
Name of Broker, Dealer or Bank |
Account Title |
Account
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Date of Account Establishment |
Opened or Closed? |
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I certify that this form fully discloses all of the newly opened accounts and closed accounts in which I have a pecuniary interest. Nothing in this report should be construed as an admission that the person making the report has any direct or indirect beneficial ownership in the securities to which the report relates.
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Reviewed by: __________________________ Date of Review: ________________________ Exception(s) Noted: ____No _____Yes If Yes, Describe: ________________________ |
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Attachment C
Initial Reporting - Securities Accounts
Employee_______________________________________________ (PRINT NAME)
Information submitted current as of __________________________ (PRINT DATE)
In accordance with ClariVest's Code of Ethics, please provide a list of all Securities Accounts in which you have a pecuniary interest.
Name of Broker, Dealer or Bank |
Account Title |
Account Number |
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I certify that this form fully discloses all of the Securities Accounts in which I have a pecuniary interest.
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Reviewed by: __________________________ Date of Review: ________________________ Exception(s) Noted: ____No _____Yes If Yes, Describe: ________________________ |
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Attachment D
Initial Reporting - Securities Holdings
In accordance with ClariVest's Code of Ethics, please provide a list of all reportable securities in which you have a pecuniary interest. This includes securities held by broker/dealers and other custodians, at your home, in safe deposit boxes, and by an issuer.
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Use additional sheets as necessary.
I certify that this form fully discloses all of the reportable securities in which I have a pecuniary interest. Nothing in this report should be construed as an admission that the person making the report has any direct or indirect beneficial ownership in the reportable security to which the report relates.
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Reviewed by: __________________________ Date of Review: ________________________ Exception(s) Noted: ____No _____Yes If Yes, Describe: ________________________ |
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Attachment E
Annual Reporting - Securities Accounts
Employee_______________________________________________ (PRINT NAME)
Information submitted current as of __________________________ (PRINT DATE)
In accordance with ClariVest's Code of Ethics, please provide a list of all Securities Accounts in which you have a pecuniary interest.
Name of Broker, Dealer or Bank |
Account Title |
Account Number |
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I certify that this form fully discloses all of the Securities Accounts in which I have a pecuniary interest.
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Signature Date |
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Date |
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Reviewed by: __________________________ Date of Review: ________________________ Exception(s) Noted: ____No _____Yes If Yes, Describe: ________________________ |
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Attachment F
Annual Reporting - Securities Holdings
In accordance with ClariVest's Code of Ethics, please provide a list of all reportable securities in which you have a pecuniary interest. This includes reportable securities held by broker/dealers and other custodians, at your home, in safe deposit boxes, and by an issuer.
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Security Name |
Type
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Use additional sheets as necessary.
I certify that this form fully discloses all of the reportable securities in which I have a pecuniary interest. Nothing in this report should be construed as an admission that the person making the report has any direct or indirect beneficial ownership in the reportable security to which the report relates.
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Signature Date |
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Reviewed by: __________________________ Date of Review: ________________________ Exception(s) Noted: ____No _____Yes If Yes, Describe: ________________________ |
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Attachment G
Request for Approval of Outside Activity Form
The undersigned hereby requests approval for participation in the following outside activity:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Name and address of company or organization: _____________________________________________
Nature of organization's primary business or purpose: _________________________________________
Is this a public company? (YES/NO) If YES, stock symbol: ___________________________________
Complete description of anticipated role with organization: ____________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
Describe any compensation you will receive: _______________________________________________
If this request for approval is granted:
Signature of Employee: ______________________________________Date: ____________________
Approved By:_____________________________________Date:__________________________
Attachment H
Gift and Entertainment Report
Employee(s) Receiving/Giving the Gift/Entertainment:
____________________________________________________________________________________
Describe the Gift/Entertainment: ____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Approximate Total Dollar Amount of Gift/Entertainment: $__________________
Receiver/Giver of the Gift/Entertainment:
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Is the Receiver of the Gift/Entertainment an Individual or Entity that is associated with a Taft-Hartley Fund?
Yes _________ No __________
Has Employee Received/Given Additional Gifts/Entertainment from Receiver/Giver within the Past 12 Months? If Yes, list the Gifts/Entertainment received/given and the approximate Value of the Gifts/Entertainment:
____________________________________________________________________________________
Relationship of Receiver/Giver to ClariVest and/or Employee(s):
____________________________________________________________________________________
Reason (if known) the Gift/Entertainment will be given by/given to ClariVest and/or Employee(s):
____________________________________________________________________________________
Compliance Use Only _____ Approved _____ Not Approved Person Approving ______________________________ Signature ________________________________ Date: _______________________________ Reasons Supporting Decision to Approve/Not Approve: ________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ |
Attachment I
Employee Gift/Entertainment Log
Date |
Employee Giving/Receiving Gift/Entertainment |
Description of Gift/Entertainment |
Approximate Dollar Amount of Gift/Entertainment |
Receiver/Giver of Gift/Entertainment |
Relationship of Receiver/Giver to ClariVest and/or Employee |
Reason Gift/Entertainment was given by/given to ClariVest and/or Employee |
Compliance Approval (Yes/No) |
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YES NO |
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YES NO |
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YES NO |
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Attachment J
Political Contribution Review Form
Prospective Employee_______________________________________________ (PRINT NAME)
Information submitted current as of __________________________ (PRINT DATE)
In accordance with ClariVest's Code of Ethics, please provide a list of all Contributions you (or your immediate family and controlled-PACs, each as described in the definition of "Covered Associate") has made in the past 2 years.
Name and Title of Contributor |
Name and Title (including any city/county/state or other political subdivision) of Recipient |
Amount |
Date |
Entitled to Vote for Recipient? |
[Compliance Use only] Subject to exception for certain returned contributions under Rule 206(4)-5(b)(3)? |
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I certify that this form fully and accurately discloses all of the Contributions that I (or my immediate family and controlled-PACs, each as described in the definition of "Covered Associate") have made in the past 2 years.
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Signature Date |
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Date |
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Reviewed by: __________________________ Date of Review: ________________________ Exception(s) Noted: ____No _____Yes If Yes, Describe: ________________________ |
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Attachment K
Political Contribution Approval Form
Employee_______________________________________________ (PRINT NAME)
Information submitted current as of __________________________ (PRINT DATE)
In accordance with ClariVest's Code of Ethics, below is a list of all Contributions that I (or someone in my immediate family or a controlled-PAC, each as described in the definition of "Covered Associate") would like to make.
Name and Title of Contributor |
Name and Title (including any city/county/state or other political subdivision) of Recipient |
Amount |
Date |
Entitled to Vote for Recipient? |
[Compliance Use only] Subject to exception for certain returned contributions under Rule 206(4)-5(b)(3)? |
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I certify that this form fully and accurately discloses all requested information regarding the Contribution that I (or or someone in my immediate family or a controlled-PAC, each as described in the definition of "Covered Associate") would like to make.
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Signature Date |
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Date |
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Reviewed by: __________________________ Date of Review: ________________________ Approval Granted?: ____No _____Yes If Yes, Describe: ________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ |
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Attachment L
Contribution Coordination Approval Form
Employee_______________________________________________ (PRINT NAME)
Information submitted current as of __________________________ (PRINT DATE)
In accordance with ClariVest's Code of Ethics, I (or someone in my immediate family or a controlled-PAC, each as described in the definition of "Covered Associate") would like to solicit or coordinate (1) Contributions for an Official of a Government Entity or (2) any Contribution to a political party of a state or locality, as described below:
I certify that this form fully and accurately discloses all requested information regarding the activity that I (or or someone in my immediate family or a controlled-PAC, each as described in the definition of "Covered Associate") would like to engage in.
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Signature Date |
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Date |
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Reviewed by: __________________________ Date of Review: ________________________ Approval Granted? ____No _____Yes If Yes, Describe: ________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ |
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Exhibit (p)(11)
First Eagle Code of Ethics
FIRST EAGLE FUNDS AND FIRST EAGLE VARIABLE FUNDS (each a "Fund") and FIRST EAGLE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, LLC (the "Adviser")
PERSONAL SECURITIES TRADING CODE OF ETHICS
Selected Regulatory Guidance
Investment Company Act of 1940 - Rule 17j-1
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 - Rule 204A-1
Regulatory Summary
Rules 17j-1 and 204A-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "Act") and Investment Advisers Act (the "Advisers Act"), respectively, require a written code of ethics describing standards of business conduct, provision on reporting and reviewing personal trading, and other procedures necessary to prevent persons from engaging in fraudulent behavior.
1. Statement of General Principles
This Personal Securities Trading Code of Ethics ("Code") expresses the policy and procedures of First Eagle Investment Management, LLC ("FEIM" or the "Adviser") and FEF Distributors, LLC ("FEF Distributors"), First Eagle Funds and First Eagle Variable Funds (each a "Fund"). The Code is enforced to insure that no one is taking advantage of his or her position, or even giving the appearance of placing his or her own interests above those of the Funds or an Account (as defined herein). Personnel must at all levels act as fiduciaries, and as such must place the interests of the shareholders of the Funds or an Account before their own.
"Access Person" shall mean any employee, director, trustee, officer, general partner of the Funds or of the Adviser, or any Advisory Person or Control Advisory Person of the Funds or of the Adviser, or anyone who has access to non-public information regarding the Funds' or Accounts' purchase or sale of securities and is under the Adviser's supervision and control.
"Account" shall mean any account or investment vehicle (other than a Fund) for which the Adviser may act as adviser or subadviser.
"Advisory Person" of the Funds or an Account means any employee of the Funds or the Adviser who, in connection with his regular functions or duties, makes, participates in, or obtains information regarding the purchase or sale of a security by the Funds or any Account, or whose functions relate to the making of any recommendations with respect to such purchases or sales, and shall include any natural person in a control relationship with the Funds or the Adviser who obtains information concerning recommendations made to the Funds or an Account with regard to the purchase or sale of a security. These latter persons are referred to as "Control Advisory Persons" to the extent they obtain such information on other than an isolated basis.
"Automatic Investment Plan" shall mean a program in which regular periodic purchases (or withdrawals) are made automatically in (or from) investment accounts in accordance with a predetermined schedule and allocation.
The term "Beneficial Interest" shall mean any person who has or shares, directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship, or otherwise, a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in a security. "Pecuniary interest" means the opportunity, directly or indirectly, to profit or share in any profit derived from a transaction in the security. "Indirect pecuniary interest" includes, but is not limited to, an interest in a security held by members of your Immediate Family. Determination of what circumstances constitute an "indirect pecuniary interest" is within the discretion of the Chief Compliance Officer).
"Board" shall mean the board of directors or board of trustees of the Funds.
"Chief Compliance Officer" or "CCO" shall mean the Chief Compliance Officer appointed by the Board of the Funds or the Chief Compliance Officer appointed by the Adviser, if different, and any of his, her or their designees.
"Control" shall have the same meaning as that set forth in Section 2(a)(9) of the Act.
The term "Covered Security" shall mean a security defined in Section 2(a)(36) of the Act and shall include First Eagle Funds and options, but shall not include direct obligations of the United States, bankers' acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper, other money market instruments including repurchase agreements, and shares of other registered open-end investment companies .
"Disinterested Director" of the Funds shall mean a director or trustee thereof who is not an "interested person" of the Funds within the meaning of Section 2(a)(19) of the Act.
"Fund" or "Funds" shall mean First Eagle Funds and First Eagle Variable Funds and any other registered investment company for which the Adviser may act as adviser or subadviser.
The term "First Eagle Fund" shall mean any separate investment portfolio of a Fund (currently, First Eagle Global Fund, First Eagle Overseas Fund, First Eagle U.S. Value Fund, First Eagle Gold Fund, First Eagle High Yield Fund, First Eagle Global Income Builder Fund, First Eagle Fund of America or First Eagle Overseas Variable Fund).
"Immediate Family" is a relative or domestic partner who shares your household, including your spouse, children and stepchildren, parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, and in-laws. Determination of which other relative or persons constitutes "Immediate Family" is within the discretion of the CCO.
"Initial Public Offering" means an offering of securities registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"), by or for an issuer of such securities which, immediately before the registration, was not subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15d of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Act.
"Investment Persons " of the Funds or the Adviser includes Portfolio Managers and those persons who provide information and advice to the Portfolio Managers or who help execute the Portfolio Managers' decisions ( e.g . securities analysts and traders) and shall also include any natural person in a control relationship with the Funds or the Adviser who obtains information concerning recommendations made to the Funds or an Account with regard to the purchase or sale of a security.
" Limited Offering" shall mean an offering that is exempt from registration under the 1933 Act pursuant to section 4(2) or section 4(6) or pursuant to rule 504, rule 505, or rule 506 under the Securities Act of 1933.
"Portfolio Managers" shall mean those persons who have direct responsibility and authority to make investment decisions for a Fund or an Account.
The "purchase or sale of a security" includes, among other things, the writing of an option to purchase or sell a security . The sale of a First Eagle Fund includes its redemption by the issuing mutual fund company or the exchange of the First Eagle Fund in accord with the exchange policies of the issuing mutual fund company .
3. Prohibited Securities Transactions
The prohibitions described below will only apply to a transaction in a Covered Security in which the designated person has, or by reason of such transaction acquires or disposes, any Beneficial Interest in such Covered Security ("Securities Transaction").
A. Blackout Trading Periods - Access Persons
No Access Person shall execute a Securities Transaction on a day during which the Funds or an Account have a pending buy or sell order in that same Covered Security until that order is executed or withdrawn. Any profits realized on trades within the proscribed periods are required to be disgorged to a charity selected by the Adviser.
B. First Eagle Funds - Access Persons
No Access Person shall engage in a market timing or similar arbitrage strategy with respect to Mutual Fund Shares. Trading in any security, including First Eagle Funds while in the possession of material non-public information (or inside information) about the issuer being transacted in is prohibited. Access Persons are subject to the prohibitions and fees on short-term trading in the First Eagle Funds as are set forth in each Fund's prospectus. Any profits realized on trades within the required holding period are required to be disgorged to a charity selected by the Adviser. Transactions in First Eagle Securities not effected through an Access Person's retirement, deferred compensation or other employer-sponsored savings program may be effected only through FEF Distributors (or another broker approved for such trades by the CCO). While preclearance of transactions in First Eagle Funds is not required, all transactions must be reported quarterly, regardless of the account in which they are effected.
C. Blackout Trading Periods - Investment Persons
No Investment Person shall buy or sell a Covered Security within seven calendar days before a Fund or Account trades in that Covered Security (regardless of whether the Portfolio Manager manages such Fund or Account). No Investment Person shall execute a Securities Transaction within seven calendar days after a Fund or Account trades in that Covered Security (regardless of whether the Portfolio Manager manages such Fund or Account) if such purchase or sale is on the opposite side of the market as that of the Fund or Account. Any profits realized on trades within the proscribed periods are required to be disgorged to a charity selected by the Adviser.
D. Ban on Short-Term Trading Profits - Investment Persons and Control Advisory Persons
Investment Persons, including, for this purpose, Control Advisory Persons, may not profit in the purchase and sale, or sale and purchase, of the same (or equivalent) Covered Security within 60 calendar days. (This prohibition does not apply to First Eagle Funds, which are covered by the separate requirements of Section 3B.) Any profits realized on such short-term trades are required to be disgorged to a charity selected by the Adviser.
E. Ban on Securities Purchases of an Initial Public Offering - Access Persons, Investment Persons and Control Advisory Persons
Access Persons and Investment Persons, including, for this purpose, Control Advisory Persons, may not acquire any securities in an Initial Public Offering.
F. Securities Offered in a Limited Offering - Access Persons, Investment Persons and Control Advisory Persons
Access Persons and Investment Persons, including, for this purpose, Control Advisory Persons, may not acquire any securities in a Limited Offering without the prior written consent of the Chief Compliance Officer. Furthermore, should written consent be given, Investment Persons are required to disclose such investment when participating in an Account's or Fund's subsequent consideration of an investment in such Limited Offering. In such circumstances, the Account's or Fund's decision to purchase securities of such Limited Offering should be subject to an independent review by the CCO.
A. Subject to compliance with preclearance procedures in accordance with Section 5 below, the prohibitions of Sections 3A, 3B , 3C and 3 D of this Code shall not apply to:
(i) Purchases or sales effected in any account over which the person has no direct or indirect influence or control, or in any account of the person which is managed on a discretionary basis by a person other than such person and with respect to which such person does not in fact influence or control such transactions.
(ii) Purchases or sales of securities which are not eligible for purchase or sale by the Funds or an Account. Transactions in First Eagle Funds shall not be exempted under this Section 4.A(ii) .
(iii) Purchases or sales which are non-volitional by the person, Funds or Account.
(iv) Purchases which are part of an Automatic Investment Plan.
(v) Purchases effected upon the exercise of rights issued by an issuer pro rata to all holders of a class of its securities, to the extent such rights were acquired from such issuer, and sales of such rights so acquired.
(vi) Any equity securities transaction, or series of related transactions, involving 500 shares or less or amounting to $10,000 or less, in the aggregate if (i) the person has no prior knowledge of transactions in such Covered Security by an Account or the Funds and (ii) if the issuer has a market capitalization (outstanding shares multiplied by the current price per share) greater than $1 billion at the time of purchase . Transactions in First Eagle Funds shall not be exempted under this Section 4.A(vi) . There is no similar de minimis exemption for options, futures, derivatives, or similar instruments.
(vii) Any fixed income securities transaction involving $50,000 principal amount or less if the person has no prior knowledge of transactions in such securities by an Account or the Funds.
(viii) All other transactions contemplated by a person which receive the prior approval of the CCO.
Purchases or sales of a specific Covered Security (other than a First Eagle Fund, as to which the provisions of the following two sentences apply) may receive the prior approval of the CCO because the CCO has determined that no abuse is involved and that such purchases and sales would be very unlikely to have any economic impact on an Account or the Funds or on the Account's or the Fund's ability to purchase or sell such Covered Securities. In the case of a transaction in a First Eagle Fund subject to preclearance under Section 3B, the transaction may be excepted by the CCO from the normal holding period requirement contemplated thereby (but not from any applicable redemption fee) in exceptional circumstances (for example, in cases of significant market disruption or significant personal hardship on the part of the person or his or her Immediate Family).
B. The prohibition in Section 3A shall not apply to Disinterested Directors of the Funds, unless a Disinterested Director, at the time of a transaction, knew or, in the ordinary course of fulfilling his or her official duties as a Disinterested Director of the Funds, should have known that the Funds had a pending buy or sell order in that same Covered Security, which order had not yet been executed or withdrawn.
C. A transaction by Access Persons (other than Investment Persons ) inadvertently effected during the period proscribed in Section 3A will not be considered a violation of the Code and disgorgement will not be required so long as the transaction was effected in accordance with the preclearance procedures described in Section 5 and without prior knowledge of any relevant Securities Transaction by an Account or the Funds.
D. A transaction by Investment Persons inadvertently effected during the period proscribed in Section 3C will not be considered a violation of the Code and disgorgement will not be required so long as the transaction was effected in accordance with the preclearance procedures described in Section 5 and without prior knowledge of any relevant Securities Transaction by an Account or the Funds.
E . The prohibition in Section 3 D shall not apply to profits earned from a Securities Transactions in which securities are not the same (or equivalent) to those owned, shorted or in any way traded by the Funds or an Account during the 60 day period; provided, however, that if the CCO determines that a review of the person's reported Securities Transactions indicates an abusive pattern of short-term trading, the CCO may prohibit such Access Person from profiting in the purchase and sale, or sale and purchase, of the same (or equivalent) securities within 60 calendar days whether or not such Covered Security is the same (or equivalent) to that owned, shorted or in any way traded by an Account or the Funds.
F. The prohibitions of Sections 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D of this Code shall not apply to Securities Transactions involving shares of broad-based market exchange traded funds (ETFs) and HOLDRs that are based on indices such as those listed in Appendix D that have a minimum of 25 securities with no one security representing more than 25% of the index at the time of purchase. (These Securities are not exempt from the Initial, Annual or Quarterly reporting requirements.)
Access Persons (other than Disinterested Directors , except as described below in this Section) must preclear all Securities Transactions. In the case of First Eagle Fund, preclearance is required only if the proposed transaction would otherwise violate Section 3B. Pre-clearance shall not be required for Securities Transactions involving shares of broad-based market exchange traded funds (ETFs) and HOLDRs that are based on indices such as those listed in Appendix D that have a minimum of 25 securities with no one security representing more than 25% of the index at the time of purchase. (These Securities Transactions are not exempt from the Initial, Annual or Quarterly reporting requirements.)
All requests for preclearance must be submitted to the CCO. Such requests shall be made only through the Adviser's electronic preclearance system. All approved orders must be executed by the close of business on the day preclearance is granted. If any order is not timely executed, a request for preclearance must be resubmitted.
Disinterested Directors must preclear transactions in First Eagle Securities that would otherwise violate Section 3B, but need not preclear their personal investments in other securities unless a Disinterested Director knows, or in the course of fulfilling his or her official duties as a Disinterested Director should know, that, within the most recent 15 days, any of the Funds have purchased or sold, or considered for purchase or sale, such Covered Security or is proposing to purchase or sell, directly or indirectly, any Covered Security in which the Disinterested Director has, or by reason of such Securities Transaction would acquire, any Beneficial Interest.
A. The Chief Compliance Officer shall periodically identify all Access Persons, Advisory Persons, Control Advisory Persons and Investment Persons and inform such persons of their respective reporting and compliance obligations under this Code of Ethics.
B. Access Persons (other than Disinterested Directors) are required to direct their broker(s ) (and any mutual fund company with which they maintain an account ) to supply to the Chief Compliance Officer on a timely basis duplicate copies of confirmations of all Securities Transactions and copies of periodic statements for all securities or mutual fund accounts, whether existing currently or to be established in the future. A sample letter for this purpose is attached as Appendix A. The Securities Transaction reports and/or duplicates should be addressed "Personal and Confidential." Compliance with this Code requirement will be deemed to satisfy the reporting requirements imposed on Access Persons under Rules 17j-1 of the Act and 204A-1 of the Advisers Act.
C. In general, pursuant to various regulatory rule exceptions and interpretations, no reporting is required of Disinterested Directors. However, a Disinterested Director shall report to the Chief Compliance Officer, no later than thirty days after the end of the calendar quarter in which the transaction to which the report relates was effected, the information required in Appendix B hereto any Securities Transaction in which such Disinterested Director has, or by reason of such transaction acquires, a Beneficial Interest in a Covered Security that such Disinterested Director knew, or in the course of fulfilling his or her official duties as a director should have known, that during a 15 day period immediately before or after, any of the Funds have purchased or sold, or considered for purchase or sale, such Covered Security. A Disinterested Director is not required to submit any report for any Securities Transaction provided that the transaction and required information are otherwise reported on duplicate copies of broker trade confirmations and account statements provided to the Chief Compliance Officer. A Disinterested Director is not required to submit any report with respect to securities held in accounts over which the Disinterested Director has no direct or indirect influence or control.
D. Whenever a person designated as an Investment Person recommends that an Account or the Funds purchase or sell a Covered Security, he or she shall disclose to the person to whom the recommendation is made, as well as to the Chief Compliance Officer, if he or she presently materially owns such Covered Security, or whether he or she is considering the purchase or sale of such Covered Security.
E. Not later than ten days after a person becomes an Access Person, the Access Person will disclose all personal Covered Securities holdings and all their accounts with any broker , dealer or mutual fund company (which information must be as of a date no more than forty-five days before the report is submitted), which shall contain the following information:
The Access Person shall immediately notify the Chief Compliance Officer upon establishing any account with a securities or derivatives broker or dealer or a mutual fund company.
F. Except as otherwise provided below, every Access Person shall report to the Chief Compliance Officer, no later than 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter, the following information or such information as required by the CCO:
(a) With respect to transactions in any Covered Security in which such Access Person has, or by reason of such transaction acquires, any Beneficial Interest in the Covered Security:
(b) With respect to any account established or closed by the Access Person in which any securities were held during the quarter for the direct or indirect benefit of the Access Person:
G. All personal matters discussed with the Chief Compliance Officer, or members of the CCO, and all confirmations, account statements and personal investment reports shall be kept in confidence, but will be available for inspection by the Board of the Funds and the Adviser and by the appropriate regulatory agencies.
A. Each Access Person must acknowledge in writing his or her receipt of the Code and any amendments. In addition, on an annual basis Access Persons will be sent a copy of this Code for their review. Access Persons will be asked to certify that they have read and understand this Code and recognize that they are subject hereto. Access Persons will be further asked to certify annually that they have complied with the requirements of this Code and that they have disclosed or reported all personal securities transactions required to be disclosed or reported pursuant to this Code. A sample of the certification is attached as Appendix C.
B. Annual Holdings, Transactions and Accounts Reports
Except as otherwise provided below, every Access Person shall report to the Chief Compliance Officer, no later than January 31 of every calendar year, the following information (which information must be current as of a date no more than 45 days prior to the date of such report) or such other information as required by the CCO:
Such report shall include the quarterly transactions for the fourth quarter.
An Access Person need not make a report under this Section 7B with respect to: (i) securities held in any account over which that person had no direct or indirect influence or control; or (ii) transactions effected pursuant to an Automatic Investment Plan.
Each Access Person shall file with the Chief Compliance Officer as part of the report required by this section the names and affiliations of Immediate Family members residing with such person, who are employed in the securities or commodities industries and who might be in a position to benefit directly or indirectly from the activities of the Adviser's personnel in the discharge of their duties.
8. Confidential Status of the Accounts' and the Funds' Portfolios
The current portfolio positions of the Accounts and Funds managed, advised and/or administered by the Adviser and current portfolio transactions, programs and analyses must be kept confidential.
If non-public information regarding an Account's or Fund's portfolio should become known to any Access Person, whether in the line of duty or otherwise, he or she should not reveal it to anyone unless it is properly part of his or her work to do so.
9. Non-Public Material Information
Unless as expressly permitted by the CCO, in certain limited, lawful, circumstances, no Access Person may purchase or sell any Covered Security or be involved in any way in the purchase or sale of a Security, while in possession of material non-public information about the Security or its issuer, regardless of the manner in which such information was obtained. This prohibition covers transactions for clients, as well as transactions for personal accounts.
Furthermore, no Access Person possessing material non-public information may disclose such information to any person other than the Chief Compliance Officer, except to the extent authorized by the Chief Compliance Officer. Disclosing non-public material information to others is known as "tipping" and is prohibited.
Non-public information includes corporate information, such as undisclosed financial information about a corporation, and market information, such as a soon-to-be-published article about a corporation. Trading First Eagle Funds while in the possession of non-public information about the Fund being transacted in is prohibited. Material information is information which an investor would consider important in making an investment decision and which would substantially affect the market price of a security if disclosed.
10. Gifts - Investment Persons
Investment Persons shall not receive any gift or other thing of more than de minimis value from any person or entity that does business with or on behalf of the Funds or an Account. For purposes of this Code, "more than de minimis value" shall mean any gift in excess of a value of $100 per year.
11. Services as a Director in a Publicly Traded Company - Access Persons
Investment Persons shall not serve on the boards of directors of publicly traded companies, absent prior authorization by the Board of the Funds, based upon a determination that the board service would be consistent with the interests of the Funds and its shareholders (and/or an Account). When such authorization is provided, the Investment Persons serving as a director will be isolated from making investment decisions with respect to the pertinent company through "Chinese Wall" or other procedures.
No Access Person may render investment advice to persons other than the Adviser's clients, unless the advisory relationship, including the identity of those involved and any fee arrangements, has been disclosed to and approved in writing by the Adviser. All transactions for such outside advisory clients of the Access Person are subject to the reporting requirements of Section 6 above.
13. Compliance Review
The Chief Compliance Officer may conduct compliance reviews of personal Securities Transactions, including a comparison with completed and contemplated portfolio transactions of the Funds or an Account to determine whether a violation of this Code may have occurred. The Chief Compliance Officer may compare reported First Eagle Fund Securities Transactions with Fund or Account records to determine whether a violation of this Code may have occurred. . Before making any determination that a violation has been committed by any person, the CCO shall give such person an opportunity to supply additional information regarding the Securities Transaction in question.
The Board of the Funds and/or senior management of the Adviser will be informed of material violations of this Code on a quarterly basis and may impose such sanctions as they deem appropriate, including a letter of censure or suspension or termination of employment of the Access Person or a request for disgorgement of any profits received from a Securities Transaction done in violation of this Code.
The Board of the Funds shall annually receive a copy of the existing Code, along with a list of recommendations, if any, to change the existing Code based upon experience, evolving industry practices or developments in applicable laws or regulations. No less frequently than annually, the Chief Compliance Officer shall submit to the Board of the Funds a written report that:
A. Describes any issues arising under this Code or its procedures since the last report to the Board, including, but not limited to, information about material violations of this Code or its procedures and sanctions imposed in response to the material violations; and,
B. Certifies that the Funds, and the Adviser have adopted procedures reasonably necessary to prevent Access Persons from violating this Code.
The Chief Compliance Officer shall maintain, at the Funds' and the
Adviser's principal place of business, the following records and shall make these records available to the Securities and Exchange Commission and its representatives:
A. A copy of each Code in effect during the past five years.
B . A record of any violation and the action taken.
C. A copy of each Access Person's reports.
D. A record of all Access Persons.
A copy of the written reports to the Board.
E. A record of the reasons for preapproving transactions in Initial Public Offerings or Private Offerings of Covered Securities.
F. A record of the reasons for preapproving transactions that would otherwise violate Section 3B.
17. Reporting of Code Violations. Each employee shall promptly notify the Chief Compliance Officer of any violation of the Code.
XYZ Broker Dealer /Mutual Fund Company
Please accept this letter as permission, to allow ___________ , an employee of our firm , to maintain an account(s) with your firm.
In regards to the above, please send duplicate confirmations and statements on all transactions to the following:
First Eagle Investment Management, LLC
1345 Avenue of the Americas
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
FIRST EAGLE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, LLC
Appendix B (For Disinterested Directors)
Information required to be reported:
The date of the transaction, the title, the interest rate and maturity date (if applicable), the number of shares and the principal amount of each Covered Security involved;
(1) The nature of the transaction (i.e., purchase, sale , exchange or any other type of acquisition or disposition);
(3) The price of the Covered Security at which the transaction was effected;
(4) The name of the broker, dealer , bank or mutual fund company with or through which the transaction was effected; and
(5) The date that the report is submitted by the Disinterested Director.
I have received a current copy of the Personal Securities Trading Code of Ethics and the First Eagle Investment Management, LLC Code of Conduct, and have read and understand these Codes.
I recognize that I am subject to these Codes and certify that have complied with the requirements of the Codes.
I have disclosed or reported all my personal securities transactions required to be disclosed or reported pursuant to the Codes.
__________________
Date
Appendix D
Broad-Based Market Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and HOLDRs
Exhibit (p)(17)
Morgan Stanley Code of Ethics
CODE OF ETHICS AND PERSONAL TRADING GUIDELINES
MORGAN STANLEY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT1
1 Ex-Merchant Banking and Real Estate Investing
Effective: June 29, 2012Table of Contents 2
I. INTRODUCTION 3
A. General 3
B. Standards of Business Conduct 3
C. Overview of Code Requirements 4
D. Definitions 4
E. Grounds for Disqualification from Employment 8
F. Other Policies and Procedures 9
II. PRE-CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS 9
A. Employee Securities Accounts 9
B. Personal Trading 2
C. Other Pre-Clearance Requirements 6
III. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS 16
A. Initial Holdings and Brokerage Account(s) Reports and Certification 16
B. Quarterly Transactions Report 17
C. Annual Holdings Report and Certification of Compliance 17
IV. OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES AND PRIVATE PLACEMENTS 18
A. Approval to Engage in an Outside Activity 18
B. Approval to Invest in a Private Placement 18
C. Approval Process 18
D. Client Investment into Private Placement 18
V. POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS 19
VI. GIFTS AND ENTERTAINMENT 20
VII. CONSULTANTS AND TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES 20
VIII. REVIEW, INTERPRETATIONS AND EXCEPTIONS 20
IX. ENFORCEMENT AND SANCTIONS 21
2 Previous versions: August 16, 2002, February 24, 2004, June 15, 2004, December 31, 2004, December 15, 2006, May 12, 2008 , August 19, 2010, September 17, 2010, February 15, 2011, March 1, 2011 and September 28, 2011.
I. INTRODUCTION
A. General
The Morgan Stanley Investment Management ("MSIM") Code of Ethics (the "Code") is reasonably designed to prevent legal, business and ethical conflicts, to guard against the misuse of confidential information, and to avoid even the appearance of impropriety that may arise in connection with your personal trading and outside activities as an MSIM employee. It is very important for you to read the "Definitions" section below to understand the scope of this Code, including the individuals, accounts, securities and transactions it covers. You are required to acknowledge receipt and your understanding of this Code at the start of your employment at MSIM or when you become a Covered Person, as defined below, when amendments are made, and annually.
B. Standards of Business Conduct
MSIM seeks to comply with the Federal securities laws and regulations applicable to its business. This Code is designed to assist you in fulfilling your regulatory and fiduciary duties as an MSIM employee as they relate to your personal securities transactions.
As an MSIM employee, you owe a fiduciary duty to MSIM's Clients. This means that in every decision relating to personal investments, you must recognize the needs and interests of Clients and place those ahead of any personal interest or interest of the Firm.
MSIM generally prohibits you from engaging in personal trading in a manner that would distract you from your daily responsibilities. MSIM strongly encourages you to invest for the long term and discourages short-term, speculative trading. You are cautioned that short-term strategies may attract a higher level of regulatory and other scrutiny. Excessive or inappropriate trading that interferes with job performance or that compromises the duty that MSIM owes to its Clients will not be tolerated.
If you become aware that you or someone else may have violated any aspect of this Code, you must report the suspected violation to Compliance immediately.
3 This Code is intended to fulfill MSIM's requirements under Rule 204A-1 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act) and Rule 17j-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (Company Act). Please note that there is a separate Code of Ethics for the Morgan Stanley mutual fund families.
C. Overview of Code Requirements
Compliance with the Code is a matter of understanding its basic requirements and making sure the steps you take regarding activities covered by the Code are in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Code. Generally, you have the following obligations:
Activity |
Code Requirements |
Employee Securities Account(s) |
Pre-clearance, Reporting |
Personal Trading |
Pre-clearance, Holding Period, Reporting |
Participating in an Outside Activity |
Pre-clearance, Reporting |
Investing in a Private Placement |
Pre-clearance, Reporting |
Political Contributions |
Pre-clearance, Reporting |
Gifts and Entertainment |
Reporting |
You must examine the specific provisions of the Code for more details on each of these activities and are strongly urged to consult with Compliance if you have any questions.
D. Definitions
These definitions are here to help you understand the application of the Code to various activities undertaken by you and other persons related to you who may be covered by the Code. They are an integral part of the Code and a proper understanding of them is essential. Please refer back to these Definitions as you read the Code.
The definition of "Covered Person" may vary by location. Please contact Compliance if you have any question as to your status as a Covered Person.
4 The term "Access Person" is consistent with the definition of "Access Person" in the Morgan Stanley Code of Conduct.
Please refer to Schedule A for application of the Code to various security types.
5 Includes securities that are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government for the timely payment of principal and interest, such as Ginnie Maes, U.S. Savings Bonds, and U.S. Treasuries, and equivalent securities issued by non-U.S. governments.
E. Grounds for Disqualification from Employment
Pursuant to the terms of Section 9 of the Advisers Act, no director, officer or employee of MSIM may become, or continue to remain, an officer, director or employee without an exemptive order issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission if such director, officer or employee:
You are obligated to report any conviction or injunction described here to Compliance immediately.
F. Other Policies and Procedures
In addition to this Code, you are also subject to the Morgan Stanley Investment Management Compliance Manual and the Morgan Stanley Code of Conduct.
Please contact Compliance for additional policies applicable in your region.
II. PRE-CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS
A. Employee Securities Accounts
Generally, you must maintain all Employee Securities Accounts that may invest in Covered Securities at a Morgan Stanley Broker. Situations in non-U.S. offices may vary. New Employees must transfer, at their expense, their Employee Securities Account(s) to a Morgan Stanley Broker as soon as practical (generally within 30 days of becoming a Covered Person). Failure to do so will be considered a significant violation of this Code .
When opening an account with a Morgan Stanley Broker, you must notify the Broker that you are an MSIM Employee and that all Employee Securities Accounts opened by you must be coded as an employee or employee-related account. You are responsible for reporting your Morgan Stanley Brokerage account number to Compliance during the Quarterly Transactions Reporting process. Prior approval from Compliance is not required. The process in non-U.S. offices may vary.
Exceptions to the requirement to maintain Employee Securities Accounts at a Morgan Stanley Broker are rare and will be granted only with the prior written approval of Compliance. If your request is approved, you will be required to ensure that duplicate confirmations and statements are sent to Compliance. Situations in non-U.S. offices may vary.
If you maintain an outside account without appropriate approval, you must immediately disclose this to Compliance.
MSIM Ltd. employees are permitted to establish ISAs with outside managers but details may require pre-clearance. The degree of reporting that will be required will depend on the type of ISA held. Fully discretionary managed ISAs (i.e. an independent manager makes the investment decisions) may be established and maintained without the prior approval of Compliance, provided that you exercise no influence or control on stock selection or other investment decisions. Once an ISA is established, details must be disclosed via the Firm's Outside Business Interests system ("OBI"). Non-discretionary ISAs (including single company ISAs) where an employee makes investment decisions may only be established and maintained if pre-clearance from Compliance is sought, duplicate statements are supplied to Compliance and the Code of Ethics quarterly and annual reporting requirements are met.
You may open an account for the exclusive purchase of open-end Mutual Funds, including Proprietary Mutual Funds (i.e. an account directly with a fund transfer agent) without prior approval from Compliance. If the account is opened for the purchase of Sub-Advised Mutual Funds, duplicate confirmations of all transactions and account statements must be sent to Compliance.
MSIM Private Limited Employees . Refer to your local Employee Trading Policy for specific restrictions applicable in your region. See the MSIM Private Limited Employee Trading Policy .
You may open a fully discretionary managed account ("Discretionary Managed Account") at Morgan Stanley if the account meets the standards set forth below. In certain circumstances and with the prior written approval of Compliance, you may appoint non-Morgan Stanley managers (e.g., trust companies, banks or registered investment advisers) to manage your account.
In order to establish a Discretionary Managed Account, you must grant to the manager complete investment discretion over your account. Pre-clearance is not required for trades in this account; however, you may not participate, directly or indirectly, in individual investment decisions or be made aware of such decisions before transactions are executed. This restriction does not preclude you from establishing investment guidelines for the manager, such as indicating industries in which you desire to invest, the types of securities you want to purchase or your overall investment objectives. However, those guidelines may not be changed so frequently as to give the appearance that you are actually directing account investments.
To open a Morgan Stanley Discretionary Managed Account, you must submit the appropriate Discretionary Managed Account form, along with the required documentation (i.e. the advisory agreement or contract with the manager) to Compliance. See Schedule C. If it is managed by a non-Morgan Stanley manager, please submit the request in the OBI system and arrange for duplicate copies of trade confirmations and statements to be sent to Compliance.
You may open an account directly with an issuer to purchase its shares, such as a dividend reinvestment plan, or "DRIP," by submitting the DRIP form to your local Compliance group and by pre-clearing the initial purchase and any sales of shares. See Schedule C. You must also report holdings annually to Compliance.
You do not have to pre-clear participation in the ESOP, EICP MSCIP or 401(k) Plan with Compliance. However, you must disclose participation in any of these plans (quarterly, upon initial participation, and on annual certifications).
NOTE: PARTICIPATION IN A NON-MORGAN STANLEY 401(k) PLAN OR SIMILAR ACCOUNT THAT PERMITS YOU TO TRADE COVERED SECURITIES MUST BE PRE-APPROVED BY COMPLIANCE.
You may not participate in or solicit transactions on behalf of investment clubs in which members pool their funds to make investments in securities or other financial products.
You do not have to pre-clear participation in a 529 Plan with Compliance.
B. Personal Trading
You are required to obtain pre-clearance of personal securities transactions in Covered Securities, other than transactions in Proprietary or Sub-advised Mutual Funds. Exempt Securities do not require pre-clearance. Please see the Securities Transaction Matrix attached as Schedule A for additional information about when pre-clearance is or may not be required.
Pre-clearance must be obtained by entering the trade request into the Trade Pre-Clearance System by typing "TPC" into your internet browser. For regions without access to TPC, please contact Compliance. See Schedule C. Once Compliance has performed the necessary checks, Compliance will notify you promptly regarding your request.
If your request is approved, such approval is valid only for the day it is granted. Any transaction not completed on that day will require a new approval. This means that open orders, such as limit orders and stop-loss orders, must be pre-cleared each day until the transaction is effected. 6
Proprietary or Sub-advised Mutual Funds
You may not redeem or exchange Proprietary Mutual Funds (i.e., Morgan Stanley funds) until at least 30 calendar days from the purchase trade date.
Sub-advised Mutual Funds are not subject to a holding period but do carry a reporting requirement, as detailed below.
All other Covered Securities
You may not sell a Covered Security until you have held it for at least 30 days.
If you sell a Covered Security, you may not repurchase the same security for at least 30 days.
MSIMJ Employees . In case of selling equity and equity-linked notes, Covered Persons at MSIMJ must hold such instruments for at least six months; however, Compliance may grant an exception if the instruments are held for at least 30 calendar days from the date of purchase. This includes transactions in MS stock.
MSIM Private Limited Employees . Refer to your local Employee Trading Policy for specific restrictions applicable in your region. See the MSIM Private Limited Employee Trading Policy .
