As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 24, 2009

1933 Act Registration No. 33-17619
1940 Act Registration No. 811-05349

 

 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D. C. 20549

FORM N-1A

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 þ

Pre-Effective Amendment No.                      o

Post-Effective Amendment No. 226 þ

and/or

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 þ

Amendment No. 227 þ

(Check appropriate box or boxes)

GOLDMAN SACHS TRUST

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

71 South Wacker Drive

Chicago, Illinois 60606

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code: (312) 655-4400

PETER V. BONANNO, ESQ.

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

One New York Plaza — 37 ^th Floor

New York, New York 10004

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

Copies to:
JACK W. MURPHY, ESQ.
Dechert LLP
1775 I Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20006-2401

Approximate Date of Proposed Public Offering: As soon as practicable after the effective date of the registration statement

It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box)
þ immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)
o on (date) pursuant to paragraph (b)
o 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
o on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
o 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)
o on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of rule 485.

If appropriate, check the following box:
o this post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.

Title of Securities Being Registered:

Class A Shares, Class C Shares, Institutional Shares, Class R Shares and Class IR Shares of the Goldman Sachs U.S. Equity Fund.

 

 

 

 

Table of Contents

 

 

 

For additional information please see “Service Providers—Management Fees” and “Shareholder Guide—Distribution Services and Fees” on pages 15 and 42, respectively, in this Prospectus.

 

Expense Example

 

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

 

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in Class A, Class C, Institutional, Class R and/or Class IR Shares of the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Class A, Class C, Institutional, Class R and/or Class IR Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same (except that the Example assumes that the expense limitation agreement between the Fund and the Investment Adviser will remain in place for only one year). Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities or instruments (i.e., “turns over” its portfolio). A high rate of portfolio turnover may result in increased transaction costs, including brokerage commissions, which must be borne by the Fund and its shareholders, and is also likely to result in higher short-term capital gains for taxable shareholders. These costs are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, but will be reflected in the Fund’s performance.

 

Fund Strategy

 

The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes (measured at the time of purchase) in a diversified portfolio of equity investments in U.S. large-cap issuers with public stock market capitalizations within the range of the market capitalization of companies constituting the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in a diversified portfolio of equity investments that are considered by the Investment Adviser to be high-quality companies that have compelling prospects and attractive valuations. The Fund may also invest up to 20% of its net assets in foreign securities. The Fund may also, but does not currently intend to, invest in fixed income

securities, including government, corporate and bank debt obligations. The Goldman Sachs Asset Management Growth Team uses fundamental research to find strong business franchises with favorable long-term growth prospects and excellent management. Investment criteria include dominant market share, positive free cash flow, enduring competitive advantages and sustainable growth. The process also includes a valuation component. The Goldman Sachs Asset Management Value Team’s philosophy is based on the belief that all successful investing should thoughtfully weigh two important attributes of a stock: price and prospects. The team uses a strong valuation discipline to purchase well-positioned, cash-generating businesses run by shareholder-oriented management teams.

 

 

 

General Investment
Management Approach

 

 

 

 

 

The way in which both the Growth and Value Teams select underlying securities remains consistent with the Investment Philosophy for each of the Teams.

 

GSAM’s Growth Investment Philosophy:

 

 

 

GSAM’s Value Investment Philosophy:

 

Through intensive, firsthand fundamental research our portfolio team seeks to identify quality businesses selling at compelling valuations.

 

1. Businesses represent compelling value when:

 

2. By quality, we mean companies that have:

 

References in this Prospectus to the Fund’s benchmark are for informational purposes only, and unless otherwise noted are not an indication of how the Fund is managed.

 

In the event that the Fund needed to withdraw from its investment strategy and adopt a defensive measure, the Fund would generally invest in exchange traded funds (“ETFs”) in order to maintain market exposure or remain in cash.

GENERAL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT APPROACH

 

 

The tables below and on the following page identify some of the investment techniques that may (but are not required to) be used by the Fund in seeking to achieve its investment objective. Numbers in the tables show allowable usage only. For more information about these and other investment practices and securities, see Appendix A. The Fund will publish on its website (http://www.goldmansachsfunds.com) complete portfolio holdings of the Fund as of the end of each calendar quarter subject to a fifteen calendar-day lag between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed. In addition, the Fund publishes on its website month-end top ten holdings subject to a ten calendar-day lag between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed. This information will be available on the website until the date on which the Fund files its next quarterly portfolio holdings report on Form N-CSR or Form N-Q with the SEC. In addition, a description of the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio holdings is available in the Fund’s statement of additional information (“SAI”).

 

 

 

 

 

Risks of the Fund

 

Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The following summarizes the risks that apply to the Fund and may result in a loss of your investment. The Fund should not be relied upon as a complete investment program. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.

 

 

RISKS OF THE FUND

 

 

Certain shareholders, including clients or affiliates of the Investment Adviser and/or other funds managed by the Investment Adviser, may from time to time own or control a significant percentage of the Fund’s shares. Redemptions by these shareholders of their shares of the Fund may further increase the Fund’s liquidity risk and may impact the Fund’s NAV. These shareholders may include, for example, institutional investors, fund-of-funds, discretionary advisory clients, and other shareholders whose buy-sell decisions are controlled by a centralized decision-maker.

 

To the extent the Fund may invest in REITs, it may be especially subject to the risk that during certain periods the liquidity of particular issuers or industries, or all securities within a particular investment category, will shrink or disappear suddenly and without warning as a result of adverse economic, market or political events, or adverse investor perceptions whether or not accurate.

More information about the Fund’s portfolio securities and investment techniques, and their associated risks, is provided in Appendix A. You should consider the investment risks discussed in this section and in Appendix A. Both are important to your investment choice.

 

 

 

 

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Management Agreement for the Fund in 2009 will be available in the Fund’s semi-annual report for the period ended February 28, 2010.

 

SERVICE PROVIDERS

 

 

Eileen Rominger, Global Chief Investment Officer of GSAM, John Arege and Steven Becker make up the U.S. Equity Investment Committee. Mr. Arege also serves as a portfolio manager on the Value Team and Mr. Becker also serves as a portfolio manager on the Growth Team. Being embedded on the research teams gives them access to the current investment opinions and ideas generated by their respective teams. Each portfolio manager selects investment ideas from their respective teams and contributes them to the Fund. The Investment Committee members are ultimately accountable for all portfolio construction decisions for the Fund and determine the appropriate weight for each investment. The Investment Committee evaluates the portfolio of the Fund, ensures that active weights accurately reflect current research opinions, manages risk relative to the S&P 500 Index and monitors portfolio characteristics.

 

For information about the portfolio managers’ compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers’ ownership of securities in the Fund, see the SAI.

 

     DISTRIBUTOR AND TRANSFER AGENT 

 

Goldman Sachs, 85 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004, serves as the exclusive distributor (the “Distributor”) of the Fund’s shares. Goldman Sachs, 71 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606, also serves as the Fund’s transfer agent (the “Transfer Agent”) and, as such, performs various shareholder servicing functions.

 

 

For its transfer agency services, Goldman Sachs is entitled to receive a transfer agency fee equal, on an annualized basis, to 0.04% of average daily net assets with respect to the Fund’s Institutional Shares and 0.19% of average daily net assets with respect to the Fund’s Class A, Class C, Class R and Class IR Shares.

 

From time to time, Goldman Sachs or any of its affiliates may purchase and hold shares of the Fund. Goldman Sachs and its affiliates reserve the right to redeem at any time some or all of the shares acquired for their own account.

 

 

The involvement of the Investment Adviser, Goldman Sachs and their affiliates in the management of, or their interest in, other accounts and other activities of Goldman Sachs may present conflicts of interest with respect to the Fund or limit the Fund’s investment activities. Goldman Sachs is a full service investment banking, broker dealer, asset management and financial services organization and a major participant in global financial markets. As such, it acts as an investor, investment banker, research provider, investment manager, financier, advisor, market maker, trader, prime broker, lender, agent and principal, and has other direct and indirect interests, in the global fixed income, currency, commodity, equity and other markets in which the Fund directly and indirectly invests. Thus, it is likely that the Fund will have multiple business relationships with and will invest in, engage in transactions with, make voting decisions with respect to, or obtain services from entities for which Goldman Sachs performs or seeks to perform investment banking or other services. The Investment Adviser and/or certain of its affiliates are the managers of the Goldman Sachs Funds. Goldman Sachs and its affiliates engage in proprietary trading and advise accounts and funds which have investment objectives similar to those of the Fund and/or which engage in and compete for transactions in the same types of securities, currencies and instruments as the Fund. Goldman Sachs and its affiliates will not have any obligation to make available any information regarding their proprietary activities or strategies, or the activities or strategies used for other accounts managed by them, for the benefit of the management of the Fund. Goldman Sachs may restrict transactions for itself, but not for the Fund (or vice versa). The results of the Fund’s investment activities, therefore, may differ from those of Goldman Sachs, its affiliates and other accounts managed by Goldman Sachs, and it is possible that the Fund could sustain losses during periods in which Goldman Sachs and its affiliates and other accounts achieve significant profits on their trading for proprietary or other accounts. In addition, the Fund may enter into transactions in which Goldman Sachs or its other clients have an adverse interest. For example, the Fund may take a long position in a security at

SERVICE PROVIDERS

 

the same time that Goldman Sachs or other accounts managed by the Investment Adviser take a short position in the same security (or vice versa). These and other transactions undertaken by Goldman Sachs, its affiliates or Goldman Sachs-advised clients may adversely impact the Fund. Transactions by one or more Goldman Sachs-advised clients or the Investment Adviser may have the effect of diluting or otherwise disadvantaging the values, prices or investment strategies of the Fund. The Fund’s activities may be limited because of regulatory restrictions applicable to Goldman Sachs and its affiliates, and/or their internal policies designed to comply with such restrictions. As a global financial services firm, Goldman Sachs also provides a wide range of investment banking and financial services to issuers of securities and investors in securities. Goldman Sachs, its affiliates and others associated with it may create markets or specialize in, have positions in and affect transactions in, securities of issuers held by the Fund, and may also perform or seek to perform investment banking and financial services for those issuers. Goldman Sachs and its affiliates may have business relationships with and purchase or distribute or sell services or products from or to distributors, consultants or others who recommend the Fund or who engage in transactions with or for the Fund. For more information about conflicts of interest, see the SAI.

 

The Fund may make brokerage and other payments to Goldman Sachs and its affiliates in connection with the Fund’s portfolio investment transactions, in accordance with applicable law.

 

The Fund pays dividends from its net investment income and distributions from net realized capital gains. You may choose to have dividends and distributions paid in:

 

You may indicate your election on your Account Application or to your Authorized Institution. Any changes may be submitted in writing to the Transfer Agent at any time before the record date for a particular dividend or distribution. If you do not indicate any choice, your dividends and distributions will be reinvested automatically in the Fund.

 

The election to reinvest dividends and distributions in additional shares will not affect the tax treatment of such dividends and distributions, which will be treated as received by you and then used to purchase the shares.

 

Dividends from net investment income and net realized gains, if any, are declared and paid annually by the Fund.

 

From time to time a portion of the Fund’s dividends may constitute a return of capital for tax purposes, and/or may include amounts in excess of the Fund’s net investment income for the period calculated in accordance with good accounting practice.

 

When you purchase shares of the Fund, part of the NAV per share may be represented by undistributed income and/or realized gains that have previously been earned by the Fund. Therefore, subsequent distributions on such shares from such income and/or realized gains may be taxable to you even if the NAV of the shares is, as a result of the distributions, reduced below the cost of such shares and the distributions (or portions thereof) represent a return of a portion of the purchase price.

 

The following section will provide you with answers to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding buying and selling the Fund’s shares.

     HOW TO BUY SHARES 

 

Shares Offering

 

Shares of the Fund are continuously offered through the Distributor. In addition, certain Authorized Institutions (including certain banks, trust companies, brokers and investment advisers) may be authorized to accept, on behalf of the Fund, purchase and exchange orders and redemption requests placed by or on behalf of their customers, and if approved by the Fund, may designate other financial intermediaries to accept such orders. The Distributor is an affiliate of the Investment Adviser.

 

The Fund and the Distributor will have the sole right to accept orders to purchase shares and reserve the right to reject any order in whole or in part.

 

How Can I Purchase Shares Of The Fund?

You may purchase shares of the Fund through Authorized Institutions. In order to make an initial investment in the Fund you must furnish to your Authorized Institution the information in the Account Application.

 

The decision as to which class to purchase depends on the amount you invest, the intended length of the investment and your personal situation. You should contact your Authorized Institution to discuss which share class option is right for you.

 

To open an account, contact your Authorized Institution or, for an investment in Institutional Shares only, the Fund directly. See the back cover of this Prospectus for contact information.

 

Customers of certain Authorized Institutions will normally give their purchase instructions to the Authorized Institution, and the Authorized Institution will, in turn, place purchase orders with Goldman Sachs. Authorized Institutions will set times by which purchase orders and payments must be received by them from their customers.

 

For purchases by check, the Fund will not accept checks drawn on foreign banks, third party checks, temporary checks, or cash or cash equivalents; e.g., cashier’s checks, official bank checks, money orders, travelers cheques or credit card checks.

In limited situations involving the transfer of retirement assets, the Fund may accept cashier’s checks or official bank checks.

 

Class R and Class IR Shares are not sold directly to the public. Instead, Class R and Class IR Shares generally are available only to 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit sharing and money purchase pension plans, defined benefit plans and non-qualified deferred compensation plans (the “Retirement Plans”). Class R and Class IR Shares are also generally available only to Retirement Plans where plan level or omnibus accounts are held on the books of the Fund. Class R and Class IR Shares are not available to traditional and Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRAs”), SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs and individual 403(b) plans. Class IR Shares may also be sold to accounts established under a fee-based program that is sponsored and maintained by a registered broker-dealer or other financial intermediary and that is approved by Goldman Sachs (“Eligible Fee-Based Program”).

 

Retirement Plans generally may open an account and purchase Class R and/or Class IR Shares through Authorized Institutions, financial planners, Retirement Plan administrators and other financial intermediaries. Either Class R or Class IR Shares may not be available through certain Authorized Institutions. Additional shares may be purchased through a Retirement Plan’s administrator or recordkeeper.

 

What Is My Minimum Investment In The Fund?

For each of your accounts investing in Class A or Class C Shares, the following minimums must be met:

 

 

 

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For Institutional Shares the following minimum investments apply:

 

 

No minimum amount is required for initial purchases in Class R and Class IR Shares or additional investments in Institutional Shares or Class R or Class IR Shares.

 

The minimum investment requirement for Class A, Class C and Institutional Shares may be waived for current and former officers, partners, directors or employees of Goldman Sachs or any of its affiliates; any Trustee or officer of the Goldman Sachs Trust (the “Trust”); brokerage or advisory clients of Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management and accounts for which The Goldman Sachs Trust Company, N.A. acts in a fiduciary capacity (i.e., as agent or trustee); certain mutual fund “wrap”

programs at the discretion of the Trust’s officers; and for other investors at the discretion of the Trust’s officers. No minimum amount is required for additional investments by such accounts.

 

What Should I Know When I Purchase Shares Through An Authorized Institution?

If shares of the Fund are held in a “street name” account with an Authorized Institution, all recordkeeping, transaction processing and payments of distributions relating to your account will be performed by your Authorized Institution, and not by the Fund and its Transfer Agent. Since the Fund will have no record of your transactions, you should contact your Authorized Institution to purchase, redeem or exchange shares, to make changes in or give instructions concerning your account or to obtain information about your account. The transfer of shares in a “street name” account to an account with another dealer involves special procedures and may require you to obtain historical purchase information about the shares in the account from your Authorized Institution. If your Authorized Institution’s relationship with Goldman Sachs is terminated, and you do not transfer your account to another Authorized Institution, the Trust reserves the right to redeem your shares. The Trust will not be responsible for any loss in an investor’s account or tax liability resulting from a redemption.

 

Certain Authorized Institutions and other financial intermediaries may be authorized to accept, on behalf of the Trust, purchase, redemption and exchange orders placed by or on behalf of their customers, and if approved by the Trust, to designate other financial intermediaries to accept such orders. In these cases:

 

You should contact your Authorized Institution or another financial intermediary to learn whether it is authorized to accept orders for the Trust.