Blackout Period . No purchase or sale transaction may be made in any Covered Security or a related investment (i.e., derivatives) by a Portfolio Manager for a period of seven calendar days before or seven calendar days after the Portfolio Manager purchases or sells the security on behalf of a Client. A Portfolio Manager may request an exception from the blackout period if the Covered Security was traded for an index fund or index portfolio.
In addition, Investment Personnel who have knowledge of a Portfolio Manager's trading activity are subject to the same blackout period.
Investment Personnel must also obtain an additional signature from their manager prior to pre-clearance.
Employees in the MSIM Legal and Compliance Division and the MSIM Global Risk & Analysis Division are designated to be above the wall and are subject to additional pre-clearance checks with the Control Group. Other employees may also be subject to the above-the-wall checks as deemed necessary by Compliance.
6 In the case of trades in international markets where the market has already closed, transactions must be executed by the next close of trading in that market.
You may only transact in MS stock during designated window periods. (Please consult MS Today for the window period prior to trading. Note that Access Persons have a shorter window period than other employees). This includes the gifting of MS Stock. If you are transacting in MS stock through a brokerage account, you are no longer required to pre-clear the transaction through Compliance . Similarly, you do not have to pre-clear transactions in MS stock sold out of your EICP, ESOP, ESPP or 401(k) Plan. All other holding and reporting requirements for Covered Securities still apply.
For MSIMJ employees, as noted above, a six-month holding period applies.
Morgan Stanley imposes additional restrictions on selling MS stock for Access Persons, as defined above.
Firm policy requires Access Persons, among other things, to hold a position in MS stock for a minimum of six months in their employee and employee-related accounts. If you are an Access Person, please consult the Window Period Announcement on the Firm intranet before transacting in MS stock.
As always, employees may never buy or sell MS stock if in possession of material, non-public information regarding Morgan Stanley.
You may not trade forward contracts, including currency forwards, physical commodities and related derivatives, over-the-counter warrants or swaps. In addition, you may not trade futures under this Code.
The following is a list of permitted options trading:
Call Options .
Listed Call Options . You may purchase a listed call option only if the call option has a period to expiration of at least 30 days from the date of purchase and you hold the call option for at least 30 days prior to sale. If you choose to exercise the option, you must also hold the underlying security delivered pursuant to the exercise for 30 days.
Covered Calls . You may also sell (or "write") a call option only if you have held the underlying security (in the corresponding quantity) for at least 30 days.
Put Options .
Listed Put Options . You may purchase a listed put option only if the put option has a period to expiration of at least 30 days from the date of purchase and you hold the put option for at least 30 days prior to sale. If you purchase a put option on a security you already own, you may only exercise the put once you have held the underlying security for 30 days.
Selling Puts . You may not sell ("write") a put.
Please note that you must obtain pre-clearance to exercise an option as well as to purchase or sell an option.
Primary and Secondary Public Offerings . Consistent with the Code of Conduct, you and your Employee Securities Account(s) are prohibited from purchasing any equity security in an initial public offering. In addition, unless otherwise notified, you may not purchase an equity security that is part of a primary or secondary offering that the Firm is underwriting or selling until the distribution has been completed. Accordingly, you must consult Compliance prior to purchasing an equity security in a primary or secondary public offering to determine whether any restrictions apply.
Please note that this restriction applies to your immediate family as well, regardless of whether the accounts used to purchase these securities are considered Employee Securities Accounts.
Purchases of new issue debt are permitted, provided such purchases are pre-cleared and meet other relevant requirements of the Code.
MSIM Private Limited Employees . Refer to your local Employee Trading Policy for specific restrictions applicable in your region. See the MSIM Private Limited Employee Trading Policy.
Open Client Orders . Personal trade requests will be denied if there is an open order for any Client in the same security or related security. Exemptions are granted if the Covered Security is being purchased or sold for a passively-managed index fund or index portfolio.
Short Sales . You may not engage in short selling of Covered Securities.
Restricted List . You may not transact in Covered Securities that appear on the Firmwide Restricted List. Compliance will check the Restricted List as part of its pre-clearance process.
In spite of adhering to the requirements specified throughout this Section, Compliance, in keeping with the general principles and objectives of the Code, may refuse to grant pre-clearance of a Personal Securities Transaction in its sole discretion without being required to specify any reason for the refusal.
Any transaction that is prohibited by this Section may be required to be reversed and any profits (or any differential between the sale price of the Personal Security Transaction and the subsequent purchase or sale price by a relevant Client during the enumerated period) will be subject to disgorgement at the discretion of Compliance. Please see the Code Section regarding Enforcement and Sanctions below.
C. Other Pre-Clearance Requirements
Please note that the following activities also require pre-clearance under the Code:
Please refer to the Sections below for more details on the additional Code requirements regarding these activities.
III. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
A. Initial Holdings and Brokerage Account(s) Reports and Certification
When you begin employment with MSIM or you otherwise become a Covered Person, you must provide an Initial Listing of Securities Holdings and Brokerage Accounts Report to Compliance no later than 10 days after you become a Covered Person. The information must not be more than 45 days old from the day you became a Covered Person and must include:
All new Covered Persons will receive training on the principles and procedures of the Code. As a Covered Person, you must also certify that you have read, understand and agree to abide by the terms of the Code. See Schedule C.
B. Quarterly Transactions Report
You must submit a Quarterly Transaction Report no later than 10 calendar days after the end of each calendar quarter to Compliance. The report must contain the following information about each transaction involving a Covered Security:
You do not have to submit a Quarterly Transactions Report if it would duplicate information in broker trade confirmations or account statements Compliance already receives or may access, such as Morgan Stanley brokerage accounts, direct accounts for the purchase of Proprietary Mutual Funds and employee-benefit related accounts (i.e. Morgan Stanley 401(k), ESPP, ESOP, MSCIP and EICP). For non-Morgan Stanley confirmations and account statements, Compliance must receive this information no later than 30 days after the end of the applicable calendar quarter.
A reminder to complete the Quarterly Transaction Report will be provided to you by Compliance at the end of each calendar quarter. See Schedule C.
C. Annual Holdings Report and Certification of Compliance
Annually, you must report holdings and transactions in Covered Securities by completing the Annual Holdings Report and Certification of Compliance, which includes the following information:
The information must not be more than 45 days old on the day you submit the information to Compliance. You must also certify that you have read and agree to abide by the requirements of the Code and that you are in compliance with the Code. The Report must be submitted within 30 days after the end of each year.
The link to the Annual Holdings Report and Certification of Compliance will be provided to you by Compliance. See Schedule C.
IV. OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES AND PRIVATE PLACEMENTS
A. Approval to Engage in an Outside Activity
You may not engage in any Outside Activity, regardless of whether or not you receive compensation , without prior approval from Compliance. If you receive approval, it is your responsibility to notify Compliance immediately if any conflict or potential conflict of interest arises in the course of the Outside Activity.
Examples of an Outside Activity include providing consulting services, organizing a company, giving a formal lecture or publishing a book or article, accepting compensation from any person or organization other than the Firm, serving as an officer, employee, director, partner, member, or advisory board member of a company or organization not affiliated with the Firm, whether or not related to the financial services industry (including charitable organizations or activities for which you do not receive compensation). Generally, you will not be approved for any Outside Activity related to the securities or financial services industry other than activities that reflect the interests of the industry as a whole and that are not competitive with those of the Firm.
A request to serve on the board of any company, especially the board of a public company, will be granted in very limited instances only. If you receive an approval, your directorship will be subject to the implementation of information barrier procedures to isolate you from making investment decisions for Clients concerning the company in question, as applicable.
B. Approval to Invest in a Private Placement
You may not invest in a Private Placement of any kind without prior approval from Compliance. Private Placements include investments in privately held corporations, limited partnerships, tax shelter programs and hedge funds (including those sponsored by Morgan Stanley or its affiliates).
MSIM Private Limited Employees . Refer to your local Employee Trading Policy for specific restrictions applicable in your region. See the MSIM Private Limited Employee Trading Policy.
C. Approval Process
You must request pre-clearance of Outside Activities and Private Placements online through the Outside Business Interest system by typing "OBI" into your intranet browser.
D. Client Investment into Private Placement
If you have a personal position in an issuer through a Private Placement, you must contact Compliance immediately if you are involved in considering any subsequent investment decision on behalf of a Client regarding any security of that issuer or its affiliate. In these instances, the relevant Chief Investment Officer will make an independent determination of the final investment decision and document the same, with a copy to Compliance.
V. POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Morgan Stanley places certain restrictions and obligations on its employees in connection with their political contributions and solicitation activities. Morgan Stanley's Policy on U.S. Political Contributions and Activities (the "Policy") is designed to permit Employees, Morgan Stanley and the Morgan Stanley Political Action Committee to pursue legitimate political activities and to make political contributions to the extent permitted under applicable regulations. The Policy prohibits any political contributions, whether in cash or in kind, to state or local officials or candidates in the United States that are intended or may appear to influence the awarding of business to Morgan Stanley or the retention of that business.
You are required to obtain pre-clearance from Compliance prior to making any political contribution to or participating in any political solicitation activity on behalf of a U.S. federal, state or local political candidate, official, party or organization by completing a Political Contributions Pre-Clearance Form. See Schedule C.
Restricted Persons, as defined in the Policy, and certain executive officers are required to report to Compliance, on a quarterly basis, all state and local political contributions. Compliance will distribute disclosure forms to the relevant individuals each quarter. The information included on these forms will be used by Morgan Stanley to ensure compliance with the Policy and with any applicable rules, regulations and requirements. In addition, as required by applicable rules, Morgan Stanley will disclose to the appropriate regulators on a quarterly basis any reported political contributions by Restricted Persons.
Violations of this Policy can have serious implications on Morgan Stanley's ability to do business in certain jurisdictions. Contact Compliance if you have any questions.
VI. GIFTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
Morgan Stanley's Code of Conduct sets forth specific conditions under which employees and their family members may accept or give gifts or entertainment. In general, employees and their families may not accept or give gifts or special favors (other than an occasional non-cash gift of nominal value) from or to any person or organization with which Morgan Stanley has a current or potential business relationship. Please contact Compliance for your region's Gifts and Entertainment policy.
VII. CONSULTANTS AND TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES
Consultants and other temporary employees who fall under the definition of a Covered Person by virtue of their duties and responsibilities with MSIM (i.e. any person who provides investment advice on behalf of MSIM, is subject to the supervision and control of MSIM and who has access to nonpublic information regarding any Client's purchase or sale of securities, or who is involved in making securities recommendations to Clients, or who has access to such recommendations that are nonpublic) must adhere to the following Code provisions:
Those consultants or temporary employees that are hired for positions lasting more than one year are required to transfer brokerage accounts to Morgan Stanley.
VIII. REVIEW, INTERPRETATIONS AND EXCEPTIONS
Compliance is responsible for administering the Code and reviewing your Initial, Quarterly and Annual Reports. Compliance has the authority to make final decisions regarding Code policies and may grant an exception to a policy as long as it determines that no abuse or potential abuse is involved. Compliance will grant exceptions only in rare and unusual circumstances, such as financial hardship. You must contact Compliance with any questions regarding the applicability, meaning or administration of the Code, including requests for an exception, in advance of any contemplated transaction.
IX. ENFORCEMENT AND SANCTIONS
Violations of this Code may be reported to the Chief Compliance Officer and on a quarterly basis to senior management and the applicable funds' board of directors. MSIM may issue letters of warning or impose sanctions as appropriate, including notifying the Covered Person's manager, issuing a reprimand (orally or in writing), monetary fine, demotion, suspension or termination of employment. The following is a schedule of sanctions that may be imposed for failure to abide by the requirements of the Code. Violations are considered on a cumulative basis.
These sanctions are intended to be guidelines only. Compliance, in its discretion, may recommend alternative actions, including imposition of more severe sanctions, if deemed warranted by the facts and circumstances of each situation. Senior management at MSIM, including the Chief Compliance Officer, is authorized to determine the choice of actions to be taken in specific cases.
Sanctions may vary based on regulatory concerns in your jurisdiction.
TRADING VIOLATIONS |
SANCTION |
|
Front running (trading ahead of a Client) |
Each case to be considered on its merits. Possible termination and reporting to regulatory authorities.
|
|
Insider trading (trading on material non-public information) |
Each case to be considered on its merits. Possible termination and reporting to regulatory authorities.
|
|
Failing to obtain authorization for a trade, including non-proprietary private placements* or trading on day after pre-clearance is granted for a personal securities transaction |
1 st Offense |
Letter of Warning; possible reversal of trade with any profits donated to charity |
Trading within 30 day holding period (6 months for MSIMJ and all Managing Directors globally) or trading MS stock outside designated window periods |
2 nd Offense |
Non-Investment Personnel except Managing Directors: Violation Letter; possible reversal of trade with any profits donated to charity plus a fine of $200 USD |
Trading in seven day blackout period or purchasing an IPO |
|
Investment Personnel and all Managing Directors: Violation Letter; possible reversal of trade with any profits donated to charity plus a discretionary fine of $1,000 |
* See the Disclosure / Acknowledgement Violations section for sanctions related to failure to disclose private placements related to Morgan Stanley and cash investments) |
3 rd Offense |
Violation Letter; possible reversal of trade with any profits donated to charity plus a fine equal to the greater of $1,000 USD or 5% of the net trade amount donated to charity and a 3-month trading ban. |
DISCLOSURE/ACKNOWLEDGEMENT VIOLATIONS |
SANCTION |
|
Failing to complete documentation or meet reporting requirements (i.e. Annual Certification or Code of Ethics acknowledgement; provision of statements and confirms) in a timely manner |
1 st Offense |
Letter of Warning; account moved to MS broker immediately
|
Failing to disclose an Outside Business Activity or a private placement including Morgan Stanley funds, transactions in privately held corporations, limited partnerships, tax shelters and similar privately offered deals including hedge funds |
2 nd Offense |
Violation Letter; account moved to MS broker immediately; plus a $200 fine
|
Failing to get outside brokerage account approved |
3 rd Offense |
Violation Letter; account moved to MS broker immediately; plus a $300 fine
|
SCHEDULE A
SECURITIES TRANSACTION MATRIX
TYPE OF SECURITY |
Pre-Clearance Required |
Reporting Required |
Holding Required |
Covered Securities
|
|
|
|
Pooled Investment Vehicles : |
|
|
|
Closed-End Funds |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Open-End Mutual Funds advised by MSIM |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Open-End Mutual Funds sub-advised by MSIM |
No |
Yes |
No |
Unit Investment Trusts |
No |
Yes |
No |
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
Equities : |
|
|
|
MS Stock7 |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Common Stocks |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Listed depository receipts e.g. ADRs, ADSs, GDRs |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
DRIPs8 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Stock Splits |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Rights |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Stock Dividend |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Warrants (Exercised) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Preferred Stock |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Initial Public Offerings (equity IPOs) |
PROHIBITED |
||
Hedge Funds |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
|
|
|
Derivatives |
|
|
|
MS (stock options) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Common Stock Options |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Spot FX |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Forward Contracts (including currency forwards) |
PROHIBITED |
||
Commodities |
PROHIBITED |
||
OTC warrants or swaps |
PROHIBITED |
||
Futures |
PROHIBITED |
Fixed Income Instruments : |
|
|
|
Fannie Mae |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Freddie Mac |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Corporate Bonds |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Convertible Bonds (converted) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Municipal Bonds |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
New Issues (fixed income) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
Private Placements (e.g. limited partnerships) |
Yes |
Yes |
N/A |
Outside Activities |
Yes |
Yes |
N/A |
Investment Clubs |
PROHIBITED |
Exempt Securities
|
|
|
|
Mutual Funds (open-end) not advised or sub-advised by MSIM |
No |
No |
No |
US Treasury9 |
No |
No |
No |
CDs |
No |
No |
No |
Money Markets |
No |
No |
No |
GNMA |
No |
No |
No |
Commercial Paper |
No |
No |
No |
Bankers' Acceptances |
No |
No |
No |
Investment Grade Short-Term Debt Instruments10 |
No |
No |
No |
MSIM AFFILIATES
Registered Investment Advisers
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc.
Morgan Stanley AIP GP LP
Private Investment Partners, Inc.
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited (MSIM Ltd.)
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Company (Singapore)
Morgan Stanley Investment Management (Japan) Co., Ltd. (MSIMJ)
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Private Limited* (MSIM Private Limited)
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Proprietary (Pty) Limited (Australia)*
Broker-Dealers
Morgan Stanley Distribution Inc.
Transfer Agent
Morgan Stanley Services Company Inc.
* Not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CODE OF ETHICS FORMS
Procedures and forms in non-U.S. offices may vary
Account Opening Forms
Morgan Stanley Discretionary Managed Account
Non-Morgan Stanley Discretionary Managed Account (OBI)
Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIPs) s
Transaction Pre-Clearance
Trade Pre-Clearance System ( TPC )
Personal Securities Transaction Form for non-US regions (Please contact your local Compliance group)
Outside Business Interest System (Outside Activities and Private Placements) ( OBI) Political Contributions ( PCT ))
Reporting Forms
Initial Holdings Report Quarterly Transactions Report ( QTR Form)
Annual Holdings Report and Certification of Compliance (Please contact your local Compliance group)
Code of Ethics Certifications
Initial Certification (Please contact your local Compliance group)
Certification of Amended Code (Please contact your local Compliance group)
Annual Certification (Please contact your local Compliance group)
Exhibit (p)(19)
Oppenheimer Code of Ethics
CODE OF ETHICS
OF THE
OPPENHEIMER FUNDS,
OPPENHEIMERFUNDS, INC.
(including affiliates and subsidiaries)
and
OPPENHEIMERFUNDS DISTRIBUTOR, INC.
1. Introduction and Purpose of the Code of Ethics .
OppenheimerFunds, Inc. ("OFI") and its affiliates and subsidiaries that are registered investment advisers, owe a fiduciary responsibility to their investment advisory clients, including the Oppenheimer Funds (defined below). Accordingly, every employee of an investment adviser owes those clients a duty of undivided loyalty. Our clients entrust us with their financial well-being and expect us to act in their best interests at all times. We seek to maintain a reputation for fair dealing, honesty, candor, objectivity and unbending integrity by conducting our business in a manner consistent with our shared values and principles of trust.
The investment companies for which OFI acts as investment adviser (the "Oppenheimer Funds"), OFI, OppenheimerFunds Distributor, Inc., the principal underwriter of the Oppenheimer Funds ("OFDI"), and certain of OFI's other subsidiaries or directly controlled affiliates 1 (hereinafter, these entities are collectively referred to as "OppenheimerFunds") have adopted this Code of Ethics ("Code") in compliance with Rule 17j-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("Investment Company Act"), and/or Rule 204A-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended ("Advisers Act").
This Code establishes standards of conduct expected of all Employees and addresses conflicts that arise from Employees' personal trading and other activities . Every Employee of OppenheimerFunds is expected to fully understand and adhere to the policies and procedures set forth in this Code. As each Employee must be aware, we work in a highly regulated industry and are governed by an ever-increasing body of federal, state, and international laws and numerous rules and regulations which, if not observed, can subject OppenheimerFunds and/or an Employee to regulatory sanctions.
The Code is designed to establish procedures for the detection and prevention of activities by which persons having knowledge of the holdings, recommended investments and investment intentions of the Oppenheimer Funds, other investment companies and other clients for which OppenheimerFunds acts as adviser or sub-adviser (collectively, "Advisory Clients") may abuse their fiduciary duties, and otherwise to deal with the type of conflict of interest situations addressed by Rule 17j-1 and Rule 204A-1.
Although the Code is intended to provide each Employee with guidance and certainty as to whether certain actions or practices are permissible, it does not cover every potential conflict an Employee may face. In this regard, OppenheimerFunds also maintains other compliance policies and procedures (including, among others, a Code of Conduct, a Gift Policy, a Policy Designed to Detect and Prevent Insider Trading and a Policy Governing Dissemination of Fund Portfolio Securities Holdings) that may be directly applicable to an Employee's specific responsibilities and duties. (Those other policies and this Code are available to all OppenheimerFunds employees through OppenheimerFunds' internal employee website (OPnet).) Nevertheless, this Code should be viewed as a guide for each Employee and OppenheimerFunds with respect to how we must conduct our business consistent with our guiding tenet that the interests of our clients and customers must always come first.
1 As of the date of adoption of this Code, the other subsidiaries or directly controlled affiliates of OFI (for purposes of this Code) include: Centennial Asset Management Corporation, OFI Institutional Asset Management, Inc.; HarbourView Asset Management Corporation; OFI Private Investments, Inc., OFI Trust Company, and Oppenheimer Real Asset Management, Inc. With respect to subsidiaries and affiliates that are broker-dealers but not investment advisers, certain provisions of this Code may not apply; such as the provisions describing the duties an entity owes to advisory clients.
If you have any questions about this Code, you should discuss them with the Code Administrator as promptly as possible to ensure that you remain in compliance with the Code at all times. In the event that any provision of this Code conflicts with any other OppenheimerFunds policy or procedure, the provisions of this Code shall apply. You are expected to adhere to all company policies at all times.
All OppenheimerFunds Employees are expected to read this Code carefully and observe and adhere to it at all times . All OppenheimerFunds Employees have an obligation to provide notice to the Code Administrator on a timely basis if there is a change to their duties, responsibilities or title which affects their reporting status under this Code.
2. Statement of General Principles . In general, every Employee must observe the following principles with respect to his or her personal investment activities:
(a) At all times, each Employee must place the interests of Advisory Clients first;
(b) All personal securities transactions of each Employee must be conducted in a manner consistent with this Code so as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest or any abuse of the Employee's position of trust and responsibility; and
(c) No Employee should take inappropriate advantage of his or her position at OppenheimerFunds, by, for example, utilizing confidential or proprietary information of OppenheimerFunds or an Advisory Client for the Employee's personal benefit.
3. Standards of Business Conduct .
Although the reporting requirements in Section 9 of this Code apply to all Employees, the specific trading and pre-approval provisions in sections 7 and 8 are concerned primarily with those investment activities of an "Access Person" and an "Investment Person" (as defined in Section 4) who may benefit from or interfere with the purchase or sale of portfolio securities by Advisory Clients. However, all Employees are prohibited from using information concerning the investment intentions of Advisory Clients for personal gain or in a manner detrimental to the interests of any Advisory Client. In this regard, each Employee also should refer to the separate Code of Conduct which governs certain other activities of Employees.
In addition to this Code and the separate Code of Conduct, all Employees must comply with the following general standards of business conduct:
(a) Compliance with Laws and Regulations. All Employees must comply with all U.S., foreign state and local laws, rules and regulations applicable to the business or operations of OppenheimerFunds, including, but not limited to, the U.S. federal securities laws. 2 In particular, Employees (including all Access or Investment Persons) are not permitted, in connection with the purchase or sale, directly or indirectly, of a Security Held or to Be Acquired by an Advisory Client, to:
(i) employ any device, scheme or artifice to defraud such Advisory Client;
(ii) make to such Advisory Client any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state to such Advisory Client a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading;
(iii) engage in any act, practice, or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon any such Advisory Client; or
(iv) engage in any manipulative act or practice with respect to such Advisory Client.
(b) Conflicts of Interest . As an investment adviser, OppenheimerFunds has an affirmative duty of care, loyalty, honesty, and good faith to act in the best interests of its Advisory Clients. Compliance with this duty can be achieved by trying to avoid conflicts of interest and by fully disclosing all material facts concerning any conflict that does arise with respect to any client. All Employees must try to avoid situations that have even the appearance of conflict or impropriety. (See also the section titled "Conflicts of Interest" in the separate Code of Conduct.)
(c) Conflicts Among Client Interests . Conflicts of interest may arise when OppenheimerFunds or its Employees have reason to favor the interests of one client over another client ( e.g ., larger accounts over smaller accounts, accounts having higher management fees rates or providing performance fees, over accounts not having such fees, accounts in which Employees have made material personal investments, accounts of close friends or relatives of Employees). Such inappropriate favoritism of one client over another client by an investment adviser is expressly prohibited and would constitute a breach of fiduciary duties. Conflicts of interest may not always be clear-cut. Any Employee who becomes aware of a potential conflict involving an Advisory Client account should bring it to the attention of the Compliance Department or the Legal Department. (See also the section titled "Conflicts of Interest" in the separate Code of Conduct.)
(d) Competing with Client Trades . All Employees are prohibited from using knowledge about pending or currently considered securities transactions for clients to profit personally, directly or indirectly, as a result of such transactions, including by purchasing or selling such securities. This means that no Employee may purchase or sell a security for his or her personal account with actual knowledge that an order to buy or sell the same security has been made for an Advisory Client or is being considered for an Advisory Client until such information is made publicly available. Conflicts raised by personal securities transactions also are addressed more specifically in Sections 5-8 of this Code.
(e) Confidentiality of Advisory Client Transactions . Until disclosed in a public report to shareholders or to the SEC in the normal course, all information concerning Securities "Being Considered for Purchase or Sale" by any Advisory Client shall be kept confidential by all Employees. Following such a transaction, such information may only be disclosed by an Employee in accordance with OppenheimerFunds' Policy Governing Dissemination of Fund Portfolio Securities Holdings or any other related policies adopted by OppenheimerFunds from time to time. (See also the section titled "Confidentiality" in the Code of Conduct.)
2 For purposes of this Code, "U.S. federal securities laws" include, but are not limited to, the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Investment Company Act, the Advisers Act, Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (privacy), any rules adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under any of these statutes, the Bank Secrecy Act as it applies to funds and investment advisers, and any rules adopted thereunder by the SEC or the Department of the Treasury (anti-money laundering).
(f) Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings of the Oppenheimer Funds . Until publicly disclosed, an Oppenheimer Fund's portfolio holdings are proprietary, confidential business information. All Employees are subject to OppenheimerFunds' and the Funds' separate "Policy Governing Dissemination of Fund Portfolio Securities Holdings" which sets forth the conditions under which an Employee may disclose information about an Oppenheimer Fund's portfolio holdings. In general, the policy is designed to assure that information about portfolio holdings is distributed in a manner that conforms to applicable laws and regulations and to prevent that information from being used in a manner that could negatively affect a fund's investment program or otherwise enable third parties to use that information in a manner that is not in the best interests of a Fund. Generally, any non-public portfolio holding information may only be distributed pursuant to a confidentiality agreement approved by OppenheimerFunds' Legal Department.
(g) Insider Trading . All Employees are subject to OppenheimerFunds' Policy Designed to Detect and Prevent Insider Trading which is considered an integral part of this Code. In general, all Employees are prohibited from trading, either personally or on behalf of others, in any security while in possession of material, nonpublic information concerning that security. Material, nonpublic information not only relates to an issuer's securities but also includes, without limitation, securities recommendations of the OppenheimerFunds and portfolio holdings and transactions involving an Oppenheimer Fund. Accordingly, Employees are prohibited from purchasing or selling an Oppenheimer Fund's shares based on material, nonpublic information concerning such fund. Employees are also prohibited from communicating material, nonpublic information to others in violation of federal or state law.
You must immediately notify the Legal and Compliance Departments if you expect to receive material, nonpublic information concerning any security or you have or may have come into possession of such information. Specifically, you must not (i) disclose the information to anyone, except officers of the Compliance or Legal Departments, (ii) purchase or sell the relevant securities or (iii) recommend that others purchase or sell the securities to which the information relates.
(h) Personal Securities Transactions . All Employees must strictly comply with OppenheimerFunds' policies and procedures regarding personal securities transactions. As explained in further detail throughout this Code, the Code sets forth the certain standards for personal trading by persons subject to its provisions. For example, no Employee may purchase or sell a security for his or her personal account with actual knowledge that an order to buy or sell the same security has been made for an Advisory Client or is being considered for an Advisory Client, until such information is made publicly available. In general, persons who may have greater access to investment and trading information ( i.e ., Access Persons and Investment Persons) are subject to greater restrictions on their trading. (See also the section titled "Personal Investments" in the Code of Conduct.)
(i) Internal Reporting of Violations . All Employees must report matters involving violations of this Code promptly to the Code Administrator (and to OppenheimerFunds' Chief Compliance Officer if different than the Code Administrator). You can report a violation on a confidential or anonymous basis. OppenheimerFunds does not permit retaliation against employees for reports submitted in good faith. Reports of violations will be investigated and appropriate actions will be taken by the Code Administrator or the Code of Ethics Oversight Committee. Please refer to the separate Code of Conduct and "Whistleblower" procedures for additional information.
(j) Restrictions on Outside Business Activities . Any Employee's outside business activities may create a potential or actual conflict of interest with the best interests of OppenheimerFunds or its Advisory Clients or may interfere with an Employee's duties and responsibilities to OppenheimerFunds. Accordingly, no Employee may serve as a director, trustee, officer, owner or partner of any other for-profit business organization or as a director, trustee or officer of a non-profit organization ( e.g ., school board, hospital, professional or social organization), without prior written approval of the Employee's department manager or supervisor and the prior written approval of the General Counsel of OppenheimerFunds, the Code Administrator or the General Counsel's or Code Administrator's designees. (See also the section titled "Conflicts of Interest" in the Code of Conduct for additional information on Outside Business Activities.)
(k) Restrictions on Gifts from Business Associates . All Employees are subject to OppenheimerFunds separate Gift Policy which is considered an integral part of this Code. In general, Employees must limit any gifts or entertainment received from or given to any person or entity that does business with or on behalf of OppenheimerFunds or an Advisory Client. (Please refer to the Gift Policy for specific guidelines and information.)
4. Definitions - As used herein:
"Advisory Client" means any Oppenheimer Fund, other investment company or other client for which OppenheimerFunds acts as adviser or sub-adviser.
"Access Person" means any officer, director, general partner, Investment Person, trustee or certain other Employee (as described immediately below) of: OppenheimerFunds, any of the Oppenheimer Funds, any other entity adopting this Code; or any persons directly controlled by OppenheimerFunds who directly or indirectly control (as defined in the Investment Company Act) the activities of such persons.
An Access Person also means any natural person in a control (as defined in the Investment Company Act) relationship to any Oppenheimer Fund or OppenheimerFunds (or any company in a control relationship to an Oppenheimer Fund or OppenheimerFunds) who obtains information concerning recommendations made to the Fund with regard to the purchase or sale of Securities by the Fund.
Notwithstanding the definitions above, for purposes of the personal account requirements under Section 6, the restrictions on trading under Section 7, the reporting requirements under Section 9 and the certification requirements under Section 10 of this Code, an "Independent Director" of an Oppenheimer Fund is not considered an Access Person.
An Employee also is an Access Person if:
(i) in connection with his or her regular functions or duties, that Employee makes, participates in, or obtains information regarding, the purchase or sale of a Security by an Advisory Client, or whose functions relate to the making of any recommendations with respect to such purchases or sales.
(ii) the Employee has access to timely information relating to investment management activities, research and/or client portfolio holdings and those who in the course of their employment regularly receive access to trading activity of Advisory Clients; or
(iii) the Employee has been notified in writing by the Code Administrator (or a designee) that the Employee has been designated as an Access Persons by the Code Administrator by virtue of the nature of the Employee's duties and functions.
"Beneficial Interest" means the opportunity, directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship or otherwise, to share at any time in any economic interest or profit derived from an ownership of or a transaction in a Security.
You are deemed to have a Beneficial Interest in the following:
(i) Any Security owned individually by you;
(ii) Any Security owned jointly by you with others (for example, joint accounts, spousal accounts, partnerships, trusts and controlling interests in corporations);
(iii) Any Security in which a Family Member has a Beneficial Interest if the Security is held in an account over which you have decision making authority (for example, you act as trustee, executor, or guardian or you provide investment advice);
(iv) Accounts held by a Family Member. This presumption may be rebutted by convincing evidence that the profits derived from transactions in the Securities will not provide you with any economic benefit;
(v) Your interest as a general partner or manager/member in Securities held by a general or limited partnership or a limited liability company;
(vi) Your interest as a member of an "investment club" or an organization that is formed for the purpose of investing a pool of monies in Securities;
(vii) Your ownership of Securities as trustee of a trust in which either you or a Family Member has a vested interest in the principal of income of the trust or your ownership of a vested interest in a trust;
You do not have a beneficial interest in Securities held by a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other entity in which you hold an equity interest unless you are a controlling equity holder or you have or share investment control over the Securities held by the entity.
If you are unsure if an account is within the definition of Personal Account or whether you would be deemed to have a beneficial interest in an account, please contact the Code Administrator.
"Code Administrator" is the person appointed by OppenheimerFunds as responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Code.
"Code of Conduct" is a separate set of guidelines that defines the standards to which all Employees of OppenheimerFunds and its subsidiaries and affiliates are expected to adhere during the course of their employment with, and when conducting business on behalf of, OppenheimerFunds.
"Code of Ethics Oversight Committee" is the committee of OFI having the responsibilities described in sections 12 and 13 of this Code.
"Discretionary Account" means a Personal Account in which you have completely turned over decision-making authority to a professional money manager (who is not a Family Member or not otherwise covered by this Code) and you have no direct or indirect influence or control over the account. (Such Discretionary Accounts are often referred to as "professionally managed," "controlled" or "managed" accounts.)
"Employee" means any person deemed to be an employee of OppenheimerFunds or a "supervised person" of OppenheimerFunds for purposes of the Advisers Act. For purposes of this Code, a director of OFI is not considered an Employee solely by reason of being a director of OFI.
"Exchange-traded funds" or " ETFs " are typically open-end funds or unit investment trusts listed on a stock exchange.
"Family Member" means your spouse, minor children and other members of your immediate family (children, stepchildren, grandchildren, parents, step parents, grandparents, siblings, in-laws and adoptive relationships) who share your household. In addition, you are deemed to have a Beneficial Interest in accounts maintained by your domestic partner (an unrelated adult with whom you share your home and contribute to each other's support).
In a situation in which the status of a "Family Member" is in question, the person shall be presumed to be a "Family Member" for purposes of this Code. It is the Employee's burden to affirmatively rebut the presumption to the Code Administrator that the person should not be deemed to be a "Family Member" within this definition.
"Independent Director" means any director or trustee of an Oppenheimer Fund who is not an "interested person" (as that term is defined by Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act) of the Fund. Notwithstanding the definition of an Access Person above, for purposes of this Code, an Independent Director is not considered an Access Person.
"Initial Public Offering" means an offering of securities registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended ("1933 Act"), the issuer of which immediately before the registration was not subject to the reporting requirements of Sections 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
"Investment Person" means an Access Person who also is (i) a Portfolio Manager, (ii) a securities analyst or trader who provides information and advice to a Portfolio Manager or who helps execute a Portfolio Manager's decisions, (iii) any other person who, in connection with his or her duties, makes or participates in making recommendations regarding an Advisory Client's purchase or sale of securities, (iv) any Employee who works directly with a Portfolio Manager or in the same department as the Portfolio Manager or (v) any natural person in a control relationship to an Oppenheimer Fund or OppenheimerFunds who obtains information concerning recommendations made to the Oppenheimer Fund with regard to the purchase or sale of Securities by the Oppenheimer Fund.
In addition to the above definitions, an Employee is an "Investment Person" if the Employee has been notified in writing by the Code Administrator (or a designee) that the Employee has been designated as an "Investment Person" by the Code Administrator by virtue of the nature of the Employee's duties and functions.
"OppenheimerFunds" means (for purposes of this Code) Oppenheimer Funds, Inc.; Centennial Asset Management Corporation; OFI Institutional Asset Management, Inc.; HarbourView Asset Management Corporation; OFI Private Investments, Inc.; Oppenheimer Real Asset Management, Inc.; and OppenheimerFunds Distributor, Inc.
"Oppenheimer Fund" means any investment company registered under the Investment Company Act for which OppenheimerFunds serves as the investment adviser or for which OFDI serves as the principal underwriter.
"Personal Account" means any account owned by, or in the name of, an OppenheimerFunds Employee or Access Person in which Securities may be held or any such account in which an Employee (including an Access or Investment Person) has a Beneficial Interest.
"Portfolio Manager" means an Access Person who has direct responsibility and authority to make investment decisions affecting a particular Advisory Client.
"Private Placement" means an offering that is exempt from registration pursuant to Section 4(2) or Section 4(6) of the 1933 Act or pursuant to rules 504, 505 or 506 under the 1933 Act.
"Security" means, except as noted below, generally any investment, instrument, asset or holding, whether publicly or privately traded, and any option, future, forward contract, listed depository receipts ( e.g. , ADRs, ADSs, GDRs) or other obligation involving securities or index thereof, including an instrument whose value is derived or based on any of the above ("derivative"). A Security also includes any instrument that is convertible or exchangeable into a security or which confers a right to purchase a security.
For purposes of the Code, the term "Security" specifically includes shares of any Oppenheimer Fund or an exchange-traded fund.
For purposes of this Code, the term "Security" does not include:
(i) Shares of a registered open-end investment company (other than an Oppenheimer Fund or ETF), shares of a money market fund that holds itself out as a money market fund under Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, or shares of unit investment trusts that invest exclusively in registered open-end investment companies;
(ii) Direct obligations of the U.S. government ( e.g ., Treasury securities) or any derivative thereof;
(iii) Investment grade short-term debt instruments, such as bank certificates of deposit, banker's acceptances, repurchase agreements, and commercial paper;
(iv) Insurance contracts, including life insurance or annuity contracts;
(v) Direct investments in real estate, private business franchises or similar ventures; or
(vi) Physical commodities (including foreign currencies) or any derivatives thereof.
"Security Held or to Be Acquired" by an Advisory Client means any Security that, within the most recent 15 days (i) is or has been held by the Advisory Client or (ii) is being considered by the Advisory Client or its investment adviser for purchase by the Advisory Client. A "Security Held or to Be Acquired" also includes any option to purchase or sell, and any security convertible into or exchangeable for, a Security.
A security is "Being Considered for Purchase or Sale" from the time an order is given by or on behalf of the Portfolio Manager to the order room of an Advisory Client until the time all orders with respect to that security are completed or withdrawn.
"Sub-Adviser" means an investment adviser that acts as an investment sub-adviser to a portfolio advised by OppenheimerFunds and is not affiliated with OppenheimerFunds.
"Supervised Person" means any partner, officer, director (or other person occupying a similar status or performing similar functions), or employee of OppenheimerFunds, or other person who provides investment advice on behalf of OppenheimerFunds and is subject to the supervision and control of OppenheimerFunds.
5. Short-Term Trading in Oppenheimer Funds .
OppenheimerFunds policy is to prevent disruptive short-term trading in the Oppenheimer Funds. Accordingly, when purchasing, exchanging, or redeeming shares of Oppenheimer Funds, all Employees must comply in all respects with the policies and standards set forth in the funds' prospectuses, including specifically the restrictions on market timing activities, exchanges and redemption policies.
Any Employee who redeems shares of an Oppenheimer Fund purchased within the preceding 30 days (a "short-term trade") must report that short-term trade to the Code Administrator no more than two business days after the redemption. The Employee may be required to relinquish any profit made on a short-term trade and will be subject to disciplinary action if the Employee fails to report the short-term trade in a timely manner or the Code Administrator determines that the short-term trade was detrimental to the interests of the Oppenheimer Fund or its shareholders. For purposes of this paragraph, a redemption includes a redemption by any means, including an exchange from the Fund.
This policy does not cover purchases, redemptions or exchanges (i) into or from money market funds, or (ii) effected on a regular periodic basis through systematic plans, such as automatic monthly redemptions to a checking or savings account.
6. Requirements for All Personal Accounts .
Every Employee must obtain pre-approval before opening a new Personal Account with a financial firm or institution ( e.g ., broker, dealer, adviser, or any other professional money manager), including accounts opened by Family Members. Pre-approval is not required prior to opening any account that does not have the ability to hold Securities ( i.e ., a traditional checking account) or an internal OppenheimerFunds account.
An Employee may maintain Personal Accounts with the financial firm of his or her choice, provided the firm is able to provide copies of the Employee's account statements to the Code Administrator and such statements are being provided. However, the Code Administrator or the Code of Ethics Oversight Committee may require any Employee to maintain his or her Personal Accounts with specified firms or prohibit any Employee from maintaining his or her Personal Accounts with specified firms.
7. Access Persons-Prohibited Transactions in Securities .
A. An Access Person is prohibited from:
(i) purchasing any Security in an Initial Public Offering or Private Placement, without pre-approval from the Code Administrator. If an Access Person seeks pre-approval for the acquisition of a Security in a Private Placement or an Initial Public Offering, the Access Person shall set forth in detail the rationale for the transaction.
(ii) purchasing or selling any interest in a collective investment vehicle that is exempt from registration under the 1933 Act, including, but not limited to, hedge funds, private funds or similar investment limited partnerships, without pre-approval from the Code Administrator;
(iii) selling a security short, except a short sale as a hedge against a long position in the same security if such short sale has been identified to and pre-approved by the Code Administrator; and
(iv) purchasing or selling in his or her Personal Account options or futures, other than options and futures related to broad-based indices, U.S. Treasury securities, currencies and long portfolio positions in the same or a substantially similar security.
B. Transactions Exempt from these Prohibitions and Pre-Clearance Requirements. The following transactions by Access Persons are exempt from the prohibitions of this Section 7 and do not require pre-clearance:
(i) Purchases or sales of Securities made in a Discretionary Account;
(ii) Involuntary purchases or sales of Securities in a Personal Account, such as Securities received pursuant to a dividend reinvestment plan or a stock split or through a gift or bequest; or
(iii) Purchases of Securities in a Personal Account that result from the exercise of rights acquired from an issuer as part of a pro rata distribution to all holders of a class of Securities of such issuer and the sale of such rights.
(iv) Transactions described in Section 7.A. (i) - (iv) by a director who is not otherwise an employee of OFI; provided, that such a director does not have actual knowledge that an order to buy or sell the same securities described in Section 7.A. (i) - (iv) has been made for an Advisory Client or is being considered for an Advisory Client until such information is made publicly available.
C. Duration of Pre-Approvals . Pre-approval remains in effect until the end of the next business day on which such pre-approval is granted or as otherwise specified by the Code Administrator.
8. Investment Persons-Prohibited Transactions in Securities .
A. Pre-Approval . Every Investment Person must obtain pre-approval of every Securities transaction in his or her Personal Account, except as noted below in this section 8.C.
B An Investment Person is prohibited from:
(i) purchasing any Security in an Initial Public Offering or Private Placement, without pre-approval from the Code Administrator. Any Investment Person who has purchased a Security in a Private Placement or an Initial Public Offering for his or her Personal Account must disclose that investment to the Code Administrator before he or she participates in the subsequent consideration of an investment in Securities of the same or a related issuer for an Advisory Client. An independent review of the Advisory Client's proposed investment shall be conducted by the Code Administrator and/or Investment Persons who do not have an interest in the issuer.
(ii) purchasing or selling any interest in a collective investment vehicle that is exempt from registration under the 1933 Act, including, but not limited to, hedge funds, private funds or similar investment limited partnerships, without pre-approval from the Code Administrator;
(iii) selling a security short, except a short sale as a hedge against a long position in the same security if such short sale has been identified to and pre-approved by the Code Administrator; and
(iv) purchasing or selling in his or her Personal Account options or futures, other than options and futures related to broad-based indices, U.S. Treasury securities, currencies and long portfolio positions in the same or a substantially similar security.
C. Transactions Exempt from these Prohibitions and Pre-Approval Requirements . The following transactions by an Investment Person are exempt from the prohibitions of this Section 8 and do not require pre-approval:
(i) Discretionary Account . Purchases or sales of Securities made in a Discretionary Account do not require pre-approval. Any Investment Person claiming to have a Discretionary Account must first provide a written explanation to the Code Administrator describing the circumstances or arrangements of the Discretionary Account and reasons why the Investment Person believes the account should be considered a Discretionary Account. The Code Administrator may require pre-approval of any Discretionary Account.
(ii) Transactions of any open-end non-Oppenheimer Fund . A purchase or sale of shares of any open-end non-Oppenheimer Fund or open-end Oppenheimer Fund that the Investment Person does not serve in the capacity, or perform the functions that warrant him or her to be identified as an Investment Person, does not require pre-approval. Pre-approval is required for transactions in an open-end investment company for which OppenheimerFunds is the investment sub-adviser and the Investment Person serves in the capacity, or perform the functions, that warrant him or her to be identified as an Investment Person.
(iii) Exchange-traded funds.
(iv) Securities issued by the U.S. government, its agencies, instrumentalities and government-sponsored enterprises do not require pre-approval;
(v) Bankers' acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper, and short-term debt instruments (including repurchase agreements), provided such debt instruments have a maturity at the date of issuance of less than 366 days and are rated in one of the two highest rating categories by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization do not require pre-approval;
(vi) Involuntary purchases or sales of Securities in a Personal Account, such as Securities received pursuant to a dividend reinvestment plan or a stock split or through a gift or bequest do not require pre-approval; or
(vii) Purchases of Securities in a Personal Account that result from the exercise of rights acquired from an issuer as part of a pro rata distribution to all holders of a class of Securities of such issuer and the sale of such rights do not require pre-approval.
D. Seven-Day Blackout Period . No Investment Person may purchase or sell any Security for his or her Personal Account within seven calendar days before or seven calendar days after the same Security is purchased or sold by an Advisory Client for whom the Investment Person serves in the capacity, or performs the functions, that warrant him or her to be identified as an Investment Person. Provided however, the Code Administrator may exclude from this provision trades for an Advisory Client that are programmatic in nature and do not represent a substantive investment decision with respect to any particular Security ( e.g ., a program trade to sell pro-rata portions of each Security in an Advisory Client's portfolio). The Code Administrator shall maintain a record of such transactions.
If an Investment Person obtains pre-approval pursuant to this Section 8 for a transaction in a Security, and a transaction in the same Security for an Advisory Client for which that Investment Person acts as an Investment Person takes place within a period of seven calendar days following the Investment Person's transaction, the Investment Person's transaction may be reviewed further by the Code Administrator or the Code of Ethics Oversight Committee to determine the appropriate action, if any. For example, the Code Administrator or the Committee may recommend that the Investment Person be subject to a price adjustment to ensure that he or she did not receive a better price than the Advisory Client.
E. De Minimis Exception to the Seven-Day Blackout Period . Purchases and sales of any Security (other than ETFs) up to $10,000 in the aggregate in any 30-day period do not require pre-approval. This exception is not applicable to the 60-day holding period described below in Section 8.F. Additionally, purchases and sales of any Security (other than ETFs) may not be netted within the 30-day period. For example, a stock purchase effected on January 1st in the amount of $5,000 followed by a $4,000 purchase of the same stock on January 15th would be considered permissible transactions under this de minimis exception and therefore not subject to the seven-day blackout period. However, a subsequent sale on January 20th in the amount of $3,000 would require pre-approval for the reason that the January 1st and 15th purchases and the January 20th sale of the same stock in the aggregate exceeds $10,000 within a 30-day period.
F. Short-Term Trading (60 days) . No Investment Person may purchase and sell, or sell and purchase, in his or her Personal Account any Security within any period of sixty (60) calendar days, except:
(i) Transactions in Securities that are exempt from the pre-approval requirements as described above in Section 8.C.
(ii) a Security sold at a loss, if the trade has been pre-approved by the Code Administrator.
The 60-day holding period will be calculated according to a "last-in, first-out" methodology.
G. Duration of Pre-Approvals . Pre-approval remains in effect until the end of the next business day on which such pre-approval is granted or as otherwise specified by the Code Administrator.
All OppenheimerFunds Employees have an obligation to provide notice to the Code Administrator on a timely basis if there is a change to their duties, responsibilities or title that affects their reporting status under this Code.
A. All Employees (who are not Access Persons or Investment Persons)
(i) Duplicate Confirms . Each Employee shall arrange for duplicate copies of confirmations of all transactions and/or periodic account statements of all Personal Accounts to be sent directly to the Code Administrator. Account statements are not required if a Personal Account does not have the ability to hold Securities ( i.e ., a traditional checking account).
(ii) Initial and Annual Reports . Each Employee must initially and on an annual basis thereafter, report in writing to the Code Administrator all holdings and all transactions in Securities occurring in his or her Personal Account and any new Personal Account established during the most recent year (such information to be current as of a date no more than 45 days before the report is submitted). Each initial and annual report must contain the following information:
Reports submitted pursuant to this Code may contain a statement that the report is not to be construed as an admission that the Employee has or had any direct or indirect Beneficial Interest in any Security to which the report relates.
B. Access Persons (including Investment Persons)
(i) Duplicate Confirms. Each Access Person or Investment Person shall arrange for duplicate copies of confirmations of all transactions and/or periodic account statements of all Personal Accounts to be sent directly to the Code Administrator. Account statements are not required if a Personal Account does not have the ability to hold Securities ( i.e. , a traditional checking account).
(ii) Quarterly Reports. Each Access Person or Investment Person must report in writing to the Code Administrator, within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter, all transactions in Securities occurring in the quarter in his or her Personal Account and any new Personal Account established during the most recent calendar quarter. If there were no such transactions or new accounts, the report should state "None".
An Access Person or Investment Person is deemed to be in compliance with these reporting requirements if all the information required is contained in trade confirmations and/or periodic account statements previously provided to the Code Administrator for the time period covered by the quarterly report.
Each quarterly report must contain the following information with respect to each reportable transaction:
(iii) Initial and Annual Reports. Each Access Person or Investment Person shall, within 10 days after becoming an Access Person or Investment Person, and at least annually thereafter, provide a written holdings report to the Code Administrator with the following information (such information to be current as of a date no more than 45 days before the report is submitted):
Reports submitted pursuant to this Code may contain a statement that the report is not to be construed as an admission that the Access Person has or had any direct or indirect Beneficial Interest in any Security to which the report relates.
(iv) Securities Exempt from Reporting Requirements . Holdings of and transactions in the types of Securities listed below are exempt from the reporting requirements of the Code and do not have to be included in reports submitted to the Code Administrator.
(a) Involuntary purchases or sales of Securities in a Personal Account, such as Securities received pursuant to a dividend reinvestment plan or a stock split or through a gift or bequest; or
(b) Purchases of Securities in a Personal Account that result from the exercise of rights acquired from an issuer as part of a pro rata distribution to all holders of a class of Securities of such issuer and the sale of such rights.
(c) Securities issued by the U.S. government, its agencies, instrumentalities and government-sponsored enterprises;
(d) Bankers' acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper, short-term debt instruments (including repurchase agreements) provided such debt instruments have a maturity at the date of issuance of less than 366 days and are rated in one of the two highest rating categories by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization; or
(e) Shares of any open-end non-Oppenheimer fund except an open-end investment company for which OppenheimerFunds serves as the investment sub-adviser or any ETF. (Any trade in an ETF does have to be reported.)
(v) Outside Directors . A director of OFI who is not otherwise an employee of OFI shall have satisfied the reporting requirements under this Section 9 if (i) such a director is in compliance with the reporting requirements under a code of ethics of an OFI "affiliated person", adopted in compliance with Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act and Rule 17j-1 under the Investment Company Act, to which such a director is subject (an "Affiliate Code"), and (ii) the Code Administrator receives a certification from such an OFI "affiliated person" that the director has satisfied the Affiliate Code's reporting requirements and the director either did not have any reportable violations under the Affiliate Code during the period covered by the certification or any such violations are reported in such certification. Solely for purposes of this Section 9.B.(v), the term "affiliated person" shall have the meaning ascribed to such term under Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act.
10. Certifications (for All Employees) .
(a) Every Employee shall acknowledge that he or she has received the Code of Ethics and understands that he or she is subject to its requirements.
(b) Every Employee shall acknowledge and certify at least annually that he or she: (i) has read and understands the Code of Ethics; (ii) is subject to its requirements; and (iii) has complied with the requirements of the Code of Ethics.
(c) Every Employee shall certify annually that he or she has reported all transactions in and holdings of Securities in Personal Accounts required to be reported pursuant to the Code.
11. Independent Directors of Oppenheimer Funds .
An Independent Director of an Oppenheimer Fund is required to report only those transactions in his or her Personal Account in a Security (excluding, for purposes of this subparagraph, open-end Oppenheimer Funds) that at the time such Director knew, or in the ordinary course of fulfilling his or her duties would have had reason to know, was purchased or sold or was Being Considered for Purchase or Sale by an Advisory Client during the fifteen (15) calendar day period immediately before or after the date of the Independent Director's transaction. No report will be required for any quarter in which an Independent Director has only exempt transactions to report.
Sanctions for any violation of this Code of Ethics by an Independent Director of an Oppenheimer Fund or a Director of OFI will be determined by a majority vote of other Independent Directors of such Fund or other Directors of OFI, as applicable.
(a) Disgorgement . Any profits realized or losses avoided on trades prohibited by Sections 7-8 shall be subject to disgorgement.
(b) Sanctions. Any violation of this Code shall be subject to the imposition of such sanctions by the Code Administrator as the Code Administrator deems appropriate under the circumstances to achieve the purposes of this Code, provided, however, if the sanctions includes suspension or termination of employment, such suspension or termination must be further approved by the Code of Ethics Oversight Committee and the chief executive officer of the relevant company.
Such sanctions may include, but will not necessarily be limited to, one or more of the following: a letter of censure; restitution of an amount equal to the difference between the price paid or received by the affected Advisory Client(s) and the more advantageous price paid or received by the offending person; the suspension or termination of personal trading privileges; or the suspension or termination of employment.
(c) Legal Action. OppenheimerFunds reserves the right to take any legal action it deems appropriate against any Employee who violates any provision of this Code and to seek to hold Employees liable for any and all damages (including, but not limited to, all costs and attorney fees) that OppenheimerFunds may incur as a direct or indirect result of any such Employee's violation of this Code or related law or regulation.
(d) Review Process. An Employee may request review by the Code of Ethics Oversight Committee of a decision or determination made by the Code Administrator pursuant to this Code. The Committee, in its sole discretion, may elect to consider or reject the request for review.
13. Duties of the Code of Ethics Oversight Committee .
The Code of Ethics Oversight Committee is responsible for establishing policies and procedures for the administration of the Code, considering and approving amendments to the Code, and reviewing and considering any decisions made by the Code Administrator upon request of an Employee or involving suspension or termination of employment. The Committee may be assisted by counsel in fulfilling its duties if deemed appropriate. The membership of the Code of Ethics Oversight Committee shall consist of OFI's personnel as may be appointed by the chief executive officer of OFI from time to time. Any Committee member may be removed from the Committee at the sole discretion of the chief executive officer.
14. Duties of the Code Administrator .
The Code Administrator shall have the following responsibilities:
(a) Maintaining a current list of the names of all Access Persons and Investment Persons with an appropriate description of their title or employment;
(b) Furnishing all Employees and Access Persons with a copy of this Code and initially and periodically informing them of their duties and obligations thereunder;
(c) Designating, as desired, appropriate personnel to review transaction and holdings reports submitted by Access Persons;
(d) Reviewing and considering pre-approval requests from Access Persons and Investment Persons and setting forth in detail the rationale for any approvals granted to such Access Persons or Investment Persons;
(e) Maintaining or supervising the maintenance of all records required by this Code;
(f) Reviewing listings of all transactions effected by any Access Person within fifteen (15) days of the date on which the same security was held, purchased or sold by an Advisory Client;
(g) Issuing any interpretation of this Code that may appear consistent with the objectives of this Code;
(h) Conducting such investigations as shall reasonably be required to detect and report any apparent violations of this Code to the Code of Ethics Oversight Committee and to the Directors of the affected Oppenheimer Funds;
(i) Submitting a quarterly report to the Board of Directors of each potentially affected Oppenheimer Fund of any violations of this Code and the sanction imposed as a result; any material interpretations issued by and any material exemptions or waivers found appropriate by the Code Administrator; and any other significant information concerning the appropriateness of this Code.
(j) Submitting a written report at least annually to the Board of Directors of each Oppenheimer Fund that:
(i) describes any issues arising under the Code since the last report to the Board, including, but not limited to, information about material violations of the Code or procedures and sanctions imposed in response to the material violations;
(ii) summarizes existing procedures concerning personal investing and any changes in the procedures made during the previous year;
(iii) identifies any recommended changes in existing restrictions or procedures based upon experience under the Code, evolving industry practices or developments in applicable laws or regulations;
(iv) reports with respect to the implementation of this Code through orientation and training programs and on-going reminders; and
(v) certifies that each Oppenheimer Fund, OppenheimerFunds and OFDI, each have adopted procedures reasonably necessary to prevent Access Persons from violating the Code.
The Code Administrator shall maintain and cause to be maintained in an easily accessible place, the following records:
(a) A copy of any Code adopted pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the Investment Company Act or Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act which has been in effect during the most recent five (5) year period;
(b) A record of any violation of any such Code, and of any action taken as a result of such violation, within five (5) years from the end of the fiscal year of OppenheimerFunds in which such violation occurred;
(c) A copy of all acknowledgements by Access Persons during the most recent five (5) year period;
(d) A copy of each report made by a Access Person, as well as trade confirmations and/or account statements that contain information not duplicated in such reports, within five (5) years from the end of the fiscal year of OppenheimerFunds in which such report is made or information is provided, the first two (2) years in an easily accessible place;
(e) A copy of each report made by the Code Administrator within five (5) years from the end of the fiscal year of OppenheimerFunds in which such report is made or issued, the first two (2) years in an easily accessible place;
(f) A list, in an easily accessible place, of all persons who are, or within the most recent five (5) year period have been Access Persons or were required to make reports pursuant to Rules 17j-1 and 204A-1 and this Code or who are or were responsible for reviewing these reports; and
(g) A record of any decision, and the reasons supporting the decision, to permit an Access Person or Investment Person to acquire a Private Placement or Initial Public Offering security, for at least five (5) years after the end of the fiscal year in which permission was granted.
Any material changes to this Code must be approved by the board of directors of each company adopting this Code, and, if this Code is adopted as the Code of Ethics of the Oppenheimer Funds, by the board of directors or trustees of each Oppenheimer Fund, including a majority of the Independent Directors or Trustees. Approval of any material change to this Code by the board of directors or trustees of the Oppenheimer Funds must be obtained within six months after the change has been adopted by OppenheimerFunds.
17. Exemptions .
Investment Persons may apply for an exemption from this Code's restrictions under Sections 8.D-"Seven-Day Blackout Period" and 8.F-"Short-Term Trading (60 Days)". Exemptions made pursuant to this Section 17 are subject to the prior written approval of OppenheimerFunds' Chief Compliance Officer and OppenheimerFunds' General Counsel. An Investment Person seeking an exemption pursuant to this Section 17 must submit a written request to OppenheimerFunds' Chief Compliance Officer (or his designee) setting forth in detail the extraordinary circumstances that form the basis for the request ( e.g., unanticipated and emergency financial need, such as medical expenses, dependent care or unforeseen household or family developments). OppenheimerFunds' Chief Compliance Officer (or his designee) shall promptly forward such requests to OppenheimerFunds' General Counsel (or his designee). In evaluating an exemption made pursuant to this Section 17, OppenheimerFunds' Chief Compliance Officer and OppenheimerFunds' General Counsel shall consider whether granting such an exemption:
(i) is consistent with the provisions of this Code and applicable laws and regulations; and
(ii) will not disadvantage an Advisory Client or result in a conflict of interest.
Exemptions that have been approved by each of OppenheimerFunds' Chief Compliance Officer and OppenheimerFunds' General Counsel pursuant to this Section 17 must be documented by OppenheimerFunds' Chief Compliance Officer and reported to the Code of Ethics Oversight Committee and the New York and Denver Boards of the Oppenheimer Funds.
_________________________________________________________________________
This Code of Ethics dated May 25, 2012 has been adopted by:
The New York and Denver Boards of the Oppenheimer Funds
OppenheimerFunds, Inc.
OppenheimerFunds Distributor, Inc.
Centennial Asset Management Corporation
Oppenheimer Real Asset Management, Inc.
OFI Institutional Asset Management, Inc.
HarbourView Asset Management Corporation
OFI Private Investments, Inc.
Exhibit (p)(22)
T. Rowe Price Code of Ethics
Effective May 31, 2012
CODE OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT
T. ROWE PRICE GROUP, INC.
AND ITS AFFILIATES
OF
T. ROWE PRICE GROUP, INC.
AND ITS AFFILIATES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
GENERAL POLICY STATEMENT 1-1
Purpose of Code of Ethics and Conduct 1-1
Persons and Entities Subject to the Code 1-2
Definition of Supervised Persons 1-2
Status as a Fiduciary 1-2
Adviser Act Requirements for Supervised Persons 1-3
NASDAQ Requirements 1-4
What the Code Does Not Cover 1-4
Sarbanes-Oxley Codes 1-4
Compliance Procedures for Funds and Federal Advisers 1-4
Compliance with the Code 1-4
Questions Regarding the Code 1-5
STANDARDS OF CONDUCT OF PRICE GROUP AND ITS PERSONNEL 2-1
Allocation Policy 2-1
Annual Verification of Compliance 2-1
Antitrust 2-1; 7-1
Anti-Bribery Laws and Prohibitions Against Illegal Payments 2-8
Anti-Money Laundering 2-1
Appropriate Conduct 2-1
Computer Security 2-1; 6-1
Conflicts of Interest 2-2
Relationships with Profitmaking Enterprises 2-2
General Prohibitions 2-2
Approval Process 2-2
Review by Ethics Committee 2-2
Approved Service as Director or Similar Position 2-2
Service with Nonprofitmaking Organizations 2-2
Approval Process 2-2
By Supervisor 2-3
By Ethics Committee Chairperson 2-3
Relationships with Financial Service Firms 2-3
Existing Relationships with Potential Vendors 2-3
Investment in Client/Vendor Company Stock 2-3
Conflicts in Connection with Proxy Voting 2-4
Confidentiality 2-4
Internal Operating Procedures and Planning 2-4
Clients, Fund Shareholders, and TRP Brokerage Customers 2-5
Third Parties 2-5
Investment Advice 2-5
Investment Research 2-6
Employee Information 2-6
Information about the Price Funds 2-6
Understanding as to Clients' Accounts and Company Records
at Time of Termination of Association 2-6
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ( "HIPAA" ) 2-6
Employment of Former Government and Self-Regulatory Organization Employees 2-6
Financial Reporting 2-7
Gifts and Gratuities 2-7; 3-1
Health and Safety in the Workplace 2-7
Human Resources 2-7
Equal Opportunity 2-7
Drug and Alcohol Policy 2-7
Policy Against Harassment and Discrimination 2-7
Use of Employee Likenesses and Information 2-8
Inside Information 2-9; 4-1
Investment Clubs 2-9
Marketing and Sales Activities 2-9
Past and Current Litigation 2-9
Political Activities and Contributions 2-10
Lobbying 2-11
Professional Designations 2-12
Protection of Corporate Assets 2-12
Quality of Services 2-12
Record Retention and Destruction 2-12
Referral Fees 2-13
Release of Information to the Press 2-13
Responsibility to Report Violations 2-13
General Obligation 2-13
Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Procedures 2-14
Sarbanes-Oxley Attorney Reporting Requirements 2-14
Circulation of Rumors 2-14
Service as Trustee, Executor or Personal Representative 2-14
Social Media 2-15
Speaking Engagements and Publications 2-14
Appendix A 2A
STATEMENT OF POLICY ON GIFTS, ENTERTAINMENT, EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT AND CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS 3-1
STATEMENT OF POLICY ON MATERIAL, INSIDE (NON-PUBLIC) INFORMATION 4-1
STATEMENT OF POLICY ON SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS 5-1
STATEMENT OF POLICY WITH RESPECT TO COMPUTER SECURITY
AND RELATED ISSUES 6-1
STATEMENT OF POLICY ON COMPLIANCE WITH
ANTITRUST LAWS 7-1
STATEMENT OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ON PRIVACY 8-1
CODE OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT
OF
T. ROWE PRICE GROUP, INC.
AND ITS AFFILIATES
INDEX
Access Persons 5-3
Activities, Political 2-10
Adviser Act Requirements for Supervised Persons 1-3
Advisory Board Membership for Profitmaking Enterprise 2-2
Allocation Policy 2-1
Antitrust 2-1; 7-1
Anti-Bribery Laws and Prohibitions Against Illegal Payments 2-8
Anti-Money Laundering 2-1
Annual Disclosure by Access Persons 5-29
Annual Verification of Compliance 2-1
Appropriate Conduct 2-1
Assets, Protection of Corporate 2-12
Beneficial Ownership, Definition of 5-4
Business Entertainment, Accepting 3-5
Business Entertainment, Providing 3-7
Business Entertainment, Reporting of 3-11
Charitable Contributions 3-12
Chief Compliance Officers Appendix A
Circulation of Rumors 2-14
Clients' Accounts and Company Records 2-6
Clients, Shareholders and Brokerage Customers 2-5
Client Limit Orders 5-25
Client/Vendor Company Stock, Investment in 2-3
Code Compliance Section 1-1
Code of Ethics and Conduct, Compliance with 1-4
Code of Ethics and Conduct, Purpose of 1-1
Code of Ethics and Conduct, Questions Regarding 1-5
Code of Ethics and Conduct, Persons and Entities Subject to 1-2
Co-Investment with Client Investment Partnerships 5-22
Commodity Futures Contracts 5-10
Compliance Procedures, Funds and Federal Advisers 1-4
Computer Security 2-1; 6-1
Conduct, Standards of, Price Group and its Personnel 2-1
Confidentiality/Privacy 2-4; 8-1
Confidentiality of Computer Systems Activities and Information 6-2
Conflicts of Interest 2-2
Contracts for Difference 5-26
Contributions, Political 2-10
Corporate Assets, Protection of 2-12
Data Privacy and Protection 6-3
Destruction of Records 2-12
Drug Policy 2-7
Employee Likenesses, and Information, Use of 2-8
Employment of Former Government Employees 2-6
Encryption 8-5
Equal Opportunity 2-7
Excessive Trading, Mutual Funds Shares 5-2
Exchange Traded Funds (" ETFs ") 5-10
Exchange - Traded Index Options 5-25
Executor, Service as 2-14
Expense Reimbursement, Accepting 3-8
Expense Reimbursement, Providing 3-9
Fees, Referral 2-13
Fiduciary, Price Advisers' Status as a 1-2; 5-1
Financial Reporting 2-7
Financial Service Firms, Relationships with 2-3
Front Running 5-1
Gambling Related to Securities Markets 5-28
General Policy Statement 1-1
Gifts, Giving 3-3
Gifts, Receipt of 3-3
Gifts, Reporting 3-10
Global Investment Performance Standards ( "GIPS" ) 2-9
Government Employees, Employment of Former 2-6
Harassment and Discrimination, Policy Against 2-7
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ( "HIPAA" ) 2-6
iTrade 5-15
Illegal Payments 2-8
Independent Directors of Price Funds, Reporting 5-20
Independent Directors of Price Group, Reporting 5-22
Independent Directors of Savings Bank, Transaction Reporting 5-23
Information Barriers 4-9
Information, Release to the Press 2-13
Initial Public Offerings 5-14
Inside Information 2-9; 4-1
Insider Trading and Securities Fraud Enforcement Act 4-1; 5-1
Interest, Conflicts of 2-2
Intermediaries, Restrictions on Holding Price Funds Through by Access Persons 5-12
Internal Operating Procedures and Planning 2-4
Internet, Access to 6-6
Investment Advice 2-5
Investment Clubs 2-9; 5-23
Investment Personnel 5-4
Investment Personnel, Reporting of Open-end Investment Company Holdings by 5-29
Investment Research 2-6
Large Issuer/Volume Transactions 5-24
Litigation, Past and Current 2-9
Lobbying 2-11
Margin Accounts 5-24
Market Timing, Mutual Fund Shares 5-2
Marketing and Sales Activities 2-9
Mutual Fund Shares, Excessive Trading of 5-2
NASDAQ Requirements 1-4
Non-Access Persons 5-4
Nonprofitmaking Organizations, Service with 2-2
Open-End Investment Company Holdings, Reporting by Investment Personnel 5-29
Options and Futures 5-25
Payments, Illegal 2-8
Personal Securities Holdings, Disclosure of by Access Persons 5-29
Personal Representative, Service as 2-14
Political Action Committee ( "PAC" ) 2-10
Political Activities and Contributions 2-10
Press, Release of Information to the 2-13
Price Funds Held Through Intermediaries 5-12
Price Funds Held on Price Platforms or Through TRP Brokerage 5-12
Price Group, Standards of Conduct 2-1
Price Group Stock, Transactions in 5-6
Price Platforms 5-12
Prior Transaction Clearance of Securities Transactions (other than Price Group stock) 5-13
Prior Transaction Clearance Denials, Requests for Reconsideration 5-17
Privacy Policies and Procedures 8-1
Private Placement, Investment In 5-15
Private Placement Memoranda 4-10
Professional Designations 2-12
Profitmaking Enterprises, Relationships with 2-2
Protection of Corporate Assets 2-12
Publications 2-14
Quality of Services 2-12
Questions Regarding the Code 1-5
Rating Changes on Security 5-16; 5-24
Record Destruction 2-12
Record Retention 2-12
Referral Fees 2-13
Regulation FD 4-7
Reimbursement of Consultants Expenses Prohibited 3-9
Release of Information to the Press 2-13
Reportable Funds 5-12
Reporting by Independent Directors of the Price Funds 5-20
Reporting by Independent Directors of Price Group 5-22
Reporting by Independent Directors of the Savings Bank 5-23
Reporting, Financial 2-7
Reporting, Price Group Stock Transactions 5-8
Reporting, Securities Transactions (other than Price Group stock)
(not Independent Directors) 5-17
Reporting Violations 2-13
Research Trips 3-6
Restricted List 4-9
Retention of Code 1-1
Retention, Record 2-12
Rule 10b5-1 4-6
Rule 10b5-2 4-4
Sales and Marketing Activities 2-9
Sanctions 1-4; 4-2; 5-30
Sarbanes-Oxley Attorney Reporting Requirements 2-14
Sarbanes-Oxley Codes 1-4
Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Procedures 2-14
Savings Bank 5-1
Section 529 College Savings Plans, Reporting 5-12; 5-19
Securities Accounts, Notification of 5-17
Securities Transactions, Reporting of (other than Price Group stock)
(not Independent Directors) 5-17
Services, Quality of 2-12
Short Sales 5-27
Sixty (60) Day Rule 5-27
Software Programs, Application of Copyright Law 6-12
Speaking Engagements 2-14
Standards of Conduct of Price Group and its Personnel 2-1
Statement, General Policy 1-1
Social Media Guidelines 2-15
Supervised Persons, Adviser Act Requirements for 1-3
Supervised Persons, Definition of 1-2
Supervision of Gifts, Business Entertainment and Expense Reimbursement 3-10
Supervision of Requests Regarding Charitable Contributions 3-12
T. Rowe Price Platform 5-12
Temporary Workers, Application of Code to 1-2; 5-3
Termination of Association, Understanding as to Accounts and Records 2-6
Trading Activity, Generally 5-24
Trading Activity, Mutual Fund Shares 5-2
Trading Price Funds on Price Platforms/Brokerage .5-12
Trading Price Funds Through Intermediaries 5-12
Trips, Research 3-6
Trustee, Service as 2-14
Use of Employees' Likenesses and Information 2-8
Vendors, Relationships with Potential 2-3
Violations, Responsibility to Report 2-13
Waiver for Executive Officer, Reporting of 1-4
Watch List 4-9
Whistleblower Procedures, Sarbanes-Oxley 2-14
CODE OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT
OF
T. ROWE PRICE GROUP, INC.
AND ITS AFFILIATES
GENERAL POLICY STATEMENT
Purpose of Code of Ethics and Conduct. As a global investment management firm, we are considered a fiduciary to many of our clients and owe them a duty of undivided loyalty. Our clients entrust us with their financial well-being and expect us to always act in their best interests. Over the 74 years of our Company's history, we have earned a reputation for fair dealing, honesty, candor, objectivity and unbending integrity. This has been possible by conducting our business on a set of shared values and principles of trust.
In order to educate our personnel, protect our reputation, and ensure that our tradition of integrity remains as a principle by which we conduct business, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. ("T. Rowe Price," "TRP", "Price Group" or "Group") has adopted this Code of Ethics and Conduct ("Code") . Our Code establishes standards of conduct that we expect each associate to fully understand and agree to adopt. As we are in a highly regulated industry, we are governed by an ever-increasing body of federal, state, and international laws as well as countless rules and regulations which, if not observed, can subject the firm and its employees to regulatory sanctions. In total, our Code contains 31 separate Standards of Conduct as well as the following separate Statements of Policy:
1. Statement of Policy on Gifts, Entertainment, Expense Reimbursement and Charitable Contributions
2. Statement of Policy on Material, Inside (Non-Public) Information
3. Statement of Policy on Securities Transactions
4. Statement of Policy with Respect to Compliance with Copyright and Trademark Laws
5. Statement of Policy with Respect to Computer Security and Related Issues
6. Statement of Policy on Compliance with Antitrust Laws
7. Statement of Policies and Procedures on Privacy
A copy of this Code will be retained by the Code Administration and Regulatory Reporting Section of Group Compliance in Baltimore ("Code Compliance Section") for five years from the date it is last in effect. While the Code is intended to provide you with guidance and certainty as to whether or not certain actions or practices are permissible, it does not cover every issue that you may face. The firm maintains other compliance-oriented manuals and handbooks that may be directly applicable to your specific responsibilities and duties. Nevertheless, the Code should be viewed as a guide for you and the firm as to how we jointly must conduct our business to live up to our guiding tenet that the interests of our clients and customers must always come first.
Each new employee will be provided with a copy of the current Code and all employees have access to the current Code, which is posted on the intranet. Each employee will be required to provide Price Group with a written acknowledgement of his or her understanding of the Code and its amendments on at least an annual basis. All written acknowledgements will be retained as required by the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the "Advisers Act." )
Please read the Code carefully and observe and adhere to its guidance.
Persons and Entities Subject to the Code. Unless otherwise determined by the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee, the following entities and individuals are subject to the Code:
Price Group
The subsidiaries and affiliates of Price Group
The officers, directors and employees of Group and its affiliates and subsidiaries
Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms "T. Rowe Price," "Price Group" and "Group" refer to Price Group and all its affiliates and subsidiaries.
In addition, the following persons are subject to the Code:
1. All temporary workers hired on the Price Group payroll (" TRP Temporaries ");
2. All agency temporaries whose assignments at Price Group exceed four weeks or whose cumulative assignments exceed eight weeks over a twelve-month period;
3. All independent or agency-provided consultants whose assignments exceed four weeks or whose cumulative assignments exceed eight weeks over a twelve-month period and whose work is closely related to the ongoing work of Price Group employees (versus project work that stands apart from ongoing work); and
4. Any contingent worker whose assignment is more than casual in nature or who will be exposed to the kinds of information and situations that would create conflicts on matters covered in the Code.
The independent directors of Price Group, the Price Funds and the Savings Bank are subject to the principles of the Code generally and to specific provisions of the Code as noted.
Definition of Supervised Persons. Under the Advisers Act, the officers, directors (or other persons occupying a similar status or performing similar functions) and employees of the Price Advisers, as well as any other persons who provide advice on behalf of a Price Adviser and are subject to the Price Adviser's supervision and control are "Supervised Persons."
Status as a Fiduciary. Several of Price Group's subsidiaries are investment advisers registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (" SEC "). These include T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. (" TRPA "), T. Rowe Price International Ltd (" TRPIL "), T. Rowe Price Advisory Services, Inc. (" TRPAS "), T. Rowe Price (Canada), Inc. (" TRP Canada "), T. Rowe Price Singapore Private Ltd. ( "TRPSING" ) and T. Rowe Price Hong Kong Limited ( "TRPHK" ).
TRPIL is also registered with the United Kingdom's Financial Services Authority ( "FSA" ).
TRPIL is also subject to regulation by the Financial Services Association/Kanto Local Finance Bureau ( "KLFB" ) (Japan) as well as the Dubai Financial Services Authority (in respect of its DFIC Representative Office).
TRPHK is also registered with the Securities and Futures Commission ( "SFC" ) (Hong Kong).
TRPSING is also registered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore ( "MAS" ) (Singapore).
TRP Canada is also registered with the Ontario Securities Commission, the Manitoba Securities Commission, the British Columbia Securities Commission, the Saskatchewan Financial Services Commission, the Nova Scotia Securities Commission, the New Brunswick Securities Commission, the Financial Markets Authority (Quebec) and the Alberta Securities Commission.
All advisers affiliated with Group will be referred to collectively as the " Price Advisers " unless the context otherwise requires. The Price Advisers will register with additional securities regulators as required by their respective businesses. The primary responsibility of the Price Advisers is to render to their advisory clients on a professional basis unbiased advice regarding their clients' investments. As investment advisers, the Price Advisers have a fiduciary relationship with all of their clients, which means that they have an absolute duty of undivided loyalty, fairness and good faith toward their clients and mutual fund shareholders and a corresponding obligation to refrain from taking any action or seeking any benefit for themselves which would, or which would appear to, prejudice the rights of any client or shareholder or conflict with his or her best interests.
Adviser Act Requirements for Supervised Persons. The Advisers Act requires investment advisers to adopt codes that:
establish a standard of business conduct, applicable to Supervised Persons, reflecting the fiduciary obligations of the adviser and its Supervised Persons;
require Supervised Persons to comply with all applicable securities laws, including:
Securities Act of 1933
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002
Investment Company Act of 1940
Investment Advisers Act of 1940
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Privacy Act
Any rules adopted by the SEC under any of the foregoing Acts; and
Bank Secrecy Act as it applies to mutual funds and investment advisers and any rules adopted under that Act by the SEC or the United States Department of the Treasury;
require Supervised Persons to report violations of the code promptly to the adviser's chief compliance officer or his or her designee if the chief compliance officer also receives reports of all violations; and
require the adviser to provide each Supervised Person with a copy of the code and any amendments and requiring Supervised Persons to provide the adviser with written acknowledgement of receipt of the code and any amendments.Price Group applies these requirements to all persons subject to the Code, including all Supervised Persons.
NASDAQ Requirements. Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. (" NASDAQ ") rules require listed companies to adopt a Code of Conduct for all directors, officers, and employees. Price Group is listed on NASDAQ. This Code is designed to fulfill this NASDAQ requirement. A waiver of this Code for an executive officer or director of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. must be granted by Group's Board of Directors and reported as required by the pertinent NASDAQ rule.
What the Code Does Not Cover. The Code was not written for the purpose of covering all policies, rules and regulations to which personnel may be subject. For example, T. Rowe Price Investment Services, Inc. (" Investment Services ") is regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA") and, as such, is required to maintain written supervisory procedures to enable it to supervise the activities of its registered representatives and associated persons to ensure compliance with applicable securities laws and regulations and with the applicable rules of FINRA. In addition, TRPIL and TRP Canada are subject to several non-U.S. regulatory authorities as described on page 1-3 of this Code.
Sarbanes-Oxley Codes. The Principal Executive and Senior Financial Officers of Price Group and the Price Funds are also subject to Codes (collectively the " S-O Codes ") adopted to bring these entities into compliance with the applicable requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (" Sarbanes-Oxley Act "). These S-O Codes, which are available along with this Code on the firm's intranet site under Departments/Corporate/Legal, are supplementary to this Code, but administered separately from it and each other.
Compliance Procedures for Funds and Federal Advisers. Under Rule 38a-1 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, each fund board is required to adopt written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent the fund from violating federal securities laws. These procedures must provide for the oversight of compliance by the fund's advisers, principal underwriters, administrators and transfer agents. Under Rule 206(4)-7 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, it is unlawful for an investment adviser to provide investment advice unless it has adopted and implemented policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violations of federal securities laws by the adviser and its supervised persons.
Compliance with the Code. Strict compliance with the provisions of this Code is considered a basic condition of employment or association with the firm. An employee may be required to surrender any profit realized from a transaction that is deemed to be in violation of the Code. In addition, a breach of the Code may constitute grounds for disciplinary action, including fines and dismissal from employment. Employees may appeal to the Management Committee any ruling or decision rendered with respect to the Code. The names of the members of the Management Committee are included in Appendix A to this Code.
Questions Regarding the Code. Questions regarding the Code should be referred as follows:
1. Standards of Conduct of Price Group and Its Personnel: the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee, the Director of Human Resources, or the TRP International Compliance Team.
2. Statement of Policy on Gifts, Entertainment, Expense Reimbursement and Charitable Contributions: the Legal Department in Baltimore ( "Legal Department" ) or the TRP International Compliance Team.
3. Statement of Policy on Material, Inside (Non-Public) Information: the Legal Department or the TRP International Compliance Team.
4. Statement of Policy on Securities Transactions: For U.S. personnel: the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee or his or her designee; for International personnel: the TRP International Compliance Team.
5. Statement of Policy with Respect to Compliance with Copyright and Trademark Laws: Legal Department.
6. Statement of Policy with Respect to Computer Security and Related Issues: Enterprise Security, the Legal Department or the TRP International Compliance Team.
7. Statement of Policy on Compliance with Antitrust Laws: Legal Department.
8. Statement of Policies and Procedures on Privacy: Legal Department or the TRP International Compliance Team.
For additional information, consult Appendix A following the Standards of Conduct section of the Code.
STANDARDS OF CONDUCT OF PRICE GROUP AND ITS PERSONNEL
Allocation Policy. The policies of each of the Price Advisers with respect to the allocation of client brokerage are set forth in Part II of Form ADV of each of the Price Advisers. The Form ADV is each adviser's registration statement filed with the SEC. It is imperative that all employees -- especially those who are in a position to make recommendations regarding brokerage allocation, or who are authorized to select brokers that will execute securities transactions on behalf of our clients -- read and become fully knowledgeable concerning our policies in this regard. Any questions regarding any of the Price Advisers' allocation policies for client brokerage should be addressed to the designated contact person(s) of the U.S. Equity or Fixed Income or the International Committee, as appropriate. See Appendix A.
Annual Verification of Compliance . Each year, each person subject to the Code ( see p. 1-2) is required to complete a Verification Statement regarding his or her compliance with various provisions of this Code, including its policies on personal securities transactions and material, inside information. In addition, each Access Person (defined on p. 5-3), except the independent directors of the Price Funds, must file an initial and annual Personal Securities Report ( see pp. 5-28 and 5-29).
Antitrust. The United States antitrust laws are designed to ensure fair competition and preserve the free enterprise system. The United Kingdom and the European Union have requirements based on similar principals. Some of the most common antitrust issues with which an employee may be confronted are in the areas of pricing (adviser fees) and trade association activity. To ensure its employees' understanding of these laws, Price Group has adopted a Statement of Policy on Compliance with Antitrust Laws. All employees should read and understand this Statement ( see page 8-1).
Anti-Money Laundering. Certain subsidiaries of Price Group are subject to the laws and regulations of the United States, United Kingdom and the other jurisdictions in which they do business regarding the prevention and detection of money laundering. For example, under the U.S. Patriot Act, the affected subsidiaries must develop internal policies, procedures and controls to combat money laundering, designate a Compliance Officer for the anti-money laundering program, implement employee training in this area, and ensure that an independent review of the adequacy of controls and procedures in this area occurs annually. In addition, the anti-money laundering program must include a Customer Identification Program (" CIP "). Each of these entities has specific procedures in this area, by which its employees must abide.