 

Authorized Institutions that invest in shares on behalf of their customers may charge fees directly to their customer accounts in connection with their investments. You should contact your Authorized Institution for information regarding such charges. Such fees, if any, may affect the return such customers realize with respect to their investments.

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The Investment Adviser, Distributor and/or their affiliates may make payments or provide services to Authorized Institutions and other financial intermediaries (“Intermediaries”) to promote the sale, distribution and/or servicing of shares of the Fund and other Goldman Sachs Funds. These payments are made out of the Investment Adviser’s, Distributor’s and/or their affiliates’ own assets, and are not an additional charge to the Fund. The payments are in addition to the distribution and service fees and sales charges described in this Prospectus. Such payments are intended to compensate Intermediaries for, among other things: marketing shares of the Fund and other Goldman Sachs Funds, which may consist of payments relating to the Fund’s inclusion on preferred or recommended fund lists or in certain sales programs sponsored by the Intermediaries; access to the Intermediaries’ registered representatives or salespersons, including at conferences and other meetings; assistance in training and education of personnel; marketing support; and/or other specified services intended to assist in the distribution and marketing of the Fund and other Goldman Sachs Funds. The payments may also, to the extent permitted by applicable regulations, contribute to various non-cash and cash incentive arrangements to promote the sale of shares, as well as sponsor various educational programs, sales contests and/or promotions. The payments by the Investment Adviser, Distributor and/or their affiliates which are in addition to the fees paid for these services by the Fund, may also compensate Intermediaries for sub-accounting, sub-transfer agency, administrative and/or shareholder processing services. These additional payments may exceed amounts earned on these assets by the Investment Adviser, Distributor and/or their affiliates for the performance of these or similar services. The amount of these additional payments is normally not expected to exceed 0.50% (annualized) of the amount sold or invested through the Intermediaries. In addition, certain Intermediaries may have access to certain services from the Investment Adviser, Distributor and/or their affiliates, including research reports and economic analysis, and portfolio analysis tools. In certain cases, the Intermediary may not pay for these services. Please refer to the “Payments to Intermediaries” section of the SAI for more information about these payments and services.

 

The payments made by the Investment Adviser, Distributor and/or their affiliates and the services provided by an Intermediary may differ for different Intermediaries. The presence of these payments, receipt of these services and the basis on which an Intermediary compensates its registered representatives or salespersons may create an incentive for a particular Intermediary, registered representative or salesperson to highlight, feature or recommend the Fund based, at least in part, on the level of compensation paid. You should contact your Authorized Institution or other financial intermediary for more information about the payments it receives and any potential conflicts of interest.

 

What Else Should I Know About Share Purchases?

The Trust reserves the right to:

 

Generally, non-U.S. citizens and certain U.S. citizens residing outside the United States may not open an account with the Fund.

 

The Fund may allow you to purchase shares with securities instead of cash if consistent with the Fund’s investment policies and operations and if approved by the Fund’s Investment Adviser.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Trust and Goldman Sachs reserve the right to reject or restrict purchase or exchange requests from any investor. The Trust and Goldman Sachs will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected purchase or exchange orders.

 

Customer Identification Program.   Federal law requires the Fund to obtain, verify and record identifying information, which will be reviewed solely for customer identification purposes, which may include the name, residential or business street address, date of birth (for an individual), Social Security Number or taxpayer identification number or other information, for each investor who opens an account directly with the Fund. Applications without the required information may not be accepted by the Fund. After accepting an application, to the extent permitted by applicable law or its customer identification program, the Fund reserves the right to: (i) place limits on transactions in any account until the identity of the investor is verified; (ii) refuse an investment in the Fund; or (iii) involuntarily redeem an investor’s shares and close an account in the event that the Fund is unable to verify an investor’s identity. The Fund and its agents will not be responsible for any loss in

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an investor’s account or any tax liability resulting from the investor’s delay in providing all required information or from closing an account and redeeming an investor’s shares pursuant to the customer identification program.

 

which may affect specific issuers or the securities markets even though not tied directly to the securities markets. Other significant events that could relate to a single issuer may include, but are not limited to: corporate actions such as reorganizations, mergers and buy-outs; corporate announcements, including those relating to earnings, products and regulatory news; significant litigation; low trading volume; and trading limits or suspensions.

 

One effect of using an independent fair value service and fair valuation may be to reduce stale pricing arbitrage opportunities presented by the pricing of Fund shares. However, it involves the risk that the values used by the Fund to price their investments may be different from those used by other investment companies and investors to price the same investments.

 

Investments in other registered mutual funds (if any) are valued based on the NAV of those mutual funds (which may use fair value pricing as discussed in their prospectuses).

 

Please note the following with respect to the price at which your transactions are processed:

 

Consistent with industry practice, investment transactions not settling on the same day are recorded and factored into the Fund’s NAV on the business day following trade date (T+1). The use of T+1 accounting generally does not, but may, result in a NAV that differs materially from the NAV that would result if all transactions were reflected on their trade dates.

 

Note: The time at which transactions and shares are priced and the time by which orders must be received may be changed in case of an emergency or if regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange is stopped at a time other than its regularly scheduled closing time. In the event the New York Stock Exchange does not open for business, the Trust may, but is not required to, open the Fund for

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purchase, redemption and exchange transactions if the Federal Reserve wire payment system is open. To learn whether the Fund is open for business during this situation, please call the appropriate phone number located on the back cover of this Prospectus.

 

Foreign securities may trade in their local markets on days the Fund is closed. As a result, if the Fund holds foreign securities, its NAV may be impacted on days when investors may not purchase or redeem Fund shares.

 

     COMMON QUESTIONS APPLICABLE TO THE PURCHASE OF CLASS A SHARES 

 

What Is The Offering Price Of Class A Shares?

The offering price of Class A Shares of the Fund is the next determined NAV per share plus an initial sales charge paid to Goldman Sachs at the time of purchase of shares. The sales charge varies depending upon the amount you purchase. In some cases, described below, the initial sales charge may be eliminated altogether, and the offering price will be the NAV per share.

 

The current sales charges and commissions paid to Authorized Institutions for Class A Shares of the Fund are as follows:

 

 

 

You should note that the actual sales charge that appears in your mutual fund transaction confirmation may differ slightly from the rate disclosed above in this Prospectus due to rounding calculations.

 

As indicated in the preceding chart, and as discussed further below and in the section titled “How Can The Sales Charge On Class A Shares Be Reduced?”, you may, under certain circumstances, be entitled to pay reduced sales charges on your purchases of Class A Shares or have those charges waived entirely. To take advantage of these discounts, your Authorized Institution or other financial intermediary must notify the Fund’s Transfer Agent at the time of your purchase order that a discount may apply to your current purchases. You may also be required to provide appropriate documentation to receive these discounts, including:

 

 

 

 

What Else Do I Need To Know About Class A Shares’ CDSC?

Purchases of $1 million or more of Class A Shares will be made at NAV with no initial sales charge. However, if you redeem shares within 18 months after the end of the month in which the purchase was made, a CDSC of 1% may be imposed. The CDSC may not be imposed if your Authorized Institution enters into an agreement with the Distributor to return all or an applicable prorated portion of its commission to the Distributor. The CDSC is waived on redemptions in certain circumstances. See “In What Situations May The CDSC On Class A Or C Shares Be Waived Or Reduced?” below.

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When Are Class A Shares Not Subject To A Sales Load?

Class A Shares of the Fund may be sold at NAV without payment of any sales charge to the following individuals and entities:

 

You must certify eligibility for any of the above exemptions on your Account Application and notify your Authorized Institution and the Fund if you no longer are eligible for the exemption.

 

The Fund will grant you an exemption subject to confirmation of your entitlement by your Authorized Institution. You may be charged a fee by your Authorized Institution.

 

 How Can The Sales Charge On Class A Shares Be Reduced?

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In some circumstances, other Class A, Class B and/or Class C Shares may be aggregated with your current purchase under the Right of Accumulation as described in the SAI. For purposes of determining the “Amount of Purchase,” all Class A, Class B and/or Class C Shares currently held will be valued at their current market value.

 

In addition to the information provided in this Prospectus and the SAI located on the Fund’s website at http://www.goldmansachsfunds.com, information about sales charge discounts is available from your Authorized Institution.

 

     A COMMON QUESTION APPLICABLE TO THE PURCHASE OF CLASS C SHARES 

 

What Is The Offering Price Of Class C Shares?

You may purchase Class C Shares of the Fund at the next determined NAV without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem Class C Shares within 12 months of purchase, a CDSC of 1% will normally be deducted from the redemption proceeds. In connection with purchases by Employee Benefit Plans, where Class C Shares are redeemed within 12 months of purchase, a CDSC of 1% may be imposed upon the plan sponsor or third party administrator.

 

Proceeds from the CDSC are payable to the Distributor and may be used in whole or in part to defray the Distributor’s expenses related to providing distribution-related services to the Fund in connection with the sale of Class C Shares, including the payment of compensation to Authorized Institutions. An amount equal to 1% of the amount invested is normally paid by the Distributor to Authorized Institutions.

 

 

What Else Do I Need To Know About The CDSC On Class A Or C Shares?

 

In What Situations May The CDSC On Class A Or C Shares Be Waived Or Reduced?

The CDSC on Class A and Class C Shares that are subject to a CDSC may be waived or reduced if the redemption relates to:

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How Can I Sell Shares Of The Fund?

You may arrange to take money out of your account by selling (redeeming) some or all of your shares through your Authorized Institution. Generally, the Fund will redeem its shares upon request on any business day at the NAV next determined after receipt of such request in proper form, subject to any applicable CDSC. You should contact your Authorized Institution to discuss redemptions and redemption proceeds. Certain Authorized Institutions are authorized to accept redemption requests on behalf of the Fund as described under “How Can I Purchase Shares of the Fund?” The Fund may transfer redemption proceeds to an account with your Authorized Institution. In the alternative, your Authorized Institution may request that redemption proceeds be sent to you by check or wire (if the wire instructions are designated in the current records of the Transfer Agent). Redemptions may be

requested by your Authorized Institution in writing, by telephone or through an electronic trading platform.

 

Generally, any redemption request that requires money to go to an account or address other than that designated in the current records of the Transfer Agent must be in writing and signed by an authorized person (a Medallion signature guarantee may be required). The written request may be confirmed by telephone with both the requesting party and the designated bank to verify instructions.

 

When Do I Need A Medallion Signature Guarantee To Redeem Shares?

A Medallion signature guarantee may be required if:

 

A Medallion signature guarantee must be obtained from a bank, brokerage firm or other financial intermediary that is a member of an approved Medallion Guarantee Program or that is otherwise approved by the Trust. A notary public cannot provide a Medallion signature guarantee. Additional documentation may be required.

 

What Do I Need To Know About Telephone Redemption Requests?

The Trust, the Distributor and the Transfer Agent will not be liable for any loss you may incur in the event that the Trust accepts unauthorized telephone redemption requests that the Trust reasonably believes to be genuine. The Trust may accept telephone redemption instructions from any person identifying himself or herself as the owner of an account or the owner’s registered representative where the owner has not declined in writing to use this service. Authorized Institutions may submit redemption requests by telephone. You risk possible losses if a telephone redemption is not authorized by you.

 

In an effort to prevent unauthorized or fraudulent redemption and exchange requests by telephone, Goldman Sachs or Boston Financial Data Services, Inc. (“BFDS”) each employ reasonable procedures specified by the Trust to confirm that such instructions are genuine. If reasonable procedures are not employed, the Trust may be liable for any loss due to unauthorized or fraudulent transactions. The following general policies are currently in effect:

 

SHAREHOLDER GUIDE

 

 

Note: It may be difficult to make telephone redemptions in times of unusual economic or market conditions.

 

How Are Redemption Proceeds Paid?

By Wire: You may arrange for your redemption proceeds to be paid as federal funds to an account with your Authorized Institution or to a domestic bank account designated in the current records of the Transfer Agent. In addition, redemption proceeds may be transmitted through an electronic trading platform to an account with your Authorized Institution. The following general policies govern wiring redemption proceeds:

 

By Check: A shareholder may elect in writing to receive redemption proceeds by check. Redemption proceeds paid by check will normally be mailed to the address of record within three business days of receipt of a properly executed redemption request. If you are selling shares you recently paid for by check or ACH, the Fund will pay you when your check or ACH has cleared, which may take up to 15 days.

 

What Else Do I Need To Know About Redemptions?

The following generally applies to redemption requests:

 

The Trust reserves the right to:

SHAREHOLDER GUIDE

 

 

The Trust will not be responsible for any loss in an investor’s account or tax liability resulting from a redemption.

 

Can I Reinvest Redemption Proceeds In The Same Or Another Goldman Sachs Fund?

You may redeem shares of the Fund and reinvest a portion or all of the redemption proceeds (plus any additional amounts needed to round off purchases to the nearest full share) at NAV. To be eligible for this privilege, you must have held the shares you want to redeem for at least 30 days (60 days with respect to certain Goldman Sachs Funds offered in other prospectuses) and you must reinvest the share proceeds within 90 days after you redeem.

 

Can I Exchange My Investment From One Goldman Sachs Fund To Another Goldman Sachs Fund?

You may exchange shares of a Goldman Sachs Fund at NAV without the imposition of an initial sales charge or CDSC, if applicable, at the time of exchange for certain shares of another Goldman Sachs Fund. Redemption of shares (including by exchange) of certain Goldman Sachs Funds offered in other prospectuses may, however, be subject to a redemption fee for shares that are held for either 30 or 60 days or less. The exchange privilege may be materially modified or withdrawn at any time upon 60 days written notice. You should contact your Authorized Institution to arrange for exchanges of shares of the Fund for shares of another Goldman Sachs Fund.

 

You should keep in mind the following factors when making or considering an exchange:

SHAREHOLDER GUIDE

 

 

For federal income tax purposes, an exchange from one Goldman Sachs Fund to another is treated as a redemption of the shares surrendered in the exchange, on which you may be subject to tax, followed by a purchase of shares received in the exchange. Exchanges within Retirement Plan accounts will not result in capital gains or loss for federal or state income tax purposes. You should consult your tax adviser concerning the tax consequences of an exchange.

 

     SHAREHOLDER SERVICES 

 

Can I Arrange To Have Automatic Investments Made On A Regular Basis?

You may be able to make systematic investments in Class A and Class C Shares through your bank via ACH transfer or bank draft each month. The minimum dollar amount for this service is $250 for the initial investment and $50 per month for additional investments. Forms for this option are available from Goldman Sachs online and from your Authorized Institution, or you may check the appropriate box on the Account Application.

 

 

Can I Arrange To Have Automatic Exchanges Made On A Regular Basis?

You may elect to exchange automatically a specified dollar amount of Class A or Class C Shares of the Fund for shares of the same class of other Goldman Sachs Funds.

 

Can I Have Automatic Withdrawals Made On A Regular Basis?

You may redeem from your Class A or Class C Share account systematically via check or ACH transfer in any amount of $50 or more.

 

What Types Of Reports Will I Be Sent Regarding My Investment?

Authorized Institutions and other financial intermediaries may provide varying arrangements for their clients to purchase and redeem Fund shares. In addition, Authorized Institutions and other financial intermediaries are responsible for providing to you any communication from the Fund to its shareholders, including but not limited to, prospectuses, prospectus supplements, proxy materials and notices regarding the source of dividend payments under Section 19 of the Investment Company Act. They may charge additional fees not described in this Prospectus to their customers for such services.

SHAREHOLDER GUIDE

 

 

You will be provided with a printed confirmation of each transaction in your account and a quarterly account statement if you invest in Class A, Class C, Class R or Class IR shares and a monthly account statement if you invest in Institutional Shares. If your account is held in “street name” (i.e., through your Authorized Institution), you will receive this information from your Authorized Institution.

 

You will also receive an annual shareholder report containing audited financial statements and a semi-annual shareholder report. If you have consented to the delivery of a single copy of shareholder reports, prospectuses and other information to all shareholders who share the same mailing address with your account, you may revoke your consent at any time by contacting Goldman Sachs Funds at the appropriate phone number or address found on the back cover of this Prospectus. The Fund will begin sending individual copies to you within 30 days after receipt of your revocation. If your account is held through an Authorized Institution, please contact the Authorized Institution to revoke your consent.

 

The Fund does not generally provide sub-accounting services.

 

The types of reports Class R and/or Class IR shareholders will receive depends on the related arrangements in effect with respect to such shareholders’ Retirement Plan or Eligible Fee-Based Program.