Appropriate Conduct. Associates are expected to conduct themselves in an appropriate and responsible manner in the workplace, when on company business outside the office and at company-sponsored events. Inappropriate behavior reflects poorly on the associate and may impact TRP. Supervisors should be especially mindful that they should set the standard for appropriate behavior.
Computer Security. Computer systems and programs play a central role in Price Group's operations. To establish appropriate computer security to minimize potential for loss or disruptions to our computer operations, Price Group has adopted a Statement of Policy with Respect to Computer Security and Related Issues. You should read and understand this Statement ( see page 7-1).
Conflicts of Interest. All employees must avoid placing themselves in a "compromising position" where their interests may be in conflict with those of Price Group or its clients.
Relationships with Profitmaking Enterprises. Depending upon the circumstances, an employee may be prohibited from creating or maintaining a relationship with a profitmaking enterprise. In all cases, written approval must be obtained as described below.
General Prohibitions. Employees are generally prohibited from serving as officers or directors of issuers that are approved or likely to be approved for purchase in our firm's client accounts. In addition, an employee may not accept or continue outside employment that will require him or her to become registered (or duly registered) as a representative of an unaffiliated broker/dealer, investment adviser or an insurance broker or company unless approval to do so is first obtained in writing from the Chief Compliance Officer of the broker/dealer. See Appendix A for the name of the Chief Compliance Officer of the broker/dealer. An employee also may not become independently registered as an investment adviser.
Approval Process . Any outside business activity, which may include a second job, appointment as an officer or director of or a member of an advisory board to a for-profit enterprise, or self employment, must be approved in writing by the employee's supervisor. If the employee is a registered representative of Investment Services, he or she must also receive the written approval of the Chief Compliance Officer of the broker/dealer.
Review by Ethics Committee . If an employee contemplates obtaining an interest or relationship that might conflict or appear to conflict with the interests of Price Group, he or she must also receive the prior written approval of the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee or his or her designee and, as appropriate, the Ethics Committee itself. Examples of relationships that might create a conflict or appear to create a conflict of interest may include appointment as a director, officer or partner of or member of an advisory board to an outside profitmaking enterprise, employment by another firm in the securities industry, or self employment in an investment capacity. Decisions by the Ethics Committee regarding such positions in outside profitmaking enterprises may be reviewed by the Management Committee before becoming final. See below for a discussion of relationships with financial services firms.
Approved Service as Director or Similar Position. Certain employees may serve as directors or as members of creditors committees or in similar positions for non-public, for-profit entities in connection with their professional activities at the firm. An employee must receive the written permission of the Management Committee before accepting such a position and must relinquish the position if the entity becomes publicly held, unless otherwise determined by the Management Committee.
Service with Nonprofitmaking Organizations. Price Group encourages its employees to become involved in community programs and civic affairs. However, employees should not permit such activities to affect the performance of their job responsibilities.
Approval Process. The approval process for service with a non-profitmaking organization varies depending upon the activity undertaken.
By Supervisor. An employee must receive the approval of his or her supervisor in writing before accepting a position as an officer, trustee or member of the Board of Directors of any non-profit organization.
By Ethics Committee Chairperson. If there is any possibility that the organization will issue and/or sell securities, the employee must also receive the written approval of the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee or his or her designee and, as appropriate, the Chief Compliance Officer of the broker/dealer before accepting the position.
Although individuals serving as officers, Board members or trustees for non-profitmaking entities that will not issue or sell securities do not need to receive this additional approval, they must be sensitive to potential conflict of interest situations ( e.g., the entity is considering entering a business relationship with a T. Rowe Price entity) and must contact the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee for guidance if such a situation arises.
Relationships with Financial Service Firms. In order to avoid any actual or apparent conflicts of interest, employees are prohibited from investing in or entering into any relationship, either directly or indirectly, with corporations, partnerships, or other entities that are engaged in business as a broker, a dealer, an underwriter, and/or an investment adviser. As described above, this prohibition generally extends to registration and/or licensure with an unaffiliated firm. This prohibition, however, is not meant to prevent employees from purchasing publicly traded securities of broker/dealers, investment advisers or other companies engaged in the mutual fund industry. Of course, all such purchases are subject to prior transaction clearance and reporting procedures, as applicable. This policy also does not preclude an employee from engaging an outside investment adviser to manage his or her assets.
If any member of an employee's immediate family is employed by, or has a partnership interest in a broker/dealer, investment adviser, or other entity engaged in the mutual fund industry, the relationship must be reported to the Ethics Committee.
An ownership interest of 0.5% or more in any entity, including a broker/dealer, investment adviser or other company engaged in the mutual fund industry, must be reported to the Code Compliance Section. See p. 5-28.
Existing Relationships with Potential Vendors. If an employee is going to be involved in the selection of a vendor to supply goods or services to the firm, he or she must disclose the existence of any on-going personal or family relationship with any principal of the vendor to the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee in writing before becoming involved in the selection process.
Investment in Client/Vendor Company Stock. In some instances, existing or prospective clients ( e.g., clients with full-service relationships with T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services, Inc.) or vendors ask to speak to our portfolio managers and/or analysts who have responsibility for a Price Fund or other managed account in an effort to promote investment in their securities. While these meetings present an opportunity to learn more about the client/vendor and may therefore be helpful to Price, employees must be aware of the potential conflicts presented by such meetings. In order to avoid any actual or apparent conflicts of interest:
employees are prohibited from providing any internal information ( e.g., internal ratings or plans for future Price Fund or other client account purchases) to the client or vendor regarding the securities, except to the extent specifically authorized by the Legal Department or otherwise allowed by the Code under the sections entitled "Investment Research" and "Information about the Price Funds" ( see p. 2-6), and
investment decisions of employees regarding a client's or vendor's securities must be made independently of the client or vendor relationship and cannot be based on any express or implied quid pro quo. If a situation arises where a client has suggested that it is considering either expanding or eliminating its relationship with Price (or, in the case of a vendor, offering a more or less favorable pricing structure) based upon whether Price increases purchases of the client's or vendor's securities, the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee should be consulted immediately for guidance.
In addition, the use of information derived from such meetings with existing or prospective clients or vendors must conform to the Statement of Policy on Material, Inside (Non- Public) Information , which is part of this Code ( see p. 4-1).
Conflicts in Connection with Proxy Voting. If a portfolio manager or analyst with the authority to vote a proxy or recommend a proxy vote for a security owned by a Price Fund or a client of a Price Adviser has an immediate family member who is an officer or director or has a material business relationship with the issuer of the security, the portfolio manager or analyst should inform the Proxy Committee of the relationship so that the Proxy Committee can assess any conflict of interest that may affect whether the proxy should or should not be voted in accordance with the firm's proxy voting policies.
Confidentiality. The exercise of confidentiality extends to the major areas of our operations, including internal operating procedures and planning; clients, fund shareholders and TRP Brokerage customers; investment advice; investment research; employee information and contractual obligations to protect third party confidential information. The duty to exercise confidentiality applies not only while an individual is associated with the firm, but also after he or she terminates that association.
Internal Operating Procedures and Planning. During the years we have been in business, a great deal of creative talent has been used to develop specialized and unique methods of operations and portfolio management. In many cases, we feel these methods give us an advantage over our competitors and we do not want these ideas disseminated outside our firm. Accordingly, you should be guarded in discussing our business practices with outsiders. Any requests from outsiders for specific information of this type should be cleared with the appropriate supervisor before it is released.
Also, from time to time management holds meetings in which material, non-public information concerning the firm's future plans is disclosed. You should never discuss confidential information with, or provide copies of written material concerning the firm's internal operating procedures or projections for the future to, unauthorized persons outside the firm.
Clients, Fund Shareholders, and TRP Brokerage Customers. In many instances, when clients subscribe to our services, we ask them to disclose fully their financial status and needs. This is done only after we have assured them that every member of our organization will hold this information in strict confidence. It is essential that we respect their trust. A simple rule for you to follow is that the names of our clients, fund shareholders, or TRP Brokerage customers or any information pertaining to their investments must never be divulged to anyone outside the firm, not even to members of their immediate families, without appropriate authorization, and must never be used as a basis for personal trades over which you have beneficial interest or control.
Third Parties. In contracts with vendors and other third parties with which we have business dealings, the firm may enter into obligations to protect the confidentiality of information received from third parties. Such information may include software, business information concerning the third party or the terms and pricing of the contractual arrangement. This information must be protected in the same manner that the firm's own confidential information is protected.
In addition, the firm has adopted a specific Statement of Policies and Procedures on
Privacy , which is part of this Code ( see p. 9-1).
Investment Advice. Because of the fine reputation our firm enjoys, there is a great deal of public interest in what we are doing in the market. There are two major considerations that dictate why we must not provide investment "tips":
From the point of view of our clients, it is not fair to give other people information which clients must purchase.
From the point of view of the firm, it is not desirable to create an outside demand for a stock when we are trying to buy it for our clients, as this will only serve to push the price up. The reverse is true if we are selling. Therefore, disclosure of our trading interests could have a negative impact on the firm's ability to execute trades at the best price.
In light of these considerations, you must never disclose to outsiders our buy and sell recommendations, current orders or recent transactions, securities we are considering for future investment, or the portfolio holdings of our clients or mutual funds without specific firm authorization.
The practice of giving investment advice informally to members of your immediate family should be restricted to very close relatives. Any transactions resulting from such advice are subject to the prior transaction clearance (Access Persons only except for Price Group stock transactions, which require prior transaction clearance by all personnel) and reporting requirements (Access Persons and Non-Access Persons) of the Statement of Policy on Securities Transactions. Under no circumstances should you receive compensation directly or indirectly (other than from a Price Adviser or an affiliate) for rendering advice to either clients or non-clients.
Investment Research. Any report circulated by a research analyst is confidential in its entirety and should not be reproduced or shown to anyone outside of our organization, except
our clients where appropriate. If a circumstance arises where it may be appropriate to share this information otherwise, the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee should be consulted first.
Employee Information. For business and regulatory purposes, the firm collects and maintains information ( e.g., social security number, date of birth, home address) about its employees, temporaries and consultants. You may not use such information for any non-business or non-regulatory purpose or disclose it to anyone outside the firm without specific authorization from the Legal Department or the TRP International Compliance Team as appropriate.
Information about the Price Funds. The Price Funds have adopted policies and procedures with respect to the selective disclosure of information about the Price Funds and their portfolio holdings. These are set forth on the firm's intranet under "Departments/Corporate/Legal/ TRP Policy and Procedures Documents/Legal/Mutual Funds/"Portfolio Information Release Policy" and "Matrix of Supplementary Fund Data". All Associates are charged with informing themselves of, and adhering to, these Policies and Procedures and may not release any information about the Price Funds that would be harmful to the Price Funds or their shareholders.
Understanding as to Clients' Accounts and Company Records at Time of Termination of Association. The accounts of clients, mutual fund shareholders, and TRP Brokerage customers are not the property of any employee; they are accounts of one of Price Group's affiliates. This includes the accounts of clients for which one or more of the Price Advisers acts as investment adviser, regardless of how or through whom the client relationship originated and regardless of who may be the counselor for a particular client. At the time of termination of association with Price Group, you must: (1) surrender to Price Group in good condition any and all materials, reports or records (including all copies in your possession or subject to your control) developed by you or any other person that are considered confidential information of Price Group; and (2) refrain from communicating, transmitting or making known to any person or firm any information relating to any materials or matters whatsoever that are considered by Price Group to be confidential.
HIPAA. The firm's Flexible Benefits Plan has adopted a specific Privacy Notice regarding the personal health information of participants in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ( "HIPAA" ). A copy of the HIPAA Privacy Notice can be found on the firm's intranet under Departments/Corporate/Human Resources/Benefits/HIPAA Privacy Notice.
Employment of Former Government and Self-Regulatory Organization Employees. United States laws and regulations govern the employment of former employees of the U.S. Government and its agencies, including the SEC. In addition, certain states have adopted similar statutory restrictions. Finally, certain states and municipalities that are clients of the Price Advisers have imposed contractual restrictions in this regard. Before any action is taken to discuss employment by Price Group of a former government or regulatory or self-regulatory organization employee, whether in the United States or internationally, guidance must be obtained from the Legal Department.
Financial Reporting. Price Group's records are maintained in a manner that provides for an accurate record of all financial transactions in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. No false or deceptive entries may be made and all entries must contain an appropriate description of the underlying transaction. All reports, vouchers, bills, invoices, payroll and service records and other essential data must be accurate, honest and timely and should provide an accurate and complete representation of the facts. The Audit Committee of Price Group has adopted specific procedures regarding the receipt, retention and treatment of certain auditing and accounting complaints. See Responsibility to Report Violations at p. 2-14.
Gifts and Gratuities. The firm has adopted a comprehensive policy on providing and receiving gifts and business entertainment, which is found in this Code in the Statement of Policy on Gifts, Entertainment, Expense Reimbursement and Charitable Contributions. All employees should read and understand this Statement ( see page 3-1).
Health and Safety in the Workplace. Price Group recognizes its responsibility to provide personnel a safe and healthful workplace and proper facilities to help them do their jobs effectively.
Human Resources. You should consult the appropriate Associate Handbook for more information on the policies discussed in this section and other Human Resources policies.
Equal Opportunity. Price Group is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity (EEO) and the maximum optimization of our associates' abilities. We believe our continued success depends on the equal treatment of all employees and applicants without regard to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, sex, gender, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship status, veteran status, or any other classification protected by federal, state or local laws.
This commitment to Equal Opportunity covers all aspects of the employment relationship including recruitment, application and initial employment, promotion, transfer, training and development, compensation, and benefits.
All associates of T. Rowe Price are expected to comply with the spirit and intent of our Equal Employment Opportunity Policy.
If you feel you have not been treated in accordance with this policy, contact your immediate supervisor, the appropriate Price Group manager or a Human Resources representative. No retaliation will be taken against you if you report an incident of alleged discrimination in good faith.
Drug and Alcohol Policy. Price Group is committed to providing a drug-free workplace and preventing alcohol abuse in the workplace. Drug and alcohol misuse and abuse affect the health, safety, and well-being of all Price Group employees and customers and restrict the firm's ability to carry out its mission. Personnel must perform job duties unimpaired by illegal drugs or the improper use of legal drugs or alcohol.
Policy Against Harassment and Discrimination. Price Group is committed to providing a safe working environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. Associates have the right to enjoy a workplace that is conducive to high performance, promotes equal opportunity, and prohibits discrimination including harassment.
Price Group will not tolerate harassment, discrimination, or other types of inappropriate behavior directed by or toward an associate, supervisor/manager, contractor, vendor, customer, visitor, or other business partner. Accordingly, the firm will not tolerate harassment or intimidation of any associate based on race, color, national origin, religion, creed, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran, marital or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law. In addition, Price Group does not tolerate slurs, threats, intimidation, or any similar written, verbal, physical, or computer-related conduct that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward any individual based on race, color, national origin, religion, creed, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age disability, veteran, marital, or any other status protected by federal, state or local law. Harassment will not be tolerated on our property or in any other work-related setting such as business-sponsored social events or business trips. In addition, the firm will not tolerate harassment, discrimination, or other types of inappropriate behavior directed by or toward any associate from our customers and clients and vice versa.
If you are found to have engaged in conduct inconsistent with this policy, you will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including, termination of employment.
Use of Employee Likenesses and Information. Employees consent to the use of their names, biographical information, images, job descriptions and other relevant business data for any work-related purpose. A "work-related purpose" includes any T. Rowe Price sponsored community or charitable event.
Anti-Bribery Laws and Prohibitions Against Illegal Payments. State, United States, and international laws prohibit the payment of bribes, kickbacks, inducements or other illegal gratuities or payments by or on behalf of Price Group. Price Group, through its policies and practices, is committed to comply fully with these laws. T. Rowe Price prohibits its employees as well as anyone acting on its behalf from making any type of illegal payment. The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ( "FCPA" ) makes it a crime to directly or indirectly pay, promise to pay, offer to pay or authorize the payment of any money or anything of value to any government official in connection with obtaining or retaining business or influencing such official in order to secure an improper advantage. The term "government official" is broadly defined to include any officer or employee of a government or any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof, or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of any such government or department, agency, or instrumentality thereof, or for or on behalf of any such public international organization, and any political party, party official or candidate for public office.
Additionally, the U.K. Bribery Act 2010 (the "Bribery Act") came into force in July, 2011. The Bribery Act contains wide prohibitions on illegal payments and specifically prohibits bribery between private parties. Also, the Bribery Act provides for severe civil and criminal penalties against individuals and corporations.
Under these anti-bribery laws, actions constituting a bribe or illegal payment are interpreted broadly and could include excessive, repeated or lavish entertainment and/or gifts. Associates must adhere to the guidelines of gift and business entertainment policies and, if required by the applicable policy, indicate in the reporting process whether a recipient of a gift or business entertainment is a government official.
If you are solicited to make or receive an illegal payment or have any questions about this section of the Code, you should contact the Legal Department. Also, an anonymous Hotline (888-651-6223) has been established for employees to report any concerns they have regarding illegal payments, including potential violations of the FCPA and the Bribery Act.
Inside Information. The purchase or sale of securities while in possession of material, inside information is prohibited by U.S., U.K., and other international, state and other governmental laws and regulations. Information is considered inside and material if it has not been publicly disclosed and is sufficiently important that it would affect the decision of a reasonable person to buy, sell or hold securities in an issuer, including Price Group. Under no circumstances may you transmit such information to any other person, except to Price Group personnel who are required to be kept informed on the subject. You should read and understand the Statement of Policy on Material, Inside (Non-Public) Information ( see page 4-1).
Investment Clubs . The following discussion of obligations of Access Persons does not apply to the independent directors of the Price Funds. Access Persons must receive the prior clearance of the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee or his or her designee before forming or participating in a stock or investment club. Transactions in which Access Persons have beneficial ownership or control ( see p. 5-4 ) through investment clubs are subject to the firm's Statement of Policy on Securities Transactions. As described on p. 5-23, approval to form or participate in a stock or investment club may permit the execution of securities transactions without prior transaction clearance by the Access Person, except transactions in Price Group stock, if the Access Person has beneficial ownership solely by virtue of his or her spouse's participation in the club and has no investment control or input into decisions regarding the club's securities transactions. Non-Access Persons (defined on p. 5-4) do not have to receive prior clearance to form or participate in a stock or investment club and need only obtain prior clearance of transactions in Price Group stock.
Marketing and Sales Activities. All written and oral marketing materials and presentations (including performance data) ( e.g., advertisements; sales literature) must be in compliance with applicable SEC, FINRA, Global Investment Performance Standards (" GIPS "), FSA, and other applicable international requirements. All such materials (whether for the Price Funds, non-Price funds, or various advisory or Brokerage services) must be reviewed and approved by the Legal Department or the TRP International Compliance Team, as appropriate, prior to use. All performance data distributed outside the firm, including total return and yield information, must be obtained from databases sponsored by the Performance Group.
Past and Current Litigation. As a condition of employment, each new employee is required to answer a questionnaire regarding past and current civil (including arbitrations) and criminal actions and certain regulatory matters. Price Group uses the information obtained through these questionnaires to answer questions asked on governmental and self-regulatory organization registration forms and for insurance and bonding purposes.
Each employee is responsible for keeping answers on the questionnaire current.
An employee should notify Human Resources and either the Legal Department or the TRP International Compliance Team promptly if he or she:
Becomes the subject of any proceeding or is convicted of or pleads guilty or no
contest to or agrees to enter a pretrial diversion program relating to any felony or misdemeanor or similar criminal charge in a United States (federal, state, or local), foreign or military court, or
Becomes the subject of a Regulatory Action, which includes any action by the SEC,
the FSA, the SFC, the MAS, the KLFB, The Netherland Authority for the Financial Markets, the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority, the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, the CSSF, and the Ontario, Manitoba, British Columbia and Alberta Securities Commissions, a state, a foreign government, a federal, state or foreign regulatory agency or any domestic or foreign self-regulatory organization relating to securities or investment activities, dishonesty, breach of trust, or money laundering as well as any court proceeding that has or could result in a judicial finding of a violation of statutes or regulations related to such activities or in an injunction in connection with any such activities.
Political Activities and Contributions. Price Group and its subsidiaries as well as their employees are subject to various federal, state and local laws regarding political contributions. These regulations can restrict the ability of the firm and its employees to make political contributions. In particular, the SEC has adopted Rule 206(4)-5 of the Advisers Act, known as the "Pay to Play" rule. The rule was adopted to address pay-to-play practices under which direct or indirect payments by investment advisers, and certain of their executives or employees, to state and local government officials in the United States may be perceived to improperly influence the award of government investment business. Generally, the Rule prohibits an investment adviser from providing advisory services for compensation to a government entity client for two years after the adviser or certain of its executives or employees make a contribution over a de minimis amount to certain elected officials or candidates. The Rule affects T. Rowe Price and its employees because government entities use the firm's advisory services and also invest in T. Rowe Price mutual funds.
The firm has adopted a "Statement of Policy Regarding Political Contributions" (the "Political Contributions Policy" or "Policy" ) to comply with the SEC rule and other applicable laws and requirements. Under the Policy, all T. Rowe Price associates globally are required to prior clear proposed political contributions, as defined in the Policy, to any candidate, officeholder, political party, Political Action Committee ( "PAC" ) or political organization in the United States. Additionally, associates are generally prohibited from coordinating, or soliciting third parties to make, a contribution or payment to any candidate, officeholder, political party, PAC or political organization in the United States. Additionally, associates are prohibited from doing anything indirectly that, if done directly, would violate this Policy.
Any questions about the Political Contributions Policy should be directed to the "Political Contribution Requests" mailbox.
In addition to the requirements imposed by the SEC rule, all U.S.-based officers and directors of Price Group and its subsidiaries are required to disclose certain Maryland local and state political contributions on a semi-annual basis and certain Pennsylvania political contributions on an annual basis. Certain employees associated with Investment Services are subject to limitations on and additional reporting requirements about their political contributions under Rule G-37 of the United States Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (" MSRB "). Furthermore, the firm and/or some employees are subject to additional restrictions because of client contractual stipulations.
United States law prohibits corporate contributions to campaign elections for federal office ( e.g., U.S. Senate and House of Representatives). The SEC rule effectively prohibits corporate contributions by the firm to state and local elections.
No political contribution of corporate funds, direct or indirect, to any political candidate or party, or to any other program that might use the contribution for a political candidate or party, or use of corporate property, services or other assets may be made without the written prior approval of the Legal Department. These prohibitions cover not only direct contributions, but also indirect assistance or support of candidates or political parties through purchase of tickets to special dinners or other fundraising events, or the furnishing of any other goods, services or equipment to political parties or committees. Neither Price Group nor its employees or independent directors may make a political contribution for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business with government entities.
T. Rowe Price does not reimburse employees for making contributions to individual candidates or committees. Additionally, the firm cannot provide paid leave time to employees for political campaign activity. However, employees may use personal time or paid vacation or may request unpaid leave to participate in political campaigning.
T. Rowe Price does not have a PAC. However, T. Rowe Price has granted permission to the Investment Company Institute's PAC (" ICI PAC "), which serves the interests of the investment company industry, to solicit T. Rowe Price's senior management on an annual basis to make contributions to ICI PAC or candidates designated by ICI PAC. Contributions to ICI PAC are entirely voluntary. Additionally, proposed contributions to the ICI PAC must go through the prior clearance process.
As noted above, the SEC rule prohibits most solicitation activities. To the extent the Legal Department approves solicitation activities in accordance with applicable rules or other requirements employees, officers, and directors of T. Rowe Price may not solicit campaign contributions from employees without adhering to T. Rowe Price's policies regarding solicitation. These include the following:
It must be clear that the solicitation is personal and is not being made on behalf of T. Rowe Price.
It must be clear that any contribution is entirely voluntary.
T. Rowe Price's stationery and email system may not be used.
An employee who wants to participate in political campaigns or run for political office should consult with his or her immediate supervisor to make sure that this activity does not conflict with his or her job responsibilities. Also, the employee should contact the Legal Department to discuss any activities which may be prohibited.
Lobbying. It is important to realize that under some state laws, even limited contact, either in person or by other means, with public officials in that state may trigger that state's lobbying laws. For example, in Maryland, if $2,500 of a person's compensation can be attributed to face-to-face contact with legislative or executive officials in a six-month reporting period, he or she may be required to register as a Maryland lobbyist subject to a variety of restrictions and requirements. Therefore, it is imperative that you avoid any lobbying on behalf of the firm, whether in-person or by other means ( e.g., telephone, letter) unless the activity is cleared first by the Legal Department, so that you do not inadvertently become subject to regulation as a lobbyist. If you have any question whether your contact with a state's officials may trigger lobbying laws in that state, please contact the Legal Department before proceeding.
Professional Designations. It is the supervisor's responsibility to confirm that any designation (CFA, CFP, etc.) used by his or her direct reports in connection with T. Rowe Price business, including its use on a business card or letterhead, is a valid designation issued by a reputable credentialing organization. In addition, the supervisor must take reasonable steps to confirm that the associate has earned the designation, it is relevant to his or her job and is authorized to use it. Any questions should be directed to the Legal Department.
Protection of Corporate Assets. All personnel are responsible for taking measures to ensure that Price Group's assets are properly protected. This responsibility not only applies to our business facilities, equipment and supplies, but also to intangible assets such as proprietary, research or marketing information, corporate trademarks and servicemarks, copyrights, client relationships and business opportunities. Accordingly, you may not solicit for your personal benefit clients or utilize client relationships to the detriment of the firm. Similarly, you may not solicit co-workers to act in any manner detrimental to the firm's interests.
Quality of Services. It is a continuing policy of Price Group to provide investment products and services that: (1) meet applicable laws, regulations and industry standards; (2) are offered to the public in a manner that ensures that each client/shareholder understands the objectives of each investment product selected; and (3) are properly advertised and sold in accordance with all applicable SEC, FSA, FINRA, and other international, state and self-regulatory rules and regulations.
The quality of Price Group's investment products and services and operations affects our reputation, productivity, profitability and market position. Price Group's goal is to be a quality leader and to create conditions that allow and encourage all employees to perform their duties in an efficient, effective manner.
Record Retention and Destruction. Under various U.S., U.K., other international state, and other governmental laws and regulations, certain of Price Group's subsidiaries are required to produce, maintain and retain various records, documents and other written (including electronic) communications. For example, U.S. law generally requires an investment adviser to retain required records in a readily accessible location for not less than five years from the end of the fiscal year during which the record was made (the current year and the two immediately preceding years in an appropriate office of the adviser), although some records may be required to be retained longer depending on their nature. See Tab 7, Investment Adviser Compliance Manual. Any questions regarding retention requirements should be addressed to the Legal Department or the TRP International Compliance Team, as appropriate.
You must use care in disposing of any confidential records or correspondence. Confidential material that is to be discarded should be placed in designated bins or should be torn up or shredded, as your department requires. If a quantity of material is involved, you should contact Document Management for instructions regarding proper disposal. Documents stored off-site are destroyed on a regular basis if the destruction is approved by the appropriate business contact.
The firm is legally prohibited from destroying any existing records that may be relevant to any current, pending or threatened litigation or regulatory investigation or audit. These records would include emails, calendars, memoranda, board agendas, recorded conversations, studies, work papers, computer notes, handwritten notes, telephone records, expense reports or similar material. If your business area is affected by litigation or an investigation or audit, you can expect to receive instructions from the Legal Department on how to proceed. Regardless of whether you receive such instructions, you should be prepared to secure relevant records once you become aware that they are subject to litigation or regulatory investigations or audits.
All personnel are responsible for adhering to the firm's record maintenance, retention, and destruction policies.
In addition, the firm has adopted a specific Statement of Policies and Procedures on Privacy , which is part of this Code (s ee p. 9-1).
Referral Fees. United States securities laws strictly prohibit the payment of any type of referral fee unless certain conditions are met. This would include any compensation to persons who refer clients or shareholders to us ( e.g., brokers, registered representatives, consultants, or any other persons) either directly in cash, by fee splitting, or indirectly by the providing of gifts or services (including the allocation of brokerage). FSA also prohibits the offering of any inducement likely to conflict with the duties of the recipient. No arrangements should be entered into obligating Price Group or any employee to pay a referral fee unless approved first by the Legal Department.
Release of Information to the Press. All requests for information from the media concerning T. Rowe Price Group's corporate affairs, mutual funds, investment services, investment philosophy and policies, and related subjects should be referred to the appropriate Public Relations contact for reply. Investment professionals who are contacted directly by the press concerning a particular fund's investment strategy or market outlook may use their own discretion, but are advised to check with the appropriate Public Relations contact if they do not know the reporter or feel it may be inappropriate to comment on a particular matter. Public Relations contact persons are listed in Appendix A.
Responsibility to Report Violations. The following is a description of reporting requirements and procedures that may or do arise if an officer or employee becomes aware of material violations of the Code or applicable laws or regulations.
General Obligation. If an officer or employee becomes aware of a material violation of the Code or any applicable law or regulation, he or she must report it to the Chief Compliance Officer of the applicable Price Adviser ("Chief Compliance Officer") or his or her designee, provided the designee provides a copy of all reports of violations to the Chief Compliance Officer. Reports submitted in paper form should be sent in a confidential envelope. Any report may be submitted anonymously; anonymous complaints must be in writing and sent in a confidential envelope to the Chief Compliance Officer. U.K. employees may also contact the FSA. See Appendix A regarding the Chief Compliance Officer to whom reports should be made.
It is Price Group's policy that no adverse action will be taken against any person as a result of that person becoming aware of a violation of the Code and reporting the violation in good faith.
Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Procedures. Pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Audit Committee of Price Group has adopted procedures ( "Procedures" ) regarding the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by Price Group regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters and the confidential, anonymous submission by employees of Price Group or any of its affiliates of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters. All employees should familiarize themselves with these Procedures, which are posted in the repository of the firm's policies and procedures ( "Repository" ) on the intranet.
Under the Procedures, complaints regarding certain auditing and accounting matters should be sent to Chief Legal Counsel, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc, The Legal Department either through interoffice mail in a confidential envelope or by mail marked confidential to P.O. Box 37283, Baltimore, Maryland 21297-3283, or a report may be made by calling the toll-free hotline at 888-651-6223.
Sarbanes-Oxley Attorney Reporting Requirements. Attorneys employed or retained by Price Group or any of the Price Funds are also subject to certain reporting requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The relevant procedures are posted in the firm's Repository.
Circulation of Rumors. Individuals subject to the Code shall not originate or circulate in any manner a rumor concerning any security which the individual knows or has reasonable grounds for believing is false or misleading or would improperly influence the market price of that security. You must promptly report to the Legal Department any circumstance which reasonably would lead you to believe that such a rumor might have been originated or circulated.
Service as Trustee, Executor or Personal Representative. You may serve as the trustee, co-trustee, executor or personal representative for the estate of or a trust created by close family members. You may also serve in such capacities for estates or trusts created by nonfamily members. However, if an Access Person expects to be actively involved in an investment capacity in connection with an estate or trust created by a nonfamily member, he or she must first be granted permission by the Ethics Committee. If you serve in any of these capacities, securities transactions effected in such accounts will be subject to the prior transaction clearance (Access Persons only, except for Price Group stock transactions, which require prior transaction clearance by all personnel) and reporting requirements (Access Persons and Non-Access Persons) of our Statement of Policy on Securities Transactions. Although Access Persons, the independent directors of the Price Funds are not subject to the prior transaction clearance requirements and are subject to modified reporting as described on pp. 5-20 to 5-22.
If you presently serve in any of these capacities for nonfamily members, you should report the relationship in writing to the Ethics Committee.
Speaking Engagements and Publications. Employees are often asked to accept speaking engagements on the subject of investments, finance, or their own particular specialty with our organization. This is encouraged by the firm, as it enhances our public relations, but you should obtain approval from your supervisor and the head of your Division, if different, before you accept such requests. You may also accept an offer to teach a course or seminar on investments or related topics (for example, at a local college) in your individual capacity with the approval of your supervisor and the head of your Division, if different, and provided the course is in compliance with the Guidelines found in Investment Services' Compliance Manual.
Before making any commitment to write or publish any article or book on a subject related to investments or your work at Price Group, approval should be obtained from your supervisor and the head of your Division, if different.
Social Media. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn have experienced significant growth during the past few years. While T. Rowe Price does not discourage its associates from using social media for personal use on their personal time, it is important to understand what is expected and required when associates use social media, especially in regards to topics relating to the firm.
Associates may not discuss the business of T. Rowe Price, including our products and services, on social networking channels unless authorized to do so. If a social media site is used for business purposes, by designated T. Rowe Price associates, communications posted through it are subject to the same regulatory and other restrictions as communications sent by more traditional methods, such as email, printed letters, or advertisements. Therefore, such sites may only be used for business-related purposes with approval from the Legal Department. T. Rowe Price regularly monitors online discussions and entries that might involve or mention T. Rowe Price.
Associates are directed to the Social Media Policy located on the T. Rowe Price Exchange to understand their responsibilities with respect to social media. The policy applies whenever using social media, whether in a personally identifiable way or anonymously.
APPENDIX A TO THE T. ROWE PRICE GROUP, INC.
CODE OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT
Brokerage and Trading Control Committees. There are two Brokerage and Trading Control Committees which set the policy regarding the allocation of client brokerage. For more information contact Thea Williams of the Fixed Income Committee or Clive Williams of the Equity Committee.
Chief Compliance Officer. The Chief Compliance Officer of the U.S. Price Advisers ( i.e., TRPA, TRPAS, TRP (Canada)) is John Gilner. The Chief Compliance Officer of the International Price Advisers ( i.e., TRPIL, TRPHK, TRPSING) is Jeremy Fisher. The Chief Compliance Officer of the broker/dealer, T. Rowe Price Investment Services, Inc., is Sarah McCafferty.
Ethics Committee. Justin Thomson, David Oestreicher, Andy Brooks, Greg McCrickard, Michael McGonigle, John Gilner, and Gretchen Park .
Chairperson of the Ethics Committee. The Chairperson of the Ethics Committee is John Gilner. Requests regarding IPOs and private placement investments should be directed to Gary Greb.
Code Compliance Team. Gary Greb, Karen Clark, and Lisa Daniels.
TRP International Compliance Team . Jeremy Fisher, Calum Ferguson, Carol Bambrough, Sophie Williams, Adam Critchley , Mark Donnelly, Lucy Harding and Louise Johnson in London; Kitty Chau in Hong Kong; and Manabu Kinoshita in Tokyo.
Designated Person, TRP International Compliance Team . Sophie West, Kitty Chau, Louise Johnson, and Jeremy Fisher.
Designated Person, Regulatory Reporting Section. Gary Greb, Robin Fowler.
Management Committee. Edward C. Bernard, James A.C. Kennedy, Michael Gitlin, Brian C. Rogers, William J. Stromberg, John Linehan, and Christopher Alderson.
Public Relations Contacts. Edward Giltenan and Brian Lewbart in Baltimore and Sarah Cadden in London.
Social Media Contacts. Danielle Nicholson Smith for legal and advertising regulatory matters. Daniel Phelps for policy and/or permissible activity matters.
STATEMENT OF POLICY ON GIFTS, ENTERTAINMENT, EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT AND CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS
General Policy. The firm has adopted this Statement of Policy ("Statement") to govern the giving and receipt of gifts, business entertainment and expense reimbursements from and to "business contacts," as defined later. The Statement also addresses certain requests for charitable contributions. It is imperative that all employees be sensitive to potential conflicts of interests in these areas and to refer to this Statement for guidance.
Personal relationships with business contacts may lead to gifts and entertainment that are offered on a friendship basis and that may be perfectly proper. It must be remembered, however, that business relationships cannot always be separated from personal relationships and that the integrity of a business relationship is always susceptible to criticism in hindsight where gifts, entertainment, expense reimbursements, or charitable contributions are given or received.
The giving and receipt of gifts, entertainment, expense reimbursements, and charitable contributions can create or appear to create a conflict of interest and place our firm in a difficult or embarrassing position. These activities can also interfere with the impartial discharge of our firm's responsibilities to its clients, fund shareholders and Brokerage customers, as well as their representatives' responsibilities to their employers.
The giving and receipt of gifts and entertainment should never occur where they are intended or designed to cause the recipient to act in a manner that is inconsistent with the best interests of the recipient or the entity for which he or she works. In addition, no gift should be given or received and no entertainment should be provided or accepted that could be deemed illegal or would expose the giver or recipient to liability to any governmental authority or agency.
All associates are responsible for complying with this Statement. Associates will be required to certify at least annually their compliance with these policies.
The supervision, prior clearance and reporting requirements for gifts, business entertainment, and expense reimbursements are described below in the "Supervision, Prior Clearance and Reporting" discussion.
This Policy does not cover gifts between employees. Please contact Human Resources with questions about gifts between employees.
DEFINITIONS
Business Contacts. The term "business contacts" includes:
Brokers and securities salespersons (both through whom the firm places advisory client orders and who distribute the Price Funds);
Clients ( e.g., separate accounts, fund shareholders, Brokerage and RPS customers);
Consultants;
Suppliers and vendors;
Portfolio companies; and
Any other individual or organization with whom our firm has or is considering a business or other relationship, such as members of the press and trade organizations.
Gift. The term "gift" includes the giving or receipt of gratuities, merchandise and the enjoyment or use of property or facilities for weekends, vacations, trips, dinners, and the like, including transportation and lodging costs. The following items are exempted from the definition of the term "gift" for purposes of reporting:
Certain Personal Gifts. A personal gift given in recognition of a "life event," such as a baby or wedding gift, does not fall within the definition of gift if the gift is not "in relation to the business of the employer of the recipient." There should be a pre- existing personal or family relationship between the giver and the recipient and the giver, rather than the firm, should pay for the gift. In addition, the giver must prior clear the giving of the gift with his or her supervisor, and Division Head, if different, who must determine that the gift is actually personal and not in relation to the business of the recipient's employer. After this approval is given, approval must also be received from the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee before the gift is given. If these conditions are met, the recordkeeping requirements and the monetary limit described below do not apply to the gift.
Gifts of Nominal Value. Except for gifts given in connection with the broker/dealer's business, an item of "nominal" value also does not fall under the definition of gift as long as the value of the gift does not exceed $50.00. Examples of these gifts include pens, notepads, modest desk ornaments, umbrellas, tote bags and shirts. These items often display the giving firm's logo. Neither tax nor delivery charges need be included when calculating the value of a gift. However, a gift must be valued at the higher of cost or market value. If the item is to be given in connection with the broker/dealer's business, its value must not exceed the $50.00 limit and it must have T. Rowe Price's logo on it to be excepted from the definition of a gift. If you have any questions about this, you should contact the Legal Department or the TRP International Compliance Team.
Business Entertainment. The term "gift" does not include certain types of "business entertainment" that are a normal part of a business relationship and occur when a T. Rowe Price employee is in the presence of a business contact (either when the business contact is being entertained by a T. Rowe Price employee or vice versa).
Business entertainment includes any social event, hospitality event, charitable event, sporting event, entertainment event, meal, leisure activity or event of like nature or purpose, including entertainment offered in connection with an educational event or business conference. Most business entertainment typically comes in the form of meals, dinners, theatrical shows and sporting events. Incidental transportation offered in connection with business entertainment (such as shuttle service to the entertainment venue) may also be offered or accepted.
The term "business entertainment" does not include a social event or trip where each participant pays his or her own expenses, including the appropriate allocable portion of shared expenses, and the fair market value of any aspect of the trip ( e.g., use of resort house, transportation).
Expense Payments and Reimbursements. The terms " gift" and "business entertainment" do not include limited instances of the payment or reimbursement of expenses such as travel ( e.g., airfare, train fare), accommodations or certain meals to a business contact by the firm or by a business contact to the firm as permitted under the "Expense Reimbursements" section below.
ACCEPTING GIFTS
General Rule. An employee may accept a gift from a business contact provided the aggregate value of all gifts received by that employee (regardless of whether the employee works within or outside of the U.S.) from all business contacts at that entity does not exceed $100 in any calendar year , subject to the specific rules set forth below:
Cash or Cash Equivalents. Under no circumstances may employees accept gifts from any business or business contact in the form of cash or cash equivalents, except for gift certificates as provided below in the discussion of "Gift Certificates."
Gift Certificates. A gift certificate or gift card may only be accepted if it may not be converted to cash, except for amounts under $10 not spent when the gift certificate or card is used.
Departmental Gifts. If a department (as opposed to an individual) receives a gift that is valued in excess of the $100 limit, it can be shared among the employees, provided no single employee's pro rata share of the gift exceeds the $100 limit. For example, food or a gift basket sent to the Trading Desk and shared among the employees there would be acceptable even if the value of the gift is difficult to ascertain. Alternatively, with the approval of the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee, the gift can be awarded to the winner of a random drawing of an identified group of employees of an appropriate size. All such gifts and their disposition must be appropriately reported to and documented by the Division Head or his or her designee.
Recurring Gifts. Tickets or other gifts should not be accepted from a business contact or firm on a standing, recurring, or on-going basis. Supervisors are responsible for monitoring how frequently their reports receive gifts from specific business contacts to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
Where Gifts May Be Received. Gifts should be received at your normal workplace, not your home.
Returning Gifts. When an employee receives a gift that is not acceptable under this policy, he or she must return the gift to the giver or discuss alternatives with the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee or his or her designee.
GIVING GIFTS
General Rule. Gifts may be given to business contacts, but unless approval is given as described below , the aggregate value of all such gifts given by all firm employees to a business contact may not exceed $100 (all amounts are in U.S. dollars) in any calendar year in the United States and $200 in all locations outside the United States ("Monetary Limit") . The $100 limit in the United States is consistent with FINRA and MSRB regulations, which generally do not permit gifts in excess of $100 to be given to customers or prospect representatives in connection with Investment Services' business.