 

 

The distribution fees and service fees are subject to the requirements of Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act, and may be used (among other things) for:

 

In connection with the sale of Class C Shares, Goldman Sachs normally begins paying the 0.75% distribution fee as an ongoing commission to Authorized Institutions after the shares have been held for one year. Goldman Sachs normally begins paying the annual 0.25% and 0.50% distribution fee for the Class A and Class R Shares, respectively, as on ongoing commission to Authorized Institutions immediately. Goldman Sachs generally pays the distribution fee on a quarterly basis.

 

     PERSONAL ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE SERVICES AND FEES 

 

Under the Plans, Goldman Sachs is also entitled to receive a separate fee equal on an annual basis to 0.25% of the Fund’s average daily net assets attributed to Class C. This fee is for personal and account maintenance services, and may be used to make payments to Goldman Sachs, Authorized Institutions and their officers, sales representatives and employees for responding to inquiries of, and furnishing assistance to, shareholders regarding ownership of their shares or their accounts or similar services not otherwise provided on behalf of the Fund. If the fees received by Goldman Sachs pursuant to the Plans exceed its expenses, Goldman Sachs may realize a profit from this arrangement.

 

In connection with the sale of Class C Shares, Goldman Sachs normally begins paying the 0.25% ongoing service fee to Authorized Institutions after the shares have been held for one year.

 

     RESTRICTIONS ON EXCESSIVE TRADING PRACTICES 

 

Policies and Procedures on Excessive Trading Practices.   In accordance with the policy adopted by the Board of Trustees, the Trust discourages frequent purchases

SHAREHOLDER GUIDE

 

and redemptions of Fund shares and does not permit market timing or other excessive trading practices. Purchases and exchanges should be made with a view to longer-term investment purposes only that are consistent with the investment policies and practices of the respective Fund. Excessive, short-term (market timing) trading practices may disrupt portfolio management strategies, increase brokerage and administrative costs, harm Fund performance and result in dilution in the value of Fund shares held by longer-term shareholders. The Trust and Goldman Sachs reserve the right to reject or restrict purchase or exchange requests from any investor. The Trust and Goldman Sachs will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected purchase or exchange orders. To minimize harm to the Trust and its shareholders (or Goldman Sachs), the Trust (or Goldman Sachs) will exercise this right if, in the Trust’s (or Goldman Sachs’) judgment, an investor has a history of excessive trading or if an investor’s trading, in the judgment of the Trust (or Goldman Sachs), has been or may be disruptive to the Fund. In making this judgment, trades executed in multiple accounts under common ownership or control may be considered together to the extent they can be identified. No waivers of the provisions of the policy established to detect and deter market timing and other excessive trading activity are permitted that would harm the Trust or its shareholders or would subordinate the interests of the Trust or its shareholders to those of Goldman Sachs or any affiliated person or associated person of Goldman Sachs.

 

To deter excessive shareholder trading, certain Goldman Sachs Funds (which are offered in separate prospectuses) impose a redemption fee on redemptions made within 30 days or 60 days of purchase subject to certain exceptions. As a further deterrent to excessive trading, many foreign equity securities held by the Fund are priced by an independent pricing service using fair valuation. For more information on fair valuation, please see “Shareholder Guide — How To Buy Shares — How Are Shares Priced?”

 

Pursuant to the policy adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Trust, Goldman Sachs has developed criteria that it uses to identify trading activity that may be excessive. Goldman Sachs reviews on a regular, periodic basis available information relating to the trading activity in the Fund in order to assess the likelihood that the Fund may be the target of excessive trading. As part of its excessive trading surveillance process, Goldman Sachs, on a periodic basis, examines transactions that exceed certain monetary thresholds or numerical limits within a period of time. Consistent with the standards described above, if, in its judgment, Goldman Sachs detects excessive, short-term trading, Goldman Sachs is authorized to reject or restrict a purchase or exchange request and may further seek to close an investor’s account with the Fund. Goldman Sachs may modify its surveillance procedures and criteria from time to time without prior notice regarding the detection of excessive

trading or to address specific circumstances. Goldman Sachs will apply the criteria in a manner that, in Goldman Sachs’ judgment, will be uniform.

 

Fund shares may be held through omnibus arrangements maintained by financial intermediaries such as broker-dealers, investment advisers and insurance companies. In addition, Fund shares may be held in omnibus 401(k) plans, employee benefit plans, Eligible Fee-Based Programs and other group accounts. Omnibus accounts include multiple investors and such accounts typically provide the Fund with a net purchase or redemption request on any given day where the purchases and redemptions of Fund shares by the investors are netted against one another. The identity of individual investors whose purchase and redemption orders are aggregated are ordinarily not tracked by the Fund on a regular basis. A number of these intermediaries may not have the capability or may not be willing to apply the Fund’s market timing policies or any applicable redemption fee. While Goldman Sachs may monitor share turnover at the omnibus account level, the Fund’s ability to monitor and detect market timing by shareholders or apply any applicable redemption fee in these omnibus accounts may be limited in certain circumstances, and certain of these intermediaries may charge the Fund a fee for providing certain shareholder information requested as part of the Fund’s surveillance process. The netting effect makes it more difficult to identify, locate and eliminate market timing activities. In addition, those investors who engage in market timing and other excessive trading activities may employ a variety of techniques to avoid detection. There can be no assurance that the Fund and Goldman Sachs will be able to identify all those who trade excessively or employ a market timing strategy, and curtail their trading in every instance. If necessary, the Trust may prohibit additional purchases of Fund shares by a financial intermediary or by certain of the financial intermediary’s customers. Financial intermediaries may also monitor their customers’ trading activities in the Fund. The criteria used by financial intermediaries to monitor for excessive trading may differ from the criteria used by the Fund. If a financial intermediary fails to cooperate in the implementation or enforcement of the Trust’s excessive trading policies, the Trust may take certain actions including terminating the relationship.

 

As with any investment, you should consider how your investment in the Fund will be taxed. The tax information below is provided as general information. More tax information is available in the SAI. You should consult your tax adviser about the federal, state, local or foreign tax consequences of your investment in the Fund.

 

Except as otherwise noted, the tax information provided assumes that you are a U.S. citizen or resident.

 

Unless your investment is through a Retirement Plan or other tax-advantaged account, you should carefully consider the possible tax consequences of Fund distributions and the sale of your Fund shares.

 

     DISTRIBUTIONS 

 

The Fund contemplates declaring as dividends each year all or substantially all of its taxable income. Investors who invest through tax-deferred accounts, such as a Retirement Plan, generally will not have to pay tax on dividends until they are distributed from the account. These accounts are subject to complex tax rules, and Retirement Plans and plan participants should consult their tax advisers about investment through a tax-deferred account. Distributions received from the Fund by investors who do not invest through tax-deferred accounts are generally subject to federal income tax, and may also be subject to state or local taxes. This is true whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Fund shares or receive them in cash. For federal tax purposes, the Fund’s distributions attributable to net investment income and short-term capital gains are taxable to you as ordinary income. Any long-term capital gain distributions are taxable as long-term capital gains, no matter how long you have owned your Fund shares.

 

Under current provisions of the Code, the maximum long-term capital gain tax rate applicable to individuals, estates, and trusts is 15%. Also, Fund distributions to noncorporate shareholders attributable to dividends received by the Fund from U.S. and certain qualified foreign corporations will generally be taxed at the long-term capital gain rate, as long as certain other requirements are met. For these lower rates to apply, the non-corporate shareholder must own the Fund shares for at least 61 days during the 121-day period beginning 60 days before the Fund’s ex-dividend date.

 

A sunset provision provides that the 15% long-term capital gain rate will increase to 20% and the taxation of dividends at the long-term capital gain rate will end after 2010.

 

Although distributions are generally treated as taxable to you in the year they are paid, distributions declared in October, November or December but paid in January are taxable as if they were paid in December. A percentage of the Fund’s dividends paid to corporate shareholders may be eligible for the corporate dividends-received deduction. Character and tax status of all distributions will be available to shareholders after the close of each calendar year.

 

The Fund may be subject to foreign withholding or other foreign taxes on income or gain from certain foreign securities. In general, the Fund may deduct these taxes in computing their taxable income.

 

If you buy shares of the Fund before it makes a distribution, the distribution will be taxable to you even though it may actually be a return of a portion of your investment. This is known as “buying into a dividend.”

 

     SALES AND EXCHANGES 

 

If your investment in the Fund is not made through a tax-deferred account, such as a Retirement Plan, sale of Fund shares is a taxable transaction for federal income tax purposes, and may also be subject to state and local taxes. For tax purposes, the exchange of your Fund shares for shares of a different Goldman Sachs Fund is the same as a sale. When you sell your shares, you will generally recognize a capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between your adjusted tax basis in the shares and the amount received. Generally, this capital gain or loss is long-term or short-term depending on whether your holding period exceeds one year, except that any loss realized on shares held for six months or less will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any capital gain dividends that were received on the shares. Additionally, any loss realized on a sale, exchange or redemption of shares of the Fund may be disallowed under “wash sale” rules to the extent the shares disposed of are replaced with other shares of the Fund within a period of 61 days beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the shares are disposed of, such as pursuant to a dividend reinvestment in shares of the Fund. If disallowed, the loss will be reflected in an adjustment to the basis of the shares acquired.

 

Exchanges within Retirement Plan accounts will not result in capital gains or loss for federal or state income tax purposes.

TAXATION

 

 

     OTHER INFORMATION 

 

When you open your account, you should provide your Social Security Number or tax identification number on your Account Application. By law, the Fund must withhold 28% of your taxable distributions and any redemption proceeds if you do not provide your correct taxpayer identification number, or certify that it is correct, or if the IRS instructs the Fund to do so.

 

Non-U.S. investors are generally subject to U.S. withholding tax and may be subject to U.S. estate tax. However, withholding is generally not required on properly designated distributions to non-U.S. investors of long-term capital gains and, for distributions before September 1, 2010, short-term capital gains and qualified interest income. Although this designation will be made for capital gain distributions, the Fund does not anticipate making any qualified interest income designations. Therefore, all distributions of interest income will be subject to withholding when paid to non-U.S. investors. More information about U.S. taxation of non-U.S. investors is included in the SAI.

 

     A.  General Portfolio Risks 

 

The Fund will be subject to the risks associated with equity investments. “Equity investments” may include common stocks, preferred stocks, interests in real estate investment trusts, equity interests in trusts, partnerships, joint ventures, limited liability companies and similar enterprises, warrants, stock purchase rights and synthetic and derivative instruments (such as futures contracts) that have economic characteristics similar to equity securities. In general, the values of equity investments fluctuate in response to the activities of individual companies and in response to general market and economic conditions. Accordingly, the values of the equity investments that the Fund holds may decline over short or extended periods. The stock markets tend to be cyclical, with periods when stock prices generally rise and periods when prices generally decline. This volatility means that the value of your investment in the Fund may increase or decrease. In recent years, certain stock markets have experienced substantial price volatility. To the extent the Fund’s net assets decrease or increase in the future due to price volatility or share redemption or purchase activity, the Fund’s expense ratio may correspondingly increase or decrease from the expense ratio disclosed in this Prospectus.

 

To the extent that the Fund invests in fixed income securities, the Fund will also be subject to the risks associated with its fixed income securities. These risks include interest rate risk, credit/default risk and call/extension risk. In general, interest rate risk involves the risk that when interest rates decline, the market value of fixed income securities tends to increase (although many mortgage-related securities will have less potential than other debt securities for capital appreciation during periods of declining rates). Conversely, when interest rates increase, the market value of fixed income securities tends to decline. Credit/default risk involves the risk that an issuer or guarantor could default on its obligations, and the Fund will not recover its investment.

 

The Investment Adviser will not consider the portfolio turnover rate a limiting factor in making investment decisions for the Fund. A high rate of portfolio turnover (100% or more) involves correspondingly greater expenses which must be borne by the Fund and its shareholders, and is also likely to result in higher short-term capital gains taxable to shareholders. The portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of the dollar amount of sales or purchases of portfolio securities by the average monthly value of the Fund’s portfolio securities, excluding securities having a maturity at the date of purchase of one year or less.

APPENDIX A

 

 

The following sections provide further information on certain types of securities and investment techniques that may be used by the Fund, including their associated risks. Additional information is provided in the SAI, which is available upon request. Among other things, the SAI describes certain fundamental investment restrictions that cannot be changed without shareholder approval. You should note, however, that all investment objectives and all investment policies not specifically designated as fundamental are non-fundamental, and may be changed without shareholder approval. If there is a change in the Fund’s investment objective, you should consider whether the Fund remains an appropriate investment in light of your then current financial position and needs.

 

     B.  Other Portfolio Risks 

 

Risks of Investing in Mid-Capitalization Companies.  The Fund may invest in mid-capitalization companies. Investments in mid-capitalization companies involve greater risk and portfolio price volatility than investments in larger capitalization stocks. Among the reasons for the greater price volatility of these investments are the less certain growth prospects of smaller firms and the lower degree of liquidity in the markets for such securities. Mid-capitalization companies may be thinly traded and may have to be sold at a discount from current market prices or in small lots over an extended period of time. In addition, these securities are subject to the risk that during certain periods the liquidity of particular issuers or industries, or all securities in particular investment categories, will shrink or disappear suddenly and without warning as a result of adverse economic or market conditions, or adverse investor perceptions whether or not accurate. Because of the lack of sufficient market liquidity, the Fund may incur losses because it will be required to effect sales at a disadvantageous time and only then at a substantial drop in price. Mid-capitalization companies include “unseasoned” issuers that do not have an established financial history; often have limited product lines, markets or financial resources; may depend on or use a few key personnel for management; and may be susceptible to losses and risks of bankruptcy. Mid-capitalization companies may be operating at a loss or have significant variations in operating results; may be engaged in a rapidly changing business with products subject to a substantial risk of obsolescence; may require substantial additional capital to support their operations, to finance expansion or to maintain their competitive position; and may have substantial borrowings or may otherwise have a weak financial condition. In addition, these companies may face intense competition, including competition from companies with greater financial resources, more extensive development, manufacturing, marketing, and other capabilities, and a larger number of qualified managerial and technical personnel. Transaction costs for these investments are often higher than those of larger capitalization companies. Investments in mid-capitalization

companies may be more difficult to price precisely than other types of securities because of their characteristics and lower trading volumes.

 

Risks of Foreign Investments.  The Fund may make foreign investments. Foreign investments involve special risks that are not typically associated with U.S. dollar denominated or quoted securities of U.S. issuers. Foreign investments may be affected by changes in currency rates, changes in foreign or U.S. laws or restrictions applicable to such investments and changes in exchange control regulations (e.g., currency blockage). A decline in the exchange rate of the currency (i.e., weakening of the currency against the U.S. dollar) in which a portfolio security is quoted or denominated relative to the U.S. dollar would reduce the value of the portfolio security. In addition, if the currency in which the Fund receives dividends, interest or other payments declines in value against the U.S. dollar before such income is distributed as dividends to shareholders or converted to U.S. dollars, the Fund may have to sell portfolio securities to obtain sufficient cash to pay such dividends.

 

Brokerage commissions, custodial services and other costs relating to investment in international securities markets generally are more expensive than in the United States. In addition, clearance and settlement procedures may be different in foreign countries and, in certain markets, such procedures have been unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions, thus making it difficult to conduct such transactions.

 

Foreign issuers are not generally subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. There may be less publicly available information about a foreign issuer than about a U.S. issuer. In addition, there is generally less government regulation of foreign markets, companies and securities dealers than in the United States, and the legal remedies for investors may be more limited than the remedies available in the United States. Foreign securities markets may have substantially less volume than U.S. securities markets and securities of many foreign issuers are less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable domestic issuers. Furthermore, with respect to certain foreign countries, there is a possibility of nationalization, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, imposition of withholding or other taxes on dividend or interest payments (or, in some cases, capital gains distributions), limitations on the removal of funds or other assets from such countries, and risks of political or social instability or diplomatic developments which could adversely affect investments in those countries.

 

Concentration of the Fund’s assets in one or a few countries and currencies will subject the Fund to greater risks than if the Fund’s assets were not geographically concentrated.

APPENDIX A

 

 

Investments in foreign securities may take the form of sponsored and unsponsored American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”). The Fund may also invest in European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”) or other similar instruments representing securities of foreign issuers. ADRs, GDRs and EDRs represent the right to receive securities of foreign issuers deposited in a bank or other depository. ADRs and certain GDRs are traded in the United States. GDRs may be traded in either the United States or in foreign markets. EDRs are traded primarily outside the United States. Prices of ADRs are quoted in U.S. dollars. EDRs and GDRs are not necessarily quoted in the same currency as the underlying security.

 

Foreign Custody Risk.  The Fund may invest in foreign securities and may hold such securities and cash with foreign banks, agents and securities depositories appointed by the Fund’s custodian (each a “Foreign Custodian”). Some Foreign Custodians may be recently organized or new to the foreign custody business. In some countries, Foreign Custodians may be subject to little or no regulatory oversight over or independent evaluation of their operations. Further, the laws of certain countries may place limitations on the Fund’s ability to recover its assets if a Foreign Custodian enters bankruptcy. Investments in emerging markets may be subject to even greater custody risks than investments in more developed markets. Custody services in emerging market countries are very often undeveloped and may be considerably less well regulated than in more developed countries, and thus may not afford the same level of investor protection as would apply in developed countries.

 

Risks of Derivative Investments.  The Fund may invest in derivative instruments including without limitation, options, futures, options on futures, swaps, structured securities and derivatives relating to foreign currency transactions. Investments in derivative instruments may be for both hedging and nonhedging purposes (that is, to seek to increase total return, although suitable derivative instruments may not always be available to the Investment Adviser for these purposes). Losses from investments in derivative instruments can result from a lack of correlation between changes in the value of derivative instruments and the portfolio assets (if any) being hedged, the potential illiquidity of the markets for derivative instruments, the failure of the counterparty to perform its contractual obligations, or the risks arising from margin requirements and related leverage factors associated with such transactions. The use of these management techniques also involves the risk of loss if the Investment Adviser is incorrect in its expectation of the timing or level of fluctuations in securities prices, interest rates or currency prices. Investments in derivative instruments may be harder to value, subject to greater volatility and more likely subject to changes in tax treatment than other investments. For these reasons, the Investment Adviser’s attempts to hedge portfolio risks through the use of

derivative instruments may not be successful, and the Investment Adviser may choose not to hedge certain portfolio risks. Investing for nonhedging purposes is considered a speculative practice and presents even greater risk of loss.

 

Risks of Illiquid Securities.  The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities which cannot be disposed of in seven days in the ordinary course of business at fair value. Illiquid securities include:

 

Investing in 144A Securities may decrease the liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio to the extent that qualified institutional buyers become for a time uninterested in purchasing these restricted securities. The purchase price and subsequent valuation of restricted and illiquid securities normally reflect a discount, which may be significant, from the market price of comparable securities for which a liquid market exists.

 

Securities purchased by the Fund, particularly debt securities and over-the-counter traded securities, that are liquid at the time of purchase may subsequently become illiquid due to events relating to the issuer of the securities, markets events, economic conditions or investor perceptions. Domestic and foreign markets are becoming more and more complex and interrelated, so that events in one sector of the market or the economy, or in one geographical region, can reverberate and have negative consequences for other market, economic or regional sectors in a manner that may not be reasonably foreseen. With respect to over-the-counter traded securities, the continued viability of any over-the-counter secondary market depends on the continued willingness of dealers and other participants to purchase the securities.

 

If one or more securities in the Fund’s portfolio become illiquid, the Fund may exceed its 15% limitation in illiquid instruments. In the event that changes in the portfolio or other external events cause the investments in illiquid instruments to exceed 15% of the Fund’s net assets, the Fund must take steps to bring the aggregate amount of illiquid instruments back within the prescribed limitations as

APPENDIX A

 

soon as reasonably practicable. This requirement would not force the Fund to liquidate any portfolio instrument where the Fund would suffer a loss on the sale of that instrument.

 

In cases where no clear indication of the value of the Fund’s portfolio instruments is available, the portfolio instruments will be valued at their fair value according to the valuation procedures approved by the Board of Trustees. These cases include, among others, situations where the secondary markets on which a security has previously been traded are no longer viable for lack of liquidity. For more information on fair valuation, please see “Shareholder Guide—How to Buy Shares—How Are Shares Priced?”

 

Credit/Default Risks.  Debt securities purchased by the Fund may include securities (including zero coupon bonds) issued by the U.S. government (and its agencies, instrumentalities and sponsored enterprises), foreign governments, domestic and foreign corporations, banks and other issuers. Some of these fixed income securities are described in the next section below. Further information is provided in the SAI.

 

Debt securities rated BBB or higher by Standard & Poor’s Rating Group (“Standard & Poor’s”), or Baa or higher by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or having a comparable rating by another NRSRO are considered “investment grade.” Securities rated BBB or Baa are considered medium-grade obligations with speculative characteristics, and adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances may weaken their issuers’ capacity to pay interest and repay principal. A security will be deemed to have met a rating requirement if it receives the minimum required rating from at least one such rating organization even though it has been rated below the minimum rating by one or more other rating organizations, or if unrated by such rating organizations, the security is determined by the Investment Adviser to be of comparable credit quality. A security satisfies the Fund’s minimum rating requirement regardless of its relative ranking (for example, plus or minus) within a designated major rating category (for example, BBB or Baa). If a security satisfies the Fund’s minimum rating requirement at the time of purchase and is subsequently downgraded below that rating, the Fund will not be required to dispose of the security. If a downgrade occurs, the Investment Adviser will consider which action, including the sale of the security, is in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders.

 

The Fund may invest in fixed income securities rated BB or Ba or below (or comparable unrated securities) which are commonly referred to as “junk bonds.” Junk bonds are considered speculative and may be questionable as to principal and interest payments.

 

In some cases, junk bonds may be highly speculative, have poor prospects for reaching investment grade standing and be in default. As a result, investment in such bonds will present greater speculative risks than those associated with investment in investment grade bonds. Also, to the extent that the rating assigned to a security in the Fund’s portfolio is downgraded by a rating organization, the market price and liquidity of such security may be adversely affected.

 

Risks of Initial Public Offerings.  The Fund may invest in IPOs. An IPO is a company’s first offering of stock to the public. IPO risk is the risk that the market value of IPO shares will fluctuate considerably due to factors such as the absence of a prior public market, unseasoned trading, the small number of shares available for trading and limited information about the issuer. The purchase of IPO shares may involve high transaction costs. IPO shares are subject to market risk and liquidity risk. When the Fund’s asset base is small, a significant portion of the Fund’s performance could be attributable to investments in IPOs, because such investments would have a magnified impact on the Fund. As the Fund’s assets grow, the effect of the Fund’s investments in IPOs on the Fund’s performance probably will decline, which could reduce the Fund’s performance. Because of the price volatility of IPO shares, the Fund may choose to hold IPO shares for a very short period of time. This may increase the turnover of the Fund’s portfolio and may lead to increased expenses to the Fund, such as commissions and transaction costs. By selling IPO shares, the Fund may realize taxable gains it will subsequently distribute to shareholders. In addition, the market for IPO shares can be speculative and/or inactive for extended periods of time. There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to obtain allocable portions of IPO shares. The limited number of shares available for trading in some IPOs may make it more difficult for the Fund to buy or sell significant amounts of shares without an unfavorable impact on prevailing prices. Investors in IPO shares can be affected by substantial dilution in the value of their shares, by sales of additional shares and by concentration of control in existing management and principal shareholders.

 

Temporary Investment Risks.  The Fund may, for temporary defensive purposes, invest a certain percentage of its total assets in:

APPENDIX A

 

 

When the Fund’s assets are invested in such instruments, the Fund may not be achieving its investment objective.

 

Risks of Large Shareholder Redemptions.  Certain funds, accounts, individuals or Goldman Sachs affiliates may from time to time own (beneficially or of record) or control a significant percentage of the Fund’s shares. Redemptions by these funds, accounts or individuals of their holdings in the Fund may impact the Fund’s liquidity and NAV. These redemptions may also force the Fund to sell securities, which may negatively impact the Fund’s brokerage and tax costs.

 

     C.  Portfolio Securities and Techniques 

 

This section provides further information on certain types of securities and investment techniques that may be used by the Fund, including their associated risks.

 

The Fund may purchase other types of securities or instruments similar to those described in this section if otherwise consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and policies. Further information is provided in the SAI, which is available upon request.

 

Convertible Securities.  The Fund may invest in convertible securities. Convertible securities are preferred stock or debt obligations that are convertible into common stock. Convertible securities generally offer lower interest or dividend yields than non-convertible securities of similar quality. Convertible securities in which the Fund invests are subject to the same rating criteria as its other investments in fixed income securities. Convertible securities have both equity and fixed income risk characteristics. Like all fixed income securities, the value of convertible securities is susceptible to the risk of market losses attributable to changes in interest rates. Generally, the market value of convertible securities tends to decline as interest rates increase and, conversely, to increase as interest rates decline. However, when the market price of the common stock underlying a convertible security exceeds the conversion price of the convertible security, the convertible security tends to reflect the market price of the underlying common stock. As the market price of the underlying common stock declines, the convertible security, like a fixed income security, tends to trade increasingly on a yield basis, and thus may not decline in price to the same extent as the underlying common stock.

 

Foreign Currency Transactions.  The Fund may, to the extent consistent with its investment policies, purchase or sell foreign currencies on a cash basis or through

forward contracts. A forward contract involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date at a price set at the time of the contract. The Fund may engage in foreign currency transactions for hedging purposes and to seek to protect against anticipated changes in future foreign currency exchange rates. In addition, the Fund may enter into foreign currency transactions to seek a closer correlation between the Fund’s overall currency exposures and the currency exposures of the Fund’s performance benchmark. The Fund may also enter into such transactions to seek to increase total return, which is considered a speculative practice.

 

The Fund may also engage in cross-hedging by using forward contracts in a currency different from that in which the hedged security is denominated or quoted. The Fund may hold foreign currency received in connection with investments in foreign securities when, in the judgment of the Investment Adviser, it would be beneficial to convert such currency into U.S. dollars at a later date (e.g., the Investment Adviser may anticipate the foreign currency to appreciate against the U.S. dollar).

 

Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time, causing, along with other factors, the Fund’s NAV to fluctuate (when the Fund’s NAV fluctuates, the value of your shares may go up or down). Currency exchange rates also can be affected unpredictably by the intervention of U.S. or foreign governments or central banks, or the failure to intervene, or by currency controls or political developments in the United States or abroad.

 

The market in forward foreign currency exchange contracts and other privately negotiated currency instruments offers less protection against defaults by the other party to such instruments than is available for currency instruments traded on an exchange. Such contracts are subject to the risk that the counterparty to the contract will default on its obligations. Because these contracts are not guaranteed by an exchange or clearinghouse, a default on a contract would deprive the Fund of unrealized profits, transaction costs or the benefits of a currency hedge or could force the Fund to cover its purchase or sale commitments, if any, at the current market price. As an investment company registered with the SEC, the Fund must “set aside” (often referred to as “asset segregation”) liquid assets, or engage in other appropriate measures to “cover” open positions with respect to its transactions in forward currency contracts.

 

Structured Securities.  The Fund may invest in structured securities. Structured securities are securities whose value is determined by reference to changes in the value of specific currencies, securities, interest rates, commodities, indices or other financial indicators (the “Reference”) or the relative change in two or more References. Investments in structured securities may provide exposure to certain

APPENDIX A

 

securities or markets in situations where regulatory or other restrictions prevent direct investments in such issuers or markets.

 

The interest rate or the principal amount payable upon maturity or redemption may be increased or decreased depending upon changes in the applicable Reference. Structured securities may be positively or negatively indexed, so that appreciation of the Reference may produce an increase or decrease in the interest rate or value of the security at maturity. In addition, changes in the interest rates or the value of the security at maturity may be a multiple of changes in the value of the Reference, effectively leveraging the Fund’s investment so that small changes in the value of the Reference may result in disproportionate gains or losses to the Fund. Consequently, structured securities may present a greater degree of market risk than many types of securities and may be more volatile, less liquid and more difficult to price accurately than less complex securities. Structured securities are also subject to the risk that the issuer of the structured securities may fail to perform its contractual obligations. Certain issuers of structured products may be deemed to be investment companies as defined in the Investment Company Act. As a result, the Fund’s investments in structured securities may be subject to the limits applicable to investments in other investment companies.

 

Structured securities include, but are not limited to, equity linked notes. An equity linked note is a note whose performance is tied to a single stock, a stock index or a basket of stocks. Equity linked notes combine the principal protection normally associated with fixed income investments with the potential for capital appreciation normally associated with equity investments. Upon the maturity of the note, the holder generally receives a return of principal based on the capital appreciation of the linked securities. Depending on the terms of the note, equity linked notes may also have a “cap” or “floor” on the maximum principal amount to be repaid to holders, irrespective of the performance of the underlying linked securities. For example, a note may guarantee the repayment of the original principal amount invested (even if the underlying linked securities have negative performance during the note’s term), but may cap the maximum payment at maturity at a certain percentage of the issuance price or the return of the underlying linked securities. Alternatively, the note may not guarantee a full return on the original principal, but may offer a greater participation in any capital appreciation of the underlying linked securities. The terms of an equity linked note may also provide for periodic interest payments to holders at either a fixed or floating rate. The secondary market for equity linked notes may be limited, and the lack of liquidity in the secondary market may make these securities difficult to dispose of and to value. Equity linked notes will be considered equity securities for purposes of the Fund’s investment objective and policies.

 

REITs.  The Fund may invest in REITs. REITs are pooled investment vehicles that invest primarily in either real estate or real estate related loans. The value of a REIT is affected by changes in the value of the properties owned by the REIT or securing mortgage loans held by the REIT. REITs are dependent upon the ability of the REITs’ managers, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, default by borrowers and the qualification of the REITs under applicable regulatory requirements for favorable income tax treatment. REITs are also subject to risks generally associated with investments in real estate including possible declines in the value of real estate, general and local economic conditions, environmental problems and changes in interest rates. To the extent that assets underlying a REIT are concentrated geographically, by property type or in certain other respects, these risks may be heightened. The Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any expenses, including management fees, paid by a REIT in which it invests.

 

Futures Contracts and Options on Futures Contracts.  Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts that provide for the sale or purchase of a specified financial instrument or currency at a future time at a specified price. An option on a futures contract gives the purchaser the right (and the writer of the option the obligation) to assume a position in a futures contract at a specified exercise price within a specified period of time. A futures contract may be based on particular securities, foreign currencies, securities indices and other financial instruments and indices. The Fund may engage in futures transactions on both U.S. and foreign exchanges.

 

The Fund may purchase and sell futures contracts, and purchase and write call and put options on futures contracts, in order to seek to increase total return or to hedge against changes in interest rates, securities prices or, to the extent the Fund invests in foreign securities, currency exchange rates, or to otherwise manage its term structure, sector selections and duration in accordance with its investment objective and policies. The Fund may also enter into closing purchase and sale transactions with respect to such contracts and options. The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” under the Commodity Exchange Act, and therefore is not subject to registration or regulation as a pool operator under that Act with respect to the Fund.

 

Futures contracts and related options present the following risks:

APPENDIX A

 

 

The Fund must “set aside” liquid assets, or engage in other appropriate measures to “cover” open positions with respect to its transactions in futures contracts and options on futures contracts. In the case of futures contracts that do not cash settle, for example, the Fund must set aside liquid assets equal to the full notional value of the futures contracts while the positions are open. With respect to futures contracts that do cash settle, however, the Fund is permitted to set aside liquid assets in an amount equal to the Fund’s daily marked-to-market net obligations (i.e., the Fund’s daily net liability) under the futures contracts, if any, rather than their full notional value. The Fund reserves the right to modify its asset segregation policies in the future to comply with any changes in the positions from time to time articulated by the SEC or its staff regarding asset segregation. By setting aside assets equal to only its net obligations under cash-settled futures contracts, the Fund will have the ability to employ leverage to a greater extent than if the Fund were required to segregate assets equal to the full notional amount of the futures contracts.

 

When-Issued Securities and Forward Commitments.  The Fund may purchase when-issued securities and make contracts to purchase or sell securities for a fixed price at a future date beyond customary settlement time. When-issued securities are securities that have been authorized, but not yet issued. When-issued securities are purchased in order to secure what is considered to be an advantageous price and yield to the Fund at the time of entering into the transaction. A forward commitment involves the entering into a contract to purchase or sell securities for a fixed price at a future date beyond the customary settlement period.