FINRA Rule-- Solely applicable in the United States.
Reporting Requirement. FINRA Rule 3220 imposes stringent reporting requirements for gifts given to any principal, employee, agent or similarly situated person where the gift is in connection with Investment Services' business with the recipient's employer. Since Investment Services does not conduct business outside the United States, this rule is solely applicable to employees conducting activities in the United States.
Examples: Gifts that fall under this rule would include any gift given to an employee of a company to which our firm offers or provides broker/dealer services or products such as mutual funds ( e.g., intermediaries such as 401(k) plan sponsors, broker-dealers and recordkeepers offering the Price Funds, including Advisor and R Classes, Section 529 College Savings Plans, and Brokerage).
$100 Limit. This rule imposes a strict limitation whereby gifts given by the firm to any one person who falls under FINRA Rule 3220 in connection with Investment Services' business may not exceed $100 in a calendar year . There are no exceptions under this rule.
MSRB Rule-- Solely applicable in the United States. The MSRB has restrictions in this area similar to FINRA. See MSRB Rule G-20.
Business Contact Restrictions on Gifts . It is important to remember that some entities ( e.g ., clients or potential clients that are states, municipalities, or qualified retirement plans) have very stringent restrictions and/or prohibitions on the acceptance of gifts or business entertainment by their personnel. Care must be taken to ensure that the firm does not inadvertently give a gift that might cause a business contact to violate any of these restrictions.
Specific Rules
Cash or Cash Equivalents. An employee may not give a gift to a business or business contact in the form of cash or cash equivalents, except for gift certificates as provided below in the discussion of "Gift Certificates."
Incentive Programs. Incentive programs for individual customers that may fall under the cash gift restriction must be reviewed and approved by both the Division Head and the Legal Department before implementation.
Gift Certificates. A gift certificate or gift card may only be given if it may not be converted to cash except for amounts under $10 which are not spent when the gift certificate or card is used.
Exceptions. If an employee believes that it would be appropriate to give a gift with a value exceeding the Monetary Limit ( i.e., $100 in U.S.; $200 outside the U.S.) to a business contact, he or she must submit a written request to and obtain written approval from his or her supervisor and Division Head, if different, and then, if approved, from the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee before the gift is given. The request should specify:
The name of the giver;
The name of the intended recipient and his or her employer, if applicable;
The description of the gift;
The gift's monetary value;
The nature of the business relationship; and
• The reason the gift is being given.
No exceptions will be granted for gifts subject to FINRA's or the MSRB's $100 gift limit.
ACCEPTING BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT
General Rule. As described earlier, our firm's limit on the acceptance ($100) and giving (Monetary Limit) of gifts applies not only to gifts of merchandise, but also covers the enjoyment or use of property or facilities for weekends, vacations, trips, dinners, and the like, including transportation and lodging costs. However, this limitation does not apply to "business entertainment."
Accepting a business entertainment invitation from a business contact is appropriate, as long as:
1) The acceptance, as such, is neither so frequent nor the entertainment so extensive and lavish as to raise any question of impropriety.
2) It is of a character such that both male and female guests would be comfortable attending.
3) The entertainment is legal and not offensive.
Specific Rules
You Must Be Accompanied by Business Contact. If an employee is invited, for example, to a sporting event by a business contact, and neither the business contact nor any of his or her associates attends the event, the tickets would constitute a "gift," and not "business entertainment," and, therefore, the $100 limit on gifts would apply.
Receiving Transportation or Accommodations. If an employee is offered transportation ( e.g., airfare) and/or accommodations as part of a business entertainment event, he or she must first receive the permission of his or her supervisor and Division Head, if different, and the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee to accept it. Generally, the employee or T. Rowe Price should bear the expense of the transportation or accommodations offered. Ordinary ground transportation such as a taxi ride or a courtesy shuttle is not subject to this restriction.
Research Trips. Occasionally, brokers or portfolio companies invite employees of our firm to attend or participate in research conferences, tours of portfolio companies' facilities, or meetings with the management of such companies. These invitations may involve traveling extensive distances and may require overnight lodging. As a general rule, such invitations should only be accepted after a determination has been made that the proposed activity constitutes a valuable research opportunity that will be of primary benefit to our clients.
Employees may not accept any invitations of this type until approval has been secured from their Division Heads. However, each Division Head may establish guidelines about which invitations from current or prospective portfolio companies may be accepted without prior approval. Generally, all travel expenses to and from the site, and the expenses of any overnight lodging, meals or other accommodations provided in connection with such activities should be paid for by our firm except in situations where the costs are considered to be insubstantial and are not readily ascertainable. See discussion of Expense Reimbursements on page 3-9.
Broker-sponsored trips must receive prior clearance from the appropriate Division Head and the firm must reimburse all costs to the broker.
Sample Scenarios. To illustrate appropriate and inappropriate acceptance of business entertainment, the following examples are provided:
First Example: The head of institutional research at brokerage firm "X" (whom you have known and done business with for a number of years) invites you and your wife to join her and her husband for dinner and afterwards a theatrical production.
Resolution: It would be proper for you to accept the invitation under the Code. You should be mindful, however, that certain clients and other business contacts may have limitations on when it is appropriate to include a spouse in an invitation.
Second Example: You wish to see a hit play, but are told it is sold out. You call a broker friend who works at company "X" to see if he can get tickets for you. The broker says yes and offers you two tickets free of charge. The face value of each ticket is $100, but the brokerage firm paid $300 for each ticket.
Resolution: It would only be proper to solicit the broker for tickets if you fully reimburse him for their total cost, i.e., $300 per ticket. You must specifically ask for the actual cost of the tickets. If the broker had offered you the tickets on an unsolicited basis, you could have accepted them, subject to compliance with the $100 limit on receipt of gifts. In that case, you would have to reimburse him $500.
As discussed above, if the business contact providing the tickets or one of his or her associates does not accompany you to the event, the tickets are a gift and not a form of business entertainment.
Third Example: You have been invited by a vendor to a multi-day excursion to a resort where the primary focus is entertainment as opposed to business. The vendor has offered to pay your travel and lodging for this trip.
Resolution: Trips of substantial value, such as multi-day excursions to resorts, hunting locations or sports events, where the primary focus is entertainment as opposed to business activities, would not be considered a normal part of a business relationship. Generally, such invitations may not be accepted unless our firm or the employee pays for the cost of the excursion and the employee has obtained approval from his or her supervisor and Division Head, if different, and the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee.
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Gifts Received as Part of Business Entertainment. If you receive a gift as part of business entertainment ( e.g., a picture frame, a golf jacket), it is not part of the business entertainment and must comply with the gift policy described above.
PROVIDING BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT
General Rule. The principles described above for receiving business entertainment apply as well to providing business entertainment.
Client Must Be Accompanied. If an employee provides, for example, tickets to a sporting event to a business contact, and no one is present from our firm at the event, the tickets would constitute a gift, and not business entertainment, and, therefore, the Monetary Limit on gifts would apply.
Providing Transportation or Accommodations. If an employee wishes to pay for or reimburse a business guest's transportation ( e.g., airfare) and/or accommodations as part of business entertainment, he or she must first receive the permission of his or her supervisor and Division Head, if different, and the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee. Ordinary ground transportation such as a taxi ride or a courtesy shuttle is not subject to this condition.
Sample Scenarios. To illustrate appropriate and inappropriate giving of business entertainment, the following examples are provided:
First Example: You wish to invite the head of institutional research at brokerage firm "X" (whom you have known and done business with for a number of years) and her husband to join you and your wife for dinner and afterwards a theatrical production.
Resolution: It would be proper for you to extend this invitation under the Code. You should be mindful, however, that certain clients and other business contacts may have limitations on when it is appropriate to include a spouse in an invitation.
Second Example: A client wishes to see a hit play, but is told tickets are sold out. The client calls you to see if you can get tickets for her. You say yes and offer to provide two tickets free of charge.
Resolution: If you provide tickets to a client to attend the performance without you or anyone from our firm accompanying the client, the tickets are a gift and are subject to the Monetary Limit ( e.g . , $100 annual limit in the United States, $200.00 outside the United States). If the client accepts the tickets and pays the firm for their face value or, if greater, the cost to the firm to obtain them, then the tickets do not fall under the gifts and business entertainment policy and may be provided to the client without limitation.
Third Example: You wish to invite firm clients to a multi-day excursion to a resort where the primary focus is entertainment as opposed to business. You offer to have the firm pay for the attendees' travel and lodging for this trip.
Resolution: Trips of substantial value, such as multi-day excursions to resorts, hunting locations or sports events, where the primary focus is entertainment as opposed to business activities, would not be considered a normal part of a business relationship. Generally, such invitations may not be extended without approval from the employee's supervisor, Division Head, if different, and the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee.
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Business Contact Restrictions on Entertainment. Some entities ( e.g ., clients or potential clients that are states, municipalities, or qualified retirement plans entities) have very stringent regulatory or contractual restrictions and/or prohibitions on the acceptance of business entertainment or gifts by their personnel. Care must be taken to ensure that our firm does not extend an invitation to a business contact if the contact's acceptance might cause the business contact to violate inadvertently any of these restrictions.
Gifts Given as Part of Business Entertainment. A gift given as part of business entertainment is subject to the gift policy described above. For example, if you are playing golf with a business contact and he admires a golf sweater in the pro shop, you may only purchase the sweater for the business contact in compliance with the firm's gift policy, regardless of whether you seek reimbursement for the cost of the sweater from the firm.
EXPENSE PAYMENTS AND REIMBURSEMENTS
Accepting Expense Payments and Reimbursements. Except as provided above for certain research trips, employees may not accept payment or reimbursement from business contacts, including brokers, portfolio companies and vendors, of travel and hotel expenses, speaker fees or honoraria for addresses or papers given before audiences, or consulting services or advice they may render. Exceptions may only be granted with the approval of the employee's supervisor, Division Head, if different, and the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee. Likewise, employees may neither request nor accept loans or personal services from these entities except as offered on the same basis to similarly situated individuals or the general public ( e.g ., permitted margin accounts, credit cards).
Providing Expense Payments and Reimbursements.
General Rule . Unless it is prohibited by a client contract, there may be instances where it is appropriate to pay or reimburse a business contact's expenses. For example, contracts with vendors often require the firm to reimburse certain expenses of the vendor's personnel when they are working at a T. Rowe Price location. Additionally, if a business unit has a new client, it may make the business decision that it is more cost and time effective to provide transportation to and accommodation and meals near the T. Rowe Price site that will, for example, be handling the plan or account conversion, to a small number of the new client's employees than to send a team of T. Rowe Price employees to the client's location. In that case, air transportation will only be provided or reimbursed for coach class fares and hotels and meals paid for or reimbursed must be of the type normally approved for TRP employees on business travel.
In a situation where expense payment or reimbursement is not appropriate and the client or prospect is paying its employees' expenses, T. Rowe Price generally may not subsidize the cost of accommodations. A discount on room rates offered by a hotel as part of T. Rowe Price's arrangements for catering and other services at that hotel for a symposium or similar event is not included in this prohibition. If you are unsure about the applicability of this provision to a specific situation, you should contact the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee.
Approval of Expense Payment and Reimbursement Offers. Unless the payment or reimbursement is required by contract, you must obtain the approval of any offer of payment or expense reimbursement by T. Rowe Price from your supervisor and Division Head, if different, and by the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee before the offer is extended.
Prohibition on Expense Reimbursement Offers to Prospective Clients and Certain Existing Clients. Offers to reimburse expenses may not be made to prospective clients of any of the firm's affiliates or to any client of any T. Rowe Price entity if it is a labor union regulated under the United States Taft-Hartley Act or if it is a state, county, or municipality.
Prohibition on Expense Reimbursement Offers to Consultants. The firm will not reimburse expenses incurred by a consultant, regardless of whether its employees are working for a specific client or are conducting independent research.
Specific Rule for Client Conference Speakers . If a business division sponsors a client conference, it may offer to reimburse speakers and panelists, whether or not they are clients, for hotel, transportation and other travel expenses incurred while attending the client conference.
SUPERVISION, PRIOR CLEARANCE AND REPORTING
Supervisor Monitoring. Supervisors, managers, and, as appropriate, Division Heads are responsible for ensuring that any gift, business entertainment, or expense reimbursement given or received by employees they supervise is in compliance with this Statement. This supervision may necessitate the prior clearance or reporting of such activities.
Prior Clearance. Although the firm does not require employees to obtain prior clearance before accepting or giving gifts or business entertainment, individual business units may require employees to obtain prior approval from supervisors or Division Heads before accepting or giving all, or certain types of, gifts or business entertainment. This could include, for example, a Division Head establishing dollar thresholds for prior clearance, or exempting certain types of events, such as business lunches, from prior clearance. Providing or accepting expense reimbursement is subject to prior clearance as described above.
Questions as to Propriety of a Gift or Business Entertainment. If you are uncertain as to the propriety of accepting or giving a particular gift or business entertainment, you should consult with your supervisor or manager as soon as practicable. You may also wish to contact the Legal Department or the TRP International Compliance Team, as appropriate, to ascertain whether the gift or business entertainment is appropriate.
Reporting of Gifts
Gifts Received.
All employees must report any item that is received from a
business contact and that is not excluded from the definition of gift (
see
p. 3-2
e.g.,
certain personal gifts and gifts of nominal value) to the Code Compliance Section with a copy to the employee's Division Head or his or her designee, within ten
(10) business days
of the date of the receipt of the gift, pursuant to the employee's business unit's departmental procedures. If your
department's procedures require you to complete the firm's Business Gift
Report form, that form is housed on the firm's intranet on the home page under Code of Ethics. Completed and signed forms can be sent via interoffice
mail to Code Compliance (BA-1010) or scanned in and emailed to the Gift
Reporting mailbox (Code_Gift_Reporting@troweprice.com). All reports
should include:
The name of the recipient;
The name of the giver, his or her employer, and plan/client number, if applicable;
A description of the gift;
The gift's estimated monetary value;
The nature of the business relationship with the giver (e.g. Price Fund or other Broker/Dealer related client/prospect; separate account or other Adviser related client/prospect; current/potential vendor); and
The date the gift was received.
Gifts Given. All employees must report any item defined as a gift ( see p. 3-2) given to a business contact to the Code Compliance Section with a copy to the employee's Division head or his or her designee, within ten (10) business days of the date the gift is given, pursuant to the employee's business unit's departmental procedures. If your department's procedures require you to complete the firm's Business Gift Report form, that form is housed on the firm's intranet on the home page under Code of Ethics. Completed and signed forms can be sent via interoffice mail to Code Compliance (BA-1010) or scanned in and emailed to the Gift Reporting mailbox (Code_Gift_Reporting@troweprice.com). All reports should include:
The name of the employee primarily responsible for giving the gift;
The name of the recipient, his or her employer, and plan/client number, if applicable;
A description of the gift;
The gift's monetary value;
The nature of the business relationship with the receiver (e.g. Price Fund or other Broker/Dealer related client/prospect; separate account or other Adviser related client/prospect; current/potential vendor); and
The date the gift was given.
Note: The physical filing of reports may be delegated, but compliance with this requirement remains with the person responsible for the gift.
Unless an employee's departmental procedures allow for an alternate reporting method, employees must submit the report of gifts given to Code Compliance even if the gift is also reported on the employee's travel and expense report, or on a departmental report, or the gift was ordered from the Corporate Gift intranet site.
Reporting of Gifts to the Department of Labor. The United States Department of Labor requires investment advisers to report gifts and entertainment with a value of over $250 per quarter given to labor union clients that are regulated under the Taft-Hartley Act. This reporting is handled by the Legal Department. The Legal Department will provide employees who may be affected by this regulation with additional information to ensure compliance.
Reporting of Business Entertainment Received. Each Division Head must establish a protocol for the reporting and monitoring of business entertainment received by employees in his or her business unit. In establishing a unit's reporting and monitoring protocol, the Division Head should consider what information would be helpful to identify conflicts of interest. Such reporting protocol must be approved by the Director of Compliance. Business entertainment received should be reported within ten (10) business days of the date it was received.
Reporting of Business Entertainment Provided. Each Division Head must establish a protocol for the reporting and monitoring of business entertainment provided by employees in his or her business unit. In establishing a unit reporting and monitoring protocol, the Division Head should consider what information would be helpful to identify conflicts of interest. Such reporting protocol must be approved by the Director of Compliance. Business entertainment provided should be reported within ten (10) business days of the date it was provided.
The report of business entertainment provided is required even if the business entertainment is also reported on the employee's travel and expense report or other report.
Record Retention of Reports. All reports required to be made under this section will be retained for six (6) years.
Review of Business Entertainment and Gift Expenses.
By Supervisors and Managers. Supervisors and mangers are initially and ultimately responsible for any business entertainment sponsored by employees under their supervision as well as for any gifts given or expense reimbursement offered, whether expensed to the firm or not. In addition, supervisors and managers are responsible for approving all expense reports relating to the reimbursement of their employees' costs for such business entertainment and gifts. Expense reports relating to business entertainment and gifts not in compliance with this policy must be disapproved by supervisors or managers. Such disapprovals must be reported to the appropriate Division Head and the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee. In addition, all gift and business entertainment reporting is subject to testing by Group Compliance.
By Finance. The Finance Department is responsible for maintaining appropriate controls around the expense approval process and the expense reporting system. The Finance Department has procedures in place to ensure that a secondary level of review of expenses occurs in a timely manner. The Finance Department will take appropriate action concerning expenses determined questionable and/or not in compliance with this Statement.
Who Must Submit Report? As a general rule, the most senior employee of the firm present at a business entertainment event should submit the expense report for that event.
Questions. Any question about this policy should be directed to the Legal Department or the TRP International Compliance Team, as appropriate.
CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS
Employees should be sensitive to a possible perception of undue influence before making or requesting charitable contributions to or from a client, prospect, vendor, or other business contact. Under certain anti-bribery laws, regulators may consider charitable contributions to be improper payments, even when the person who has requested that the contribution be made receives no direct monetary benefit. Accordingly, when making charitable contributions in response to requests from business contacts, associates must be mindful of how anti-bribery laws could be implicated. In no case should charitable contributions be made on a quid pro quo basis.
Supervision of Charitable Contribution Requests. Supervisors, managers and, as appropriate, Division Heads are responsible for ensuring that responses to requests from clients, vendors, and other business contacts and our requests to clients, vendors, and other business contacts for charitable contributions comply with these guidelines as well as respective departmental policies. If you have any questions about a proposed charitable contribution, you should contact the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee before proceeding.
Requests Received from Clients, Vendors or Other Business Contacts for Corporate Charitable Contributions. On occasion, a T. Rowe Price entity may be asked by an employee of a client, vendor, or other business contact to make a charitable donation. In most cases, this request will be handled by the independent T. Rowe Price Foundation, which has developed criteria regarding which charities it will support.
In those instances where the Foundation does not make the requested contribution, the decision about the charitable contribution is made by the pertinent T. Rowe Price entity, subject to the following conditions:
the amount of charitable contribution may not be linked to the actual or anticipated level of business with the client, vendor or other business contact whose employee is soliciting the charitable contribution;
there is no reason to believe that the employee requesting the contribution will derive an improper economic or pecuniary benefit as a result of the proposed contribution;
if the T. Rowe Price entity considering the contribution is unfamiliar with the charity, its personnel should confirm with the Central Control Group that the charity does not appear on the Office of Foreign Assets Control's Specially Designated Nationals List;
the contribution should be made payable directly to the charity; and
the personnel of the T. Rowe Price entity considering the contribution should check with Finance to determine the appropriate T. Rowe Price entity to make the contribution.
In addition, if the requested amount exceeds $1,000 the request must be referred to the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee for prior approval.
Some broker/dealers sponsor days, often referred to as "miracle" days, where they pledge that proceeds received on that day will be donated to a specific charity. Because of fiduciary and best execution obligations, the Price Advisers cannot agree to direct trades to a broker/dealer in support of such an event at either a client's or the broker/dealer's request. The Price Advisers are not prohibited, however, from placing trades for best execution that happen to occur on a "miracle" day or similar time and thus benefit a charity.
Requests Received from Clients, Vendors or Other Business Contacts for Personal Charitable Contributions. On occasion, a T. Rowe Price employee may be asked by an employee of a client, vendor or other business contact to make a charitable contribution. If the employee makes a contribution directly to the charity and the contribution is not made in the name of or for the benefit of the business contact, no Code of Ethics and Conduct or FINRA issues arise. For example, a plan fiduciary might mention that her husband has recently recovered from a heart problem and that she is raising funds for a charity that supports cardiac research. The T. Rowe Price employee can make a personal contribution to that charity and if the contribution is not tied to the name of the business contact and does not create a benefit for her, the employee does not need to request prior clearance of or notify T. Rowe Price about the contribution.
However, personal charitable contributions, made in the name of and for the benefit of a business contact should be treated as "gifts" to the business contact. For example, if the business contact raises a certain amount of money, he or she gets a tangible award or opportunity like the chance to participate in a marathon. For business contacts related to T. Rowe Price fund business or other broker/dealer-related business, contributions of the latter type are subject to FINRA's $100 limit. For other business activities not regulated by FINRA, contributions in excess of $100 must be approved by the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee before they are given.
Requests to Clients, Vendors, or Other Business Contacts for Charitable Contributions. Employees should be sensitive to a possible perception of undue influence before requesting a client, vendor, or other business contact or an employee of such an entity to make a charitable contribution. In no case should such a request be made on a quid pro quo basis. If you have any questions about requesting a charitable contribution, you should contact the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee before proceeding.
NASDAQ Listing Rules. Under the NASDAQ listing rules, specific restrictions may apply to contributions to a charitable organization for which an independent director of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. serves as an officer. Specifically, contributions to such organizations during a fiscal year may not exceed the higher of five percent of the organizations revenues or $200,000. Contributions in excess of these thresholds may invalidate a director's "independent" classification.
T. ROWE PRICE GROUP, INC.
STATEMENT OF POLICY
ON
MATERIAL, INSIDE (NON-PUBLIC) INFORMATION
Policy of Price Group on Insider Trading. It is the policy of Price Group and its affiliates to forbid any of their officers, directors, employees, or other personnel ( e.g., consultants) while in possession of material, non-public information, from trading securities or recommending transactions, either personally or in their proprietary accounts or on behalf of others (including mutual funds and private accounts) or communicating material, non-public information to others in violation of securities laws of the United States, the United Kingdom, or any other country that has jurisdiction over its activities. Material, non-public information includes not only certain information about issuers, but also certain information about T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. and its operating subsidiaries as well as information pertaining to Price Funds and clients. See p. 4-8
Purpose of Statement of Policy . As a global firm, Price Group is subject to a wide array of laws and regulations that prohibit the misuse of inside information. The purpose of this Statement of Policy (" Statement ") is to describe and explain: (i) the general legal prohibitions and sanctions regarding insider trading under both U.S. and U.K. law and how they are applicable across the firm globally; (ii) the meaning of the key concepts underlying the prohibitions; (iii) your obligations in the event you come into possession of material, non-public information; and (iv) the firm's educational program regarding insider trading. Additionally, the United States Insider Trading and Securities Fraud Enforcement Act (" Act ") requires Price Group to establish, maintain, and enforce written procedures designed to prevent insider trading.
Many jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Australia and most European countries, have laws and regulations prohibiting the misuse of inside information. While this Statement does not make specific reference to these laws and regulations, the Statement provides general guidance regarding appropriate activities that is applicable to all employees globally. There is, however, no substitute for knowledge of local laws and regulations. Employees are expected to understand the relevant local requirements where they work and comply with them. Any questions regarding the laws or regulations of any jurisdiction should be directed to the Legal Department or the TRP International Compliance Team.
Price Group has also adopted a Statement of Policy on Securities Transactions ( see page 5-1), which requires both Access Persons ( see p. 5-3) and Non-Access Persons ( see p. 5-4) to obtain prior transaction clearance with respect to their transactions in Price Group stock and requires Access Persons to obtain prior transaction clearance with respect to all pertinent securities transactions. In addition, both Access Persons and Non-Access Persons are required to report covered securities transactions on a timely basis to the firm. The independent directors of the Price Funds, although Access Persons, are not subject to prior transaction clearance requirements and are subject to modified reporting as described on pp. 5-20 to 5-22.
The Basic Insider Trading Prohibition . The "insider trading" doctrine under United States securities laws generally prohibits any person (including investment advisers) from:
• trading in a security while in possession of material, non-public information regarding the issuer of the security;
• tipping such information to others;
• recommending the purchase or sale of securities while in possession of such information;
• assisting someone who is engaged in any of the above activities.
Thus, "insider trading" is not limited to insiders of the issuer whose securities are being traded. It can also apply to non-insiders, such as investment analysts, portfolio managers, consultants and stockbrokers. In addition, it is not limited to persons who trade. It also covers persons who tip material, non-public information or recommend transactions in securities while in possession of such information. A "security" includes not just equity securities, but any security ( e.g., corporate and municipal debt securities, including securities issued by the federal government).
"Need to Know" Policy . All information regarding planned, prospective or ongoing securities transactions must be treated as confidential. Such information must be confined, even within the firm, to only those individuals and departments that must have such information in order for the respective entity to carry out its engagement properly and effectively. Ordinarily, these prohibitions will restrict information to only those persons who are involved in the matter.
Transactions Involving Price Group Stock. You are reminded that you are an "insider" with respect to Price Group since Price Group is a public company and its stock is traded on the NASDAQ Stock market. It is therefore important that you not discuss with family, friends or other persons any matter concerning Price Group that might involve material, non-public information, whether favorable or unfavorable.
Sanctions. Penalties for trading on material, non-public information are severe, both for the individuals involved in such unlawful conduct and for their firms. A person or entity that violates the insider trading laws can be subject to some or all of the penalties described below, even if he/she/it does not personally benefit from the violation:
• Injunctions;
• Treble damages;
• Disgorgement of profits;
• Criminal fines;
• Jail sentences;
• Civil penalties for the person who committed the violation (which would, under normal circumstances, be the employee and not the firm); and
• Civil penalties for the controlling entity ( e.g., Price Associates) and other persons, such as managers and supervisors, who are deemed to be controlling persons.
In addition, any violation of this Statement can be expected to result in serious sanctions being imposed by Price Group, including dismissal of the person(s) involved.
The provisions of U.S. and U.K. law discussed below and the laws of other jurisdictions are complex and wide ranging. If you are in any doubt about how they affect you, you must consult the Legal Department or the TRP International Compliance Team, as appropriate.
U.S. LAW AND REGULATION REGARDING INSIDER TRADING PROHIBITIONS
Introduction . "Insider trading" is a top enforcement priority of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The Insider Trading and Securities Fraud Enforcement Act has far-reaching impact on all public companies and especially those engaged in the securities brokerage or investment advisory industries, including directors, executive officers and other controlling persons of such companies. Specifically, the Act:
Written Procedures . Requires SEC-registered brokers, dealers and investment advisers to establish, maintain and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent the misuse of material, non-public information by such persons.
Penalties . Imposes severe civil penalties on brokerage firms, investment advisers, their management and advisory personnel and other "controlling persons" who fail to take adequate steps to prevent insider trading and illegal tipping by employees and other "controlled persons." Additionally, the Act contains substantial criminal penalties, including monetary fines and jail sentences.
Private Right of Action . Establishes a statutory private right of action on behalf of contemporaneous traders against insider traders and their controlling persons.
Bounty Payments . Authorizes the SEC to award bounty payments to persons who provide information leading to the successful prosecution of insider trading violations. Bounty payments are at the discretion of the SEC, but may not exceed 10% of the penalty imposed.
The Act has been supplemented by three SEC rules, 10b5-1, 10b5-2 and FD, which are discussed later in this Statement.
Basic Concepts of Insider Trading . The four critical concepts under United States law in insider trading cases are: (1) fiduciary duty/misappropriation, (2) materiality, (3) non-public, and (4) use/possession. Each concept is discussed below.
Fiduciary Duty/Misappropriation . In two decisions, the United States Supreme Court outlined when insider trading and tipping violate the federal securities law if the trading or tipping of the information results in a breach of duty of trust or confidence.
A typical breach of duty arises when an insider, such as a corporate officer, purchases securities of his or her corporation on the basis of material, non-public information. Such conduct breaches a duty owed to the corporation's shareholders. The duty breached, however, need not be to shareholders to support liability for insider trading; it could also involve a breach of duty to a client, an employer, employees, or even a personal acquaintance. For example, courts have held that if the insider receives a personal benefit (either direct or indirect) from the disclosure, such as a pecuniary gain or reputational benefit, that would be enough to find a fiduciary breach.
The concept of who constitutes an "insider" is broad. It includes officers, directors and employees of an issuer. In addition, a person can be a "temporary insider" if he or she enters into a confidential relationship in the conduct of an issuer's affairs and, as a result, is given access to information solely for the issuer's purpose. A temporary insider can include, among others, an issuer's attorneys, accountants, consultants, and bank lending officers, as well as the employees of such organizations. In addition, any person may become a temporary insider of an issuer if he or she advises the issuer or provides other services, provided the issuer expects such person to keep any material, non-public information disclosed confidential.
Court decisions have held that under a "misappropriation" theory, an outsider (such as an investment analyst) may be liable if he or she breaches a duty to anyone by: (1) obtaining information improperly, or (2) using information that was obtained properly for an improper purpose. For example, if information is given to an analyst on a confidential basis and the analyst uses that information for trading purposes, liability could arise under the misappropriation theory. Similarly, an analyst who trades in breach of a duty owed either to his or her employer or client may be liable under the misappropriation theory. For example, the Supreme Court upheld the misappropriation theory when a lawyer received material, non-public information from a law partner who represented a client contemplating a tender offer, where that lawyer used the information to trade in the securities of the target company.
SEC Rule 10b5-2 provides a non-exclusive definition of circumstances in which a person has a duty of trust or confidence for purposes of the "misappropriation" theory of insider trading. It states that a "duty of trust or confidence" exists in the following circumstances, among others:
(1) Whenever a person agrees to maintain information in confidence;
(2) Whenever the person communicating the material nonpublic information and the person to whom it is communicated have a history, pattern, or practice of sharing confidences, that resulted in a reasonable expectation of confidentiality; or
(3) Whenever a person receives or obtains material nonpublic information from his or her spouse, parent, child, or sibling unless it is shown affirmatively, based on the facts and circumstances of that family relationship, that there was no reasonable expectation of confidentiality.
The situations in which a person can trade while in possession of material, non-public information without breaching a duty are so complex and uncertain that the only safe course is not to trade, tip or recommend securities while in possession of material, non-public information .
Materiality . Insider trading restrictions arise only when the information that is used for trading, tipping or recommendations is "material." The information need not be so important that it would have changed an investor's decision to buy or sell; rather, it is enough that it is the type of information on which reasonable investors rely in making purchase, sale, or hold decisions.
Resolving Close Cases . The United States Supreme Court has held that, in close cases, doubts about whether or not information is material should be resolved in favor of a finding of materiality. You should also be aware that your judgment regarding materiality may be reviewed by a court or the SEC with the 20-20 vision of hindsight.
Effect on Market Price . Any information that, upon disclosure, is likely to have a significant impact on the market price of a security should be considered material.
Future Events . The materiality of facts relating to the possible occurrence of future events depends on the likelihood that the event will occur and the significance of the event if it does occur.
Illustrations . The following list, though not exhaustive, illustrates the types of matters that might be considered material: a joint venture, merger or acquisition; the declaration or omission of dividends; the acquisition or loss of a significant contract; a change in control or a significant change in management; a call of securities for redemption; the borrowing of a significant amount of funds; the purchase or sale of a significant asset; a significant change in capital investment plans; a significant labor dispute or disputes with subcontractors or suppliers; an event requiring an issuer to file a current report on Form 8-K with the SEC; establishment of a program to make purchases of the issuer's own shares; a tender offer for another issuer's securities; an event of technical default or default on interest and/or principal payments; advance knowledge of an upcoming publication that is expected to affect the market price of the stock.
Non-Public Vs. Public Information . Any information that is not "public" is deemed to be "non-public." Just as an investor is permitted to trade on the basis of information that is not material, he or she may also trade on the basis of information that is public. Information is considered public if it has been disseminated in a manner making it available to investors generally. An example of non-public information would include material information provided to a select group of analysts but not made available to the investment community at large. Set forth below are a number of ways in which non-public information may be made public.
Disclosure to News Services and National Papers . The U.S. stock exchanges require exchange-traded issuers to disseminate material, non-public information about their companies
to: (1) the national business and financial newswire services (Dow Jones and Reuters); (2) the national service (Associated Press); and (3) The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Local Disclosure . An announcement by an issuer in a local newspaper might be sufficient for an issuer that is only locally traded, but might not be sufficient for an issuer that has a national market.
Information in SEC Reports . Information contained in reports filed with the SEC will be deemed to be public.
If Price Group is in possession of material, non-public information with respect to a security before such information is disseminated to the public ( i.e., such as being disclosed in one of the public media described above), Price Group and its personnel must wait a sufficient period of time after the information is first publicly released before trading or initiating transactions to allow the information to be fully disseminated. Price Group may also follow Information Barrier Wall procedures, as described on page 4-9 of this Statement.
Concept of Use/Possession . It is important to note that the SEC takes the position that the law regarding insider trading prohibits any person from trading in a security in violation of a duty of trust and confidence while in possession of material, non-public information regarding the security. This is in contrast to trading on the basis of the material, non-public information. To illustrate the problems created by the use of the "possession" standard, as opposed to the "caused" standard, the following three examples are provided:
First , if the investment committee to a Price mutual fund were to obtain material, non-public information about one of its portfolio companies from a Price equity research analyst, that fund would be prohibited from trading in the securities to which that information relates. The prohibition would last until the information is no longer material or non-public.
Second , if the investment committee to a Price mutual fund obtained material, non-public information about a particular portfolio security but continued to trade in that security, then the committee members, the applicable Price Adviser, and possibly management personnel might be liable for insider trading violations.
Third , even if the investment committee to the Fund does not come into possession of the material, non-public information known to the equity research analyst, if it trades in the security, it may have a difficult burden of proving to the SEC or to a court that it was not in possession of such information.
The SEC has expressed its view about the concept of trading "on the basis" of material, nonpublic information in Rule 10b5-1. Under Rule 10b5-1, and subject to the affirmative defenses contained in the rule, a purchase or sale of a security of an issuer is "on the basis of" material nonpublic information about that security or issuer if the person making the purchase or sale was aware of the material nonpublic information when the person made the purchase or sale.
A person's purchase or sale is not "on the basis of" material, nonpublic information if he or she demonstrates that:
(A) Before becoming aware of the information, the person had:
(1) Entered into a binding contract to purchase or sell the security;
(2) Instructed another person to purchase or sell the security for the instructing person's account, or
(3) Adopted a written plan for trading securities.
When a contract, instruction or plan is relied upon under this rule, it must meet detailed criteria set forth in Rule 10b5-1(c)(1)(i)(B) and (C).
Under Rule 10b5-1, a person other than a natural person ( e.g., one of the Price Advisers) may also demonstrate that a purchase or sale of securities is not "on the basis of" material nonpublic information if it demonstrates that:
• The individual making the investment decision on behalf of the person to purchase or sell the securities was not aware of the information; and
• The person had implemented reasonable policies and procedures, taking into consideration the nature of the person's business, to ensure that individuals making investment decisions would not violate the laws prohibiting trading on the basis of material non-public information. These policies and procedures may include those that restrict any purchase, sale, and causing any purchase or sale of any security as to which the person has material nonpublic information, or those that prevent such individuals from becoming aware of such information.
Tender Offers . Tender offers are subject to particularly strict regulation under the securities laws. Specifically, trading in securities that are the subject of an actual or impending tender offer by a person who is in possession of material, non-public information relating to the offer is illegal, regardless of whether there was a breach of fiduciary duty. Under no circumstances should you trade in securities while in possession of material, non-public information regarding a potential tender offer.
Selective Disclosure of Material, Non-Public Information by Public Companies. The SEC has adopted Regulation FD to prohibit certain issuers from selectively disclosing material, nonpublic information to certain persons who would be expected to trade on it. The rule applies only to publicly-traded domestic (U.S.) companies, not to foreign government or foreign private issuers.
Under this rule, whenever:
• An issuer, or person acting on its behalf,
• discloses material, non-public information,
• to securities professionals, institutional investors, broker-dealers, and holders of the issuer's securities,
• the issuer must make public disclosure of that same information,
• simultaneously (for intentional disclosures), or
• promptly within 24 hours after knowledge of the disclosure by a senior official (for non- intentional disclosures)
Regulation FD does not apply to all of the issuer's employees; rather only communications by an issuer's senior management (executive officers and directors), its investor relations professionals, and others who regularly communicate with market professionals and security holders are covered. Certain recipients of information are also excluded from the Rule's coverage, including persons who are subject to a confidentiality agreement, credit rating agencies, and "temporary insiders," such as the issuer's lawyers, investment bankers, or accountants.
Expert Network Services. Expert networks may be used by approved investment staff to supplement the investment process. Expert networks provide investors with access to individuals having a particular expertise or specialization, such as industry consultants, vendors, doctors, attorneys, suppliers, or past executives of particular companies. Expert network services can be an important component of the investment research process, and Price Group has implemented various controls to govern these interactions. A strict approval process is in place for utilizing a new expert network service. Also, a reporting and oversight process exists in the Equity Division to ensure that the services are being used properly by only appropriate investment staff.
Information Regarding Price Group.
The illustrations of material information found on page 4-5 of this Statement are equally applicable to Price Group as a public company and should serve as examples of the types of matters that you should not discuss with persons outside the firm. Remember, even though you may have no intent to violate any federal securities law, an offhand comment to a friend might be used unbeknownst to you by such friend to effect purchases or sales of Price Group stock. If such transactions were discovered and your friend were prosecuted, your status as an informant or "tipper" would directly involve you in the case.
Information Regarding T. Rowe Price Funds and Subadvised Funds.
Employees who possess material, non-public information pertaining to a Price fund or subadvised fund are prohibited from trading in the shares of the fund. Associates may obtain or possess information about significant portfolio activity of a fund, such as an unscheduled disbursement or receipt, that is not reflected in the fund's NAV, which could be regarded as material. For example, an associate may learn of a significant tax refund or litigation recovery that a fund is entitled to but has not been entered as a receivable because the amount and timing are unknown. Such information could constitute material, non-public information. Information regarding future events that would not be expected to have a known impact on the fund's NAV, such as a large subscription by an institutional shareholder or a change in the fund's portfolio manager, while considered highly sensitive information (not to be shared with others outside of T. Rowe Price), would not typically constitute material, non-public information for these purposes. If you have concerns or questions about whether certain information constitutes material, non-public information pertaining to a Price fund or subadvised fund you should contact the Legal Department.
LAWS AND REGULATIONS REGARDING INSIDER TRADING PROHIBITIONS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES
The jurisdictions outside the United States that regulate some T. Rowe Price entities (see page 1-3 for a description of these entities and jurisdictions) have laws in this area that are based on principles similar to those of the United States described in this Statement. If you comply with the Code, then you will comply with the requirements of these jurisdictions. If you have any concerns about local requirements, please contact the TRP International Compliance Team, the Director of International Compliance, or the Legal Department.
PROCEDURES TO BE FOLLOWED WHEN RECEIVING MATERIAL, NON-PUBLIC INFORMATION
Whenever you believe that you have or may have come into possession of material, non-public information, you should immediately contact the appropriate person or group as described below
and refrain from disclosing the information to anyone else, including persons within Price Group, unless specifically advised to the contrary.
Specifically, you may not:
• Trade in securities to which the material, non-public information relates;
• Disclose the information to others;
• Recommend purchases or sales of the securities to which the information relates.
If it is determined that the information is material and non-public, the issuer will be placed on either:
• A Restricted List (" Restricted List ") in order to prohibit trading in the security by both clients and Access Persons; or
• A Watch List (" Watch List "), which restricts the flow of the information to others within Price Group in order to allow the Price Advisers investment personnel to continue their ordinary investment activities. This procedure is commonly referred to as an Information Barrier .
The Watch List is highly confidential and should, under no circumstances, be disseminated to anyone except authorized personnel in the Legal Department and the Regulatory Reporting Section who are responsible for placing issuers on and monitoring trades in securities of issuers included on the Watch List. As described below, if a Designated Person on the TRP International Compliance Team believes that an issuer should be placed on the Watch List, he or she will contact the Regulatory Reporting Section. The Regulatory Reporting Section will coordinate review of trading in the securities of that issuer with the TRP International Compliance Team as appropriate.
The person whose possession of or access to inside information has caused the inclusion of an issuer on the Watch List may never trade or recommend the trade of the securities of that issuer without the specific prior approval of the Legal Department.
The Restricted List is also highly confidential and should, under no circumstances, be disseminated to anyone outside Price Group. Individuals with access to the Restricted List should not disclose its contents to anyone within Price Group who does not have a legitimate business need to know this information.
For U.S. - Based Personnel:
An individual subject to the Code who is based in the United States and is, or believes he or she may be, in possession of material, non-public information should immediately contact the Legal Department. If the Legal Department determines that the information is both material and non-public, the issuer will be
placed on either the Watch or Restricted List. If the issuer is placed on the Restricted List, the Regulatory Reporting Section will promptly relay the identity of the issuer, the person(s) in possession of the information, the reason for its inclusion, and the local time and the date on which the issuer was placed on the Restricted List to a Designated Person on the TRP International Compliance Team and to the London and Hong Kong Head Dealers or their designees (" Head Dealers "). The Designated Person will place the issuer on the Restricted List in London.
The Watch List is maintained solely by the Regulatory Reporting Section.