 

The purchase of securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis involves a risk of loss if the value of the security to be purchased declines before the settlement date. Conversely, the sale of securities on a forward commitment basis

involves the risk that the value of the securities sold may increase before the settlement date. Although the Fund will generally purchase securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis with the intention of acquiring the securities for its portfolio, the Fund may dispose of when-issued securities or forward commitments prior to settlement if the Investment Adviser deems it appropriate. When purchasing a security on a when-issued basis or entering into a forward commitment, the Fund must “set aside” liquid assets, or engage in other appropriate measures to “cover” its obligations.

 

Short Sales Against-the-Box.  The Fund may make short sales against-the-box. A short sale against-the-box means that at all times when a short position is open the Fund will own an equal amount of securities sold short, or securities convertible into or exchangeable for, without payment of any further consideration, an equal amount of the securities of the same issuer as the securities sold short.

 

Preferred Stock, Warrants and Rights.  The Fund may invest in preferred stock, warrants and rights. Preferred stocks are securities that represent an ownership interest providing the holder with claims on the issuer’s earnings and assets before common stock owners but after bond owners. Unlike debt securities, the obligations of an issuer of preferred stock, including dividend and other payment obligations, may not typically be accelerated by the holders of such preferred stock on the occurrence of an event of default or other non-compliance by the issuer of the preferred stock.

 

Warrants and other rights are options to buy a stated number of shares of common stock at a specified price at any time during the life of the warrant or right. The holders of warrants and rights have no voting rights, receive no dividends and have no rights with respect to the assets of the issuer.

 

Other Investment Companies.  The Fund may invest in securities of other investment companies, including ETFs such as iShares ^SM , subject to statutory limitations prescribed by the Investment Company Act. These limitations include in certain circumstances a prohibition on the Fund acquiring more than 3% of the voting shares of any other investment company, and a prohibition on investing more than 5% of the Fund’s total assets in securities of any one investment company or more than 10% of its total assets in securities of all investment companies. Many ETFs, however, have obtained exemptive relief from the SEC to permit unaffiliated funds to invest in the ETFs’ shares beyond these statutory limitations, subject to certain conditions and pursuant to a contractual arrangement between the ETFs and the investing funds. The Fund may rely on these exemptive orders to invest in unaffiliated ETFs.

APPENDIX A

 

 

The use of ETFs is intended to help the Fund match the total return of the particular market segments or indices represented by those ETFs, although that may not be the result. Most ETFs are passively-managed investment companies whose shares are purchased and sold on a securities exchange. An ETF represents a portfolio of securities designed to track a particular market segment or index. An investment in an ETF generally presents the same primary risks as an investment in a conventional fund (i.e., one that is not exchange-traded) that has the same investment objectives, strategies and policies. In addition, an ETF may fail to accurately track the market segment or index that underlies its investment objective. The price of an ETF can fluctuate, and the Fund could lose money investing in an ETF. Moreover, ETFs are subject to the following risks that do not apply to conventional funds: (i) the market price of the ETF’s shares may trade at a premium or a discount to their NAV; (ii) an active trading market for an ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained; and (iii) there is no assurance that the requirements of the exchange necessary to maintain the listing of an ETF will continue to be met or remain unchanged.

 

Pursuant to an exemptive order obtained from the SEC or under an exemptive rule adopted by the SEC, the Fund may invest in certain other investment companies and money market funds beyond the statutory limits described above. Some of those investment companies and money market funds may be funds for which the Investment Adviser or any of its affiliates serves as investment adviser, administrator or distributor.

 

The Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any management fees and other expenses paid by such other investment companies, in addition to the fees and expenses regularly borne by the Fund. Although the Fund does not expect to do so in the foreseeable future, the Fund is authorized to invest substantially all of its assets in a single open-end investment company or series thereof that has substantially the same investment objective, policies and fundamental restrictions as the Fund.

 

Unseasoned Companies.  The Fund may invest in companies which (together with their predecessors) have operated less than three years. The securities of such companies may have limited liquidity, which can result in their being priced higher or lower than might otherwise be the case. In addition, investments in unseasoned companies are more speculative and entail greater risk than do investments in companies with an established operating record.

 

Corporate Debt Obligations.  Corporate debt obligations include bonds, notes, debentures, commercial paper and other obligations of corporations to pay interest and repay principal. The Fund may invest in corporate debt obligations issued by U.S. and certain non-U.S. issuers which issue securities denominated in the U.S. dollar (including Yankee and Euro obligations). In addition to obligations of

corporations, corporate debt obligations include securities issued by banks and other financial institutions and supranational entities (i.e., the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, etc.).

 

Bank Obligations.  The Fund may invest in obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. or foreign banks. Bank obligations, including without limitation, time deposits, bankers’ acceptances and certificates of deposit, may be general obligations of the parent bank or may be limited to the issuing branch by the terms of the specific obligations or by government regulations. Banks are subject to extensive but different governmental regulations which may limit both the amount and types of loans which may be made and interest rates which may be charged. In addition, the profitability of the banking industry is largely dependent upon the availability and cost of funds for the purpose of financing lending operations under prevailing money market conditions. General economic conditions as well as exposure to credit losses arising from possible financial difficulties of borrowers play an important part in the operation of this industry.

 

U.S. Government Securities.  The Fund may invest in U.S. Government Securities. U.S. Government Securities include U.S. Treasury obligations and obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises. U.S. Government Securities may be supported by (i) the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury; (ii) the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury; (iii) the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase certain obligations of the issuer; or (iv) only the credit of the issuer. U.S. Government Securities also include Treasury receipts, zero coupon bonds and other stripped U.S. Government Securities, where the interest and principal components of stripped U.S. Government Securities are traded independently. U.S. Government Securities may also include Treasury inflation-protected securities whose principal value is periodically adjusted according to the rate of inflation.

 

Custodial Receipts and Trust Certificates.  The Fund may invest in custodial receipts and trust certificates representing interests in securities held by a custodian or trustee. The securities so held may include U.S. Government Securities or other types of securities in which the Fund may invest. The custodial receipts or trust certificates may evidence ownership of future interest payments, principal payments or both on the underlying securities, or, in some cases, the payment obligation of a third party that has entered into an interest rate swap or other arrangement with the custodian or trustee. For certain securities laws purposes, custodial receipts and trust certificates may not be considered obligations of the U.S. government or other issuer of the securities held by the custodian or trustee. If for tax purposes the Fund is not considered to be the owner of the underlying securities held in the custodial or trust account, the Fund may suffer adverse tax consequences. As a holder of

APPENDIX A

 

custodial receipts and trust certificates, the Fund will bear its proportionate share of the fees and expenses charged to the custodial account or trust. The Fund may also invest in separately issued interests in custodial receipts and trust certificates.

 

Mortgage-Backed Securities.  The Fund may invest in mortgage-backed securities. Mortgage-backed securities represent direct or indirect participations in, or are collateralized by and payable from, mortgage loans secured by real property. Mortgage-backed securities can be backed by either fixed rate mortgage loans or adjustable rate mortgage loans, and may be issued by either a governmental or non-governmental entity. The value of some mortgage backed securities may be particularly sensitive to changes in prevailing interest rates. The value of these securities may also fluctuate in response to the market’s perception of the creditworthiness of the issuers. Early repayment of principal on mortgage- or asset-backed securities may expose the Fund to the risk of earning a lower rate of return upon reinvestment of principal.

 

Privately-issued mortgage pass-through securities generally offer a higher yield than similar securities issued by a government entity because of the absence of any direct or indirect government or agency payment guarantees. However, timely payment of interest and principal on mortgage loans in these pools may be supported by various other forms of insurance or guarantees, including individual loan, pool and hazard insurance, subordination and letters of credit. Such insurance and guarantees may be issued by private insurers, banks and mortgage poolers. There is no guarantee that private guarantors or insurers, if any, will meet their obligations. Mortgage-Backed Securities without insurance or guarantees may also be purchased by the Fund if they have the required rating from an NRSRO. Mortgage-Backed Securities issued by private organizations may not be readily marketable, may be more difficult to value accurately and may be more volatile than similar securities issued by a government entity.

 

Mortgage-backed securities may include multiple class securities, including collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”) and Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduit (“REMIC”) pass-through or participation certificates. A REMIC is a CMO that qualifies for special tax treatment and invests in certain mortgages principally secured by interests in real property and other permitted investments. CMOs provide an investor with a specified interest in the cash flow from a pool of underlying mortgages or of other mortgage-backed securities. CMOs are issued in multiple classes each with a specified fixed or floating interest rate and a final scheduled distribution rate. In many cases, payments of principal are applied to the CMO classes in the order of their respective stated maturities, so that no principal payments will be made on a CMO class until all other classes having an earlier stated maturity date are paid in full.

 

Sometimes, however, CMO classes are “parallel pay,” i.e., payments of principal are made to two or more classes concurrently. In some cases, CMOs may have the characteristics of a stripped mortgage-backed security whose price can be highly volatile. CMOs may exhibit more or less price volatility and interest rate risk than other types of mortgage-related obligations, and under certain interest rate and payment scenarios, the Fund may fail to recoup fully its investment in certain of these securities regardless of their credit quality.

 

Mortgaged-backed securities also include stripped mortgage-backed securities (“SMBS”), which are derivative multiple class mortgage-backed securities. SMBS are usually structured with two different classes: one that receives substantially all of the interest payments and the other that receives substantially all of the principal payments from a pool of mortgage loans. The market value of SMBS consisting entirely of principal payments generally is unusually volatile in response to changes in interest rates. The yields on SMBS that receive all or most of the interest from mortgage loans are generally higher than prevailing market yields on other mortgage-backed securities because their cash flow patterns are more volatile and there is a greater risk that the initial investment will not be fully recouped. Throughout 2008, the market for mortgage-backed securities began experiencing substantially, often dramatically, lower valuations and greatly reduced liquidity. Markets for other asset-backed securities have also been affected. These instruments are increasingly subject to liquidity constraints, price volatility, credit downgrades and unexpected increases in default rates and, therefore, may be more difficult to value and more difficult to dispose of than previously. These events may have an adverse effect on the Fund to the extent it invests in mortgage-backed or other fixed income securities or instruments affected by the volatility in the fixed income markets.

 

Asset-Backed Securities.  The Fund may invest in asset-backed securities. Asset-backed securities are securities whose principal and interest payments are collateralized by pools of assets such as auto loans, credit card receivables, leases, installment contracts and personal property. Asset-backed securities may also include home equity line of credit loans and other second-lien mortgages. Asset-backed securities are often subject to more rapid repayment than their stated maturity date would indicate as a result of the pass-through of prepayments of principal on the underlying loans. During periods of declining interest rates, prepayment of loans underlying asset-backed securities can be expected to accelerate. Accordingly, the Fund’s ability to maintain positions in such securities will be affected by reductions in the principal amount of such securities resulting from prepayments, and its ability to reinvest the returns of principal at comparable yields is subject to generally prevailing interest rates at that time. Asset-backed securities present credit risks that are not presented by mortgage-backed securities. This is because asset-backed securities generally do not have the benefit of a security

APPENDIX A

 

interest in collateral that is comparable to mortgage assets. Some asset-backed securities have only a subordinated claim or security interest in collateral. If the issuer of an asset-backed security defaults on its payment obligations, there is the possibility that, in some cases, the Fund will be unable to possess and sell the underlying collateral and that the Fund’s recoveries on repossessed collateral may not be available to support payments on the securities. In the event of a default, the Fund may suffer a loss if it cannot sell collateral quickly and receive the amount it is owed. There is no guarantee that private guarantors, or insurers of an asset-backed security, if any, will meet their obligations. The value of some asset-backed securities may be particularly sensitive to changes in prevailing interest rates. Asset-backed securities may also be subject to increased volatility and may become illiquid and more difficult to value even when there is no default or threat of default due to the market’s perception of the creditworthiness of the issuers and market conditions impacting asset-backed securities more generally.

 

Borrowings.  The Fund can borrow money from banks and other financial institutions in amounts not exceeding one-third of its total assets for temporary or emergency purposes. The Fund may not make additional investments if borrowings exceed 5% of its total assets.

Appendix B
Financial Highlights

 

Because the Fund has not commenced investment operations as of the date of this Prospectus, financial highlights are not available.

Appendix C
Prior Performance of Similarly Advised Accounts of the Investment Adviser

 

     U.S. Equity Fund 

 

The Investment Adviser has other advisory accounts that have investment objectives, policies and strategies substantially similar to those of U.S. Equity Fund. The following table sets forth the historical performance data of all accounts managed by the Investment Adviser with investment objectives, policies and strategies substantially similar to those of the U.S. Equity Fund (the “Composite Account”). The information is provided to illustrate the past performance of the Investment Adviser in managing the Composite Account as measured against the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (“S&P 500 Index”), and does not represent the performance of the U.S. Equity Fund. Investors should not consider this performance data a substitute for the performance of the U.S. Equity Fund, nor should investors consider this data an indication of the future performance of the U.S. Equity Fund or of the Investment Adviser. The S&P 500 Index is unmanaged, and investors cannot invest directly in the index.

 

 

 

 

The performance information with respect to the Composite Account is net of applicable investment management fees, brokerage commissions, execution costs and custodial fees, without provision for federal and state taxes, if any. Since fees, commissions, and taxes may differ for the Composite Account and the U.S. Equity Fund, performance data for identical periods may differ.

 

Performance reflects the deduction of the maximum 5.5% front-end sales charge with respect to Class A Shares and the maximum 1% CDSC with respect to Class C Shares. All returns presented are time-weighted based on monthly valuations and include the reinvestment of earnings. The average annual expenses of the Composite Account for all periods reflect the maximum applicable investment management fee of 0.75%. These average annual expenses were lower than the expenses of Class A, Class C, Institutional, Class R and Class IR Shares of the U.S. Equity Fund stated under the section “Summary—Fund Fees and Expenses” of this Prospectus. The performance of the Composite Account would have been lower if it had been subject to the expenses of the Class A, Class C, Institutional, Class R and Class IR Shares of the U.S. Equity Fund. Furthermore, the composite account is not subject to the same diversification requirements, specific tax restrictions and investment limitations imposed on the U.S. Equity Fund by the Act and Subchapter M of the Code. Consequently, the performance results of the Investment Adviser’s Composite Account could have been adversely affected if the Composite Account had been regulated as an investment company under the federal securities laws. In addition, the securities held by the U.S. Equity Fund will not be identical to the securities held by the Composite Account for the periods shown above. Accordingly, the future performance of the U.S. Equity Fund will differ from the performance of the private account.

 

Goldman Sachs U.S. Equity Fund
Prospectus

 

     FOR MORE INFORMATION 

 

Annual/Semi-annual Report

Additional information about the Fund’s investments will be available in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Fund’s annual reports, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during the last fiscal year.

 

PART B
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
DATED NOVEMBER 24, 2009

CLASS A SHARES: GAGVX
CLASS C SHARES: GCGVX
CLASS R SHARES: GRGVX
CLASS IR SHARES: GIRGX
INSTITUTIONAL SHARES: GINGX

GOLDMAN SACHS U.S. EQUITY FUND

(A portfolio of Goldman Sachs Trust)

71 South Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60606

     This Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) is not a Prospectus. This SAI should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus of the Goldman Sachs U.S. Equity Fund (the “Fund”), dated November 24, 2009 (the “Prospectus”), as it may be further amended and/or supplemented from time to time. The Prospectus may be obtained without charge from Goldman, Sachs & Co. by calling the telephone numbers, or writing to one of the addresses, listed below or from institutions acting on behalf of their customers.

     GSAM ^® is a registered service mark of Goldman, Sachs & Co.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION			4
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND POLICIES			4
DESCRIPTION OF INVESTMENT SECURITIES AND PRACTICES			5
INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS			16
TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS			18
MANAGEMENT SERVICES			26
POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST			32
PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS AND BROKERAGE			43
NET ASSET VALUE			45
SHARES OF THE TRUST			46
TAXATION			49
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS			53
PROXY VOTING			53
PAYMENTS TO INTERMEDIARIES			54
OTHER INFORMATION			55
DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE PLANS			57
OTHER INFORMATION REGARDING MAXIMUM SALES CHARGE, PURCHASES, REDEMPTIONS, EXCHANGES AND DIVIDENDS			58
APPENDIX A DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS			1-A
APPENDIX B ISS GOVERNANCE SERVICES CONCISE SUMMARY OF 2009 U.S. PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES			1-B
APPENDIX C STATEMENT OF INTENTION			1-C

The date of this SAI is November 24, 2009.

GOLDMAN SACHS ASSET MANAGEMENT, L.P.
Investment Adviser
32 Old Slip
New York, New York 10005

GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO.
Distributor
85 Broad Street
New York, New York 10004

GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO.
Transfer Agent
71 South Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60606

Toll free (in U.S.) 800-621-2550 (Institutional) or 800-526-7384 (Retail)

INTRODUCTION

     Goldman Sachs Trust (the “Trust”) is an open-end, management investment company. The Trust is organized as a Delaware statutory trust and was established by a Declaration of Trust dated January 28, 1997. The Trust is a successor to a Massachusetts business trust that was combined with the Trust on April 30, 1997. The Goldman Sachs U.S. Equity Fund (“U.S. Equity Fund” or the “Fund”), a series of the Trust, is described in this SAI.

     The Trustees of the Trust have authority under the Declaration of Trust to create and classify shares into separate series and to classify and reclassify any series or portfolio of shares into one or more classes without further action by shareholders, and have created the Fund and other series pursuant thereto. The Fund is authorized to issue five classes of shares: Class A, Class C, Institutional Class, Class R and Class IR. Additional series may be added in the future from time to time.

     Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. (“GSAM”), an affiliate of Goldman, Sachs & Co. (“Goldman Sachs”), serves as the Investment Adviser to the Fund. GSAM is referred to herein as the “Investment Adviser.” In addition, Goldman Sachs serves as the Fund’s distributor and transfer agent. The Fund’s custodian is State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”).

     The following information relates to and supplements the description of the Fund’s investment policies contained in the Prospectus. See the Prospectus for a more complete description of the Fund’s investment objective and policies. Investing in the Fund entails certain risks and there is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its objective. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein have the same meaning as in the Prospectus.

      Value Style. The Investment Adviser evaluates securities using fundamental analysis and intends to purchase equity investments that are, in its view, underpriced relative to a combination of such companies’ long-term earnings prospects, growth rate, free cash flow and/or dividend-paying ability. Consideration will be given to the business quality of the issuer. Factors positively affecting the Investment Adviser’s view of that quality include the competitiveness and degree of regulation in the markets in which the company operates, the existence of a management team with a record of success, the position of the company in the markets in which it operates, the level of the company’s financial leverage and the sustainable return on capital invested in the business. The Fund may also purchase securities of companies that have experienced difficulties and that, in the opinion of the Investment Adviser, are available at attractive prices.

      Growth Style. “Growth” style equity investments for the Fund are selected based on their long-term prospects for above average growth. The Investment Adviser employs an investment strategy with three primary components. The first is to buy a business with the belief that wealth is created by the long-term ownership of a growing business. The second is to buy a high-quality business that exhibits high- quality growth criteria including strong business franchise, favorable long-term trends and excellent management. The third component of the strategy is to buy the business at an attractive valuation. The Investment Adviser maintains a long term outlook when implementing this disciplined investment process.

     The Goldman Sachs Asset Management Growth Team uses fundamental research to find strong business franchises with favorable long-term growth prospects and excellent management.  Investment criteria include dominant market share, positive free cash flow, enduring competitive advantages and sustainable growth.  The process also includes a valuation component.  The Goldman Sachs Asset Management Value Team’s philosophy is based on the belief that all successful investing should thoughtfully weigh two important attributes of a stock:  price and prospects.  The team uses a strong valuation discipline to purchase well-positioned, cash-generating businesses run by shareholder-oriented management teams.

DESCRIPTION OF INVESTMENT SECURITIES AND PRACTICES

Corporate Debt Obligations

     The Fund may, under normal market conditions, invest in corporate debt obligations, including obligations of industrial, utility and financial issuers. Corporate debt obligations include bonds, notes, debentures and other obligations of corporations to pay interest and repay principal. Corporate debt obligations are subject to the risk of an issuer’s inability to meet principal and interest payments on the obligations and may also be subject to price volatility due to such factors as market interest rates, market perception of the creditworthiness of the issuer and general market liquidity.

     Although the Fund may only purchase fixed income securities that are investment grade (i.e., BBB or higher by Standard & Poor’s, Baa or higher by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. or have a comparable rating by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization), a security may be downgraded subsequent to purchase. Since investors generally perceive that there are greater risks associated with the medium to lower rated securities, the yields and prices of such securities may tend to fluctuate more than those for higher rated securities. In the lower quality segments of the fixed income securities market, changes in perceptions of issuers’ creditworthiness tend to occur more frequently and in a more pronounced manner than do changes in higher quality segments of the fixed income securities market, resulting in greater yield and price volatility.

     Another factor which causes fluctuations in the prices of fixed income securities is the supply and demand for similarly rated securities. In addition, the prices of fixed income securities fluctuate in response to the general level of interest rates. Fluctuations in the prices of portfolio securities subsequent to their acquisition will not affect cash income from such securities but will be reflected in the Fund’s net asset value.

     The Investment Adviser employs its own credit research and analysis, which includes a study of existing debt, capital structure, ability to service debt and to pay dividends, the issuer’s sensitivity to economic conditions, its operating history and the current trend of earnings. The Investment Adviser continually monitors the investments in the Fund’s portfolio and evaluates whether to dispose of or to retain corporate debt obligations whose credit ratings or credit quality may have changed.

Commercial Paper and Other Short-Term Corporate Obligations

     The Fund may invest in commercial paper and other short-term obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. corporations, non-U.S. corporations or other entities. Commercial paper represents short-term unsecured promissory notes issued in bearer form by banks or bank holding companies, corporations and finance companies.

U.S. Government Securities

     The Fund may invest in U.S. Government Securities. Some U.S. Government Securities (such as Treasury bills, notes and bonds, which differ only in their interest rates, maturities and times of issuance) are supported by the full faith and credit of the United States. Others, such as obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises, are supported either by (i) the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury, (ii) the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase certain obligations of the issuer or (iii) only the credit of the issuer. The U.S. government is under no legal obligation, in general, to purchase the obligations of its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises. No assurance can be given that the U.S. government will provide financial support to the U.S. government agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises in the future.

     U.S. Government Securities include (to the extent consistent with the Act) securities for which the payment of principal and interest is backed by an irrevocable letter of credit issued by the U.S. government, or its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises. U.S. Government Securities may also include (to the extent consistent with the Act) participations in loans made to foreign governments or their agencies that are guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. government or its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises. The secondary market for certain of these participations is extremely limited. In the absence of a suitable secondary market, such participations are regarded as illiquid.

     The Fund may also purchase U.S. Government Securities in private placements and may also invest in separately traded principal and interest components of securities guaranteed or issued by the U.S. Treasury that are traded independently under the separate trading of registered interest and principal of securities program (“STRIPS”). The Fund may also invest in zero coupon U.S. Treasury Securities and in zero coupon securities issued by financial institutions which represent a proportionate interest in underlying U.S. Treasury Securities. A zero coupon security pays no interest to its holder during its life and its value consists of the difference between its face value at maturity and its cost. The market prices of zero coupon securities generally are more volatile than the market prices of securities that pay interest periodically.

Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities

     The Fund may invest in “Treasury inflation-protected securities” or “TIPS,” which are U.S. Government fixed income securities whose principal value is periodically adjusted according to the rate of inflation. The interest rate on TIPS is fixed at issuance, but over the life of the bond this interest may be paid on an increasing or decreasing principal value that has been adjusted for inflation. Although repayment of the original bond principal upon maturity is guaranteed, the market value of TIPS is not guaranteed, and will fluctuate.

     The values of TIPS generally fluctuate in response to changes in real interest rates, which are in turn tied to the relationship between nominal interest rates and the rate of inflation. If inflation were to rise at a faster rate than nominal interest rates, real interest rates might decline, leading to an increase in the value of TIPS. In contrast, if nominal interest rates were to increase at a faster rate than inflation, real interest rates might rise, leading to a decrease in the value of TIPS. If inflation is lower than expected during the period the Fund holds TIPS, the Fund may earn less on the TIPS than on a conventional bond. If interest rates rise due to reasons other than inflation (for example, due to changes in the currency exchange rates), investors in TIPS may not be protected to the extent that the increase is not reflected in the bonds’ inflation measure. There can be no assurance that the inflation index for TIPS will accurately measure the real rate of inflation in the prices of goods and services.

     Any increase in principal value of TIPS caused by an increase in the consumer price index is taxable in the year the increase occurs, even though the Fund, holding TIPS, will not receive cash representing the increase at that time. As a result, the Fund could be required at times to liquidate other investments, including when it is not advantageous to do so, in order to satisfy its distribution requirements as a regulated investment company.

     If the Fund invests in TIPS, it will be required to treat as original issue discount any increase in the principal amount of the securities that occurs during the course of its taxable year. If the Fund purchases such inflation protected securities that are issued in

stripped form either as stripped bonds or coupons, it will be treated as if it had purchased a newly issued debt instrument having original issue discount.

     Because the Fund is required to distribute substantially all of its net investment income (including accrued original issue discount), the Fund’s investment in either zero coupon bonds or TIPS may require it to distribute to shareholders an amount greater than the total cash income it actually receives. Accordingly, in order to make the required distributions, the Fund may be required to borrow or liquidate securities.

Bank Obligations

     The Fund may invest in obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. or foreign banks. Bank obligations, including without limitation, time deposits, bankers’ acceptances and certificates of deposit, may be general obligations of the parent bank or may be limited to the issuing branch by the terms of the specific obligations or by government regulation. Banks are subject to extensive but different governmental regulations which may limit both the amount and types of loans which may be made and interest rates which may be charged. In addition, the profitability of the banking industry is largely dependent upon the availability and cost of funds for the purpose of financing lending operations under prevailing money market conditions. General economic conditions as well as exposure to credit losses arising from possible financial difficulties of borrowers play an important part in the operation of this industry.

     Certificates of deposit are certificates evidencing the obligation of a bank to repay funds deposited with it for a specified period of time at a specified rate. Certificates of deposit are negotiable instruments and are similar to saving deposits but have a definite maturity and are evidenced by a certificate instead of a passbook entry. Banks are required to keep reserves against all certificates of deposit. Fixed time deposits are bank obligations payable at a stated maturity date and bearing interest at a fixed rate. Fixed time deposits may be withdrawn on demand by the investor, but may be subject to early withdrawal penalties which vary depending upon market conditions and the remaining maturity of the obligation. The Fund may invest in deposits in U.S. and European banks satisfying the standards set forth above.

Zero Coupon Bonds

     The Fund’s investments in fixed income securities may include zero coupon bonds. Zero coupon bonds are debt obligations issued or purchased at a discount from face value. The discount approximates the total amount of interest the bonds would have accrued and compounded over the period until maturity. Zero coupon bonds do not require the periodic payment of interest. Such investments benefit the issuer by mitigating its need for cash to meet debt service but also require a higher rate of return to attract investors who are willing to defer receipt of such cash. Such investments may experience greater volatility in market value than debt obligations which provide for regular payments of interest. In addition, if an issuer of zero coupon bonds held by the Fund defaults, the Fund may obtain no return at all on its investment. The Fund will accrue income on such investments for each taxable year which (net of deductible expenses, if any) is distributable to shareholders and which, because no cash is generally received at the time of accrual, may require the liquidation of other portfolio securities to obtain sufficient cash to satisfy the Fund’s distribution obligations.

Variable and Floating Rate Securities

     The interest rates payable on certain fixed income securities in which the Fund may invest are not fixed and may fluctuate based upon changes in market rates. A variable rate obligation has an interest rate which is adjusted at pre-designated periods in response to changes in the market rate of interest on which the interest rate is based. Variable and floating rate obligations are less effective than fixed rate instruments at locking in a particular yield. Nevertheless, such obligations may fluctuate in value in response to interest rate changes if there is a delay between changes in market interest rates and the interest reset date for the obligation, or for other reasons.

Custodial Receipts and Trust Certificates

     The Fund may invest in custodial receipts and trust certificates, which may be underwritten by securities dealers or banks, representing interests in securities held by a custodian or trustee. The securities so held may include U.S. Government securities, municipal securities or other types of securities in which the Fund may invest. The custodial receipts or trust certificates are underwritten by securities dealers or banks and may evidence ownership of future interest payments, principal payments or both on the underlying securities, or, in some cases, the payment obligation of a third party that has entered into an interest rate swap or other arrangement with the custodian or trustee. For certain securities laws purposes, custodial receipts and trust certificates may not be

considered obligations of the U.S. Government or other issuer of the securities held by the custodian or trustee. As a holder of custodial receipts and trust certificates, the Fund will bear its proportionate share of the fees and expenses charged to the custodial account or trust. The Fund may also invest in separately issued interests in custodial receipts and trust certificates.

     Although under the terms of a custodial receipt or trust certificate the Fund would be typically authorized to assert its rights directly against the issuer of the underlying obligation, the Fund could be required to assert through the custodian bank or trustee those rights as may exist against the underlying issuers. Thus, in the event an underlying issuer fails to pay principal and/or interest when due, the Fund may be subject to delays, expenses and risks that are greater than those that would have been involved if the Fund had purchased a direct obligation of the issuer. In addition, in the event that the trust or custodial account in which the underlying securities have been deposited is determined to be an association taxable as a corporation, instead of a non-taxable entity, the yield on the underlying securities would be reduced in recognition of any taxes paid.

     Certain custodial receipts and trust certificates may be synthetic or derivative instruments that have interest rates that reset inversely to changing short-term rates and/or have embedded interest rate floors and caps that require the issuer to pay an adjusted interest rate if market rates fall below or rise above a specified rate. Because some of these instruments represent relatively recent innovations, and the trading market for these instruments is less developed than the markets for traditional types of instruments, it is uncertain how these instruments will perform under different economic and interest-rate scenarios. Also, because these instruments may be leveraged, their market values may be more volatile than other types of fixed income instruments and may present greater potential for capital gain or loss. The possibility of default by an issuer or the issuer’s credit provider may be greater for these derivative instruments than for other types of instruments. In some cases, it may be difficult to determine the fair value of a derivative instrument because of a lack of reliable objective information and an established secondary market for some instruments may not exist. In many cases, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has not ruled on the tax treatment of the interest or payments received on the derivative instruments and, accordingly, purchases of such instruments are based on the opinion of counsel to the sponsors of the instruments.

Futures Contracts and Options on Futures Contracts

     The Fund may purchase and sell futures contracts and may also purchase and write call and put options on futures contracts. The Fund may purchase and sell futures contracts based on various securities, securities indices, foreign currencies and other financial instruments and indices. The Fund may engage in futures and related options transactions in order to seek to increase total return or to hedge against changes in interest rates, securities prices or, to the extent the Fund invests in foreign securities, currency exchange rates, or to otherwise manage its term structure, sector selection and duration in accordance with its investment objective and policies. The Fund may also enter into closing purchase and sale transactions with respect to such contracts and options. The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” under the Commodity Exchange Act and, therefore, is not subject to registration or regulation as a pool operator under that Act with respect to the Fund.

     Futures contracts entered into by the Fund have historically been traded on U.S. exchanges or boards of trade that are licensed and regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) or, with respect to certain funds, on foreign exchanges. More recently, certain futures may also be traded either over-the-counter or on trading facilities such as derivatives transaction execution facilities, exempt boards of trade or electronic trading facilities that are licensed and/or regulated to varying degrees by the CFTC. Also, certain single stock futures and narrow based security index futures may be traded either over-the-counter or on trading facilities such as contract markets, derivatives transaction execution facilities and electronic trading facilities that are licensed and/or regulated to varying degrees by both the CFTC and the SEC, or on foreign exchanges.

     Neither the CFTC, National Futures Association, SEC nor any domestic exchange regulates activities of any foreign exchange or boards of trade, including the execution, delivery and clearing of transactions, or has the power to compel enforcement of the rules of a foreign exchange or board of trade or any applicable foreign law. This is true even if the exchange is formally linked to a domestic market so that a position taken on the market may be liquidated by a transaction on another market. Moreover, such laws or regulations will vary depending on the foreign country in which the foreign futures or foreign options transaction occurs. For these reasons, the Fund’s investments in foreign futures or foreign options transactions may not be provided the same protections in respect of transactions on United States exchanges. In particular, persons who trade foreign futures or foreign options contracts may not be afforded certain of the protective measures provided by the Commodity Exchange Act, the CFTC’s regulations and the rules of the National Futures Association and any domestic exchange, including the right to use reparations proceedings before the CFTC and

arbitration proceedings provided by the National Futures Association or any domestic futures exchange. Similarly, those persons may not have the protection of the United States securities laws.