If the U.S.-based individual is unsure about whether the information is material or non-public, he or she should immediately contact the Legal Department for advice and may not disclose the information or trade in the security until the issue is resolved. The U.S.-based person may only disclose the information if approved on a "need to know" basis by the Legal Department.
When the information is no longer material or is public, the Regulatory Reporting Section will remove the issuer from the Watch or Restricted List, noting the reason for and the date and local time of removal of the issuer from the List. If the issuer is being removed from the Restricted List, Regulatory Reporting Section will promptly relay this information to a Designated Person on the TRP International Compliance Team and to the London and Hong Kong Head Dealers. The Designated Person will remove the issuer from the Restricted List in London. The Regulatory Reporting Section will document the removal of the issuer from either List.
If you receive a private placement memorandum and the existence of the private offering and/or the contents of the memorandum are material and non-public, you should contact the Legal Department for a determination of whether the issuer should be placed on the Watch or Restricted List.
For International Personnel:
An individual stationed in London, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Stockholm, or Buenos Aires will be referred to in this portion of the Statement as " London Personnel ." An individual stationed in Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney or Tokyo will be referred to in this portion of the Statement as " Hong Kong Personnel ."
Procedures for London Personnel. Whenever a person identified as London Personnel is, or believes he or she may be, in possession of material, non-public information about a security or an issuer of a security, he or she should immediately inform one of the Designated Persons on the TRP International Compliance Team that he or she is in possession of such information and the nature of the information. If the information is determined to be material and non-public, the Designated Person on the TRP International Compliance Team will make a record of this notification by contacting a Designated Person in the Regulatory Reporting Section to place the issuer on the Watch List or by placing the issuer on the Restricted List. If the Designated Person on the TRP International Compliance Team places the issuer on the Restricted List, he or she will note such pertinent information as the identity of the issuer, the person(s) in possession of the information, the reason for its inclusion, and the local time and date on which the issuer was placed on this List. If the issuer is placed on the Restricted List, he or she will also promptly relay this information to one of the Designated Persons in the Regulatory Reporting Section, who will place the issuer on the Restricted List in Baltimore, and to the London and Hong Kong Head Dealers.
If the London Personnel is unsure about whether the information is material and non-public, he or she should immediately contact the TRP International Compliance Team, the International Compliance Officer, or the Legal Department for advice and may not disclose the information or trade in the security until the issue is resolved. The London Personnel may only disclose the information if approved on a "need to know" basis by the TRP International Compliance Team, the International Compliance Officer, or the Legal Department.
When the information is no longer material or is public, one of the Designated Persons on the TRP International Compliance Team will contact a Designated Person in the Regulatory Reporting Section regarding removing the issuer from the Watch List or will remove the issuer from the Restricted List and note the reason for and the date and local time of removal of the issuer from this List. If the issuer is being removed from the Restricted List, he or she will also promptly relay the information to one of the Designated Persons in the Regulatory Reporting Section and to the London and Hong Kong Head Dealers. The Regulatory Reporting Section will remove the issuer from the Restricted List in Baltimore. If the Designated Person on the TRP International Compliance Team is unsure whether the issuer should be removed from the Watch or Restricted List, he or she should first contact the International Compliance Officer or the Legal Department for advice. If the Designated Persons on the TRP Compliance Team are unavailable, the London Employee should contact the International Compliance Officer or the Legal Department regarding removal of the issuer from the Restricted List.
Procedures for Hong Kong Personnel. Whenever a person identified as Hong Kong Personnel is, or believes he or she may be, in possession of material, non-public information about a security or the issuer of any security, he or she should immediately inform the Hong Kong Head Dealer that he or she is in possession of such information and the nature of the information. The Hong Kong Head Dealer will make a record of this notification, noting the person(s) in possession of the information, the nature of the information, and the local time and date on which the information was received, and contact by email as soon as possible a Designated Person on the TRP International Compliance Team or, if they are unavailable, in the Regulatory Reporting Section. Until a Designated Person has determined whether the issuer should be placed on the Watch or Restricted List, the Hong Kong Dealing Desk will refrain from trading the securities of the issuer. The Designated Person will inform the Hong Kong Head Dealer and a Designated Person in the other location ( i.e., the Regulatory Reporting Section or the TRP International Compliance Team) as soon as possible regarding whether or not the issuer has been placed on the Watch or Restricted List.
If the Hong Kong Personnel is unsure about whether the information is material and non-public, he or she should immediately contact the Hong Kong Head Dealer. The Hong Kong Personnel and the Hong Kong Head Dealer may only disclose the information if approved on a "need to know" basis by the TRP International Compliance Team, the International Compliance Officer, or the Legal Department.
The Hong Kong Personnel or the Hong Kong Head Dealer should contact a Designated Person on the TRP International Compliance Team or in the Regulatory Reporting Section, the International Compliance Officer, or the Legal Department regarding removal of the issuer from the Restricted List. When the information is no longer material and/or non-public, a Designated Person will remove the issuer from the Restricted List, note the reason for and the date and local time of removal of the issuer from this List and promptly relay the information to one of the Designated Persons in the other location and to the Hong Kong Head Dealer. The Designated Person will remove the issuer from the Restricted List in that location. The Hong Kong Personnel or the Hong Kong Head Dealer should contact a Designated Person in the Regulatory Reporting Section regarding removal of the issuer from the Watch List.
Specific Procedures Relating to the Safeguarding of Inside Information.
To ensure the integrity of the Information Barrier, and the confidentiality of the Restricted List, it is important that you take the following steps to safeguard the confidentiality of material, non-public information:
• Do not discuss confidential information in public places such as elevators, hallways or social gatherings;
• To the extent practical, limit access to the areas of the firm where confidential information could be observed or overheard to employees with a business need for being in the area;
• Avoid using speaker phones in areas where unauthorized persons may overhear conversations;
• Where appropriate, maintain the confidentiality of client identities by using code names or numbers for confidential projects;
• Exercise care to avoid placing documents containing confidential information in areas where they may be read by unauthorized persons and store such documents in secure locations when they are not in use; and
• Destroy copies of confidential documents no longer needed for a project. However, Record Retention and Destruction guidelines (see p. 2-13) should be reviewed before taking any action.
ADDITIONAL PROCEDURES
Education Program . While the probability of research analysts and portfolio managers being exposed to material, non-public information with respect to issuers considered for investment by clients is greater than that of other personnel, it is imperative that all personnel understand this Statement, particularly since the insider trading restrictions also apply to transactions in the stock of Price Group.
To ensure that all appropriate personnel are properly informed of and understand Price Group's policy with respect to insider trading, the following program has been adopted.
Initial Review and Training for New Personnel. All new persons subject to the Code, which includes this Statement, will be given a copy of it at the time of their association and will be required to certify that they have read it. In addition, each new employee is required to take web-based training promptly after his or her start date.
Revision of Statement . All persons subject to the Code will be informed whenever this Statement is materially revised.
Annual Review for All Associates . All Associates receive training on the Code annually. This training may be in person or through another medium such as web-based training.
Confirmation of Compliance . All persons subject to the Code will be asked to confirm their understanding of and adherence to the Code, including this Statement, on at least an annual basis.
Questions . If you have any questions with respect to the interpretation or application of this Statement, you are encouraged to discuss them with your immediate supervisor, the Legal Department, or the TRP International Compliance Team as appropriate.
T. ROWE PRICE GROUP, INC.
STATEMENT OF POLICY
ON
SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS
BACKGROUND INFORMATION .
Legal Requirement . In accordance with the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the " Exchange Act "), the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the Insider Trading and Securities Fraud Enforcement Act of 1988, and the various United Kingdom and other jurisdictions' laws and regulations, Price Group and the mutual funds (" Price Funds ") which its affiliates manage have adopted this Statement of Policy on Securities Transactions (" Statement ").
Price Advisers' Fiduciary Position . As investment advisers, the Price Advisers are in a fiduciary position which requires them to act with an eye only to the benefit of their clients, avoiding those situations which might place, or appear to place, the interests of the Price Advisers or their officers, directors and employees in conflict with the interests of clients.
Purpose of Statement . The Statement was developed to help guide Price Group's employees and independent directors and the independent directors of the Price Funds and the T. Rowe Price Savings Bank (" Savings Bank ") in the conduct of their personal investments and to:
eliminate the possibility of a transaction occurring that the SEC or other regulatory bodies would view as illegal, such as Front Running ( see definition below);
avoid situations where it might appear that Price Group or the Price Funds or any of their officers, directors, employees, or other personnel had personally benefited at the expense of a client or fund shareholder or taken inappropriate advantage of their fiduciary positions; and
• prevent, as well as detect, the misuse of material, non-public information.
Those subject to the Code, including the independent directors of Price Group, the Price Funds and the Savings Bank, are urged to consider the reasons for the adoption of this Statement. Price Group's and the Price Funds' reputations could be adversely affected as the result of even a single transaction considered questionable in light of the fiduciary duties of the Price Advisers and the independent directors of the Price Funds.
Front Running. Front Running is illegal. It is generally defined as the purchase or sale of a security by an officer, director or employee of an investment adviser or mutual fund in anticipation of and prior to the adviser effecting similar transactions for its clients in order to take advantage of or avoid changes in market prices effected by client transactions.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STATEMENT . You are urged to seek the advice of the Chief Compliance Officer TRPA, the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee (U.S.-based personnel), the TRP International Compliance Team (International personnel), or Code Compliance in Baltimore (all locations) when you have questions as to the application of this Statement to individual circumstances.
EXCESSIVE TRADING AND MARKET TIMING OF MUTUAL FUND SHARES. The issue of excessive trading and market timing by mutual fund shareholders is a serious one and is not unique to T. Rowe Price. Employees may not engage in trading of shares of a Price Fund that is inconsistent with the prospectus of that Fund.
Excessive or short-term trading in fund shares may disrupt management of a fund and raise its costs. The Board of Directors/Trustees of the Price Funds have adopted a policy to deter excessive and short-term trading (the " Policy "), which applies to persons trading directly with T. Rowe Price and indirectly through intermediaries. Under this Policy, T. Rowe Price may bar excessive and short-term traders from purchasing shares.
This Policy is set forth in each Fund's prospectus, which governs all trading activity in the Fund regardless of whether you are holding T. Rowe Price Fund shares as a retail investor or through your T. Rowe Price U.S. Retirement Program account.
Although the Fund may issue a warning letter regarding excessive trading or market timing, any trade activity in violation of the Policy will also be reviewed by the Chief Compliance Officer, who will refer instances to the Ethics Committee as he or she feels appropriate. The Ethics Committee, based on its review, may take disciplinary action, including suspension of trading privileges, forfeiture of profits or the amount of losses avoided, and termination of employment, as it deems appropriate.
Employees are also expected to abide by trading restrictions imposed by other funds as described in their prospectuses. If you violate the trading restrictions of a non-Price Fund, the Ethics Committee may impose the same penalties available for violation of the Price Funds excessive trading Policy.
PERSONS SUBJECT TO STATEMENT . The provisions of this Statement apply as described below to the following persons and entities. Each person and entity (except the independent directors of Price Group and the Savings Bank) is classified as either an Access Person or a Non-Access Person as described below. The provisions of this Statement may also apply to an Access Person's or Non-Access Person's spouse, minor children, and certain other relatives, as further described on page 5-5 of this Statement. All Access Persons except the independent directors of the Price Funds are subject to all provisions of this Statement except certain restrictions on purchases in initial public offerings that apply only to Investment Personnel. The independent directors of the Price Funds are not subject to prior transaction clearance requirements and are subject to modified reporting as described on p. 5-20. Non-Access Persons are subject to the general principles of the Statement and its reporting requirements, but are only required to receive prior transaction clearance for transactions in Price Group stock. The persons and entities covered by this Statement are:
Price Group . Price Group, each of its subsidiaries and affiliates, and their retirement plans.
Employee Partnerships. Partnerships such as Pratt Street Ventures.
Personnel . Each officer, inside director and employee of Price Group and its subsidiaries and affiliates, including T. Rowe Price Investment Services, Inc., the principal underwriter of the Price Funds.
Certain Temporary Workers. These workers include:
• All temporary workers hired on the Price Group payroll (" TRP Temporaries ");
• All agency temporaries whose assignments at Price Group exceed four weeks or whose cumulative assignments exceed eight weeks over a twelve-month period;
• All independent or agency-provided consultants whose assignments exceed four weeks or whose cumulative assignments exceed eight weeks over a twelve-month period and whose work is closely related to the ongoing work of Price Group's employees (versus project work that stands apart from ongoing work); and
• Any contingent worker whose assignment is more than casual in nature or who will be exposed to the kinds of information and situations that would create conflicts on matters covered in the Code.
Retired Employees . Retired employees of Price Group who receive investment research information from one or more of the Price Advisers will be subject to this Statement.
Independent Directors of Price Group, the Savings Bank and the Price Funds. The independent directors of Price Group include those directors of Price Group who are neither officers nor employees of Price Group or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates. The independent directors of the Savings Bank include those directors of the Savings Bank who are neither officers nor employees of Price Group or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates. The independent directors of the Price Funds include those directors of the Price Funds who are not deemed to be "interested persons" of Price Group.
Although subject to the general principles of this Statement, including the definition of "beneficial ownership," independent directors are subject only to modified reporting requirements. See pp. 5-20 to 5-23. The trades of the independent directors of the Price Funds are not subject to prior transaction clearance requirements. The trades of the independent directors of Price Group and of the Savings Bank are not subject to prior transaction clearance requirements except for transactions in Price Group stock.
ACCESS PERSONS. Certain persons and entities are classified as " Access Persons" under the Code. The term " Access Person" means:
• the Price Advisers;
• any officer or director of any of the Price Advisers or the Price Funds (except the independent directors of the Price Funds are not subject to prior transaction clearance and have modified reporting requirements, as described below);
• any person associated with any of the Price Advisers or the Price Funds who, in connection with his or her regular functions or duties, makes, participates in, or obtains or has access to non-public information regarding the purchase or sale of securities by a Price Fund or other advisory client, or to non-public information regarding any securities holdings of any client of a Price Adviser, including the Price Funds, or whose functions relate to the making of any recommendations with respect to the purchases or sales; or
• any person in a control relationship to any of the Price Advisers or a Price Fund who obtains or has access to information concerning recommendations made to a Price Fund or other advisory client with regard to the purchase or sale of securities by the Price Fund or advisory client.
All Access Persons are notified of their status under the Code. Although a person can be an Access Person of one or more Price Advisers and one or more of the Price Funds, the independent directors of the Price Funds are only Access Persons of the applicable Price Funds; they are not Access Persons of any of the Price Advisers.
Investment Personnel . An Access Person is further identified as " Investment Personnel " if, in connection with his or her regular functions or duties, he or she "makes or participates in making recommendations regarding the purchase or sale of securities" by a Price Fund or other advisory client.
The term "Investment Personnel" includes, but is not limited to:
• those employees who are authorized to make investment decisions or to recommend securities transactions on behalf of the firm's clients (investment counselors and members of the mutual fund advisory committees);
• research and credit analysts; and
• traders who assist in the investment process.
All Investment Personnel are deemed Access Persons under the Code. All Investment Personnel are notified of their status under the Code. Investment Personnel are generally prohibited from investing in initial public offerings. See p. 5-14.
NON-ACCESS PERSONS . Persons who do not fall within the definition of Access Persons are deemed " Non-Access Persons. " If a Non-Access Person is married to an Access Person, then the non-Access Person is deemed to be an Access Person under the beneficial ownership provisions
described below. However, the independent directors of Price Group and the Savings Bank are not included in this definition.
TRANSACTIONS SUBJECT TO STATEMENT . Except as provided below, the provisions of this Statement apply to transactions that fall under either one of the following two conditions:
First , you are a " beneficial owner " of the security under the Rule 16a-1 of the Exchange Act, defined as follows; or
Second , if you control or direct securities trading for another person or entity, those trades are subject to this Statement even if you are not a beneficial owner of the securities. For example, if you have an exercisable trading authorization ( e.g., a power of attorney to direct transactions in another person's account) of an unrelated person's or entity's brokerage account, or are directing another person's or entity's trades, those transactions will usually be subject to this Statement to the same extent your personal trades would be as described below.
Definition of Beneficial Owner. A "beneficial owner" is any person who, directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship, or otherwise, has or shares in the opportunity, directly or indirectly, to profit or share in any profit derived from a transaction in the security.
A person has beneficial ownership in:
• securities held by members of the person's immediate family sharing the same household, although the presumption of beneficial ownership may be rebutted;
• a person's interest in securities held by a trust, which may include both trustees with investment control and, in some instances, trust beneficiaries;
• a person's right to acquire securities through the exercise or conversion of any derivative security, whether or not presently exercisable;
• a general partner's proportionate interest in the portfolio securities held by a general or limited partnership;
• certain performance-related fees other than an asset-based fee, received by any broker, dealer, bank, insurance company, investment company, investment adviser, investment manager, trustee or person or entity performing a similar function; and
• a person's right to dividends that is separated or separable from the underlying securities. Otherwise, right to dividends alone shall not represent beneficial ownership in the securities.
A shareholder shall not be deemed to have beneficial ownership in the portfolio securities held by a corporation or similar entity in which the person owns securities if the shareholder is not a
controlling shareholder of the entity and does not have or share investment control over the entity's portfolio.
Requests for Clarifications or Interpretations Regarding Beneficial Ownership or Control . If you have beneficial ownership of a security, any transaction involving that security is presumed to be subject to the relevant requirements of this Statement, unless you have no direct or indirect influence or control over the transaction. Such a situation may arise, for example, if you have delegated investment authority to an independent investment adviser or your spouse has an independent trading program in which you have no input. Similarly, if your spouse has investment control over, but no beneficial ownership in, an unrelated account, the Statement may not apply to those securities and you may wish to seek clarification or an interpretation.
If you are involved in an investment account for a family situation, trust, partnership, corporation, etc., which you feel should not be subject to the Statement's relevant prior transaction clearance and/or reporting requirements, you should submit a written request for clarification or interpretation to either the Code Compliance Section (via the Legal Compliance Employee Trading mailbox) in Baltimore or the TRP International Compliance Team, as appropriate. Any such request for clarification or interpretation should name the account, your interest in the account, the persons or firms responsible for its management, and the specific facts of the situation. Do not assume that the Statement is not applicable; you must receive a clarification or interpretation about the applicability of the Statement . Clarifications and interpretations are not self-executing; you must receive a response to a request for clarification or interpretation directly from the Code Compliance Section or the TRP International Compliance Team before proceeding with the transaction or other action covered by this Statement.
PRIOR TRANSACTION CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS GENERALLY. As described, certain transactions require prior clearance before execution. Receiving prior transaction clearance does not relieve you from conducting your personal securities transactions in full compliance with the Code, including its prohibition on trading while in possession of material, inside information, and the 60-Day Rule, and with applicable law, including the prohibition on Front Running ( see page 5-1 for definition of Front Running).
TRANSACTIONS IN STOCK OF PRICE GROUP . Because Price Group is a public company, ownership of its stock subjects its officers, inside and independent directors, employees and all others subject to the Code to special legal requirements under the United States securities laws. You are responsible for your own compliance with these requirements. In connection with these legal requirements, Price Group has adopted the following rules and procedures:
Independent Directors of Price Funds. The independent directors of the Price Funds are prohibited from owning the stock or other securities of Price Group.
Quarterly Earnings Report . Generally, all Access Persons and Non-Access Persons and the independent directors of Price Group and the Savings Bank must refrain from initiating transactions in Price Group stock in which they have a beneficial interest from the second trading day after quarter end (or such other date as management shall from time to time determine) through the day after the filing of the firm's earnings release with the SEC on Form 10-Q or Form 8-K. You will be notified by the Management Committee from time to time as to the controlling dates
Prior Transaction Clearance of Price Group Stock Transactions Generally. Access Persons and Non-Access Persons and the independent directors of Price Group and the Savings Bank are required to obtain clearance prior to effecting any proposed transaction (including gifts and other transfers of beneficial ownership) involving shares of Price Group stock owned beneficially, including through the Employee Stock Purchase Plan ( "ESPP" ). A transfer of shares of Price Group stock into or from street name to or from a securities account and a transfer of shares of Price Group stock between securities firms or accounts, including accounts held at the same firm, do not have to receive prior clearance, but must be reported.
Prior Transaction Clearance Procedures for Price Group Stock. Requests for prior transaction clearance must be processed by using the online request form. This online form can be accessed through the TROW Employee Stock Transactions tool located on the TRP Exchange. The Payroll and Stock Transaction Group is responsible for processing and maintaining the records of all such requests. This includes not only market transactions, but also sales of stock purchased either through the ESPP or through a securities account if shares of Price Group stock are transferred there from the ESPP. Purchases effected through the ESPP are automatically reported to the Payroll and Stock Transaction Group.
Prohibition Regarding Transactions in Price Group Options. Transactions in options (other than stock options granted to T. Rowe Price associates) on Price Group stock are not permitted.
Prohibition Regarding Short Sales of Price Group Stock. Short sales of Price Group stock are not permitted.
Hedging Transactions in Price Group Stock. Entering into any contract or purchasing any instrument designed to hedge or offset any decrease in the market value of Price Group stock is not permitted, unless prior written approval is received from the Payroll and Stock Transaction Group and the Legal Department.
Applicability of 60-Day Rule to Price Group Stock Transactions. Transactions in Price Group stock are subject to the 60-Day Rule except for transactions effected through the ESPP, the exercise of employee stock options granted by Price Group and the subsequent sale of the derivative shares, and shares obtained through an established dividend reinvestment program.
For a full description of the 60-Day Rule, please see page 5-27.
Only Price Group stock that has been held for at least 60 days may be gifted. You must receive prior clearance before gifting shares of Price Group stock.
Purchases of Price Group stock in the ESPP through payroll deduction are not considered in determining the applicability of the 60-Day Rule to market transactions in Price Group stock. See p. 5-27.
To avoid issues with the 60-Day Rule, shares may not be transferred out of or otherwise removed from the ESPP if the shares have been held for less than 60 days.
Access Persons and Non-Access Persons and the independent directors of Price Group and the Savings Bank must obtain prior transaction clearance of any transaction involving Price Group stock, (unless specifically exempted, such as transfers of form of ownership) from the Payroll and Stock Transaction Group. |
Initial Disclosure of Holdings of Price Group Stock. Each new employee must report to the Payroll and Stock Transaction Group any shares of Price Group stock of which he or she has beneficial ownership no later than ten business days after his or her starting date.
Dividend Reinvestment Plans for Price Group Stock. Purchases of Price Group stock owned outside of the ESPP and effected through a dividend reinvestment plan need not receive prior transaction clearance. Reporting of transactions effected through that plan need only be made quarterly through statements provided to the Code Compliance Section or by the financial institution ( e.g. , broker/dealer) where the account is maintained, except in the case of employees who are subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act, who must report such transactions immediately.
Effectiveness of Prior Clearance . Prior transaction clearance of transactions in Price Group stock is effective for three United States business days from and including the date the clearance is granted, unless (i) advised to the contrary by the Payroll and Stock Transaction Group prior to the proposed transaction, or (ii) the person receiving the clearance comes into possession of material, non-public information concerning the firm. If the proposed transaction in Price Group stock is not executed within this time period, a new clearance must be obtained before the individual can execute the proposed transaction.
Reporting of Disposition of Proposed Transaction . You must use the form returned to you by the Payroll and Stock Transaction Group to notify it of the disposition (whether the proposed transaction was effected or not) of each transaction involving shares of Price Group stock owned directly. The notice must be returned within two business days of the trade's execution or within five business days of the date of prior transaction clearance if the trade is not executed.
Insider Reporting and Liability . Under current SEC rules, certain officers, directors and 10% stockholders of a publicly traded company ( "Insiders" ) are subject to the requirements of Section 16. Insiders include the directors and certain executive officers of Price Group. The Payroll and Stock Transaction Group informs all those who are Insiders of their obligations under Section 16.
SEC Reporting . There are three reporting forms which Insiders are required to file with the SEC to report their purchase, sale and transfer transactions in, and holdings of, Price Group stock. Although the Payroll and Stock Transaction Group will provide assistance in complying with these requirements as an accommodation to Insiders, it remains the legal responsibility of each Insider to ensure that the applicable reports are filed in a timely manner.
• Form 3. The initial ownership report by an Insider is required to be filed on Form 3. This report must be filed within ten days after a person becomes an Insider ( i.e., is elected as a director or appointed as an executive officer) to report all current holdings of Price Group stock. Following the election or appointment of an Insider, the Payroll and Stock Transaction Group will deliver to the Insider a Form 3 for appropriate signatures and will file the form electronically with the SEC.
• Form 4. Any change in the Insider's ownership of Price Group stock must be reported on a Form 4 unless eligible for deferred reporting on year-end Form 5. The Form 4 must be filed electronically before the end of the second business day following the day on which a transaction resulting in a change in beneficial ownership has been executed. Following receipt of the Notice of Disposition of the proposed transaction, the Payroll and Stock Transaction Group will deliver to the Insider a Form 4, as applicable, for appropriate signatures and will file the form electronically with the SEC.
• Form 5. Any transaction or holding that is exempt from reporting on Form 4, such as small purchases of stock, gifts, etc. may be reported electronically on a deferred basis on Form 5 within 45 calendar days after the end of the calendar year in which the transaction occurred. No Form 5 is necessary if all transactions and holdings were previously reported on Form 4.
Liability for Short-Swing Profits . Under the United States securities laws, profit realized by certain officers, as well as directors and 10% stockholders of a company (including Price Group) as a result of a purchase and sale (or sale and purchase) of stock of the company within a period of less than six months must be returned to the firm or its designated payee upon request.
PRIOR TRANSACTION CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS (OTHER THAN PRICE GROUP STOCK) FOR ACCESS PERSONS .
Access Persons other than the independent directors of the Price Funds must, unless otherwise provided for below, obtain prior transaction clearance before directly or indirectly initiating, recommending, or in any way participating in, the purchase or sale of a security in which the Access Person has, or by reason of such transaction may acquire, any beneficial interest or which he or she controls. This includes the writing of an option to purchase or sell a security and the acquisition of any shares in an Automatic Investment Plan through a non-systematic investment. Non-Access Persons are not required to obtain prior clearance before engaging in any securities transactions, except for transactions in Price Group stock.
Access Persons and Non-Access Persons and the independent directors of Price Group and the Savings Bank must obtain prior transaction clearance of any transaction involving Price Group stock, (unless specifically exempted, such as transfers of form of ownership) from the Payroll and Stock Transaction Group. |
Where required, prior transaction clearance must be obtained regardless of whether the transaction is effected through TRP Brokerage (generally available only to U.S. residents) or through an unaffiliated broker/dealer or other entity. Please note that the prior clearance procedures do not check compliance with the 60-Day Rule (p. 5-27); you are responsible for ensuring your compliance with this rule.
The independent directors of the Price Funds are not required to receive prior transaction clearance in any case.
TRANSACTIONS (OTHER THAN IN PRICE GROUP STOCK) THAT DO NOT REQUIRE EITHER PRIOR TRANSACTION CLEARANCE OR REPORTING UNLESS THEY OCCUR IN A "REPORTABLE FUND." The following transactions do not require either prior transaction clearance or reporting:
Mutual Funds and Variable Insurance Products . The purchase or redemption of shares of any open-end investment companies and variable insurance products, except that Access Persons must report transactions in Reportable Funds, as described below. ( see p. 5-11).
Automatic Investment Plans. Transactions through a program in which regular periodic purchases or withdrawals are made automatically in or from investment accounts in accordance with a predetermined schedule and allocation. An automatic investment plan includes a dividend reinvestment plan. An Access Person must report any securities owned as a result of transactions in an Automatic Investment Plan on his or her Annual Report. Any transaction that overrides the pre-set schedule or allocations of an automatic investment plan (a "non-systematic transaction" ) must be reported by both Access Persons and Non-Access Persons and Access Persons must also receive prior transaction clearance for such a transaction if the transaction would otherwise require prior transaction clearance.
U.S. Government Obligations . Purchases or sales of direct obligations of the U.S. Government.
Certain Commodity Futures Contracts. Purchases or sales of commodity futures contracts for tangible goods ( e.g., corn, soybeans, wheat) if the transaction is regulated solely by the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (" CFTC "). Futures contracts for financial instruments, however, must receive prior clearance.
Commercial Paper and Similar Instruments. Bankers' acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper and high quality short-term debt instruments, including repurchase agreements.
Certain Unit Investment Trusts. Shares issued by unit investment trusts that are invested exclusively in one or more open-end funds, if none of the underlying funds is a Reportable Fund.
TRANSACTIONS (OTHER THAN PRICE GROUP STOCK) THAT DO NOT REQUIRE PRIOR TRANSACTION CLEARANCE BUT MUST BE REPORTED BY BOTH ACCESS PERSONS AND NON-ACCESS PERSONS. The following transactions do not require prior transaction clearance but must be reported:
Exchange-Traded Funds ("ETFs"). Purchases or sales of the following ETFs only :
• SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (" DIA ")
• SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (" SPY ")
• PowerShares QQQ NASDAQ 100 (" QQQ ")
• iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund (" EFA ")
• iShares Trust S&P 500 Index (" IVV ")
• iShares Trust Russell 2000 (" IWM ")
• iShares MSCI Emerging Market Index (" EEM ")
• iShares Plc FTSE 100 ( "GB/ISF" )
Transactions by Access Persons in all other ETFs must receive prior clearance and these transactions must be reported by both Access Persons and Non-Access Persons.
Unit Investment Trusts. Purchases or sales of shares in unit investment trusts registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, unless the unit investment trust is an ETF, in which case it must comply with the specific restrictions on ETFs described immediately above.
National Government Obligations (other than U.S.). Purchases or sales of direct
obligations of national (non-U.S.) governments.
Variable Rate Demand Notes. This financial instrument is an unsecured debt obligation of a corporate entity. These instruments generally pay a floating interest rate slightly above the prevailing money market rates and include check-writing capabilities. It is not a money market fund nor is it equivalent to a bank deposit or bank account therefore the instrument is not protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation or Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Pro Rata Distributions . Purchases effected by the exercise of rights issued pro rata to all holders of a class of securities or the sale of rights so received.
Mandatory Tenders . Purchases and sales of securities pursuant to a mandatory tender offer.
Exercise of Stock Option of Corporate Employer by Spouse . Transactions involving the exercise by an Access Person's spouse of a stock option issued by the corporation employing the spouse. However, a subsequent sale of the stock obtained by means of the exercise, including sales effected by a "cash-less" transactions, must receive prior transaction clearance.
Restricted Stock Plan Automatic Sales for Tax Purposes by Spouse. Transactions commonly called "net sales" whereby upon vesting of restricted shares, a portion of the shares are automatically sold in order to cover the tax obligation.
Inheritances . The acquisition of securities through inheritance.
Gifts . The giving of or receipt of a security as a gift.
Stock Splits, Reverse Stock Splits, and Similar Acquisitions and Dispositions . The mandatory acquisition of additional shares or the disposition of existing corporate holdings through stock splits, reverse stock splits, stock dividends, exercise of rights, exchange or conversion. Reporting of such transactions must be made within 30 days of the end of the quarter in which they occurred. Reporting is deemed to have been made if the acquisition or disposition is reported on a confirmation, statement or similar document sent to Code Compliance.
Spousal Employee-Sponsored Payroll Deduction Plans . Purchases, but not sales, by an Access Person's spouse pursuant to an employee-sponsored payroll deduction plan ( e.g., a 401(k) plan or employee stock purchase plan), provided the Code Compliance Section has been previously notified by the Access Person that the spouse will be participating in the payroll deduction plan. Reporting of such transactions must be made within 30 days of the end of the quarter in which they occurred. A sale or exchange of stock held in such a plan is subject to the prior transaction clearance requirements for Access Persons.
Partial Shares Sold . Partial shares held in an account that are sold when the account is transferred to another broker/dealer or to a new owner or partial shares sold automatically by the broker/dealer.
TRANSACTIONS (OTHER THAN PRICE GROUP STOCK) THAT DO NOT REQUIRE PRIOR TRANSACTION CLEARANCE BUT MUST BE REPORTED BY ACCESS PERSONS ONLY.
Reportable Funds. Access Persons must report the purchases and sales of shares of Reportable Funds. A Reportable Fund is any open-end investment company, including money market funds, for which any of the Price Advisers serves as an investment adviser. This includes not only the Price Funds and SICAVs, but also any fund managed by any of the Price Advisers through sub-advised relationships, including any fund holdings offered through retirement plans ( e.g., 401(k) plans) or as an investment option offered as part of a variable annuity. Code Compliance maintains a listing of sub-advised Reportable Funds under the Tools menu on the TRP Exchange.
Restrictions on Holding Price Funds Through Intermediaries. Many Reportable Funds are Price Funds. Access Persons are encouraged to buy, sell and maintain their holdings of Price Funds in an account or accounts on a T. Rowe Price platform, rather than through an intermediary where possible. For example, Access Persons are encouraged to trade shares in a Price Fund through T. Rowe Price Services, Inc., the transfer agent or through a TRP Brokerage account, rather than through a brokerage account maintained at an independent broker/dealer.
Access Persons are prohibited from purchasing a Price Fund through an intermediary if shares of that Price Fund are not currently held at that intermediary and if the purchase could have been effected through one of the T. Rowe Price transfer agents or in a TRP Brokerage account. If an Access Person currently holds Price Funds under such circumstances, he or she is prohibited from purchasing shares of any other Price Fund through that intermediary. Situations where Price Funds must be held through an intermediary ( e.g., spouse of an Access Person has or is eligible to invest in Price Funds through the spouse's 401(k) plan) do not violate this policy. Access Persons who violate this policy may be required to transfer the position held through the financial intermediary to an account maintained on a T. Rowe Price platform.
Access Persons must inform the Code Compliance Section about ownership of shares of Price Funds. Once this notification has been given, if the Price Fund is held on a T. Rowe Price platform or in a TRP Brokerage Account, the Access Person need not report these transactions directly. See p. 5-19.
In instances where Price Funds are held through an intermediary, transactions in shares of those Price Funds must be reported as described on p. 5-19.
Interests in Section 529 College Savings Plans. Access Persons must report the purchase and sale of interests in any Section 529 College Savings Plan.
Access Persons must inform the Code Compliance Section about ownership of interests in the Maryland College Investment Plan, the T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan and the University of Alaska College Savings Plan. For these specific plans only, once this notification has been given, an Access Person need not report transactions directly. See p. 5-19.
Notification Requirements. Notification to the Code Compliance Section about a
Reportable Fund or a Section 529 College Savings Plan should include:
• account ownership information, and
• account number
The independent directors of the Price Funds are subject to modified reporting requirements.
The Chief Compliance Officer or his or her designee reviews at a minimum the transaction reports for all securities required to be reported under the Advisers Act or the Investment Company Act for all employees, officers, and inside directors of Price Group and its affiliates and for the independent directors of the Price Funds.
TRANSACTIONS (OTHER THAN PRICE GROUP STOCK) THAT REQUIRE PRIOR TRANSACTION CLEARANCE BY ACCESS PERSONS. If the transaction or security is not listed above as not requiring prior transaction clearance, you should assume that it is subject to this requirement unless specifically informed otherwise by the Code Compliance Section or the TRP International Compliance Team. The only Access Persons not subject to the prior transaction clearance requirements are the independent directors of the Price Funds.
Among the transactions for which you must receive prior transaction clearance are:
Non-systematic transactions in a security that is not exempt from prior transaction clearance;
Closed-end fund transactions, including U.K., Canadian, and other non-U.S. investment trusts, and ETFs not specifically exempted from prior clearance (see p. 5-10); and
Transactions in sector index funds that are closed-end or exchange-traded funds.
OTHER TRANSACTION REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. Any transaction that is subject to the prior transaction clearance requirements on behalf of an Access Person (except the independent directors of the Price Funds), including purchases in initial public offerings and private placement transactions , must be reported. Although Non-Access Persons are not required to receive prior transaction clearance for securities transactions (other than Price Group stock), they must report any transaction that would require prior transaction clearance by an Access Person. The independent directors of Price Group, the Price Funds and the Savings Bank are subject to modified reporting requirements.
PROCEDURES FOR OBTAINING PRIOR TRANSACTION CLEARANCE (OTHER THAN PRICE GROUP STOCK) FOR ACCESS PERSONS. Unless prior transaction clearance is not required as described above or the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee or his or her designee has otherwise determined that prior transaction clearance is not required, Access Persons, other than the independent directors of the Price Funds, must receive prior transaction clearance for all securities transactions.
Access Persons should follow the procedures set forth below before engaging in the transactions described. If an Access Person is not certain whether a proposed transaction is subject to the prior transaction clearance requirements, he or she should contact the Code Compliance Section before proceeding.
Procedures For Obtaining Prior Transaction Clearance For Initial Public Offerings ("IPOs"):
Non-Investment Personnel . Access Persons who are not Investment Personnel ( "Non-Investment Personnel ") may purchase securities that are the subject of an IPO only
after receiving prior transaction clearance in writing from the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee or his or her designee (" Designee "). An IPO would include, for example, an offering of securities registered under the Securities Act of 1933 when the issuer of the securities, immediately before the registration, was not subject to certain reporting requirements of the Exchange Act. This requirement applies to all IPOs regardless of market.
In considering such a request for prior transaction clearance, the Chairperson or his or her Designee will determine whether the proposed transaction presents a conflict of interest with any of the firm's clients or otherwise violates the Code. The Chairperson or his or her Designee will also consider whether:
1. The purchase is made through the Non-Investment Personnel's regular broker;
2. The number of shares to be purchased is commensurate with the normal size and activity of the Non-Investment Personnel's account; and
3. The transaction otherwise meets the requirements of the FINRA restrictions, as applicable, regarding the sale of a new issue to an account in which a "restricted person," as defined in FINRA Rule 5130, has a beneficial interest.
In addition to receiving prior transaction clearance from the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee or his or her Designee, Non-Investment Personnel must also check with the Equity Trading Desk the day the offering is priced before purchasing in the IPO. If a client order has been received since the initial prior transaction approval was given, the prior transaction clearance will be withdrawn.
Non-Investment Personnel will not be permitted to purchase shares in an IPO if any of the firm's clients are prohibited from doing so because of affiliated transaction restrictions. This prohibition will remain in effect until the firm's clients have had the opportunity to purchase in the secondary market once the underwriting is completed -- commonly referred to as the aftermarket. The 60-Day Rule applies to transactions in securities purchased in an IPO.
Investment Personnel . Investment Personnel may not purchase securities in an IPO.
Non-Access Persons . Although Non-Access Persons are not required to receive prior transaction clearance before purchasing shares in an IPO, any Non-Access Person who is a registered representative or associated person of Investment Services is reminded that FINRA Rule 5130 may restrict his or her ability to buy shares in a new issue in any market.
Procedures For Obtaining Prior Transaction Clearance For Private Placements. Access Persons may not invest in a private placement of securities, including the purchase of limited partnership interests, unless prior transaction clearance in writing has been obtained from the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee or his or her Designee. A private placement is generally defined by the SEC as an offering that is exempt from registration under the Securities Act. Private placement investments generally require the investor to complete a written questionnaire or subscription agreement. If an Access Person has any questions about whether a transaction is, in fact, a private placement, he or she should contact the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee or his or her designee.
In considering a request for prior transaction clearance for a private placement, the Chairperson will determine whether the investment opportunity (private placement) should be reserved for the firm's clients, and whether the opportunity is being offered to the Access Person by virtue of his or her position with the firm. The Chairperson will also secure, if appropriate, the approval of the proposed transaction from the chairperson of the applicable investment steering committee. These investments may also have special reporting requirements, as discussed under "Procedures for Reporting Transactions," at p. 5-18.
Continuing Obligation. An Access Person who has received prior transaction clearance to invest and does invest in a private placement of securities and who, at a later date, anticipates participating in the firm's investment decision process regarding the purchase or sale of securities of the issuer of that private placement on behalf of any client, must immediately disclose his or her prior investment in the private placement to the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee and to the chairperson of the appropriate investment steering committee.
Registered representatives of Investment Services are reminded that FINRA rules may restrict investment in a private placement in certain circumstances.
Procedures For Obtaining Prior Transaction Clearance For All Other Securities Transactions . Requests for prior transaction clearance by Access Persons for all other securities transactions requiring prior transaction clearance should generally be made via iTrade on the firm's intranet. The iTrade system automatically sends any request for prior transaction approval that requires manual intervention to the Equity Trading Department. If you cannot access iTrade, requests may be made orally, in writing, or by electronic mail (email address "Personal Trades" in the electronic mail address book). Obtaining clearance by electronic mail if you cannot access iTrade is strongly encouraged. All requests must include the name of the security, a definitive security identifier ( e.g., CUSIP, ticker, or Sedol), the number of shares or amount of bond involved, and the nature of the transaction, i.e. , whether the transaction is a purchase, sale, short sale, or buy to cover. Responses to all requests will be made by iTrade or the Equity Trading Department, documenting the request and whether or not prior transaction clearance has been granted. The Examiner system maintains the record of all approval and denials, whether automatic or manual.
Requests will normally be processed on the same day; however, additional time may be required for prior transaction clearance for certain securities, including non-U.S. securities.
Effectiveness of Prior Transaction Clearance . Prior transaction clearance of a securities transaction is effective for three United States business days from and including the date the clearance is granted, regardless of the time of day when clearance is granted. If the proposed securities transaction is not executed within this time, a new clearance must be obtained . For example, if prior transaction clearance is granted at 2:00 pm Monday, the trade must be executed by Wednesday. In situations where it appears that the trade will not be executed within three business days even if the order is entered in that time period ( e.g., certain transactions through Transfer Agents or spousal employee-sponsored payroll deduction plans), please notify the Code Compliance Section after prior clearance has been granted, but before entering the order with the executing agent.