      Futures Contracts. A futures contract may generally be described as an agreement between two parties to buy and sell particular financial instruments for an agreed price during a designated month (or to deliver the final cash settlement price, in the case of a contract relating to an index or otherwise not calling for physical delivery at the end of trading in the contract).

     When interest rates are rising or securities prices are falling, the Fund can seek through the sale of futures contracts to offset a decline in the value of its current portfolio securities. When interest rates are falling or securities prices are rising, the Fund, through the purchase of futures contracts, can attempt to secure better rates or prices than might later be available in the market when it effects anticipated purchases. Similarly, the Fund can purchase and sell futures contracts on a specified currency in order to seek to increase total return or to protect against changes in currency exchange rates. For example, the Fund can purchase futures contracts on foreign currency to establish the price in U.S. dollars of a security quoted or denominated in such currency that the Fund has acquired or expects to acquire. As another example, the Fund may enter into futures transactions to seek a closer correlation between the Fund’s overall currency exposures and the currency exposures of the Fund’s performance benchmark.

     Positions taken in the futures market are not normally held to maturity, but are instead liquidated through offsetting transactions which may result in a profit or a loss. While the Fund will usually liquidate futures contracts on securities or currency in this manner, the Fund may instead make or take delivery of the underlying securities or currency whenever it appears economically advantageous for the Fund to do so. A clearing corporation associated with the exchange on which futures are traded guarantees that, if still open, the sale or purchase will be performed on the settlement date.

      Hedging Strategies Using Futures Contracts. Hedging, by use of futures contracts, seeks to establish with more certainty than would otherwise be possible the effective price, rate of return or currency exchange rate on portfolio securities or securities that the Fund owns or proposes to acquire. The Fund may, for example, take a “short” position in the futures market by selling futures contracts to seek to hedge against an anticipated rise in interest rates or a decline in market prices or foreign currency rates that would adversely affect the dollar value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Similarly, the Fund may sell futures contracts on a currency in which its portfolio securities are quoted or denominated, or sell futures contracts on one currency to seek to hedge against fluctuations in the value of securities quoted or denominated in a different currency if there is an established historical pattern of correlation between the two currencies. If, in the opinion of the Investment Adviser, there is a sufficient degree of correlation between price trends for the Fund’s portfolio securities and futures contracts based on other financial instruments, securities indices or other indices, the Fund may also enter into such futures contracts as part of a hedging strategy. Although under some circumstances prices of securities in the Fund’s portfolio may be more or less volatile than prices of such futures contracts, the Investment Adviser will attempt to estimate the extent of this volatility difference based on historical patterns and compensate for any such differential by having the Fund enter into a greater or lesser number of futures contracts or by attempting to achieve only a partial hedge against price changes affecting the Fund’s portfolio securities. When hedging of this character is successful, any depreciation in the value of portfolio securities will be substantially offset by appreciation in the value of the futures position. On the other hand, any unanticipated appreciation in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities would be substantially offset by a decline in the value of the futures position.

     On other occasions, the Fund may take a “long” position by purchasing such futures contracts. This may be done, for example, when the Fund anticipates the subsequent purchase of particular securities when it has the necessary cash, but expects the prices or currency exchange rates then available in the applicable market to be less favorable than prices or rates that are currently available.

     Options on Futures Contracts. The acquisition of put and call options on futures contracts will give the Fund the right (but not the obligation), for a specified price, to sell or to purchase, respectively, the underlying futures contract at any time during the option period. As the purchaser of an option on a futures contract, the Fund obtains the benefit of the futures position if prices move in a favorable direction but limits its risk of loss in the event of an unfavorable price movement to the loss of the premium and transaction costs.

     The writing of a call option on a futures contract generates a premium which may partially offset a decline in the value of the Fund’s assets. By writing a call option, the Fund becomes obligated, in exchange for the premium, to sell a futures contract if the option is exercised, which may have a value higher than the exercise price. The writing of a put option on a futures contract generates a premium, which may partially offset an increase in the price of securities that the Fund intends to purchase. However, the Fund

becomes obligated (upon the exercise of the option) to purchase a futures contract if the option is exercised, which may have a value lower than the exercise price. Thus, the loss incurred by the Fund in writing options on futures is potentially unlimited and may exceed the amount of the premium received. The Fund will incur transaction costs in connection with the writing of options on futures.

     The holder or writer of an option on a futures contract may terminate its position by selling or purchasing an offsetting option on the same financial instrument. There is no guarantee that such closing transactions can be effected. The Fund’s ability to establish and close out positions on such options will be subject to the development and maintenance of a liquid market.

      Other Considerations . The Fund will engage in transactions in futures contracts and related options transactions only to the extent such transactions are consistent with the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) for maintaining its qualification as a regulated investment company for federal income tax purposes. Transactions in futures contracts and options on futures involve brokerage costs, require margin deposits and, in certain cases, require the Fund to segregate cash or liquid assets. The Fund may cover its transactions in futures contracts and related options through the segregation of cash or liquid assets or by other means, in any manner permitted by applicable law.

     While transactions in futures contracts and options on futures may reduce certain risks, such transactions themselves entail certain other risks. Thus, unanticipated changes in interest rates, securities prices or currency exchange rates may result in a poorer overall performance for the Fund than if it had not entered into any futures contracts or options transactions. When futures contracts and options are used for hedging purposes, perfect correlation between the Fund’s futures positions and portfolio positions may be impossible to achieve, particularly where futures contracts based on individual equity or corporate fixed income securities are currently not available. In the event of an imperfect correlation between a futures position and a portfolio position which is intended to be protected, the desired protection may not be obtained and the Fund may be exposed to risk of loss.

     In addition, it is not possible for the Fund to hedge fully or perfectly against currency fluctuations affecting the value of securities quoted or denominated in foreign currencies because the value of such securities is likely to fluctuate as a result of independent factors unrelated to currency fluctuations. The profitability of the Fund’s trading in futures depends upon the ability of the Investment Adviser to analyze correctly the futures markets.

Real Estate Investment Trusts

     The Fund may invest in shares of real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). REITs are pooled investment vehicles which invest primarily in real estate or real estate related loans. REITs are generally classified as equity REITs, mortgage REITs or a combination of equity and mortgage REITs. Equity REITs invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive income primarily from the collection of rents. Equity REITs can also realize capital gains by selling properties that have appreciated in value. Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgages and derive income from the collection of interest payments. Like regulated investment companies such as the Fund, REITs are not taxed on income distributed to shareholders provided they comply with certain requirements under the Code. The Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any expenses paid by REITs in which it invests in addition to the expenses paid by the Fund.

     Investing in REITs involves certain unique risks. Equity REITs may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property owned by such REITs, while mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of any credit extended. REITs are dependent upon management skills, are not diversified (except to the extent the Code requires), and are subject to the risks of financing projects. REITs are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, default by borrowers, self-liquidation, and the possibilities of failing to qualify for the exemption from tax for distributed income under the Code and failing to maintain their exemptions from the Act. REITs (especially mortgage REITs) are also subject to interest rate risks.

Warrants and Stock Purchase Rights

     The Fund may invest in warrants or rights (in addition to those acquired in units or attached to other securities) which entitle the holder to buy equity securities at a specific price for a specific period of time. The Fund will invest in warrants and rights only if such equity securities are deemed appropriate by the Investment Adviser for investment by the Fund. Warrants and rights have no voting rights, receive no dividends and have no rights with respect to the assets of the issuer.

Foreign Securities

     The Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers. The Fund may invest in the aggregate up to 20% of its net assets in foreign securities.

     Investments in foreign securities may offer potential benefits not available from investments solely in U.S. dollar-denominated or quoted securities of domestic issuers. Such benefits may include the opportunity to invest in foreign issuers that appear, in the opinion of the Investment Adviser, to offer the potential for better long term growth of capital and income than investments in U.S. securities, the opportunity to invest in foreign countries with economic policies or business cycles different from those of the United States and the opportunity to reduce fluctuations in portfolio value by taking advantage of foreign securities markets that do not necessarily move in a manner parallel to U.S. markets. Investing in the securities of foreign issuers also involves, however, certain special risks, including those discussed in the Fund’s Prospectus and those set forth below, which are not typically associated with investing in U.S. dollar-denominated securities or quoted securities of U.S. issuers.

     With any investment in foreign securities, there exist certain economic, political and social risks, including the risk of adverse political developments, nationalization, confiscation without fair compensation or war. Individual foreign economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payments position. Investments in the securities of foreign issuers often involve currencies of foreign countries. Accordingly, the Fund, which invests in foreign securities, may be affected favorably or unfavorably by changes in currency rates and in exchange control regulations and may incur costs in connection with conversions between various currencies. The Fund may be subject to currency exposure independent of its securities positions. To the extent that the Fund is fully invested in foreign securities while also maintaining net currency positions, it may be exposed to greater combined risk.

     Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time. They generally are determined by the forces of supply and demand in the foreign exchange markets and the relative merits of investments in different countries, actual or anticipated changes in interest rates and other complex factors, as seen from an international perspective. Currency exchange rates also can be affected unpredictably by intervention by U.S. or foreign governments or central banks or the failure to intervene or by currency controls or political developments in the United States or abroad.

     Since foreign issuers generally are not subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, practices and requirements comparable to those applicable to U.S. companies, there may be less publicly available information about a foreign company than about a U.S. company. Volume and liquidity in most foreign securities markets are less than in the United States and securities of many foreign companies are less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. companies. The securities of foreign issuers may be listed on foreign securities exchanges or traded in foreign over-the-counter markets. Fixed commissions on foreign securities exchanges are generally higher than negotiated commissions on U.S. exchanges, although the Fund endeavors to achieve the most favorable net results on its portfolio transactions. There is generally less government supervision and regulation of foreign securities exchanges, brokers, dealers and listed and unlisted companies than in the United States, and the legal remedies for investors may be more limited than the remedies available in the United States.

     Foreign markets also have different clearance and settlement procedures, and in certain markets there have been times when settlements have been unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions, making it difficult to conduct such transactions. Such delays in settlement could result in temporary periods when some of the Fund’s assets are uninvested and no return is earned on such assets. The inability of the Fund to make intended security purchases due to settlement problems could cause the Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities. Inability to dispose of portfolio securities due to settlement problems could result either in losses to the Fund due to subsequent declines in value of the portfolio securities or, if the Fund has entered into a contract to sell the securities, could result in possible liability to the purchaser. In addition, with respect to certain foreign countries, there is the possibility of expropriation or confiscatory taxation, limitations on the movement of funds and other assets between different countries, political or social instability, or diplomatic developments which could adversely affect the Fund’s investments in those countries. Moreover, individual foreign economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payments position.

     The Fund may invest in foreign securities which take the form of sponsored and unsponsored American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) and may also invest in European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”) or other similar instruments representing securities of foreign issuers (together, “Depositary Receipts”).

     ADRs represent the right to receive securities of foreign issuers deposited in a domestic bank or a correspondent bank. ADRs are traded on domestic exchanges or in the U.S. over-the-counter market and, generally, are in registered form. EDRs and GDRs are receipts evidencing an arrangement with a non-U.S. bank similar to that for ADRs and are designed for use in the non-U.S. securities markets. EDRs and GDRs are not necessarily quoted in the same currency as the underlying security.

     To the extent the Fund acquires Depositary Receipts through banks which do not have a contractual relationship with the foreign issuer of the security underlying the Depositary Receipts to issue and service such unsponsored Depositary Receipts, there may be an increased possibility that the Fund would not become aware of and be able to respond to corporate actions such as stock splits or rights offerings involving the foreign issuer in a timely manner. In addition, the lack of information may result in inefficiencies in the valuation of such instruments. Investment in Depositary Receipts does not eliminate all the risks inherent in investing in securities of non-U.S. issuers. The market value of Depositary Receipts is dependent upon the market value of the underlying securities and fluctuations in the relative value of the currencies in which the Depositary Receipts and the underlying securities are quoted. However, by investing in Depositary Receipts, such as ADRs, that are quoted in U.S. dollars, the Fund may avoid currency risks during the settlement period for purchases and sales.

      Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts . The Fund may enter into forward foreign currency exchange contracts for hedging purposes and to seek to protect against anticipated changes in future foreign currency exchange rates. A forward foreign currency exchange contract involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract. These contracts are traded in the interbank market between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. A forward contract generally has no deposit requirement, and no commissions are generally charged at any stage for trades.

     At the maturity of a forward contract the Fund may either accept or make delivery of the currency specified in the contract or, at or prior to maturity, enter into a closing transaction involving the purchase or sale of an offsetting contract. Closing transactions with respect to forward contracts are often, but not always, effected with the currency trader who is a party to the original forward contract.

     The Fund may enter into forward foreign currency exchange contracts in several circumstances. First, when the Fund enters into a contract for the purchase or sale of a security denominated or quoted in a foreign currency, or when the Fund anticipates the receipt in a foreign currency of dividend or interest payments on such a security which it holds, the Fund may desire to “lock in” the U.S. dollar price of the security or the U.S. dollar equivalent of such dividend or interest payment, as the case may be. By entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale, for a fixed amount of dollars, of the amount of foreign currency involved in the underlying transactions, the Fund will attempt to protect itself against an adverse change in the relationship between the U.S. dollar and the subject foreign currency during the period between the date on which the security is purchased or sold, or on which the dividend or interest payment is declared, and the date on which such payments are made or received.

     Additionally, when the Investment Adviser believes that the currency of a particular foreign country may suffer a substantial decline against the U.S. dollar, it may enter into a forward contract to sell, for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars, the amount of foreign currency approximating the value of some or all of the Fund’s portfolio securities quoted or denominated in such foreign currency. The precise matching of the forward contract amounts and the value of the securities involved will not generally be possible because the future value of such securities in foreign currencies will change as a consequence of market movements in the value of those securities between the date on which the contract is entered into and the date it matures. Using forward contracts to protect the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities against a decline in the value of a currency does not eliminate fluctuations in the underlying prices of the securities. It simply establishes a rate of exchange, which the Fund can achieve at some future point in time. The precise projection of short-term currency market movements is not possible, and short-term hedging provides a means of fixing the U.S. dollar value of only a portion of the Fund’s foreign assets.

     The Fund may engage in cross-hedging by using forward contracts in one currency to hedge against fluctuations in the value of securities quoted or denominated in a different currency. In addition, the Fund may enter into foreign currency transactions to seek a closer correlation between the Fund’s overall currency exposure and the currency exposure of the Fund’s performance benchmark.

     The Fund may also enter into forward contracts to seek to increase total return. Unless otherwise covered in accordance with applicable regulations, cash or liquid assets of the Fund will be segregated in an amount equal to the value of the Fund’s total assets committed to the consummation of forward foreign currency exchange contracts. If the value of the segregated assets declines,

additional cash or liquid assets will be segregated so that the value of the assets will equal the amount of the Fund’s commitments with respect to such contracts.

     While the Fund may enter into forward contracts to reduce currency exchange rate risks, transactions in such contracts involve certain other risks. Thus, while the Fund may benefit from such transactions, unanticipated changes in currency prices may result in a poorer overall performance for the Fund than if it had not engaged in any such transactions. Moreover, there may be imperfect correlation between the Fund’s portfolio holdings of securities quoted or denominated in a particular currency and forward contracts entered into by the Fund. Such imperfect correlation may cause the Fund to sustain losses which will prevent the Fund from achieving a complete hedge or expose the Fund to risk of foreign exchange loss.

     Markets for trading foreign forward currency contracts offer less protection against defaults than is available when trading in currency instruments on an exchange. Forward contracts are subject to the risk that the counterparty to such contract will default on its obligations. Since a forward foreign currency exchange contract is not guaranteed by an exchange or clearinghouse, a default on the contract would deprive the Fund of unrealized profits, transaction costs or the benefits of a currency hedge or force the Fund to cover its purchase or sale commitments, if any, at the current market price. In addition, the institutions that deal in forward currency contracts are not required to continue to make markets in the currencies they trade and these markets can experience periods of illiquidity. The Fund will not enter into forward foreign currency exchange contracts, currency swaps or other privately negotiated currency instruments unless the credit quality of the unsecured senior debt or the claims-paying ability of the counterparty is considered to be investment grade by the Investment Adviser. To the extent that a portion of the Fund’s total assets, adjusted to reflect the Fund’s net position after giving effect to currency transactions, is denominated or quoted in the currencies of foreign countries, the Fund will be more susceptible to the risk of adverse economic and political developments within those countries.