Reminder . If you are an Access Person and become the beneficial owner of another's securities ( e.g., by marriage to the owner of the securities) or begin to direct trading of another's securities, then transactions in those securities also become subject to the prior transaction clearance requirements. You must also report acquisition of beneficial ownership or control of these securities within ten business days of your knowledge of their existence.
REASONS FOR DISALLOWING ANY REQUESTED TRANSACTION . Prior transaction clearance will usually not be granted if:
Pending Client Orders . Orders have been placed by any of the Price Advisers to purchase or sell the security unless certain size or volume parameters as described (on page 5-24) under "Large Issuer/Volume Transactions" are met.
Purchases and Sales Within Seven Calendar Days . The security has been purchased or sold by any client of a Price Adviser within seven calendar days immediately prior to the date of the proposed transaction, unless certain size or volume parameters as described (on page 5-24) under "Large Issuer/Volume Transactions" are met.
For example, if a client transaction occurs on Monday, prior transaction clearance is not generally granted to an Access Person to purchase or sell that security until Tuesday of the following week. Transactions in securities in pure as opposed to enhanced index funds are not considered for this purpose.
If all clients have eliminated their holdings in a particular security, the seven day restriction is not applicable to an Access Person's transactions in that security.
Approved Company Rating Changes. A change in the rating of an approved company as reported in the firm's Daily Research News has occurred within seven calendar days immediately prior to the date of the proposed transaction. Accordingly, trading would not be permitted until the eighth calendar day.
Securities Subject to Internal Trading Restrictions . The security is limited or restricted by any of the Price Advisers as to purchase or sale by Access Persons.
Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) Restrictions. Transaction requests in narrow, inverse (also known as short or inverse-leveraged) ETFs will be denied. Narrow, inverse ETFs include, but are not limited to, those focused on the commodities, currencies and specific market sectors. Short sale transaction requests of narrow, long ETFs will also be denied. A list of eligible to be approved for trading broad, inverse ETFs will be maintained on the Legal site on the Exchange.
Requests for Reconsideration of Prior Transaction Clearance Denials. If an Access Person has not been granted a requested prior transaction clearance, he or she may apply to the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee or his or her designee for reconsideration. Such a request must be in writing and must fully describe the basis upon which the reconsideration is being requested. As part of the reconsideration process, the Chairperson or his or her designee will determine if any client of any of the Price Advisers may be disadvantaged by the proposed transaction by the Access Person. The factors the Chairperson or his or her designee may consider in making this determination include:
the size of the proposed transaction;
the nature of the proposed transaction ( i.e. , buy or sell) and of any recent, current or pending client transactions;
the trading volume of the security that is the subject of the proposed Access Person transaction;
the existence of any current or pending order in the security for any client of a Price Adviser;
the reason the Access Person wants to trade ( e.g. , to provide funds for the purchase of a home); and
the number of times the Access Person has requested prior transaction clearance for the proposed trade and the amount of time elapsed between each prior transaction clearance request.
TRANSACTION CONFIRMATIONS AND PERIODIC ACCOUNT STATEMENTS . All Access Persons (except the independent directors of the Price Funds) and Non-Access Persons
must request broker-dealers, investment advisers, banks, or other financial institutions executing their transactions to send a duplicate confirmation or contract note with respect to each and every reportable transaction, including Price Group stock, and a copy of all periodic statements for all securities accounts in which the Access Person or Non-Access Person is considered to have beneficial ownership and/or control ( see page 5-4 for a discussion of beneficial ownership and control concepts) to Compliance, Legal Department, T. Rowe Price, P.O. Box 17218, Baltimore, Maryland 21297-1218.
The independent directors of Price Group, the Price Funds, and the Savings Bank are subject to modified reporting requirements described at pp. 5-20 to 5-23.
If transaction or statement information is provided in a language other than English, the employee should provide a translation into English of the documents.
NOTIFICATION OF SECURITIES ACCOUNTS . All persons (except the independent directors of the Price Funds) and all entities subject to this Statement must request authorization via email to the Code Compliance section (via the Legal Compliance Employee Trading mailbox) prior to beginning the process of opening a securities account with, or as soon as the person or entity subject to this Statement knows of the existence of an account with, any broker, dealer, investment adviser, bank, or other financial institution, including TRP Brokerage.
The independent directors of Price Group, the Price Funds, and the Savings Bank are not subject to this requirement.
New Personnel Subject to the Code . A person subject to the Code must give written notice as directed above of any existing securities accounts maintained with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, bank or other financial institution within ten business days of association with the firm.
You do not have to report accounts at transfer agents or similar entities if the only securities in those accounts are variable insurance products or open-end mutual funds if these are the only types of securities that can be held or traded in the accounts. If other securities can be held or traded, the accounts must be reported. For example, if you have an account at a transfer agent that can only hold shares of a mutual fund, that account does not have to be reported. If, however, you have a brokerage account it must be reported even if the only securities currently held or traded in it are mutual funds.
Officers, Directors and Registered Representatives of Investment Services . FINRA requires each associated person of T. Rowe Price Investment Services, Inc. to:
• Obtain approval for a securities account from Investment Services (whether the registered person is based in the United States or internationally); the request for approval should be in writing, directed to the Code Compliance Section, and submitted before opening or placing the initial trade in the securities account; and
• If the securities account is with a broker/dealer, provide the broker/dealer with written notice of his or her association with Investment Services.
Annual Statement by Access Persons. Each Access Person, except an Access Person who is an independent director of the Price Funds, must also file with the firm a statement of his or her accounts as of year-end in January of the following year.
Reminder. If you become the beneficial owner of another's securities ( e.g., by marriage to the owner of the securities) or begin to direct trading of another's securities, then the associated securities accounts become subject to the account reporting requirements.
PROCEDURES FOR REPORTING TRANSACTIONS. The following requirements apply both to Access Persons and Non-Access Persons except the independent directors of Price Group, the Price Funds and the Savings Bank, who are subject to modified reporting requirements:
Report Form . If the executing firm provides a confirmation, contract note or similar document directly to the firm, you do not need to make a further report. The date this document is received by the Code Compliance Section will be deemed the date the report is submitted for purposes of SEC compliance. The Code Compliance Section must receive the confirmation or similar document no later than 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter in which the transaction occurred. You must report all other transactions on the form designated "Employee's Report of Securities Transactions," which is available on the Code of Ethics link on the TRP Exchange.
What Information Is Required. Each transaction report must contain , at a minimum, the following information about each transaction involving a reportable security in which you had, or as a result of the transaction acquired, any direct or indirect beneficial ownership:
the ticker symbol or CUSIP number, as applicable
the interest rate and maturity date, as applicable
the number of shares, as applicable
the principal amount of each reportable security involved, as applicable.
the nature of the transaction ( i.e. purchase, sale or any other type of acquisition or disposition)
the price of the security at which the transaction was effected
the name of the broker, dealer or bank with or through which the transaction was effected; and
the date you submit the report
When Reports are Due . You must report a securities transaction (other than a transaction in a Reportable Fund or Section 529 College Savings Plan [Access Persons only] or a spousal payroll deduction plan or a stock split or similar acquisition or disposition) within ten (10) business days after the trade date or within ten (10) business days after the date on which you first gain knowledge of the transaction (for example, a bequest) if this is later. A transaction in a Reportable Fund, a Section 529 College Savings Plan, a spousal payroll deduction plan or a stock split or similar acquisition or disposition must be reported within 30 days of the end of the quarter in which it occurred.
Access Person Reporting of Reportable Funds and Section 529 College Savings Plan Interests Held on a T. Rowe Price Platform or in a TRP Brokerage account. You are required to inform the Code Compliance Section about Reportable Funds and/or Section 529 College Savings Plan interests ( i.e., the Maryland College Investment Plan, the T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan and the University of Alaska College Savings Plan) held on a T. Rowe Price Platform or in a TRP Brokerage account. See p. 5-12. Once you have done this, you do not have to report any transactions in those securities; your transactions and holdings will be updated and reported automatically to Code Compliance on a monthly basis. You should send an email to the Access Persons Legal Compliance mailbox when you first purchase shares in a Reportable Fund or invest in Section 529 College Savings Plan Interests held on a T.Rowe Price Platform or in a TRP Brokerage account providing the account number and Reportable Fund name, if applicable, and the account registration to inform the Code Compliance Section of new holdings.
Access Person Reporting of Reportable Funds and Section 529 College Savings Plan Interests NOT Held on a T. Rowe Price Platform or in a TRP Brokerage Account.
You must notify the Code Compliance Section of any Reportable Fund or Section 529 College Savings Plan interests that you beneficially own or control that are held at any intermediary, including any broker/dealer other than TRP's Brokerage Division. This would include, for example, a Price Fund held in your spouse's retirement plan, even if T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services, Inc. acts as the administrator or recordkeeper of that plan. Any transaction in a Reportable Fund or in interests in a Section 529 College Savings Plan must be reported by duplicate account information sent directly by the intermediary to the Code Compliance Section or by the Access Person directly on the "T. Rowe Price Employees Report of Securities Transactions" form within 30 days of the end of the quarter in which the transaction occurred.
Reporting Certain Private Placement Transactions. If your investment requires periodic capital calls ( e.g., in a limited partnership) you must report each capital call within ten business days. This is the case even if you are an Access Person and you received prior transaction clearance for a total cumulative investment. In addition, you must report any distributions you receive in the form of securities.
Reminder. If you become the beneficial owner of another's securities ( e.g., by marriage to the owner of the securities) or begin to direct trading of another's securities, the transactions in these securities become subject to the transaction reporting requirements.
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS OF THE PRICE FUNDS.
Transactions in Publicly Traded Securities. An independent director of the Price Funds must report transactions in publicly-traded securities where the independent director controls or directs such transactions. These reporting requirements apply to transactions the independent director effects for his or her own beneficial ownership as well as the beneficial ownership of others, such as a spouse or other family member. An independent director does not have to report securities transactions in accounts over which the independent director has no direct or indirect influence or control ( e.g., transactions in an account managed by an investment professional pursuant to a discretionary agreement and where the independent director does not participate in the investment decisions).
Transactions in Non-Publicly Traded Securities. An independent director does not have to report transactions in securities which are not traded on an exchange ( i.e., non-publicly traded securities), unless the independent director knew, or in the ordinary
course of fulfilling his or her official duties as a Price Funds independent director, should have known that during the 15-day period immediately before or after the independent director's transaction in such non-publicly traded security, a Price Adviser purchased, sold or considered purchasing or selling such security for a Price Fund or Price advisory client.
Methods of Reporting . An independent director has the option to satisfy his or her obligation to report transactions in securities via a Quarterly Report or by arranging for the executing brokers of such transactions to provide duplicate transaction confirmations directly to the Code Compliance Section.
Quarterly Reports . If a Price Fund independent director elects to report his or her transactions quarterly: (1) a report for each securities transaction must be filed with the Code Compliance Section no later than thirty (30) days after the end of the calendar quarter in which the transaction was effected; and (2) a report must be filed for each quarter, regardless of whether there have been any reportable transactions. The Code Compliance Section will send to each independent director of the Price Funds who chooses to report transactions on a quarterly basis a reminder letter and reporting form approximately ten days before the end of each calendar quarter.
Duplicate Confirmation Reporting. An independent director of the Price Funds may also instruct his or her broker to send duplicate transaction information (confirmations) directly to the Code Compliance Section. An independent director who chooses to have his or her broker send duplicate account information to the Code Compliance Section in lieu of directly reporting broker-executed transactions must nevertheless continue to report in the normal way ( i.e., Quarterly Reports) any securities transactions for which a broker confirmation is not generated.
Among the types of transactions that are commonly not reported through a broker confirmation and may therefore have to be reported directly to T. Rowe Price are:
Exercise of Stock Option of Corporate Employer;
Transactions in Certain Commodities Futures Contracts ( e.g., financial indices).
An independent director of the Price Funds must include any transactions listed above, as applicable, in his or her Quarterly Reports if not otherwise contained in a duplicate broker confirmation. The Code Compliance Section will send to each independent director of the Price Funds who chooses to report transactions through broker confirmations a reminder letter and reporting form approximately ten days before the end of each calendar quarter so that transactions not reported by broker confirmations can be reported on the reporting form.
Reporting of Officership, Directorship, General Partnership or Other Managerial Positions Apart from the Price Funds. An independent director of the Price Funds shall report to the Code Compliance Section any officership, directorship, general partnership or other managerial position which he or she holds with any public, private, or governmental issuer other than the Price Funds.
Reporting of Significant Ownership .
Issuers (Other than Non-Public Investment Partnerships, Pools or Funds) . If an independent director of the Price Funds owns more than 1/2 of 1% of the total outstanding shares of a public or private issuer (other than a non-public investment partnership, pool or fund), he or she must immediately report this ownership in writing to the Code Compliance Section, providing the name of the issuer and the total number of the issuer's shares beneficially owned.
Non-Public Investment Partnerships, Pools or Funds . If an independent director of the Price Funds owns more than ½ of 1% of the total outstanding shares or units of a non-public investment partnership, pool or fund over which the independent director exercises control or influence, or is informed of the investment transactions of that entity, the independent director must report such ownership in writing to the Code Compliance Section. For non-public investment partnerships, pools or funds where the independent director does not exercise control or influence and is not informed of the investment transactions of such entity, the independent director need not report such ownership to the Code Compliance Section unless and until such ownership exceeds 4% of the total outstanding shares or units of the entity.
Investments in Price Group . An independent director of the Price Funds is prohibited from owning the common stock or other securities of Price Group.
Investments in Non-Listed Securities Firms. An independent director of the Price Funds may not purchase or sell the shares of a broker/dealer, underwriter or federally registered investment adviser unless that entity is traded on an exchange or the purchase or sale has otherwise been approved by the Price Fund Boards.
Dealing with Clients . Aside from market transactions effected through securities exchanges, an independent director of the Price Funds may not, directly or indirectly, sell to or purchase any security from a client. This prohibition does not preclude the purchase or redemption of shares of any open-end mutual fund that is a client of any of the Price Advisers.
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS OF PRICE GROUP.
Reporting of Personal Securities Transactions. An independent director of Price Group is not required to report his or her personal securities transactions (other than transactions in Price Group stock) as long as the independent director does not obtain information about the Price Advisers' investment research, recommendations, or transactions. However, each independent director of Price Group is reminded that changes to certain information reported by the respective independent director in the Annual Questionnaire for Independent Directors are required to be reported to Corporate Records in Baltimore ( e.g., changes in holdings of stock of financial institutions or financial institution holding companies).
Reporting of Officership, Directorship, General Partnership or Other Managerial Positions Apart from Price Group. An independent director of Price Group shall report to the Code Compliance Section any officership, directorship, general partnership or other managerial position which he or she holds with any public, private, or governmental issuer other than Price Group.
Reporting of Significant Ownership .
Issuers (Other than Non-Public Investment Partnerships, Pools or Funds) . If an independent director of Price Group owns more than ½ of 1% of the total outstanding shares of a public or private issuer (other than a non-public investment partnership, pool or fund), he or she must report this ownership in writing to the Code Compliance Section, providing the name of the issuer and the total number of the issuer's shares beneficially owned.
Non-Public Investment Partnerships, Pools or Funds . If an independent director of Price Group owns more than ½ of 1% of the total outstanding shares or units of a non-public investment partnership, pool or fund over which the independent director exercises control or influence, or is informed of the investment transactions of that entity, the independent director must report such ownership in writing to the Code Compliance Section. For non-public investment partnerships, pools or funds where the independent director does not exercise control or influence and is not informed of the investment transactions of such entity, the independent director need not report such ownership to the Code Compliance Section unless and until such ownership exceeds 4% of the total outstanding shares or units of the entity.
TRANSACTION REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS OF THE SAVINGS BANK. The independent directors of the Savings Bank are not required to report their personal securities transactions (other than transactions in Price Group stock) as long as they do not obtain information about the Price Advisers' investment research, recommendations, or transactions, other than information obtained because the Savings Bank is a client of one or more of the Price Advisers. In addition, the independent directors of the Savings Bank may be required to report other personal securities transactions and/or holdings as specifically requested from time to time by the Savings Bank in accordance with regulatory or examination requirements.
MISCELLANEOUS RULES REGARDING PERSONAL SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS . These rules vary in their applicability depending upon whether you are an Access Person.
The following rules apply to all Access Persons, except the independent directors of the Price Funds, and to all Non-Access Persons:
Dealing with Clients . Access Persons and Non-Access Persons may not, directly or indirectly, sell to or purchase from a client any security. Market transactions are not subject to this restriction. This prohibition does not preclude the purchase or redemption of shares of any open-end mutual fund that is a client of any of the Price Advisers and does not apply to transactions in a spousal employer-sponsored payroll deduction plan or spousal employer-sponsored stock option plan.
Investment Clubs. These restrictions vary depending upon the person's status, as follows:
Non-Access Persons. A Non-Access Person may form or participate in a stock or investment club without prior clearance from the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee (U.S.-based personnel) or the TRP International Compliance Team (international personnel). Only transactions in Price Group stock are subject to prior transaction clearance. Club transactions must be reported just as the Non-Access Person's individual trades are reported.
Access Persons . An Access Person may not form or participate in a stock or investment club unless prior written clearance has been obtained from the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee (U.S.-based personnel) or the TRP International Compliance Team (international personnel). Generally, transactions by such a stock or investment club in which an Access Person has beneficial ownership or control are subject to the same prior transaction clearance and reporting requirements applicable to an individual Access Person's trades. If, however, the Access Person has beneficial ownership solely by virtue of his or her spouse's participation in the club and has no investment control or input into decisions regarding the club's securities transactions, the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee or the TRP International Compliance Team may, as appropriate as part of the prior clearance process, require the prior transaction clearance of Price Group stock transactions only.
Margin Accounts. While margin accounts are discouraged, you may open and maintain margin accounts for the purchase of securities provided such accounts are with firms with which you maintain a regular securities account relationship.
Trading Activity. You are discouraged from engaging in a pattern of securities transactions that either:
• is so excessively frequent as to potentially impact your ability to carry out your assigned responsibilities, or
• involves securities positions that are disproportionate to your net assets.
At the discretion of the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee, written notification of excessive trading may be sent to you and/or the appropriate supervisor if ten or more reportable trades occur in your account(s) in a month, or if circumstances otherwise warrant this action.
The following rules apply only to Access Persons other than the independent directors of the Price Funds:
Large Issuer/Volume Transactions . Although subject to prior transaction clearance, transactions involving securities of certain large issuers or of issuers with high trading volumes, within the parameters set by the Ethics Committee (the " Large Issuer/Volume List "), will be permitted under normal circumstances, as follows:
Transactions involving no more than U.S. $30,000 (all amounts are in U.S. dollars) or the nearest round lot (even if the amount of the transaction marginally exceeds $30,000) per security per seven (7) calendar day period in securities of:
• issuers with market capitalizations of $5 billion or more, or
• U.S. issuers with an average daily trading volume in excess of 500,000 shares over the preceding 90 trading days in the U.S.
are usually permitted, unless the rating on the security as reported in the firm's Daily Research News has been changed to a 1 or a 5 within the seven calendar days immediately prior to the date of the proposed transaction.
These parameters are subject to change by the Ethics Committee. An Access Person should be aware that if prior transaction clearance is granted for a specific number of shares lower than the number requested, he or she may not be able to receive permission to buy or sell additional shares of the issuer for the next seven calendar days.
If you believe one or both of these criteria should be applied to a non-U.S. issuer, you should contact the Code Compliance Section or the TRP International Compliance Team, as appropriate. When contacted, the TRP International Compliance Team will coordinate the process with the Code Compliance Section.
Transactions Involving Options on Large Issuer/Volume List Securities . Access Persons may not purchase uncovered put options or sell uncovered call options unless otherwise permitted under the "Options and Futures" discussion that follows. Otherwise, in the case of
options on an individual security on the Large Issuer/Volume List (if it has not had a prohibited rating change), an Access Person may trade the greater of five contracts or sufficient option contracts to control $30,000 in the underlying security; thus an Access Person may trade five contracts even if this permits the Access Person to control more than $30,000 in the underlying security. Similarly, the Access Person may trade more than five contracts as long as the number of contracts does not permit him or her to control more than $30,000 in the underlying security.
Transactions Involving Exchange-Traded Index Options . Generally, an Access Person may trade the greater of five contracts or sufficient contracts to control $30,000 in the underlying securities; thus an Access Person may trade five contracts even if this permits the Access Person to control more than $30,000 in the underlying securities. Similarly, the Access Person may trade more than five contracts as long as the number of contracts does not permit him or her to control more than $30,000 in the underlying securities. These parameters are subject to change by the Ethics Committee.
Please note that an option on a Unit Investment Trust is not an exchange-traded index option and does not fall under this provision. See the discussion under General Information on Options and Futures below.
Client Limit Orders . Although subject to prior transaction clearance, an Access Person's proposed trade in a security is usually permitted even if a limit order has been entered for a client for the same security, if:
• The Access Person's trade will be entered as a market order; and
• The client's limit order is 10% or more away from the market at the time the Access Person requests prior transaction clearance.
Japanese New Issues. All Access Persons are prohibited from purchasing a security which is the subject of an IPO in Japan.
General Information on Options and Futures (Other than Exchange-Traded Index Options). If a transaction in the underlying instrument does not require prior transaction clearance ( e.g., National Government Obligations, Unit Investment Trusts), then an options or futures transaction on the underlying instrument does not require prior transaction clearance. However, all options and futures transactions, except the commodity futures transactions described on page 5-10, must be reported even if a transaction in the underlying instrument would not have to be reported ( e.g., U.S. Government Obligations). Transactions in publicly traded options on Price Group stock are not permitted. See p. 5-6. Please consult the specific discussion on Exchange-Traded Index Options for transactions in those securities. Please note that Contracts for Difference are treated under this Statement in the same manner as call options, and, as a result, are subject to the 60-Day Rule.
Before engaging in options and futures transactions, Access Persons should understand the impact that the 60-Day Rule and intervening client transactions may have upon their ability to close out a position with a profit ( see page 5-27). |
Options and Futures on Securities and Indices Not Held by Clients of the Price Advisers. There are no specific restrictions with respect to the purchase, sale or writing of put or call options or any other option or futures activity, such as multiple writings, spreads and straddles, on a security (and options or futures on such security) or index that is not held by any of the Price Advisers' clients.
Options on Securities Held by Clients of the Price Advisers. With respect to options on securities of companies which are held by any of Price Advisers' clients, it is the firm's policy that an Access Person should not profit from a price decline of a security owned by a client (other than a "pure" Index account). Therefore, an Access Person may: (i) purchase call options and sell covered call options and (ii) purchase covered put options and sell put options. An Access Person may not purchase uncovered put options or sell uncovered call options, even if the issuer of the underlying securities is included on the Large Issuer/Volume List, unless purchased in connection with other options on the same security as part of a straddle, combination or spread strategy which is designed to result in a profit to the Access Person if the underlying security rises in or does not change in value. The purchase, sale and exercise of options are subject to the same restrictions as those set forth with respect to securities, i.e., the option should be treated as if it were the common stock itself.
Other Options and Futures Held by Clients of the Price Advisers. Any other option or futures transaction with respect to domestic or foreign securities held by any of the Price Advisers' clients will receive prior transaction clearance if appropriate after due consideration is given, based on the particular facts presented, as to whether the proposed transaction or series of transactions might appear to or actually create a conflict with the interests of any of the Price Advisers' clients. Such transactions include transactions in futures and options on futures involving financial instruments regulated solely by the CFTC.
Closing or Exercising Option Positions. A transaction initiated by an Access Person to exercise an option or to close an option transaction must also receive prior transaction clearance. If an intervening client transaction in the underlying security has occurred since the position was opened, the Access Person may not receive prior clearance to initiate a transaction to exercise the option or to close out the position, as applicable. The sale of an option by an Access Person must receive prior clearance, which also covers the exercise of that option against the Access Person, if one occurs.
Short Sales . Short sales by Access Persons are subject to prior clearance unless the security itself does not otherwise require prior clearance. In addition, Access Persons may not sell any security short which is owned by any client of one of the Price Advisers unless a transaction in that security would not require prior clearance. Short sales of Price Group stock are not permitted. All short sales are subject to the 60-Day Rule described below.
The 60-Day Rule. Access Persons are prohibited from profiting from the purchase and sale or sale and purchase ( e.g., short sales and certain option transactions) of the same (or equivalent) securities within 60 calendar days. An "equivalent" security means any option, warrant, convertible security, stock appreciation right, or similar right with an exercise or conversion privilege at a price related to the subject security, or similar securities with a value derived from the value of the subject security. Thus, for example, the rule prohibits options transactions on or short sales of a security that may result in a gain within 60 days of the purchase of the underlying security. Any series of transactions made which violate (or are counter to) the spirit of the 60-Day Rule, such as the establishment of a long position and subsequent establishment of a short position (or vice versa), in the same (or equivalent) security, may be deemed a violation by the Ethics Committee. This prohibition is not intended to include legitimate hedging transactions. If you have questions about whether a contemplated transaction would violate the 60-Day Rule or the spirit of the Rule, you should seek an interpretation from the Code Compliance Section prior to initiating the transaction.
In addition, the rule applies regardless of the Access Person's other holdings of the same security or whether the Access Person has split his or her holdings into tax lots. For example, if an Access Person buys 100 shares of XYZ stock on March 1 and another 100 shares of XYZ stock on November 27, he or she may not sell any shares of XYZ stock at a profit for 60 days following November 27.
Similarly, an Access Person must own the underlying security for more than 60 days before entering into any options transaction on that security.
The 60-Day Rule "clock" restarts each time the Access Person trades in that security.
The closing of a position in an option or Contract for Difference on any security other than an index will result in a 60-Day Rule violation if the position was opened within the 60-day window and the closing transaction results in a gain. Multiple positions will not be netted to determine an overall gain or loss in options on the same underlying security expiring on the same day.
The 60-Day Rule does not apply to:
• any transaction by a Non-Access Person other than transactions in Price Group stock not excluded below;
• any transaction which because of its nature or the nature of the security involved does not require prior transaction clearance ( e.g., if an Access Person inherits a security, a transaction that did not require prior transaction clearance, then he or she may sell the security inherited at a profit within 60 calendar days of its acquisition; other examples include the purchase or sale of a unit investment trust, the purchase or sale of the specific ETF securities that are exempted from prior clearance, the exercise of a corporate stock option by an Access Person's spouse, or pro-rata distributions; see pp. 5-9; 5-10; 5-11);
• the purchase and sale or sale and purchase of exchange-traded index options;
• any transaction in Price Group stock effected through the ESPP (note that the 60-Day Rule does apply to shares transferred out of the ESPP to a securities account; generally, however, an employee remaining in the ESPP may not transfer shares held less than 60 days out of the ESPP);
• the exercise of "company-granted" Price Group stock options or receipt of Price Group shares through Company-based awards and the subsequent sale of the derivative shares; and
• any purchase of Price Group stock through an established dividend reinvestment plan.
Prior transaction clearance procedures do not check compliance with the 60-Day Rule when considering a trading request. Access Persons are responsible for checking their compliance with this rule before entering a trade. If you have any questions about whether this Rule will be triggered by a proposed transaction, you should contact the Code Compliance Section or the TRP International Compliance Team before requesting prior transaction clearance for the proposed trade.
Access Persons may request in writing an interpretation from the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee that the 60-Day Rule should not apply to a specific transaction or transactions.
Expanded Holding Period Requirement for Employees in Japan. Securities owned by staff employed by the Tokyo branch of T. Rowe Price International Ltd. may be subject to a longer holding period than 60 days. If you have any questions about this restriction, you should contact the TRP International Compliance Team.
Investments in Non-Listed Securities Firms. Access Persons may not purchase or sell the shares of a broker/dealer, underwriter or federally registered investment adviser unless that entity is traded on an exchange or listed as a NASDAQ stock or prior transaction clearance is given under the private placement procedures ( see p. 5-14).
REPORTING OF ONE - HALF OF ONE PERCENT OWNERSHIP. If an employee owns more than ½ of 1% of the total outstanding shares of a public or private company, he or she must immediately report this in writing to the Code Compliance Section (via the Code of Ethics mailbox), providing the name of the company and the total number of such company's shares beneficially owned.
GAMBLING RELATED TO THE SECURITIES MARKETS. All persons subject to the Code are prohibited from wagering, betting or gambling related to individual securities, securities indices, currency spreads, or other similar financial indices or instruments. This prohibition applies to wagers placed through casinos, betting parlors or internet gambling sites and is applicable regardless of where the activity is initiated ( e.g., home or firm computer or telephone). This specific prohibition does not restrict the purchase or sale of securities through a securities account reporting to the Code Compliance Section even if these transactions are effected with a speculative investment objective.
INITIAL DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL SECURITIES HOLDINGS BY ACCESS PERSONS. Upon commencement of employment, appointment or promotion (no later than 10 calendar days after the starting date) , each Access Person, except an independent director of the Price Funds, is required by United States securities laws to disclose in writing all current securities holdings in which he or she is considered to have beneficial ownership or control ("Securities Holdings Report") ( see page 5-5 for definition of the term Beneficial Owner) and provide or reconfirm the information regarding all of his or her securities accounts.
The form to provide the Securities Holdings Report will be provided upon commencement of employment, appointment, promotion, or designation as an Access Person, and should be submitted to the Code Compliance Section. It is sent by email from the Access Persons mailbox.
SEC rules require that each Securities Holding Report contain, at a minimum, the following information:
exchange ticker number or CUSIP number, as applicable
number of shares or principal amount of each reportable securities in which the Access Person has any direct or indirect beneficial ownership
the name of any broker, dealer or both with which the Access Person maintains an account in which any securities are held for the Access Person's direct or indirect benefit; and
the date the Access Person submits the Securities Holding Report.
The information provided must be current as of a date no more than 45 days prior to the date the person becomes an Access Person.
ANNUAL DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL SECURITIES HOLDINGS BY ACCESS PERSONS . Each Access Person, except an independent director of the Price Funds, is also required to file a " Personal Securities Report ," consisting of a Statement of Personal Securities Holdings and a Securities Account Verification Form Report, on an annual basis. The Personal Securities Report must be as of year end and must be filed with the firm by the date it specifies . The Chief Compliance Officer or his or her designee reviews all Personal Securities Reports.
ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURE OF OPEN-END INVESTMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS BY INVESTMENT PERSONNEL. If a person has been designated "Investment Personnel," he or she must report with the initial and annual Securities Holdings Report a listing of shares of all open-end investment companies (except money market funds), whether registered under the Investment Company Act or sold in jurisdictions outside the United States, that the Investment Personnel either beneficially owns or controls. If an Access Person becomes Investment Personnel, he or she must file a supplement to his or her existing Securities Holdings Report within thirty days of the date of this designation change, listing all shares of open-end investment companies (except money market funds) that he or she beneficially owns or controls. Previously disclosed ownership of Reportable Funds does not have to be reported again in this disclosure.
CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS . Price Group makes every effort to protect the privacy of all persons and entities in connection with their Securities Holdings Reports, Reports of Securities Transactions, Reports of Securities Accounts, and Personal Securities Reports.
SANCTIONS . Strict compliance with the provisions of this Statement is considered a basic provision of employment or other association with Price Group and the Price Funds. The Ethics Committee, the Code Compliance Section, and the TRP International Compliance Team are primarily responsible for administering this Statement. In fulfilling this function, the Ethics Committee will institute such procedures as it deems reasonably necessary to monitor each person's and entity's compliance with this Statement and to otherwise prevent and detect violations.
Violations by Access Persons, Non-Access Persons and Independent Directors of Price Group or the Savings Bank. Upon discovering a material violation of this Statement by any person or entity other than an independent director of a Price Fund, the Ethics Committee will impose such sanctions as it deems appropriate and as are approved by the Management Committee or the Board of Directors including, inter alia , a letter of censure or suspension, a fine, a suspension of trading privileges or termination of employment and/or officership of the violator. In addition, the violator may be required to forfeit to Price Group, or to the party or parties it may designate, any profit realized from any transaction that is in violation of this Statement. All material violations of this Statement shall be reported to the Board of Directors of Price Group and to the Board of Directors of any Price Fund with respect to whose securities such violations may have been involved.
Following are sanctions guidelines associated with multiple violations of this Statement. These guidelines are supplemental to the forfeiture of profit associated with certain violations where an associate economically benefited. Code Compliance will utilize a rolling two-year, look-back period in the administration of the sanctions guidelines. Violations incurred prior to the effective date of these new guidelines will not be considered.
1st Violation: Notification of violation. Manager provided with summary of violation.
2nd Violation: Notification of fine: VP* and above and all Investment Personnel - $250. Below VP level - $75.
3rd Violation: Notification of fine: VP* and above and all Investment Personnel - $500. Below VP level - $150. 3-Month trading prohibition (sales only permissible). Manager, Business Unit Leader and CEO notified.
4th Violation: Notification of fine: VP* and above and all Investment Personnel - $1,000. Below VP level - $300. Minimum 6-Month trading prohibition (sales only permissible). Manager, Business Unit Leader and CEO notified.
5th Violation: Chief Compliance Officer/Ethics Committee-imposed sanction. Manager, Business Unit Leader and CEO notified.
* Vice President of T. Rowe Price Group or any subsidiary
Violations by Independent Directors of Price Funds. Upon discovering a material violation of this Statement by an independent director of a Price Fund, the Ethics Committee shall report such violation to the Board on which the director serves. The Price Fund Board will impose such sanctions as it deems appropriate.
T. ROWE PRICE GROUP, INC.
STATEMENT OF POLICY WITH RESPECT TO
COMPUTER SECURITY AND RELATED ISSUES
PURPOSE OF STATEMENT OF POLICY. The central and critical role of computer systems in our firm's operations underscores the importance of ensuring the integrity of these systems. The data stored on our firm's computers, as well as the specialized software programs and systems developed for the firm's use, are extremely valuable assets and highly confidential.
This Statement of Policy (" Statement" ) establishes an acceptable use policy for all Price Group Associates and all other individuals, including vendors, with Price Group systems access. Enterprise Security should be contacted regarding additional or new policy determinations that may be relevant for specific situations and for current policy concerning systems and network security, system development, and new technologies.
The Statement has been designed to help:
• prevent the unauthorized use of or access to our firm's computer Systems as defined below;
• prevent breaches in computer security;
• support a quality Systems user environment;
• maintain the integrity of confidential information;
• protect customer and employee information;
• provide information on complying with relevant laws and regulations; and
• prevent the introduction of malicious software into our Systems that could imperil the firm's operations.
In addition, the Statement describes various issues that arise in connection with the application of United States Copyright Law to computer software.
Any material violation of this Statement may lead to disciplinary sanctions, up to and including dismissal of individuals involved. Additionally, actions in violation of this Statement may constitute a crime under applicable laws.
T. ROWE PRICE SYSTEMS AND INFORMATION. Systems activities and information will be referred to collectively in this Statement as the "Systems." The Systems include all hardware, software, operating systems, and network resources involved in the business of T. Rowe Price; all information transmitted, received, logged or stored through the Systems including email, voice mail, messaging, and online facsimiles; and all back-ups and records retained for regulatory or other purposes including all portable and fixed storage media and locations for storage.
The Systems also include the use of computer access, data, services and equipment provided by T. Rowe Price including any access to the Internet or via Internet resources including, but not limited to, email, instant messaging, remote FTP, Telnet, World Wide Web, remote administration, secure shell, and using IP tunneling software to remotely control Internet servers, and voice messaging; access to and use of commercial and specialized software programs and systems licensed or developed for the firm's use; access to and use of customer and T. Rowe Price business data; use of and data on T. Rowe Price desktop and portable computers, and other mobile devices such as smart phones (e.g. Blackberry devices), PDAs, and cell phones. Use, access, or storage of data on non-T. Rowe Price or personally owned equipment (including but not limited to personally owned or "home" equipment, hotel or business center-supplied devices, and conference supplied or internet café terminals) used for T. Rowe Price business purposes is included in the definition of Systems, as appropriate.
Any new device, application or methodology offered by T. Rowe Price subsequent to the date of this version of this Statement, or that comes into common use for business purposes, is also covered under this definition of T. Rowe Price Systems and Information.
UNDERSTANDING REGARDING CONFIDENTIALITY OF SYSTEMS ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION. Systems activities and information stored on our firm's computers may be subject to monitoring by firm personnel or others. Any new technologies, whether introduced by Price Group or instigated by the Associate (see the Portable and Personal Computer Equipment and Hardware section below), may also be monitored. All such information, including messages on the firm's email, voice mail, messaging, and online facsimile systems, are records of the firm and the sole property of the firm. The firm reserves the right to monitor, access, and disclose for any purpose all information, including all messages sent, received, or stored through the Systems.
The use of the firm's computer systems is intended for the transaction of firm business and is for authorized users only. Associates should limit any personal use. All firm policies apply to the use of the Systems. See the pertinent sections of the Code of Ethics and Conduct ( "Code" ) and Human Resources handbooks and guidelines.
By using the firm's Systems, you agree to be bound by this Statement and consent to the access to and disclosure of all information by the firm. You do not have any expectation of privacy in connection with the use of the Systems, or with the transmission, receipt, or storage of information in the Systems. All information sent, received or viewed on the Internet, including personal, web-based communications, can be stored on a computer's hard drive, T. Rowe Price servers or elsewhere in the System and can be retrieved and reviewed by the firm at any time. Even password-protected personal email obtained from a personal webmail site may be captured, stored, and recovered if you access it through the firm's Systems.
You should be aware that certain departments at T. Rowe Price record telephone conversations placed to and from the department (this includes but is not limited to the Call Centers, Investor Centers and Corporate Actions department). These recordings are made for quality purposes and to maintain records of certain instructions as well as for other business reasons. Any telephone conversations placed to and from these departments (including internal calls) will be recorded and subject to monitoring. In addition, all information forwarded or received via the T. Rowe Price email system is subject to monitoring
Information, including electronic communications, entered into our firm's computers but later deleted from the Systems may continue to be maintained permanently on our firm's back-up tapes or in records retained for regulatory or other purposes. You should take care so that you do not create documents or communications that might later be embarrassing to you or to our firm. This policy applies to all communications on the Systems.
Personal Account Activities. All account activities in associate accounts, accounts of associate family members and accounts over which associates could be deemed to have control, must be conducted through the same channels set up for all of our customers. These channels have been established for our customers to provide them convenient ways to conduct business with TRP and protect both the customer and the firm regarding risk management and accurate transaction completion. We want to afford each Associate the same safeguards.
Associates may not perform any maintenance, monetary or transaction activity in their own accounts through our main operating systems. The prohibition on use on our operating systems includes use of such systems for testing purposes. Associates must have all activity in their personal and beneficial accounts performed at "arms length"; as if they were regular customers. The following activities may not be performed by an associate on his/her own account(s) or a family member's account(s).
• Process a purchase, exchange, redemption, financial adjustment or transfer in the mutual funds, 529 programs, Program for Charitable Giving, variable annuities or our Savings Bank.
• Place any Buy or Sell orders, adjust any commissions, adjust price executions in Brokerage Accounts or process transfers in Brokerage Accounts.
• Process account maintenance of any kind for any of the T. Rowe Price products that he/she owns. This would include traditional maintenance items, such as address changes, change in services, check reorder, change of bank records or change in registrations, as well as significant changes such as non-financial adjustments.
• Correspond directly with an outside vendor regarding an Associate's own account unless contact with the outside vendor in the specific instance is normally done by an outside customer. Again, Associates need to contact a service representative and have the representative contact the outside vendor on their behalf.
• Other areas not covered above, which alter or change any part of the Associate's accounts in any way.
All Associates should use the following appropriate methods of conducting activity in their own account(s):
The T. Rowe Price web-site at www.troweprice.com;
One of our Toll-free numbers to speak with a representative on a recorded line;
One of our VRU systems, Tele*Access or Tele*Trader;
A face-to-face visit to an Investor Center; or
Written correspondence through the U.S. mail.
Associate accounts are monitored on an ongoing basis for compliance with this policy provision.
PRIVACY AND PROTECTION OF DATA AND COMPUTER RESOURCES. The protection of firm information and the maintenance of the privacy of corporate and customer data require consistent effort by each individual and involve many aspects of the work environment. Individuals who are users of computer and network resources and those who work within the Systems areas must bear in mind privacy and protection obligations. Therefore, data within the Price Group network should be considered proprietary and confidential and should be protected as such. In addition, particular customer and employee data, or the data of customers of certain business units, may be required to be specifically protected as prescribed by laws or regulatory agency requirements as further described in the Code's Statement of Policies and Procedures on Privacy. Responsible use of computer access and equipment, including Internet and email use, as described in this Statement of Policy with Respect to Computer Security and Related Issues, is integral to protecting data. In addition, the protection of data and data privacy is a critically important consideration during the design, development, maintenance, storage, handling, access, transfer and disposal phases of computer-related activities.
It is the responsibility of every Associate and other person subject to the Code to protect sensitive and confidential information while in use, while stored or in transit. Confidential information must never be put on or saved to a computer, network drive or storage device that can be accessed by those without authority to access that information. Confidential or sensitive information should not be moved (physically, electronically or by other means) from a secure location to an insecure location for any reason or use. Note that certain types of information (such a person's name and Social Security number) generally cannot be sent by email (or an attachment to an email) unless the email/attachment is encrypted; see the Code's Statement of Policies and Procedures on Privacy for further information.
In addition:
It is firm policy not to publicize the location of the firm's Technology Center or to identify this address as the main location of the firm's computer systems. It is the responsibility of all Associates and all other individuals to protect information about the location of the Technology Center whenever possible. Although there will be situations where using the address is unavoidable, use of the physical address is generally not necessary. It should not be used on the Internet for any reason, business or personal.
The @troweprice.com email address should be treated as a business asset. It should not be used for situations unrelated to immediate business responsibilities; personal use should be limited. The email addresses of other individuals working at the firm should never be given out without their permission.
SECURITY ADMINISTRATION. Enterprise Security is responsible for identifying security needs and overseeing the maintenance of computer security, including Internet-related security issues.
AUTHORIZED SYSTEMS USERS . In general, access to any type of system is restricted to authorized users who need access in order to support their business activities. All System and application access must be requested on a "Security Access Request" (" SAR ") form. The form is available on the Enterprise Security intranet site. Access requests and changes must be approved by the appropriate supervisor or manager in the user's department or that department's designated SAR approver where one has been appointed. "Security Access Approvers" are responsible for ensuring that only required access is approved and that access is reduced or removed when no longer needed. "Security Access Approvers" can be held accountable for any access they approve. Generally, non-employees are not permitted to be "Security Access Approvers"; any exception must be approved by Enterprise Security.
Managers and supervisors are responsible for updating Associate and non-employee status, in a timely manner, if the Associate or non-employee has terminated association with the firm, so that access may be suspended. Managers and supervisors have an obligation to prevent the mis-use or re-use of "User-IDs" of terminated Associates and non-employees. Additionally, if a non-employee is not currently working on a TRP project for an extended amount of time - even though he or she is expected to return to that project at a later date - the User-ID should be disabled, although not deleted, until the non-employee returns to the project. In this situation, the responsible manager is responsible for the timely updating of the non-employee's status to Work Break in Manger's Toolkit to allow the User-ID to be suspended until the individual's return.
The Enterprise Security department has the authority, at its own discretion, to disable any User- ID or other ID, that appears to be dormant or abandoned, on any platform. Efforts will be made to contact presumed owners of these IDs, but, in the absence of an identifiable owner, IDs may be disabled as part of system or vulnerability management processes.
AUTHORIZED APPLICATION OWNERS . Additional approval may be required from the "Owner" of some applications or data. The Owner is the employee who is responsible for making judgments and decisions on behalf of the firm with regard to the application or data, including the authority to decide who may have access. Secondary approval, when required, is part of the Security Access Request process and access cannot be processed until secondary approval is received.
Where applications or data are especially sensitive, confidential, or involve Nonpublic Customer Information (as defined in the Code's Statement of Policies and Procedures on Privacy), authorized application owners are also responsible for making judgments as to whether the applications or data should have additional security or approval processes.
USER-IDS, PASSWORDS, AND OTHER SECURITY ISSUES. Once a request for access is approved, a unique User-ID will be assigned the user. Each User-ID has a password that must be kept confidential by the user. For most systems, passwords must be changed on a regular schedule and Enterprise Security has the authority to determine the password policy. Passwords should be of reasonable complexity and uniqueness to prevent easy guessing; employee IDs and easily deducible personal or family information should not be used for passwords. Passwords should expire on a schedule approved by Enterprise Security unless specific variance has been permitted.
User-IDs and passwords may not be shared with anyone else except under special circumstances and with the prior approval of Enterprise Security. Users can be held accountable for work performed with their User-IDs. Personal computers must not be left logged on and unattended. When leaving a logged-on machine, lock the PC by pressing the <CTRL> <ALT> <DEL>keys and selecting "Lock Computer," or by setting a screen saver with password protection. Press <CTRL> <ALT> <DEL> and type in your password to unlock. System and application administrators are prohibited from altering security settings to their advantage, for the advantage of someone else, or for any other reason, without appropriate, documented instruction to do so, even though their administrative privileges give them the ability to do so. Pranks, jokes, or other actions that simulate or trigger a system security event such as, but not limited to, a computer virus are prohibited. No one may engage in activities that bypass or compromise the integrity of security features or change security settings locally or on the network.
EXTERNAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS. Our data processing environment includes access to data stored not only on our firm's computers, but also on external systems, such as DST. Although the security practices governing these outside systems are established by the providers of these external systems, requests for access to such systems should be directed to Enterprise Security. User-IDs and passwords to these systems must be kept confidential by the user.
PORTABLE AND PERSONAL COMPUTER EQUIPMENT AND HARDWARE. Price Group privacy and confidentiality requirements apply no matter how information may be accessed, stored or transmitted. It must be assumed that portable computer equipment ( e.g., laptops, smart phones flash drives, and cell phones) contain information that is sensitive. Therefore, portable computer equipment should be encrypted if that is available or, at a minimum, password protected with a frequently changed, non-intuitive password. Generally, certain types of information (such as a person's name and Social Security number) may not be stored on unencrypted portable computer equipment; see the Code's Statement of Policies and Procedures on Privacy for further information.
Portable computer equipment should be protected in transit and, when not kept with the user, maintained securely. Sensitive information that is not currently needed should be removed and stored elsewhere. Passwords and SecurId cards/tokens should not be stored with the device and information about accounts or passwords should not be maintained as a list on the device. In the event of loss or theft, the Enterprise Help Desk should be contacted immediately to review with the individual whether there are any protective actions that need to be taken.
Employees should be aware that many common devices like cell phones and MP3 players have cameras and video capabilities that can be used to capture and store confidential or proprietary information. Therefore, their use may be prohibited in certain work areas.
Applications, services, or equipment ( e.g ., flash drives, wireless connections, and USBs) that connect with or interact with the Price Group network that are not provided or supported by Price Group are prohibited. Damage to the Price Group network, systems, data, or reputation by use of any of these can result in disciplinary action to the individual or individuals involved.
Please contact Enterprise Security for the most current policies and approved practices on personal equipment and business augmentation technologies including wireless, personal PCs, storage devices, and phones.
ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AND OTHER ON-LINE SERVICES. Access to the Internet (including, but not limited to, email, instant messaging, remote FTP, Telnet, World Wide Web, remote administration, secure shell, and using IP tunneling software to remotely control Internet servers) presents special security considerations due to the world-wide nature of the connection and the security weaknesses present in Internet protocols and services. The firm provides authorized individuals with access to Internet email and other Internet services (such as the World Wide Web) through a direct connection from the firm's network.
Access to the Internet or Internet services from our firm's computers, including the firm's email system, is intended for legitimate business purposes; individuals should limit personal use. Internet email access must be requested through Enterprise Security, approved by the individual's supervisor or an appropriate T. Rowe Price manager , and provided only through firm-approved connections. All firm policies apply to the use of the Internet or Internet services. See the pertinent sections of the Code and Human Resources handbooks and guidelines. In addition to the prohibition on accessing inappropriate sites discussed below, the following policies apply:
• The use of Firm Systems is intended for legitimate business purposes and individuals should limit any personal use.
• You should not use firm's Systems to create or forward documents or communications that could be offensive to others or embarrassing to you or T. Rowe Price.
• You are prohibited from using firm Systems to access or send inappropriate content, including, but not limited to adult or gambling internet sites or programs.
• In the event that you receive an email or other communication with inappropriate content, you should immediately delete such communication and not forward it to others. In the case of harassing or threatening communications, you should provide a copy to Human Resources.
• You may not download anything for installation or storage onto the firm's computers for personal use including, but not limited to, music, games, or messaging and mail applications.
• You may not use the firm's Systems or hardware in any way that might pose a business risk or customer/employee data privacy risk, or violate other laws, including U.S. Copyright laws.
• You may not spend excessive time or use excessive network resources for personal purposes.
• You may not engage in activities that bypass or compromise the integrity of network security features like firewalls or virus scanners.
• No person or entity may contract for domain names for use by Price Group or for the benefit of Price Group without express authority from the Legal Department and Enterprise Security. Internet domain names are assets of the firm and are purchased and maintained by Enterprise Security.
• The name T. Rowe Price, versions of it, and terms referring to other names, products and services of the firm are trademarked assets. No person or entity may register words or terms, whether paid or free, that could mislead others into thinking that the resulting account is communication representing T Rowe Price, or that the registering person speaks on behalf of T. Rowe Price. This includes free account registrations such as those on social networking sites and web email. If there is a business need to register such a term, or a question regarding one, please contact the Legal Department or Enterprise Security for instruction.
Please note that many activities other than those mentioned may be prohibited because they pose a risk to the firm or its Systems and Information. Check the current Enterprise Security intranet site and policy for further information or contact Enterprise Security. The following are examples of activities that may or do raise concerns:
Use of Internet. In accordance with firm policies, individuals are prohibited from accessing inappropriate sites, including, but not limited to, adult and gambling sites. Firm personnel monitor Internet use for visits to inappropriate sites and for inappropriate use. See p. 5-28 for a more detailed discussion of the prohibitions of internet gambling related to security markets. Additionally, sites may be blocked without prior notice based on their associated risk to the firm or for other business reasons.
If an individual has any questions about the advisability of visiting a specific site from a T. Rowe Price computer, he or she should contact his or her supervisor or the Legal Department.
The use of Firm Systems is intended for legitimate business purposes and individuals should limit any personal use. Non-T. Rowe Price email, social media and all other personal accounts should be accessed only as permitted by the user's business unit. Extreme care should be taken when accessing personal accounts via T. Rowe Price systems or hardware when this is permitted by business management because the methods of accessing them are more susceptible to viruses, malicious code, and identity theft attempts than T. Rowe Price-provided methods. No personal account, including but not limited to, email or messaging accounts, may ever be used to send or receive business or client related communications.
Dial-Out Access. Unauthorized modems are not permitted. Dial-out access that circumvents the Internet firewall, proxy server, or authentication mechanisms except by authorized personnel in the business of Price Group is prohibited.
Instant Messaging. Use of instant messaging ( "IM" ) facilities for business purposes is restricted to authorized personnel only. Access to external IM must be requested on a SAR form and approval must be obtained from the appropriate supervisor with secondary approval by Legal. Access is only granted to one of the permitted IM service providers as determined by Legal and the Distributed Processing Support Group ("DPSG"). Instant Message communications are archived if this is required to comply with regulatory requirements. Questions regarding Instant Messaging access should be directed to Enterprise Security.
Participation on Internet Discussion and Social Networking Sites. The internet has made available a variety of services for massive, collaborative public comment and response including bulletin boards, chat rooms, social networking sites, web logs (blogs), pod casts, wikis, video sites, microblogs, and many other services. Because communications by our firm, or any individuals associated with it, about our firm, its clients or business partners, and its services and products, are subject to United States, state, international, FINRA and other regulations, independent or unsupervised participation in public discussions can result in serious regulatory violations.
Certain designated individuals have been authorized to monitor, comment and respond to inquiries about our firm and its services and products or otherwise observe messages about these topics. Comments posted by these designated individuals are subject to a variety of regulations, including SEC and FINRA rules regarding communications and record retention and the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising ("FTC Guides").
Any Associate or other person subject to the Code who is not so authorized must contact the appropriate supervisor and the Legal Department before engaging in these activities or responding to or commenting about anything relating to the firm. This policy applies if the individual participates in any discussion, whether or not the individual intends to disclose his or her relationship to the firm, whether or not our firm sponsors the discussion service, and whether or not the firm is the principal focus of the venue. In addition, even postings not originating from T. Rowe Price Systems could result in discipline, including termination of employment, if the postings make false, harassing or defamatory statements about the firm, its employees, its work products, business partners, or clients, violate copyrights, are illegal, disclose trade secrets or other proprietary information including client identity, defame or invade the privacy of an individual or otherwise violates firm policies. Individuals should be aware that it is possible for some venue hosts to determine the IP address of anyone observing activity at that site even if the observer is not commenting.
T. Rowe Price monitors on-line discussions and entries that might involve T. Rowe Price in any way and will take appropriate action against anyone subject to the Code who violates the firm's policy regarding participation in internet discussion and social networking sites.
There are times when collaborative discussion services can facilitate or solve a problem, for example with a systems technical issue or among users of a vendor's services. With your manager's knowledge of what will be discussed and his or her approval to communicate in that manner, participation that does not violate the Code's restrictions may be permissible. Even where the content of the discussion is not about the firm, its clients or business partners, or services or products, participation must be approved because information disclosed could be used to prepare a malicious attack or disclose something the firm does not wish to make public. If you or your manager have any questions about whether participation is appropriate, please contact Enterprise Security.
Associates are directed to the Social Media Policy located on the T. Rowe Price Exchange to understand their responsibilities with respect to social media. These policy guidelines apply whenever using social media, whether in a personally identifiable way or anonymously.
Email Use. Access to the firm's email system is intended for legitimate business purposes; individuals should limit any personal use. All firm policies apply to the use of email. Firm personnel may monitor email usage for inappropriate use and for other business or regulatory purposes. If you have any questions regarding what constitutes inappropriate use, you should discuss it first with your supervisor or an appropriate T. Rowe Price manager, who may refer the question to Human Resources. Email services, other than those provided or approved by Price Group, may not be used for business purposes.
Not Confidential. Email and Instant Messaging sent through the Internet are not secure and could be intercepted by a third party. Confidential and firm proprietary information should not be included in such communications unless specifically permitted by accepted business procedures. When remote access to the firm's email system, or external access to firm email, is required, the method provided by T. Rowe Price for secure access should be employed; at the time this version of this Statement was issued, Microsoft Outlook Web Access provides an encrypted mail session so that email is not in the clear over the Internet and is not passing through a non-Price Group email system. Using Microsoft Outlook Web Access or another T. Rowe Price approved solution is the preferred mode of access. If accessing Outlook Web Access email from an insecure device, be sure to log out and close the browser before leaving the device.
REMOTE ACCESS. The ability to access our firm's computer Systems and Information from a remote location is limited to authorized users and authorized methods. A security system that is approved by Enterprise Security and that uses a strong authentication method must be employed when accessing our firm's network from a remote computer. Authorization for remote access can be requested by completing a "Security Access Request" form. Any individual who requires remote access should contact the Price Group Enterprise Help Desk for desktop setup. Telephone numbers used to access our firm's computer systems are confidential.
Vendors may need remote access to the Price Group network or specific servers for application support, system troubleshooting, maintenance or other purposes. The preferred method for vendor access to the Price Group network is via an approved VPN connection with the SecurID card portion of the required two factor authentication being held by someone internally on behalf of the vendor. Other methods of remote access should not be offered or established without prior approval from Enterprise Security. Prior approval from Enterprise Security is not required for vendors accessing non-Price Group equipment that is not connected to the Price Group network.
PROTECTION FROM MALICIOUS CODE. " Malicious code" is computer code designed to damage or impair software or data on a computer system. Types of carriers and transmission methods increase daily and currently include portable storage media, file transfers and downloads, executables, some attachments, web-links, and active code over the Web. A comprehensive malicious code prevention and control program is in place throughout Price Group. This program provides policy and procedures for anti-virus and malicious code controls on all systems. More information about the anti-virus/malicious code program can be found on the Help Desk or Enterprise Security intranet sites.
Introducing a virus or similar malicious code into the Price Group Systems by engaging in prohibited actions, such as downloading non-business related software, or by failing to implement recommended precautions, such as updating virus scanning software on remote devices, may lead
to sanctions. Opening a file or attachment is at your own risk and presumes you have knowledge of the safety of the contents.
In summary:
No one should endeavor to, or assist another to, introduce into the Price Group environment for any reason anything identified as malicious by a virus scanner used by Price Group.
No one may disable or subvert virus scanning or a similar protective technology for any reason, including allowing something to be received or downloaded onto a Price Group asset or system or in an effort to speed up or optimize processing.
No one should endeavor to, or assist another to, create an unauthorized or foreign connection to the network in any matter.
Failing to protect Price Group systems and assets is against policy; an example of this is failing to maintain updated scanning files.
At all times, activities such as receipt of files and execution of attachments is at the user's own risk and depends on the user's awareness of the risks and his or her evaluation of the legitimacy and safety of what is being opened.
Virus Scanning Software. As part of the Price Group malicious code program, virus scanning software is installed and configured to detect and eradicate malicious code. All desktop computers have the corporate standard anti-virus scanning software installed and running. Virus scanning software updates are automatically distributed to the desktops as they become available. Desktop virus scanning software can also be used by the employee to scan diskettes, CDs, directories, and attachments "on demand." Altering or disabling this desktop scanning software is prohibited. Contact the Price Group Enterprise Help Desk for assistance.
Email. An email malicious code/anti-virus gateway scans the content of inbound and outbound email for viruses. Infected email and attachments will be cleaned when possible and quarantined when not able to be cleaned. Updating of the email gateway anti-virus software and pattern files is done automatically.
Certain potentially harmful file types of email attachments are permanently blocked at the email gateway and in Outlook. Transmission of these file types poses a risk to Price Group's infrastructure since malicious code is transmitted via these extensions. Additional attachment types, file characteristics, or content, may be blocked on a temporary or permanent basis (possibly without prior notification) as the risk evaluations dictate. Opening any file is at your own risk and presumes you have knowledge of the safety of the contents.
Portable and Remote Computers. Laptops and other computers that remotely access the Price Group network are required to have updated anti-virus software and pattern files. It is the responsibility of each user to ensure that his or her portable computer's anti-virus software is regularly updated and that personal machines remotely connecting to the Price Group network include necessary virus, application and operating system security updates. Remote devices that do not meet these requirements may be prevented from connecting to the T. Rowe Price network.
Downloading or Copying. The user of a PC with a modem or with an Internet connection has the ability to connect to other computers or on-line services outside of the firm's network and there may be business reasons to download or copy software from those sources. Downloading or copying software, which includes documents, graphics, programs and other computer-based materials, from any outside source is not permitted unless it is for a necessary and legitimate business purpose because downloads and copies could introduce viruses and malicious code into the Systems.
Use of any peer-to-peer file-sharing software, web storage or web interface, which allows users to search the hard drives of other users for files, store information remotely or access personal computers remotely, is prohibited on the Price Group network and PCs. The downloading, uploading, or copying to removable media of copyrighted materials may violate the rights of the authors of the materials, and the use of or storage on the Price Group network of these materials may create a liability, privacy or security breach, or cause embarrassment to the firm.
Other Considerations. Individuals must immediately call the Price Group Enterprise Help Desk when viruses are detected so that it can ensure that appropriate tracking and follow-up take place. Do not forward any virus warning email you receive to other staff until you have contacted the Enterprise Help Desk, since many of these warnings are hoaxes or viruses themselves. When notified that a user has received a virus warning email, the Enterprise Help Desk will contact Enterprise Security, whose personnel will check to determine the validity of the virus warning.
Individuals should not attempt to treat a computer virus or suspected computer virus on a Price Group-owned device themselves. Immediately contact the Price Group Enterprise Help Desk for assistance; its personnel will determine whether the device is infected, the severity of the infection, and the appropriate remedial actions.
APPLICATION OF U.S. COPYRIGHT LAW TO SOFTWARE PROGRAMS. Software products and on-line information services purchased for use on Price Group personal computers are generally copyrighted material and may not be reproduced without proper authorization from the software vendor. This includes the software on CDs or diskettes, any program manuals or documentation, and data or software retrievable from on-line information systems. Unauthorized reproduction of such material or information, or downloading or printing such material, violates United States law, and the software vendor can sue to protect the developer's rights and can lead to both civil and criminal penalties. In addition, many other nations have laws in this area. See the T. Rowe Price Copyright and Trademark Policy, located in the Associate Handbook, for more information about this subject.
GUIDELINES FOR USING PERSONAL COMPUTER SOFTWARE
Acquisition and Installation of Software . Only DPSG- approved and installed software is authorized. Any software program that is to be used by Price Group personnel in connection with the business of the firm must be ordered through the Price Group Enterprise Help Desk and installed by DPSG.
DPSG has the authority, at its own discretion; to remove any installed software, downloaded software, or any other application or executable that is not authorized for use by Price Group.
Licensing . Software residing on firm servers will be either: (1) maintained at an appropriate license level for the number of users, or (2) made accessible only for those for whom it is licensed.
Original CDs, Diskettes and Copies . In most cases, software is installed by DPSG and original software CDs and diskettes are not provided to the user. In the event that original CDs or diskettes are provided, they must be stored properly to reduce the possibility of damage or theft. CDs and diskettes should be protected from extreme heat, cold, and contact with anything that may act as a magnet or otherwise damage them. You may not make additional copies of software or software manuals obtained through the firm.
Recommendations, Upgrades, and Enhancements . All recommendations regarding computer hardware and software programs are to be forwarded to the Price Group Help Desk, which will coordinate upgrades and enhancements.
QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS STATEMENT . Any questions regarding this Statement should be directed to Enterprise Security.
T. ROWE PRICE GROUP, INC.
STATEMENT OF POLICY
ON
COMPLIANCE WITH ANTITRUST LAWS
Purpose
To protect the interests of Price Group and its personnel, Price Group has adopted this Statement of Policy on Compliance with Antitrust Laws (" Statement ") to:
• Describe the legal principles governing prohibited anticompetitive activity in the conduct of Price Group's business; and
• Establish guidelines for contacts with other members of the investment management industry to avoid violations of the antitrust laws.
The Basic United States Anticompetitive Activity Prohibition
Section 1 of the United States Sherman Antitrust Act (the " Act" ) prohibits agreements, understandings, or joint actions between companies that constitute a "restraint of trade ," i.e., that reduce or eliminate competition.
This prohibition is triggered only by an agreement or action among two or more companies; unilateral action never violates the Act. To constitute an illegal agreement, however, an understanding does not need to be formal or written. Comments made in conversations, casual comments at meetings, or even as little as "a knowing wink," as one case says, may be sufficient to establish an illegal agreement under the Act.
The agreed-upon action must be anticompetitive . Some actions are " per se " anticompetitive, while others are judged according to a " rule of reason."
• Some activities have been found to be so inherently anticompetitive that a court will not even permit the argument that they have a pro-competitive component. Examples of such per se illegal activities are agreements between competitors to fix prices or terms of doing business; to divide up markets in any way, such as exclusive territories; or to jointly boycott a competitor or service provider.
• Other joint agreements or activities will be examined by a court using the rule of reason approach to see if the pro-competitive results of the arrangement outweigh the anticompetitive effects. Under certain circumstances, permissible agreements among competitors may include a buyers' cooperative, or a syndicate of buyers for an initial public offering of securities. The rule of reason analysis requires a detailed inquiry into market power and market conditions.
There is also an exception for joint activity designed to influence government action. Such activity is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. For example, members of an industry may agree to lobby Congress jointly to enact legislation that may be manifestly anticompetitive.
Penalties for Violating the Sherman Act
A charge that the Act has been violated can be brought as a civil or a criminal action. Civil damages can include treble damages, plus attorney's fees. Criminal penalties for individuals can include fines of up to $1,000,000 and ten years in jail, and $10 million or more for corporations.
Situations in Which Antitrust Issues May Arise
To avoid violating the Act, any discussion with other members of the investment management industry regarding which securities to buy or sell and under what circumstances we buy or sell them, or about the manner in which we market our mutual funds and investment and retirement services, must be made with the prohibitions of the Act in mind. In addition, any discussion with our competitors about the use of particular vendors or service providers may implicate the Sherman Act.
Trade Association Meetings and Activities . A trade association is a group of competitors who join together to share common interests and seek common solutions to common problems. Such associations are at a high risk for anticompetitive activity and are closely scrutinized by regulators. Attorneys for trade associations, such as the Investment Company Institute, are typically present at meetings of members to assist in avoiding violations.
Permissible Activities:
• Discussion of how to make the industry more competitive.
• An exchange of information or ideas that have pro-competitive or competitively neutral effects, such as: methods of protecting the health or safety of workers; methods of educating customers and preventing abuses; and information regarding how to design and operate training programs.
• Collective action to petition government entities.
Activities to Avoid:
• Any discussion or direct exchange of current information about prices, salaries, fees, or terms and conditions of sales. Even if such information is publicly available, problems can arise if the information available to the public is difficult to compile or not as current as that being exchanged.
• Discussion of specific customers, markets, or territories.
• Negative discussions of service providers that could give rise to an inference of a joint refusal to deal with the provider (a " boycott ").
Investment-Related Discussions
Permissible Activities : Buyers or sellers with a common economic interest may join together to facilitate securities transactions that might otherwise not occur, such as the formation of a syndicate to buy in a private placement or initial public offering of an issuer's stock, or negotiations among creditors of an insolvent or bankrupt company.
Competing investment managers are permitted to serve on creditors committees together and engage in other similar activities in connection with bankruptcies and other judicial proceedings.
Activities to Avoid : It is important to avoid anything that suggests involvement with any other firm in any threats to "boycott" or "blackball" new offerings, including making any ambiguous statement that, taken out of context, might be misunderstood to imply such joint action. Avoid careless or unguarded comments that a hostile or suspicious listener might interpret as suggesting prohibited coordinated behavior between Price Group and any other potential buyer.
Example : After an Illinois municipal bond default where the state legislature retroactively abrogated some of the bondholders' rights, several investment management complexes organized to protest the state's action. In doing so, there was arguably an implied threat that members of the group would boycott future Illinois municipal bond offerings. Such a boycott would be a violation of the Act. The investment management firms' action led to an 18-month United States Department of Justice investigation. Although the investigation did not lead to any legal action, it was extremely expensive and time consuming for the firms and individual managers involved.
If you are present when anyone outside of Price Group suggests that two or more investors with a grievance against an issuer coordinate future purchasing decisions, you should immediately reject any such suggestion. As soon as possible thereafter, you should notify the Legal Department, which will take whatever further steps are necessary.
Benchmarking . Benchmarking is the process of measuring and comparing an organization's processes, products and services to those of industry leaders for the purpose of adopting innovative practices for improvement.
• Because benchmarking usually involves the direct exchange of information with competitors, it is particularly subject to the risk of violating the antitrust laws.
• The list of issues that may and should not be discussed in the context of a trade association also applies in the benchmarking process.
• All proposed benchmarking agreements must be reviewed by the Legal Department before the firm agrees to participate in such a survey.
International Requirements. The United Kingdom and the European Union ("E.U.") have requirements based on principles similar to those of United States law. In many cases, the laws of the E.U. are stricter than the laws of the United States. If you have specific questions about United Kingdom or E.U. requirements, you should contact the Legal Department.
T. ROWE PRICE GROUP, INC.
STATEMENT OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ON PRIVACY
INTRODUCTION
This Statement of Policies and Procedures on Privacy (" Privacy Statement ") applies to T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates (collectively " T. Rowe Price " or "TRP" ), including its international operations. It is T. Rowe Price's policy to:
• Treat our customers' personal and financial information (" Nonpublic Customer Information ") as confidential;
• Protect Nonpublic Customer Information;
• Not share this information with third parties unless in connection with processing customer transactions, servicing accounts, or as otherwise permitted by law; and
• Comply with applicable federal, state, and international privacy laws and regulations.
In the United States, the primary federal law governing customer privacy is Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, 15 U.S.C. 6801 et seq. (" Privacy Act "). The Securities and Exchange Commission (" SEC "), federal banking regulators, and others have issued regulations under the Privacy Act ( e.g. , the SEC's Regulation S-P). For purposes of this Privacy Statement and unless otherwise specified, the term " customer " generally refers to individuals or entities who are current or former customers of TRP, both directly and indirectly such as those who have accounts or services established through the retail, retirement plan, separate account/institutional, broker/dealer, or Investment Counsel Group areas.
While the Privacy Act and related regulations in the privacy area apply generally only to direct customer relationships with individuals ( i.e., natural person customers) as opposed to direct customer relationships with entities or indirect relationships such as with retirement plan participants, TRP also protects and safeguards such relationships in a substantially similar manner. In the institutional arena, the contracts TRP has entered into with customers frequently contain provisions relating to the duty to keep customer information confidential and/or limiting the use of customer information. Also, the personal and financial information of employees retained on a full-time or part-time basis, and of independent contractors and temporary workers are protected and safeguarded in a substantially similar manner. Accordingly, references to "customer(s)" in the Privacy Statement should be understood to include such relationships, institutional customers, and other persons unless otherwise specified.
Nonpublic Customer Information comprises virtually all the information that a customer supplies to TRP and the information that TRP otherwise obtains or generates in connection with providing financial products or services to that customer. Accordingly, Nonpublic Customer Information would include personally-identifiable account balance, holdings and transactional history, as well as the existence of the customer relationship itself ( e.g., customer lists) and the contents of an account application ( e.g., a person's name in combination with taxpayer identification number or beneficiary information). 1
1 Nonpublic Customer Information refers generally to information that can be linked to a specific customer or individual as opposed to data that is not specifically linked. For example, a listing of trades done for a particular customer or group of customers, without any indication of the customer(s) at issue, is generally not considered to be "Nonpublic Customer Information" in and of itself because it is not linked to an identified customer. Nevertheless, even for aggregate data, there may be corporate business reasons for safeguarding such information.
The privacy policy for the firm's international business is posted on the TRP Institutional website. Internationally based subsidiaries and affiliates must comply with the U.K. Data Protection Act as it applies to their activities. The U.K. Data Protection Act and other international privacy regulation are beyond the scope of this Privacy Statement and for business conducted internationally, Associates should be aware of the applicable privacy regulations in the foreign jurisdiction where the business is conducted. If you have any questions in this area, please contact the TRP International Compliance Team.
INITIAL AND ANNUAL PRIVACY NOTICES
Certain regulated T. Rowe Price companies offer financial products and services directly to individuals and, consequently, are required to develop and deliver a privacy notice under the Privacy Act and related regulations.
As a means of complying with these requirements, the firm has adopted a written " Privacy Policy ," which is provided to such customers as required. The Privacy Policy is included with or accompanies applicable account application or other material delivered to prospective customers. The Privacy Policy is sent annually to such customers ( e.g. , typically with first quarter statements for retail mutual fund customers). A copy of the Privacy Policy is located on TRP's Internet site under the link to "Privacy Policy." The contents of the Privacy Policy are contained under the sub-heading of "General Privacy Policy," and it is followed by information concerning additional online privacy practices. Questions from customers concerning the Privacy Policy should be referred to the Legal Department.
The Legal Department is responsible for identifying any amendments that are required to be made to the Privacy Policy and must approve any proposed amendments. Generally, Retail Operations is responsible for the distribution of the Privacy Policy to prospective customers and the annual distribution of the Privacy Policy to Price Fund shareholders, Brokerage customers, annuity customers, and other retail customers. Other business units ( e.g., Investment Counsel Group) not covered by Retail Operations will be notified by the Legal Department of any obligations to deliver the Privacy Policy to their respective customers.
EDUCATION ABOUT PRIVACY AND ASSOCIATE RESPONSIBILITY
Every Associate should be aware of this Privacy Statement and any privacy policies and procedures applicable to their business unit (collectively " Privacy Policies "), and every Associate bears responsibility to protect Nonpublic Customer Information.
Managers and supervisors shall ensure that the Privacy Policies are reviewed with all new Associates at T. Rowe Price. Particular attention should be given to any temporary or part-time workers and consultants to ensure that they are educated to the critical importance of protecting confidential information. Additionally, if such temporary worker is being retained independent of the on-site temporary agencies utilized by Human Resources, the supervisor must contact the Legal Department to verify that there are adequate contractual safeguards relative to privacy and confidentiality. Managers and supervisors also shall ensure that revisions to Privacy Policies are communicated to applicable Associates as an integral part of the continuing education of such Associates.
Violations of Privacy Policies may constitute grounds for disciplinary action, including fines and dismissal from employment.
METHODS BY WHICH T. ROWE PRICE PRESERVES CONFIDENTIALITY
Each Business Unit Head has responsibility with respect to his or her business unit to establish procedures whereby the confidentiality of Nonpublic Customer Information is preserved. Such procedures should address access to and safeguards for Nonpublic Customer Information based upon the business unit's operations, access to, and handling of such information as it exists in both hardcopy and electronic formats. The procedures should address safeguards relating to administrative, technical, and physical access to and distribution of Nonpublic Customer Information.
Access to Information
Managers and supervisors are responsible for limiting access to Nonpublic Customer Information to those Associates who require access to such information to support their respective job functions. Situations where excessive or inappropriate access to or exposure of Nonpublic Customer Information are identified require prompt remediation.
Computer Access
Business unit managers and supervisors are responsible for making judgments and decisions with regard to the use of Nonpublic Customer Information, including decisions as to who shall have computer access to such information.
In general, managers and supervisors are responsible for determining those Associates that require access to systems that contain Nonpublic Customer Information in support of job functions. System access, or changes to such access, shall be submitted in the format directed by Enterprise Security and authorized by the appropriate business unit manager or supervisor. Managers and supervisors also are responsible for timely notification to Enterprise Security when an employee or consultant has left the firm so that access may be terminated. This is especially important for temporary employees who are contracted independent of Human Resources and/or one of the on-site temporary agencies.
New Business and Systems Development
All new business and systems application development that relates to or affects Nonpublic Customer Information is to be developed and reviewed with consideration to the firm's Privacy Statement. Individuals at T. Rowe Price working on systems and processes dealing with Nonpublic Customer Information are responsible for evaluating the potential risks to the confidentiality of Nonpublic Customer Information and implementing safeguards that are designed to provide reasonable protection of the privacy of such information consistent with the risks identified.
Safeguarding Nonpublic Customer Information
To safeguard the interests of our customers and to respect the confidentiality of Nonpublic Customer Information, all individuals at T. Rowe Price are responsible for taking the following precautions:
• Do not discuss Nonpublic Customer Information in public places such as elevators, hallways, lunchrooms, or social gatherings;
• To the extent practical, access to particularly sensitive areas of the firm where Nonpublic Customer Information could be observed or overheard readily shall be provided only to Associates with a business need for being in the area;
• Avoid using speaker phones in areas where or at times when unauthorized persons may overhear conversations;
• Where appropriate, maintain the confidentiality of client identities by using code names or numbers for confidential projects, or use aggregate data that is not personally identifiable to any customer;
• Exercise care to avoid placing documents with Nonpublic Customer Information in areas where they may be read by unauthorized persons and store such documents in secure locations when they are not in use (particular attention should be directed to securing the information outside of normal business hours to prevent possible misappropriation of the information);
• Destroy copies of confidential documents no longer needed by using the secure recycling bins;
• Lock the computer at your work-station when not in use; and
• Sample calls or screens must be edited in advance to delete any confidential information when a prospect or consultant wishes to listen in on calls to gauge our level of service. Sample data cannot be linked to a specifically identified customer.
From time to time, Associates at T. Rowe Price may bring Nonpublic Customer Information outside of firm facilities as needed during business trips, meetings, or for work at home (whether in hard-copy or electronically). Associates are responsible for taking care to safeguard such materials and may not leave them unattended or otherwise in an unsecured situation. Encryption may be required for storage of certain types of information on portable devices, such as laptops and "thumb" drives. See the "Encryption" section below for further details.
Additionally, T. Rowe Price Enterprise Security maintains policies and procedures to help safeguard Nonpublic Customer Information. For example, the Enterprise Security department monitors the firewalls deployed for locations where an outside network connects to the T. Rowe Price network. Such monitoring includes daily and real-time alerts and periodic testing of the security rules using automated tools and manual processes.
Encryption
TRP has implemented encryption of sensitive data at points which carry the highest risk. This includes various transmission methods ( e.g. , secure file transfer protocol), as well as full disk encryption for laptops issued by TRP. In addition, passwords for secure web sites, such as those for Retail customers, are stored using one-way encrypted hashes. TRP periodically evaluates additional encryption technologies for storage solutions which will meet its security, availability, and performance needs.
While it remains critical to safeguard all types of personal and financial information, over the past several years many states have passed laws and regulations that focus particularly on data that can easily be stolen and exploited to engage in identity theft against an individual ( i.e. , a natural person as opposed to an entity). As relevant to the firm's business, such data that consists of an individual's first name or initial and last name in combination with one or more of the following: (i) Social Security or taxpayer identification number; (ii) driver's license or other state-issued identification number; or (iii) financial account number, such as an individual's T. Rowe Price account number or a checking account or credit card number (collectively, " Identity Information "). As a financial services firm and employer, TRP has Identity Information concerning a variety of individuals, including Retail customers and retirement plan participants, employees, independent contractors, and temporary workers.
In order to align our policies with state laws, we restrict certain electronic transmissions and storage of Identity Information, unless it is encrypted.
Associates may not send an email or attachment outside of T. Rowe Price that contains Identity Information of another person unless the email/attachment is encrypted. Emails that travel through the Internet (which is the case with emails sent outside TRP) are not encrypted. Also, password protection alone of attachments is not sufficient. However, there are several types of email channels that are secure and can be used:
Internal emails (these go through TRP's internal network);
Messages that are sent and received as part of a secure online account access session ( e.g. , email sent to a customer's Message Center viewable during on-line access); and
Emails sent to a party that has enabled a domain encrypted email service with T. Rowe Price.
Associates may not store Identity Information of another person on an unencrypted laptop, CD, "thumb" drive, or other portable device. Password protection alone is not sufficient. Laptops and Blackberries issued by T. Rowe Price are encrypted. 2
2 For Blackberries, contacts/address books are not encrypted at this time due to significant interference with performance. Therefore, Associates may not store Identity Information of another person in contacts/address books.
Associates should contact the Help Desk if assistance is needed with coordinating an email encryption process with a business partner, to arrange for a CD to be encrypted, to obtain encrypted thumb drives, or with other questions about these encryption requirements. Exceptions may be made only after consultation with the Legal Department.
Record Retention
TRP is required to produce, maintain and retain various records, documents, and other written (including electronic) communications pursuant to various federal and state laws and regulations, and all Associates at T. Rowe Price are responsible for adhering to the firm's record maintenance and retention policies.
Destruction of Records
All Associates at T. Rowe Price must use care in disposing of any Nonpublic Customer Information. Confidential paper records should be discarded using the secure recycling bins. General Services should be contacted for instructions regarding proper disposal when a significant quantity of material is involved.
T. Rowe Price has set up procedures so that electronic data stored on physical equipment issued by the firm, such as computer hard drives, Blackberry devices and PDAs, are destroyed based upon internal protocols. For example, computer hard drives are erased according to federally suggested guidelines prior to re-deployment or conveyance to a third party. Non-functional hard drives are physically destroyed, rendering them useless. Tapes failing media validation routines are physically destroyed by a specialist third party organization that provides certification of destruction back to T. Rowe Price. Tapes that will be re-used are wiped of all data prior to re-use.
Data files stored on file servers are subject to standardized back-up and recovery cycles. Retention of individual files is determined by the owner of the data and also can vary depending upon the nature of the data and its regulatory requirements. For example, certain categories of emails are subject to specific regulation regarding retention and destruction and protocols designed to adhere to these standards have been implemented firm-wide.
DEALINGS WITH THIRD PARTIES
Generally, T. Rowe Price will not disclose Nonpublic Customer Information to unaffiliated third parties unless in connection with processing a transaction, servicing an account, or as otherwise permitted by law. TRP also is permitted to provide information to others as the customer has specifically directed, such as to the customer's accountants or consultants. Associates will consult with managers or supervisors for any proposed disclosure which does not fall into one of the above categories. Questions will be elevated to the Legal Department as needed. Associates will not divulge any Nonpublic Customer Information or the existence of customer relationships to anyone outside of the firm, including disclosing to families or friends, except as noted above to process a transaction, service an account, or as otherwise permitted by law. For example, Associates shall not supply a third party with anything showing actual customer information for the purpose of providing a "sample" ( e.g., for software testing or problem resolution) without explicit approval from the Legal Department.
At times, in an effort to obtain confidential information, third parties will assert that they are entitled to certain information pursuant to a subpoena or some other legal process or authority. Because there can be various issues that may affect the validity of such demands, no records or information concerning customers shall be disclosed unless specifically directed by the Legal Department. Any such demands for information should be promptly referred to the Legal Department.
RETENTION OF THIRD PARTY ORGANIZATIONS BY TRP
T. Rowe Price may on occasion use third party organizations (" Third Parties ") to provide support services to the firm ( e.g., consultants, systems vendors). Whenever T. Rowe Price hires Third Parties to provide support services, Nonpublic Customer Information may be provided to the third parties only for the purposes for which they are retained. Therefore, it is important that in retaining such third parties, T. Rowe Price has contractual representations from each Third Party that preserves the confidentiality of Nonpublic Customer Information and, where deemed appropriate, enables T. Rowe Price to verify compliance with contractual representations. Accordingly, no Third Parties shall be retained to deal with or have access to Nonpublic Customer Information unless the Legal Department has determined that there are adequate contractual provisions in place. All non-standard contracts relating to supplying or using Nonpublic Customer Information should be submitted to the Legal Department for review; a standard Nondisclosure Agreement is available from the Legal Department.
T. Rowe Price also utilizes a risk based process with many of its Third Parties to understand a Third Party's practices to help ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place ( e.g., review of Third Party with access to significant volumes of Nonpublic Customer Information). The review of a Third Party is spearheaded by the appropriate vendor relationship manager and includes obtaining an understanding of the Third Party's control environment in protecting confidential information, following up with the Third Party to address noted concerns (if any), and ensuring that appropriate contractual standards are in place.
POTENTIAL RELEASE OF NONPUBLIC CUSTOMER INFORMATION
When there has or may have been a release of Nonpublic Customer Information to anyone not authorized to receive such information or when Nonpublic Customer Information is missing, it is important that the incident be reported and investigated promptly. T. Rowe Price has implemented a centralized reporting and escalation process ( e.g. , reporting to supervisor and specified Help Desk area). This process is designed to investigate reported incidents efficiently, recommend improvements to reduce future errors, and to communicate with customers where appropriate under the firm's business practices or where required by law. In addition to utilizing the centralized reporting process, to the extent that an Associate's business unit has adopted additional procedures, such as reporting to specified persons in the business unit, the Associate shall follow the business unit's procedures as well.