Convertible Securities

     The Fund may invest in convertible securities. Convertible securities are bonds, debentures, notes, preferred stocks or other securities that may be converted into or exchanged for a specified amount of common stock of the same or different issuer within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula. A convertible security entitles the holder to receive interest that is generally paid or accrued on debt or a dividend that is paid or accrued on preferred stock until the convertible security matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged. Convertible securities have unique investment characteristics, in that they generally (i) have higher yields than common stocks, but lower yields than comparable non-convertible securities, (ii) are less subject to fluctuation in value than the underlying common stock due to their fixed income characteristics and (iii) provide the potential for capital appreciation if the market price of the underlying common stock increases.

     The value of a convertible security is a function of its “investment value” (determined by its yield in comparison with the yields of other securities of comparable maturity and quality that do not have a conversion privilege) and its “conversion value” (the security’s worth, at market value, if converted into the underlying common stock). The investment value of a convertible security is influenced by changes in interest rates, with investment value normally declining as interest rates increase and increasing as interest rates decline. The credit standing of the issuer and other factors may also have an effect on the convertible security’s investment value. The conversion value of a convertible security is determined by the market price of the underlying common stock. If the conversion value is low relative to the investment value, the price of the convertible security is governed principally by its investment value. To the extent the market price of the underlying common stock approaches or exceeds the conversion price, the price of the convertible security will be increasingly influenced by its conversion value. A convertible security generally will sell at a premium over its conversion value by the extent to which investors place value on the right to acquire the underlying common stock while holding a fixed income security.

     A convertible security may be subject to redemption at the option of the issuer at a price established in the convertible security’s governing instrument. If a convertible security held by the Fund is called for redemption, the Fund will be required to permit the issuer to redeem the security, convert it into the underlying common stock or sell it to a third party. Any of these actions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective, which, in turn, could result in losses to the Fund.

     In evaluating a convertible security, the Investment Adviser will give primary emphasis to the attractiveness of the underlying common stock. Convertible debt securities are equity investments for purposes of the Fund’s investment policies.

Preferred Securities

     The Fund may invest in preferred securities. Unlike debt securities, the obligations of an issuer of preferred stock, including dividend and other payment obligations, may not typically be accelerated by the holders of preferred stock on the occurrence of an event of default (such as a covenant default or filing of a bankruptcy petition) or other non-compliance by the issuer with the terms of the preferred stock. Often, however, on the occurrence of any such event of default or non-compliance by the issuer, preferred stockholders will be entitled to gain representation on the issuer’s board of directors or increase their existing board representation. In addition, preferred stockholders may be granted voting rights with respect to certain issues on the occurrence of any event of default.

When-Issued Securities and Forward Commitments

     The Fund may purchase securities on a when-issued basis or purchase or sell securities on a forward commitment basis beyond the customary settlement time. These transactions involve a commitment by the Fund to purchase or sell securities at a future date. The price of the underlying securities (usually expressed in terms of yield) and the date when the securities will be delivered and paid for (the settlement date) are fixed at the time the transaction is negotiated. When-issued purchases and forward commitment transactions are negotiated directly with the other party, and such commitments are not traded on exchanges. The Fund will generally purchase securities on a when-issued basis or purchase or sell securities on a forward commitment basis only with the intention of completing the transaction and actually purchasing or selling the securities. If deemed advisable as a matter of investment strategy, however, the Fund may dispose of or negotiate a commitment after entering into it. The Fund may also sell securities it has committed to purchase before those securities are delivered to the Fund on the settlement date. The Fund may realize a capital gain or loss in connection with these transactions. For purposes of determining the Fund’s duration, the maturity of when-issued or forward commitment securities will be calculated from the commitment date. The Fund is generally required to segregate, until three days prior to the settlement date, cash and liquid assets in an amount sufficient to meet the purchase price unless the Fund’s obligations are otherwise covered. Alternatively, the Fund may enter into offsetting contracts for the forward sale of other securities that it owns. Securities purchased or sold on a when-issued or forward commitment basis involve a risk of loss if the value of the security to be purchased declines prior to the settlement date or if the value of the security to be sold increases prior to the settlement date.

Investments in Unseasoned Companies

     The Fund may invest in companies (including predecessors) which have operated less than three years. The securities of such companies may have limited liquidity, which can result in their being priced higher or lower than might otherwise be the case. In addition, investments in unseasoned companies are more speculative and entail greater risk than do investments in companies with an established operating record.

Other Investment Companies

     The Fund may invest in securities of other investment companies, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”). The Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any management fees and other expenses paid by investment companies in which it invests, in addition to the management fees (and other expenses) paid by the Fund. The Fund’s investments in other investment companies are subject to statutory limitations prescribed by the Act, including in certain circumstances a prohibition on the Fund acquiring more that 3% of the voting shares of any other investment company, and a prohibition on investing more than 5% of the Fund’s total assets in securities of any one investment company or more than 10% of its total assets in the securities of all investment companies. Many ETFs, however, have obtained exemptive relief from the SEC to permit unaffiliated funds (such as the Fund) to invest in their shares beyond these statutory limits, subject to certain conditions and pursuant to contractual arrangements between the ETFs and the investing funds. The Fund may rely on these exemptive orders in investing in ETFs. Moreover, pursuant to an exemptive order obtained from the SEC or under an exemptive rule adopted by the SEC, the Fund may invest in investment companies and money market funds for which an Investment Adviser, or any of its affiliates, serves as investment adviser, administrator and/or distributor. However, to the extent that the Fund invests in a money market fund for which an Investment Adviser or any of its affiliates acts as investment adviser, the management fees payable by the Fund to the Investment Adviser will, to the extent required by the SEC, be reduced by an amount equal to the Fund’s proportionate share of the management fees paid by such money market fund to its investment adviser. Although the Fund does not expect to do so in the foreseeable future, the Fund is authorized to invest substantially all of its assets in a single open-end investment company or series thereof that has substantially the same investment objective, policies and fundamental restrictions as the Fund. Additionally, to the extent that the Fund serves as an “underlying Fund” to another Goldman Sachs Fund, that Fund may invest a percentage of its assets in other investment companies if those investments are consistent with applicable law and/or exemptive orders obtained from the SEC.

     The Fund may purchase shares of investment companies investing primarily in foreign securities, including “country funds.” Country funds have portfolios consisting primarily of securities of issuers located in specified foreign countries or regions.

     ETFs are shares of unaffiliated investment companies issuing shares which are traded like traditional equity securities on a national stock exchange. An ETF represents a portfolio of securities, which is often designed to track a particular market segment or index. An investment in an ETF, like one in any investment company, carries the same risks as those of its underlying securities. An ETF may fail to accurately track the returns of the market segment or index that it is designed to track, and the price of an ETF’s shares may fluctuate or lose money. In addition, because they, unlike other investment companies, are traded on an exchange, ETFs are subject to the following risks: (i) the market price of the ETF’s shares may trade at a premium or discount to the ETF’s net asset value; (ii) an active trading market for an ETF may not develop or be maintained; and (iii) there is no assurance that the requirements of the exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the ETF will continue to be met or remain unchanged. In the event substantial market or other disruptions affecting ETFs should occur in the future, the liquidity and value of the Fund’s shares could also be substantially and adversely affected.

Repurchase Agreements

     The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements with banks, brokers and securities dealers which furnish collateral at least equal in value or market price to the amount of their repurchase obligation. A repurchase agreement is an arrangement under which the Fund purchases securities and the seller agrees to repurchase the securities within a particular time and at a specified price. Custody of the securities is maintained by the Fund’s custodian (or subcustodian). The repurchase price may be higher than the purchase price, the difference being income to the Fund, or the purchase and repurchase prices may be the same, with interest at a stated rate due to the Fund together with the repurchase price on repurchase. In either case, the income to the Fund is unrelated to the interest rate on the security subject to the repurchase agreement.

     For purposes of the Act and generally for tax purposes, a repurchase agreement is deemed to be a loan from the Fund to the seller of the security. For other purposes, it is not always clear whether a court would consider the security purchased by the Fund subject to a repurchase agreement as being owned by the Fund or as being collateral for a loan by the Fund to the seller. In the event of commencement of bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings with respect to the seller of the security before repurchase of the security under a repurchase agreement, the Fund may encounter delay and incur costs before being able to sell the security. Such a delay may involve loss of interest or a decline in price of the security. If the court characterizes the transaction as a loan and the Fund has not perfected a security interest in the security, the Fund may be required to return the security to the seller’s estate and be treated as an unsecured creditor of the seller. As an unsecured creditor, the Fund would be at risk of losing some or all of the principal and interest involved in the transaction.

     Apart from the risk of bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings, there is also the risk that the seller may fail to repurchase the security. However, if the market value of the security subject to the repurchase agreement becomes less than the repurchase price (including accrued interest), the Fund will direct the seller of the security to deliver additional securities so that the market value of all securities subject to the repurchase agreement equals or exceeds the repurchase price. Certain repurchase agreements which provide for settlement in more than seven days can be liquidated before the nominal fixed term on seven days or less notice. Such repurchase agreements will be regarded as liquid instruments.

     The Fund, together with other registered investment companies having advisory agreements with the Investment Adviser or its affiliates, may transfer uninvested cash balances into a single joint account, the daily aggregate balance of which will be invested in one or more repurchase agreements.

Mortgage Dollar Rolls

     When the Fund enters into a mortgage dollar roll, it will segregate cash or liquid assets in an amount equal to the forward purchase price until the settlement date.

Temporary Investments

     The Fund may, for temporary defensive purposes, invest a certain percentage of its total assets in: U.S. Government Securities; commercial paper rated at least A-2 by Standard & Poor’s, P-2 by Moody’s or having a comparable rating by another NRSRO; certificates of deposit; bankers’ acceptances; repurchase agreements; non-convertible preferred stocks and non-convertible corporate bonds with a remaining maturity of less than one year; cash; cash equivalents; and certain exchange-traded funds. When the Fund’s assets are invested in such instruments, the Fund may not be achieving its investment objective.

Portfolio Turnover

     The Fund may engage in active short-term trading to benefit from price disparities among different issues of securities or among the markets for equity securities, or for other reasons. As a result of active management, it is anticipated that the portfolio turnover rate may vary greatly from year to year as well as within a particular year, and may be affected by changes in the holdings of specific issuers, changes in country and currency weightings, cash requirements for redemption of shares and by requirements which enable the Fund to receive favorable tax treatment. The Fund is not restricted by policy with regard to portfolio turnover and will make changes in its investment portfolio from time to time as business and economic conditions as well as market prices may dictate.

Special Note Regarding Market Events

     Events in the financial sector over the past year have resulted in reduced liquidity in credit and fixed income markets and in an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestically and internationally. While entire markets have been impacted, issuers that have exposure to the real estate, mortgage and credit markets have been particularly affected. These events and the potential for continuing market turbulence may have an adverse effect on the Fund’s investments. It is uncertain how long these conditions will continue.

     The instability in the financial markets has led the U.S. government to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and certain segments of the financial markets. Federal, state, and foreign governments, regulatory agencies, and self -regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which the Fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Such legislation or regulation could limit or preclude the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.

     Governments or their agencies may also acquire distressed assets from financial institutions and acquire ownership interests in those institutions. The implications of government ownership and disposition of these assets are unclear, and such ownership or disposition may have positive or negative effects on the liquidity, valuation and performance of the Fund’s portfolio holdings.

INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS

     The investment restrictions set forth below have been adopted by the Trust as fundamental policies that cannot be changed with respect to the Fund without the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the Act) of the Fund. The investment objective of the Fund and all other investment policies or practices of the Fund are considered by the Trust not to be fundamental and accordingly may be changed without shareholder approval. For purposes of the Act, “majority” of the outstanding voting securities means the lesser of (i) 67% or more of the shares of the Trust or the Fund present at a meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Trust or the Fund are present or represented by proxy, or (ii) more than 50% of the shares of the Trust or the Fund.

     For purposes of the following limitations, any limitation which involves a maximum percentage shall not be considered violated unless an excess over the percentage occurs immediately after, and is caused by, an acquisition or encumbrance of securities or assets of, or borrowings by, the Fund. With respect to the Fund’s fundamental investment restriction no. 3, asset coverage of at least 300% (as defined in the Act), inclusive of any amounts borrowed, must be maintained at all times.

     As a matter of fundamental policy, the Fund may not:

	(1)		Make any investment inconsistent with the Fund’s classification as a diversified company under the Act.
	(2)		Invest 25% or more of its total assets in the securities of one or more issuers conducting their principal business activities in the same industry (excluding the U.S. government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities).

(3)

Borrow money, except (a) the Fund may borrow from banks (as defined in the Act), other affiliated investment companies and other persons or through reverse repurchase agreements in amounts up to 33-1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed), (b) the Fund may, to the extent permitted by applicable law, borrow up to an additional 5% of its total assets for temporary purposes, (c) the Fund may obtain such short-term credits as may be necessary for the clearance of purchases and sales of portfolio securities, (d) the Fund may purchase securities on margin to the extent permitted by applicable law and (e) the Fund may engage in transactions in mortgage dollar rolls which are accounted for as financings.

The following interpretation applies to, but is not part of, this fundamental policy: In determining whether a particular investment in portfolio instruments or participation in portfolio transactions is subject to this borrowing policy, the accounting treatment of such instrument or participation shall be considered, but shall not by itself be determinative. Whether a particular instrument or transaction constitutes a borrowing shall be determined by the Board, after consideration of all of the relevant circumstances.

(4)		Make loans, except through (a) the purchase of debt obligations in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and policies, (b) repurchase agreements with banks, brokers, dealers and other financial institutions, (c) loans of securities as permitted by applicable law, and (d) loans to affiliates of the Fund to the extent permitted by law.
(5)		Underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the sale of portfolio securities by the Fund may be deemed to be an underwriting.
(6)		Purchase, hold or deal in real estate, although the Fund may purchase and sell securities that are secured by real estate or interests therein, securities of real estate investment trusts and mortgage-related securities and may hold and sell real estate acquired by the Fund as a result of the ownership of securities.
(7)		Invest in commodities or commodity contracts, except that the Fund may invest in currency and financial instruments and contracts that are commodities or commodity contracts.
(8)		Issue senior securities to the extent such issuance would violate applicable law.

     The Fund may, notwithstanding any other fundamental investment restriction or policy, invest some or all of its assets in a single open-end investment company or series thereof with substantially the same fundamental investment objective, restrictions and policies as the Fund.

     In addition to the fundamental policies mentioned above, the Trustees have adopted the following non-fundamental policies which can be changed or amended by action of the Trustees without approval of shareholders. Again, for purposes of the following limitations, any limitation which involves a maximum percentage shall not be considered violated unless an excess over the percentage occurs immediately after, and is caused by, an acquisition of securities by the Fund.

     The Fund may not:

	(a)		Invest in companies for the purpose of exercising control or management.
	(b)		Invest more than 15% of the Fund’s net assets in illiquid investments including illiquid repurchase agreements with a notice or demand period of more than seven days, securities which are not readily marketable and restricted securities not eligible for resale pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “1933 Act”).
	(c)		Purchase additional securities if the Fund’s borrowings, as permitted by the Fund’s borrowing policy, exceed 5% of its net assets. (Mortgage dollar rolls are not subject to this limitation).
	(d)		Make short sales of securities, except that the Fund may make short sales against the box.

TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS

     The business and affairs of the Fund are managed under the direction of the Board of Trustees subject to the laws of the State of Delaware and the Trust’s Declaration of Trust. The Trustees are responsible for deciding matters of general policy for the Trust and providing oversight of the Trust’s business and operations including the actions of the Trust’s service providers. The officers of the Trust conduct and supervise the Fund’s daily business operations.

Trustees of the Trust

     Information pertaining to the Trustees of the Trust as of November 24, 2009 is set forth below. Trustees who are not deemed to be “interested persons” of the Trust as defined in the Act are referred to as “Independent Trustees.” Trustees who are deemed to be “interested persons” of the Trust are referred to as “Interested Trustees.”